Request guidance on antenna equipment and setup

[blu merle]

Hi,

We’ve been reading through this forum and after seeing your advice, we'd appreciate guidance regarding what you think might be the best antenna and set-up for OTA tv.

Here’s the report: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d46ae44e55327d2

Some details in case they help:

-Rabbit ears hooked up to our HTPC (Haughppaugh TV Tuner Card 2250 ) pulls in ABC, CBS, and sometimes Fox and CW. All of them pixilate at some time or other with Fox and CW being the most finicky.

-Stations we’re interested in (HD versions):
PBS
FOX
CW
ABC
NBC
CBS

-Location wise a bit lower in elevation from the rest of our neighborhood, lots of tall trees (poplars, southern pines).

-Roof installation is not an option at this time, so our attic will have to do. 2 story house with a day basement, so the back of the house which faces the direction of the majority of transmitters is essentially 3 stories. Roof is a very steep pitch, asphalt shingles over OSB sheathing.

-Preferred method is to run the antenna cable to the media home run in the basement, approx. 50 ft. Then feed that to the rest of the house via a splitter of some sort, longest run at 50 ft.

-Total number of outlets to use actively is 3, but eventually may need/want to connect other existing outlets (up to 7 or 8).

-Currently have Leviton 3x8 enhanced RF distribution module, 1 GHz (Cat No. 47692-3By) unused and available. Here’s the link: http://www.levitonproducts.com/catalog/model_47692-3BY.htm?sid=11F98F9C72CD10044C0F1DF7CB5BF5A2&pid=1208

Thanks for the help!

[teleview]

Install a Antenna Craft , HBU44 antenna aimed at about 63 degree magnetic compass direction.

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

Use a Real and Actual magnetic compass to aim antenna.

For 1 , 2 , 3 , Tv's connected , Test reception without a amplifier.

[blu merle]

Thanks for the reply! That's a bit bigger than we were looking at but that's why we came to you guys. I'll make a mock-up of it later today to see how it fits amongst the eves.

I have a few more questions if you don't mind. Does the antenna need to be grounded even though it's in the attic? And, we have the HTPC hooked up to an APC Back-UPS Pro 1000. This has a coax input on it supposedly for filtering/surge suppression (info from website below). Would hooking up the coax be a good idea, or would it drop the signal too much and not give any real value?

Surge Protection and Filtering
Surge energy rating 354 Joules
Filtering Full time multi-pole noise filtering :5% of IEEE surge let-through : zero clamping response time: instantaneous
Data Line Protection Network line - 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet (RJ-45 connector), Coaxial cable for CATV/SATV/modem/Audio-Video (coax connector)

[teleview]

As to the surge protector.

The surge protector will most likely not degrade reception.

[GroundUrMast]

My personal preference is to ground the coax shield regardless of whether the antenna is mounted in the attic or outdoors. In the case of the attic install you have no significant risk of a lighting strike, but you would still want the circuit breaker to trip if power came in contact with the coax. (It has happened... A nail or screw driven into a wall, resulting in damage to power and TV cables for example.)

If you have a splitter in the system, it likely has a connection lug for a ground lead. A cheap and easy step for most installations.

http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=901

[blu merle]

Thanks for the help, guys.

BTW, I have another post sent last night you can ignore now. :)