Larry, thanks for the detailed explanation of how DTV deals with
multipath interference. While watching TV last night, I discovered
that removing the power injector from the system resulted in
significantly better digital "continuity", and less snow type noise on
VHF analog.

This makes me think that there is a problem in this particular unit.
I am tempted to open it up and see what I can see. The appeal of not
shipping it back to the online seller ( they charged $16 for UPS
ground) is quite tempting. I may screw it up, will certainly void the
warranty, but may find a mechanical problem that I can fix. I am
going to AB the winegard in passive mode and the homebrew loop to see
which is better.

The FCC's spectrum auctions are of interest to me as a live sound
engineer. Wireless mics are in a state of flux with heavy use in the
700Mhz band before the recent changes. Lots of users are very vexed
with this, but as an industry, we have very little clout compared to
cellular and broadband providers.