From: arl_123234@hotmail.com   
      
   On 7/5/19 10:20 PM, gfretwell@aol.com wrote:   
   > What do you guys know about OTA TV signals. How much are the affected   
   > by trees?   
   > Long story short I have a "70 mile deep fringe" reflector antenna 30   
   > feet up, aimed right at a tower 30 miles away, flat land in Florida.   
   > The signal still sucks. I had a lesser antenna same result. I even   
   > tried an amplifier. It still drops out occasionally. There is a big   
   > oak tree right in front of the antenna (20 feet away). It is just   
   > limbs at that height, not a log. Would moving this away from that tree   
   > help? I would just try it but it will be complicated to do.   
   >   
      
   Hello, and your question is very much "electrical" from an   
   electromagnetic wave propagation question.  I don't think trees   
   generally have a significant effect on wave attenuation in the broadcast   
   TV frequency bands.  There might be some reflection if said trees are   
   soaked with water during a rainstorm or have some metallic objects   
   attached but otherwise I'd look for some other reason like the feed   
   cable length/loss and the connections from the antenna to the receiver.   
   A preamp will only be effective if the receiver itself is contributing   
   significant excess noise relative to the received signal level.  Also if   
   you use a preamp it should be ideally located at the antenna feedpoint,   
   not at the end of the feed cable connected to the receiver's antenna   
   input.  Sincerely,   
      
   --   
   J. B. Wood	            e-mail: arl_123234@hotmail.com   
      
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