Combining Two HD Antennas for Better Reception
Have you been frustrated at times with your HD antenna reception? Do some channels come and go and are not as strong as they should be? There also might be a few channels that are out of reach by your current antenna setup. By combining two HD antennas together you can increase your current signal strength and channel coverage. In this article, I will explain how to set this up and what are the benefits of a two-over-the-air antenna system.
Combining Two HD Antennas Methods
As I stated earlier, combining two HD antennas can have a positive impact on your signal coverage. In many cases, it can improve weak signal strength. Let’s look at three methods to combine your HD antennas. One method will be used to increase your current signal strength. The other method is used to gain channels from towers located in different directions and the last method called antenna stacking can help with those hard-to-get stations. In all cases, your location to the broadcast towers will be a factor. In some cases, the towers may be too far away to obtain any channels. You can use our Station Locator Tool by clicking on the icon below to determine how far away the broadcast towers are from your location.
Cabling, Cable Lenght, and Rescanning
With all of these setups, cable length and the style of cabling are very important. Make sure the cables coming from the antennas that are going into the combiner or joiner are the same length and are identical. If not, it could cause phasing issues because the signal from the antenna will not reach the combiner at the same time. This can cause the tuner to not properly lock onto a channel. Make sure that you rescan the tuner each time you make a change to the antenna setup. This will ensure that you are receiving the proper channels. It can also help to use the signal strength tool that most TVs and tuners have in the menu option. This is useful to see what type of signal strength you have for each channel.
Two HD Antennas Pointing in The Same Direction
This method can be used to increase the current signal strength to existing channels coming from broadcast towers in the same direction. By adding a second OTA antenna you can increase your signal strength. If you already have an amplifier to boost your signal, a second antenna can help increase your coverage’s consistency. Depending on how the signal is being sent, obstructions can interfere with the delivery of the signal path. Adding a second antenna can increase the signal path coverage and give you a more consistent signal. To accomplish this you will need a combiner or coupler that can combine the two antennas together. I would recommend that you use two identical antennas. This will ensure a balanced signal path and coverage. Try experimenting with placement and proper directional pointing.
Winegard CC-7870 Antenna Coupler
The Winegard CC-7870 Antenna Coupler combines any two 75 Ohm HDTV antennas into one. Features low -3.5 insertion loss.
eBay:
Winegard CC-7870 Antenna Coupler
Amazon:
Winegard CC-7870 Antenna Coupler
Pre-made Dual Antennas
If you don’t feel up to making your own dual antenna setup, many companies sell pre-made setups. Here are a few options to consider.
Antennas Direct 8 Element Bowtie Indoor/Outdoor HDTV Antenna
Antennas Direct 8 Element bowtie indoor/outdoor HDTV antenna features patented elements and specially designed brackets that allow the two panels to turn in different directions to target widely-spaced broadcast towers. The reflector focuses the antenna’s power for added range and also provides protection against multi-path interference.
Antennas Direct:
Antennas Direct 8 Element Bowtie Indoor/Outdoor HDTV Antenna
Amazon:
Antennas Direct 8 Element Bowtie Indoor/Outdoor HDTV Antenna
Stellar Labs VHF/UHF HDTV Bowtie Antenna
The Stellar Labs HDTV 80 Mile Deep Fringe Bowtie is an 8-bay Bowtie outdoor TV antenna. It receives signals from stations up to 65 miles away in a single direction. This antenna allows you to point each side in a different direction
eBay:
Stellar Labs HDTV 80 Mile Deep Fringe Bowtie
Amazon:
Stellar Labs HDTV 80 Mile Deep Fringe Bowtie
Two HD Antennas Pointing in Opposite Directions
This method will help if the broadcast towers are in different directions. If you are unsure where your broadcast towers are you can use our Station Locator Tool to locate broadcast towers in your area. The basic idea is to have each antenna pointing at different broadcast towers. This can help you obtain those channels that a single antenna could not reach. You could use a rotary antenna to solve this problem, but if you are splitting the signal to multiple TV’s this could be an issue. This would not allow others to watch different stations at the same time. The two-antenna setup can resolve that problem. Again the same rules apply. An antenna coupler or joiner will be needed. Below is a diagram by Channel Master explaining the setup using their joiner. It may take some tweaking to get the antennas pointed in the proper directions. Just be patient and rescan your tuner to see what channels you gained.
Images credit: Channel Master
Build your own using these components.
You can build your own setup using these components. Pole mount two 1byone outdoor antenna pointing in opposite directions. Then use the Channel Master JOINtenna to combine them.
1byone Amplified Outdoor Digital HDTV Antenna
The 1byone amplified outdoor HDTV antenna is ready to mount. It comes with a mounting pole and power amp. It has a range of 85 miles.
eBay:
1byone Amplified Outdoor Digital HDTV Antenna
Amazon:
1byone Amplified Outdoor Digital HDTV Antenna
Channel Master CM-0500V2 JOINtenna TV Antenna Combiner
The Channel Master JOINtenna allows you to combine two OTA antennas into one. This is ideal for two antennas pointing at broadcast towers in different directions.
eBay:
Channel Master CM-0500V2 JOINtenna TV Antenna Combiner
Amazon:
Channel Master CM-0500V2 JOINtenna TV Antenna Combiner
Combine Three Antennas
Take it one step further, to get even better reception and capture new channels. Try to combine three antennas using the Televes SmartKom 531981 antenna combiner. It will combine up to three TV antennas with automatic one-button self-programming and filtering.
Televes SmartKom 531981 Antenna Combiner
- 60dB dynamic range individual filters
- Bluetooth interface for advanced programming options
- Access to up to three different markets on a single coax wire
- Sturdy weatherproof mast-mounted housing
- Compatible with existing HDTV signals and the newer UHD 4k stations
- Filters out undesired out-of-band and cell phone LTE/5G signals
- Automatically scans the signals on each antenna and self-programs for ease of use
- Provides the amplification needed to distribute the signal to the entire house
- Automatically powers Televes antennas and preamps, or other 12Vdc loads inline
- Recommended for single antenna installs for better reception equalizing all channels to the same level for distribution
Amazon:
Televes SmartKom 531981 Antenna Combiner
Doug Hall has a great video below explaining his setup for towers in different locations.
HD Antenna Stacking
Antenna stacking is the process of taking two HD antennas and placing one on top or near the other. This can improve your antenna reception for long-distance towers. It is important to get the spacing and phasing correct for both antennas. It is best to use two different styles of antennas that will complement each other. You can try experimenting and building one on your own. The example below shows a rabbit ear style combined with a bow-tie antenna to better capture the UHF and VHF bands. By combining these two styles of OTA antennas you can increase your overall coverage. This setup works quite well and effectively pulls in many channels.
-
- Bow Tie Antenna
-
- Rabbit Ear Antenna
Fairpoint Farms shows its HD stacked antennas in the video below. It allowed him to gain many stations from a long way out.
Pre-Built Stacked Antennas
The ClearStream 4V Antenna is essentially two antennas stacked. Each antenna is dedicated to UHF and VHF frequencies. This allows for greater coverage in less-than-ideal locations. It can be mounted in the attic or on the roof.
ClearStream 4V Indoor/Outdoor HDTV Antenna
The ClearStream 4V indoor/outdoor HDTV antenna offers crystal-clear, high-definition signals. Thanks to its quick-connect assembly, this antenna has a unique, integrated diplexer for reliable, multi-directional UHF and VHF reception. Ideal for rural areas. Includes 20″ mast, mounting hardware, and adjustable mast clamp.
Antennas Direct:
ClearStream 4V Indoor/Outdoor HDTV Antenna
Amazon:
ClearStream 4V Indoor/Outdoor HDTV Antenna
You can also buy one from Denny’s TV Antenna Service. They build custom stackers and have been producing them for many years with good success. Here are several examples of custom antenna stackers they have built (shown below). Again each antenna complements the other giving you good overall coverage of the UHF and VHF bands.
Images credit: Denny’s TV Antenna Service
Conclusion
Combining two HD antennas can have a positive impact on your overall channel coverage and reception. If you are looking to increase your signal coverage it may be worth experimenting with. Please feel free to comment below with questions or if you have tested with any of these types of setups. What were your results? You can also submit questions to our forums page.
The Best Over The Air Antennas Based on Performance and User Feedback
can the signal from two antennas be combined just before my Tivo antenna connection?
Yes. Just use an antenna combiner or coupler with two antennas before your connection to your Tivo.
Can I just splice the wires the same length in series or parallel, will this work?
I would not recommend splicing cables.
Use separate wires to each that are the same length with the other end connected to a signal combiner. It’s not really series or parallel.
I currently have the Clearstream 2V and it gets all of my local channels except for there’s one that has a good bit of pixelation on it. Would combining the 2V with a directional antenna to get the channel I want be ideal? Already have one of the recommended combiners and would use the same cables and lengths. Also, do I introduce the preamp after I combined the signals? The antennas will be mounted in my attic and I’m in a rural area about 30 miles from the stations.
Adding a second directional antenna could help. The general rule of thumb is to install the antenna preamp before the combiner. You can try experimenting using both preamps on or just one on and the other off. One scenario might work better than the other. It might take a few adjustments to get it working. Good luck and let us know how it all worked out.
Thank you. Adding second antenna didn’t help. In fact, it made matters worse. I tried adding before the preamp and after and I even have a combiner that allows for electrical pass through. I think the problem is it could be I used a cheap mono price antenna as my second one. My Clearstream 2V was working perfectly. Now, when I try to put everything back to normal I don’t get the same signal strength as I was before on the clearstream. I think I may have loosened one of the connectors on the RG6 cable. I’m gonna put a brand new cable in this weekend and see if I can get back to where I was or even better.
Running 2 antennas is far too technical for most to attempt.
Especially if they are pointed in different directions.
Signals arriving out of phase o one antenna can easily cancel out the signals from the other resulting in worse reception than one antenna.
The BEST solution is to use a rotor which is why they were invented many decades ago