help for renters

[gl9526]

I am renting a 2 story house with a large attic. Would anyone have an idea for which antenna I could use to get kcwx (channel 2) I have tried a cheap rca brand and a bit more expensive flat type antenna without ability to get the channel.

Here is my signal analysis
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d1dda2855f82f09

[elmo]

Channel 2 is broadcast on Real Ch 5, which is low VHF. So you need an antenna that has good Lo-VHF performance. I'm guessing the one's you have now, esp the expensive flat antenna, is tuned more for UHF.

If that's the only channel you want, you would look for something like the AntennaCraft Y5-2-6. It's designed for Lo-VHF. You will want to aim it north. There's a couple of elevation changes between you and the towers, hence the 2Edge rating. So don't be surprised if you get better reception turned a little NE or NW. Even a few degrees higher aim over a flat horizon could benefit.

Be sure to consider your attic construction - metal roofs, foil wrapped HVAC ducts, etc will play havoc with your reception. And trees, other buildings, etc; anything north of you that's big and nearby will affect reception.

[gl9526]

It is not the only channel I would like but it is the furthest one I have tried to get. Will that antenna get the other 4 major stations that are a bit closer with it aimed north?

Thanks

[GroundUrMast]

The Y5-2-6 and the Winegard YA620 are specialty "Cut-to-Band" antennas. They are designed to cover the frequency range of real channels 2 through 6 only (Low-VHF). You should not expect them to serve as a general purpose 'all-channel' antenna.

As elmo has already mentioned, the small flat antennas are generally UHF only designs ( real channels 14 through 51). In addition to KCWX on real CH-5, you have a mix of UHF and High-VHF (real channels 7 through 13) signals to receive, so a UHF only design would not be ideal.

If I was in your situation, starting from scratch, I would use two antennas and a combiner. The main antenna would be a Winegard HD7694P which is designed to receive all but the L-VHF channels. It would be pointed at about 110° per a compass. The second antenna would be one of the Low-VHF options mentioned above, pointed north. The signals to the west, real CH-26 & 32 should be received through the back of the HD7694P.

The combiner is a bit of a specialty item too. Here's a source, http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=zhlsj&d=blonder-tongue-band-separator/combiner-hlsj-vhf-band-high-low-antenna-separator-combiner-single-piece-%28zhlsj-1%29. The device is a set of tuned filters that pass low-band TV signals on one port and the rest of the channels on the other port. This prevents the two antennas from interfering with each other when combined to a single down-lead.