I think an even 15 year old antenna could stand replacement. In any case,
the connections--especially those out in the weather--should be inspected
and probably redone, just on general principal. As other posters have
mentioned, twinlead has less loss than coax, but all of the antenna
preamplifiers that I've seen are set up for coax. A preamp mounted *on the
antenna* before the transmission line might be indicated...given that all
other components of the installation (antenna, feedline, all connections,
alignment) are up to snuff. These are readily available and generally work
well.

Back when antennas were more common, a professional would have evaluated
your situation with attention to details such as:
1) How far are you from the transmitters? (A high gain antenna is not
indicated if the stations are close by.)
2) What direction are they from your location? (If there are several
stations in several directions, an antenna rotator is indicated, even if the
distance is not great. If they are in only a couple of directions,
sometimes it's simpler to mount a second antenna to pick up the off-axis
stations. There used to be antennas available which were cut--IOW,
optimized--for a single channel. Sometimes they were available from the
station itself--not likely these days.)
3) How high is the tower on which your antenna is mounted? (Generally the
higher the better.)
4) What are the characteristics of the surrounding terrain. (You're gonna
have trouble receiving a station which is on the other side of a
mountain...or any other obstruction which interferes with direct 'line of
sight' signal transmission between the antenna and transmitter, including
buildings.)
5) What is the condition and alignment of the current installation? (It's
entirely possible that the existing antenna can be better aimed to receive
the problem station(s) more reliably. See above for condition caveats.)

jak

"lbbs" wrote in message
...
Basically I looking for ways to improve my signal. I am satisfied with
the
12 channel or so
that we are presently getting and I don't what to pay for more channel
with
cable or dish.
All I want is to get a 15% improvement or so in my TV signal. I get a
fair
TV signal now, but I have a couple of channel like 49 that my parents
better
then us. I received a few suggestions like replace my coax with RG6
wire
and get an preamplifier at my old tower antenna. The antenna is 35 years
old at most (that is the age of our house), 15 years at best). Anything
else I can do to improve signal. I don't mind putting some money into
it
since it is a long term investment. Thanks.

get better that we do.
"Yukio" wrote in message
news:nrWwb.497117$pl3.470263@pd7tw3no...
question QTH ? What is your location !!
If your are more than 15 miles or less than 100 miles from your TV
transmitter a good antenna system is required, At these distances you
must
point your antenna with an accuracy of +/- 5 degrees to get a good
signal.
An Omnidirectional antenna works well up to about 10 miles but then so
would
a coathanger . I would have to assume that you are outside or beyond a
cable
TV, COGECO ? service area else why would you want to put up an
expensive

$200 antenna to get one station when you can get a satellite setup for ~
$100.00. If you live in a Metropolitan Area., I can understand trying
to
avoid cable fees. Your question about amplifiers fails to recognize
something called Signal to Noise Ratio a weak signal usually implies
low
SNR, further amplification will bring in a stronger signal but also
much
more NOISE or snow. A better antenna will improve SNR ie. a stronger
signal
with the same amout of noise, noise being background atmospheric static
which is always present in any signal. I would have to assume that you
must
be using a dial-up MODEM because this question doesn't make much sense
if
you are using a Cable MODEM and already have access to a Cable Service


yukio


. They
could not explain it to me at the store.

Second question is about buying one of those omnidirectional TV
antennas
that look like a flying saucer. I believe they have a built in
amplifier. If I bought one should I use it in combination with my
old
indoor amplifier? Thanks a lot for your help.