I guess the million dollar question now is:
Will changing the long cable to RG6 make a big difference? Should I be trusting dollar store RG6? Should I worry about the age of the old cable?
I see no need for preamps at this time now. The one 4bay seems to be doing a good job. It's mostly the cables now. I just want to boost the weak Toronto stations (25,41,57,66) and WUTV.
YES! It will make a big difference. By all means change everything to 1 unobstructed/unsplit length of fresh-new RG-6. Also insure that it is grounded to a "good" ground (cold water pipe, 2 meter spike of copper driven into ground, etc..). Let us know how you do!