No, I haven’t tried an amplifier. I used to use one with the old analog channels. I might give it a try. My outside antenna is also an old one and is probably not tuned to get digital broadcasts. The Dothan, Alabama tower is actually in Florida and almost within sight.
The Panama City stations all have their towers well North of the city, obviously because there are not many viewers in the Gulf of Mexico. Back in the old days I could sometimes get Mobile, Alabama which is over a hundred miles away.