I have a usvj, but my attempt at using it with rabbit ears did not work well, although that attempt was with some cheap rabbit ears in my attic before I moved the DB8e to the roof. None of the strong UHF channels have reception problems (except maybe the one that is nearly in the opposite direction of NYC). I could always switch to a 6-way splitter when the hd homerun comes to intentionally weaken the signal.

I neglected to mention that there is a 100ft monoprice QS rg-6 cable between the power inserter and the amplifier. The splitter is in the basement and cables run back up to the 1st floor from there due to things being wired that way back when we used cable. The maximum cable length between any Tv and the antenna is probably 150ft because of that. I could get it under 50ft if I just ran cables down from the attic, but that is a pain.

I cannot find any VHF only antennas. I suppose I could try antennas direct's vhf adapter, although I read on Amazon that it interferes with uhf reception:

https://www.antennasdirect.com/store/mobile.php?&productid=197

Since I already have a good UHF antenna, would you suggest a good VHF one that I could mount above / below it? My mast is 5'.