Antenna advise needed

[vitas]

Hi,
would someone give me an antenna advise based on the analysis below:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d27ee48976b0bd6

I am considering antenna that will receive both digital and analog signals. Is it possible to put antenna in the attic?

Thank you.

[jayinc1]

i am not a technical guy but i built this antenna here (http://www.tvantennaplans.com/) and it's great. it gets 52 channels in north dallas area and i am satisfied with it. i have it in the attic as it has no WAF value (i.e. wife acceptance value LOL).

[mtownsend]

It looks like all your channels with the exception of CICT (ch 41) come from a signal direction (compass heading 316 degrees). Most of them are also pretty strong.

Since you have multiple channels in the high and low VHF bands, you'd be best off with a full-band combo antenna like the Winegard HD7080P. Since your strongest channels are quite strong, I strongly recommend against using any kind of amp in your setup. With signals at this level, most amps would be overloaded in this situation.

Yes, you can put the antenna in the attic. However, to compensate for some building loss, you may want to consider going up one antenna size to something like the Winegard HD7082P. This can help with channels that are lower down in your list near the "red" zone, like CHCA (ch 44).

The amount of signal loss through your roof depends on many unknown factors like construction type and amount of conductive materials (e.g., nails, ducts, plumbing, electrical wiring, metal bracing, wire mesh, foil sheeting, etc.). Many people have had good results with attic-installed antennas, but each situation is unique, so your mileage may vary.

BTW, the antenna itself doesn't care whether the signal is analog or digital, nor does it care whether the signal is carrying standard definition or high definition programming. Any marketing claims that say an antenna is specially designed for digital television or HD programming is pure hype.

[vitas]

Thank you for reply.
What kind of converter do I need to receive digital signals. My Hitachi TV seems doesn't have that capability.

Thanks.

[mtownsend]

If your TV does not have the ability to receive ATSC signals (look for this acronym in the TV's manual), then you'll need a converter box like any of the ones from this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_CECB_units

The "Coupon Eligible Converter Boxes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CECB)" do the work of tuning to digital TV signals and converting them to a format (like composite video, S-Video, RF channel 3, etc.) that can be fed into your TV like you would connect a VCR.

Millions of these boxes were made around the time of the US transition to digital television (June 12, 2009). Now that the transition is over in the US, there are not as many places selling these boxes, but you should still be able to some. The Canadian transition to digital TV is scheduled for August 31, 2011.

[Dave Loudin]

i am not a technical guy but i built this antenna here (http://www.tvantennaplans.com/) and it's great. it gets 52 channels in north dallas area and i am satisfied with it. i have it in the attic as it has no WAF value (i.e. wife acceptance value LOL).

The plans at that site are actually a little too small for best performance over the UHF band. A better alternative is discussed here (http://m4antenna.eastmasonvilleweather.com/index.html). Comparisons between these bowtie designs are here (http://imageevent.com/holl_ands/multibay/compare;jsessionid=fg6jvg8ez1.zebra_s).

[vitas]

I have built antenna according to drawing. First I did it without screen attached in the back. Some stations were a bit weak. When I added screen the signal went up very significantly. Now everything works great.
Thank you for help.

[Dave Loudin]

For my benefit, was it the design with 5 3/4 inch spacing between elements or the one I pointed to. The design I pointed to performs MUCH better for stations broadcasting on channels 14-20 and has better gain on the high-VHF channels (7-13) than a dipole.

[vitas]

I made smaller version but it does the work. My house is about 10-12 miles from TV stations. Again the screen helped a lot. I attached a grill similar to those in the oven.