40 Miles and in and an Attic

[ba.cross]

Hi Group,

I need help determining what antenna will be best suited for my situation. I have done many web searches and also on the site came up with no answer. First my wife “does not want one of those big ugly things on the side of the house”, can’t seem to convince her that it won’t be that bad, so I am stuck with an attic install. I have a two story house gable style roof situated east west. The attic is large and open no storage except for a HVAC unit, roof is composite shingles with wood backing and wood rafters. Here is my TVfool report.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d2df923b17e5118

I know bigger is better and I don’t mind paying for a bigger unit if that is what I need, I was looking at Winegard HD 7698P, HD8200U, or CM 3671 (CM 3679). I am not sure about Pre amps. I will only be serving one TV (two later) on the first floor (30-50 Ft.) away from antenna.

Any help is appreciated.

Brian

[signals unlimited]

I recommend you install a Winegard HD-7696P antenna.

Aim to 180 degrees magnetic and you will receive many stations.

No amplifier should be needed, provided there are no large trees or buildings on the South side of your home.

[teleview]

Your location has many Strong Tv stations/channels to receive in All Three Tv Bands of , VHF low band channels 2 thru 6 , VHF high band channels 7 thru 13 , UHF band channels 14 thru 51.

I recommend a Tv antenna that designed to receives All 3 Tv Bands.

A Winegard HD7082P antenna is designed to receives All 3 Tv Bands , the price at http://www.solidsignal.com is $70.99.

The HD7696P antenna is not designed to receive all 3 Tv bands , the HD7696P antenna is designed to receive , 2 Tv bands , VHF high band 7 thru 13 and UHF band 14 thru 51. The price of the HD7696P antenna at http://www.solidsignal.com is $77.99.

Install the HD7082P antenna in the attic aimed at about , 170 degree magnetic compass direction.

Here is how to aim antennas , http://www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html.

For 1 Tv connected use no splitter , no antenna amplifier.

For 2 Tv's connected use a common simple 2 way splitter , no antenna amplifier.

For 3 Tv's connected use a common simple 3 way splitter , no antenna amplifier.

Install the antenna up as high as possible in the attic , keep it away from the air conditioning/heating duct work and etc..and not in the way of reception to the south.

As always trees and tree leaves do a real fine job of reducing or blocking reception and so do buildings and other obstructions.

It is best to locate the antenna at a location that has the least amount to no amount of obstructions of any type or kind in the direction of reception.

The Tv/s Must Channel Scan for the Broadcast Tv Channels , sometimes named the 'Air Channels' or 'Antenna Channels' in the Tv setup menu because the Tv transmissions travel through the air from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna.

DO NOT channel scan for cable tv channels.

Here are places to buy antennas and etc. , http://www.solidsignal.com , http://www.amazon.com , http://www.winegarddirect.com.

[ba.cross]

Thank you for the quick response.

If I was to go with a bigger antenna (hate loosing signal) say 7084 or 8200 instead of the 7082 would I get better coverage. For the little price difference I do not mind paying. 14 feel is long, so I was the 7084 migh be better suited and it also has more UHF antennas since I have more UHF stations in my area.

I know bigger is better but over kill is just that. Will I be better off with 7084 or 8200?
What is yalls recmendation?

Thank you.

Brian.

[GroundUrMast]

Thank you for the quick response.

If I was to go with a bigger antenna (hate loosing signal) say 7084 or 8200 instead of the 7082 would I get better coverage. For the little price difference I do not mind paying. 14 feel is long, so I was the 7084 migh be better suited and it also has more UHF antennas since I have more UHF stations in my area.

I know bigger is better but over kill is just that. Will I be better off with 7084 or 8200?
What is yalls recmendation?

Thank you.

Brian.

It sounds as if you have the space for a very large antenna. The slightly narrower forward beam of the 7084 is still wide enough to aim at the two groups of signals south of your location... The performance difference is not extreme by any means, but the 7084 has a dB or more gain relative to the 7082. Either will work.

[Eroc]

What VHF low band stations can he receive?

[GroundUrMast]

What VHF low band stations can he receive?

At this point, none. But check the pending version of the posted TVFR and there is the expectation of a low power station on real CH-4.

An attic mounted antenna has a very long life expectancy, so if the OP wants to add the low-VHF ability now, certainly no harm done.

[Eroc]

Ahh did not see the pending station.

[ADTech]

It would be a surprise if that station ever goes on the air since it's a "zombie" station. As near as i can tell, none of that owner's stations are on the air despite their "zombie"-like march towards a big city.

http://houstondtv.wordpress.com/tag/kaho/

As predicted by that blogger, KAHO-LD has indeed applied to move downtown despite never having been on the air.

[teleview]

Even so , there Will Be other low band Tv channels of 2 thru 6 that will begin transmitting and with a All band antenna , will be ready to receive them.

And Yes , Tv stations like to have their transmitting antenna close to a group of other Tv transmitting antennas because it makes it easier for reception of the Tv stations by those that are receiving the Tv stations.

And often times it is part of the process of making the Tv station more sellable.

You see , commercial , and non commercial , and religion , and private , owners of a Tv stations buy and sell Tv stations.

It is not a crime , It is business to by and sell.

And it is business to improve or make a product look better. And make a profit.

[ba.cross]

In regards to pre amps, is a bigger db gains better or will it mess up signal I am trying to decide between AP8700 or AP 8275.

Brain

[GroundUrMast]

In regards to pre amps, is a bigger db gains better or will it mess up signal I am trying to decide between AP8700 or AP 8275.

Brain

No, bigger is not always better.

Try this installation with no preamp. You should have plenty of signal power to drive a 2-way splitter. The strong local signals plus FM signals may overload a preamp. If that happens, you'll have less reliable reception. If you use a large all channel or High-VHF + UHF antenna, it's going to have directive gain already. Directive gain is better than amplifier gain, it can't be overloaded and it does not add any additional noise or distortion to the signal.

An amplifier serves the purpose of overcoming losses caused by cable and splitters on the output side of the amplifier. Amplifiers are not able to receive any signal by themselves and they don't improve the performance of anything (including antennas) connected to the input of the amplifier. Selection of an amplifier is typically based on the distribution system losses, (cable + splitter losses). You also need to consider the strength and number of signals, being careful to avoid overloading the amplifier. Finally, most preamps with high gain, are intended for weak signal applications... which yours is not.

[teleview]

Your location has Many strong Tv transmissions.

Look at the Long list of Many strong Digital Tv stations/channels , in the Green and Yellow reception zones of the Pending Applications Included channel list of the tvfool report.

Installing a preamplifier is not indicated.