Help me choose an antenna please

[mtehonica]

Hi Guys,

I need help choosing an antenna for my setup. I want to be able to ditch cable since I usually only watch the main channels anyways. The antenna will have 2 HDTV's connected, roof mounted about 10-11 feet off the ground. Here is my report: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d60b5a9b5556da7

Thanks in advance!

[John Candle]

For your reception situation I recommend one antenna , Antenna Craft U4000 aimed at about 267 degree magnetic compass. Here is how to aim antennas , http://www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html. The tv stations to the , north west , west , south west , will be received. The tv stations to the east Will Be Received through the back side of the U4000. A advantage of the U4000 is that the horizontal reflector bars can be turned to the vertical position , this gets them out of the way so that more signal can be received at the V shaped receptor elements. The tv stations to the east are strong and the reflector bars should not need to be turned however if need be they can be turned.

[John Candle]

I also recommend a Antennas Direct CPA-19 preamp. Here are places to buy antennas and etc. , http://www.solidsignal.com , http://www.amazon.com , http://www.starkelectronic.com , http://www.3starinc.com

[mtehonica]

Great to hear! Think I'll need anything else to split the signal to 2 tv's (other than the splitter and coax)?

Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

[John Candle]

Read and understand about , REAL Digital Broadcast Tv Channels , Virtual Digital Broadcast Tv Channels , Analog Broadcast Tv Channels , http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=695. Here are tv guides , http://www.zap2it.com , http://television.aol.com , http://tv.yahoo.com , http://tv.entertainment.excite.com , http://www.tvzap.com , http://www.titantv.com. Most tv guides list the channels as virtual channels.

[mtehonica]

Thanks again!

[John Candle]

I recommend new RG-6 coax from the antenna and preamp too the tv. A simple common 2 way splitter will work Ok. Also here are some antenna mounts , http://www.ronard.com/909911.html , http://www.ronard.com/34424560.html , http://www.ronard.com/ychim.html

[mtehonica]

I recommend new RG-6 coax from the antenna and preamp too the tv. A simple common 2 way splitter will work Ok. Also here are some antenna mounts , http://www.ronard.com/909911.html , http://www.ronead.com/34424560.html , http://www.ronard.com/ychim.html

Thanks. The house has all new RG6 in it now so I'll just have to run new RG6 from the antenna to the splitter.

[mtehonica]

Do you think the preamp will be a necessity or should I try with it and add if needed? Or are you almost certain that I would need it?

Also, are there any antennas that are just as good? I may head to best buy or radio shack and see what they have before having to wait for it to be delivered.

[mtehonica]

Would this mount work with the u4000? http://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direct-Universal-Mounting-STM-715/dp/B000WOVD1Y/ref=zg_bs_10966881_4?_encoding=UTF8&zgs=electronics&zgrt=top-sellers&zgid=10966881

[mtehonica]

Would something like the Channel Master 4221HD work as well as the u4000? I'm looking for something that Amazon sells due to their easy return policy.

[John Candle]

Yes the J mount can be used to with the U4000 , the J mount and the U4000 need to be mounted up high above the roof. No the CM4221HD Will Not work as well as the U4000.

[John Candle]

Yes the CPA-19 preamp is needed.

[John Candle]

Antenna Craft makes antennas for radio shack. radioshack may have the U4000 in stock. I strongly recommend that you Do Not try and use any radio shack preamps. I have done my best to get you reception and informed you of the reasons why , with the least amount of grief and misery. Good luck on your quest.

[mtehonica]

Thanks again for all the help! One last question.... you said it needs to be mounted as high as possible on top of the roof... It's a single story house and the peak is probably 12 feet or so. If I use the j mount, within 6 inches or so of the peak, would that get it high enough? I guess with a 40" j mount, that would put the antenna about 14-15 feet above the ground?

[John Candle]

The origional calculated antenna height is 10 feet. 98.732497612234576158600126853295 % of the time higher is better. So yes higher is better. Mount the antenna in such a way that the antenna has as little obstruction as possible , not blocked by the roof , not blocked by a chimney and etc. , Antennas like the clearest possible view of the transmitting antennas.

[mtehonica]

Thanks again. Now I'm thinking about using a chimney mount kit for a couple reasons. No drilling into the roof and also it will get it another foot or so in the air.

[mtehonica]

Another noob question.... how far can the CPA19 be from the antenna? If it's within 10-15 feet, is that ok? Or does it need to be mounted like right to the pole?

[John Candle]

The reflectors bars on the Antenna Craft U4000 antenna are not blocked by any cross bars like the U8000 , so lift the clip and turn the reflector bars. For those of you that are reading this go to , DennisC question asking post to understand what it's about , http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=2182 , http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=2203

[GroundUrMast]

Another noob question.... how far can the CPA19 be from the antenna? If it's within 10-15 feet, is that ok? Or does it need to be mounted like right to the pole?

The best performance is obtained by mounting the preamp as close to the antenna as possible. I believe the CPA-19 ships with a 3' RG-6 cable for this purpose. The negative effect of adding another 10 feet is real, but minor. The effect would be like adding about 0.5 dB of noise to the system which would reduce the NM (noise margin) by that amount.

[mtehonica]

Thanks for the advice on the reflector bars on the u4000, John. Just got it today from SolidSignal, which has super fast shipping by the way! Not quite sure what you mean by "lift the clip and turn the reflector bars" but I'll try to figure it out. I temporarily mounted the u4000 in the back yard on a pole and sawhorse until this weekend and it already works really well! Can't wait to get it another 15 feet in the air and hook up the cpa19!

[mtehonica]

Could someone (probably GroundUrMast) explain the proper way of grounding my antenna/mast?

[inspector]

To ground an antenna. Take and drill a hole on the holding mast as best or us a clamp. A grounding wire has to ground. The best source for that is the ground (dirt). strip the casing from the wire and bury the exposed wire into the ground for the easiest way. The proper way would be to expose wire and then attach to a grounding rod and drive it into the ground. Pick a spot such in your case being at the house, under a down spout area as moisture helps with the grounding capabilities.

[GroundUrMast]

Thanks,

Ideally you would connect a #10 ga. copper wire (larger diameter wire is fine) to the mast. Home improvement stores carry a variety of electrical ground clamps that would serve the purpose. The other end of the ground wire would connect to the electrical service ground. Ideally, the wire would be as short as practical and run outside the building structure. Sharp bends should be avoided.

The coax shield should be grounded before entering the building. The preferred method would be to run the coax from the antenna down to a location close to the electrical service ground. There, install a coax ground block, and run a short length of #10 ga, copper wire to the electrical service ground.

If you elect to add a ground rod for what ever reason, it needs to be connected to the existing electrical service ground system with a #6 ga. copper wire (or larger diameter).

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

[mtehonica]

Thanks for the info GroundUrMast. Another question.... would the grounding change at all if the antenna was mounted to a 2x4? I have an 18" chimney on my roof which I'm going to attach a 2x4 to and mount http://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direct-Universal-Mounting-STM-715/dp/B000WOVD1Y/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_b on the 2x4 to attach the antenna.

Would I still need it grounded since it's mounting to wood?

[GroundUrMast]

I would go to the effort of grounding the J pole. The design of most antennas and matching transformers isolate the frame of the antenna from the shield of the coax.

[mtehonica]

I would go to the effort of grounding the J pole.

Thanks. Another question (I know, I'm a noob, haha).... If I have the main down feed from the antenna coming into my basement directly to a splitter and that splitter is grounded, would that satisfy my grounding requirement?

[GroundUrMast]

Splitters often include a grounding lug which serves the purpose just as well as a 'grounding block'.

Ideally there would be no more than 5 feet of coax between the splitter and entry point through the wall. I choose to keep all of the grounding system outside the building when possible. (Some older homes have no ground rod(s) and simply rely on water supply pipe for 'earth ground' in which case there may be no better choice than to connect to the pipe at the same point where the electrical service makes it's ground connection.)

[mtehonica]

Ideally there would be no more than 5 feet of coax between the splitter and entry point through the wall.

Yeeeaaahhhh.... haha, probably going to be about 50'-75' from the antenna to the splitter.

[inspector]

Your antenna being the highest point of the house will now be the attachment of lightning. You still may want to ground it for the safety of your house. If you do not give the lightning a path to ground its self, it will use what ever it can find. This will usually result with a fire and blown out dry wall. I have attached a e how blurt as to why and how you may still want to ground.
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4588127_lightning-rod-protect-house.html

[mtehonica]

Thanks for all the help guys. Got the antenna mounted up this weekend. It ended up being about 20' in the air. Now I just have to work on the grounding (which I know should have been done before it even got mounted). Can someone point me to some links with exactly what I would need? I'm not sure what type of grounding block/static discharge block, etc.

Here are a few pics of the setup...

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/36/img3605z.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/3/img3606pj.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/850/img3607z.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/62/img3608ht.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/26/img3610fz.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/155/img3611kl.jpg/

[GroundUrMast]

A Grounding clamp - pipe (http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=202335820&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&isShowFreeShipping=true&ci_sku=202335820&amtLeftForFreeShip=45.00&ci_src=14110944&isOrderQualifiesForFreeShip=false&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D27X-_-202335820&locStoreNum=4706) can be used to make a solid connection to an antenna mast. Some people just add a washer under one of the bolts that hold the mast mounting bracket and then use the bolt to clamp the ground wire to the mast and bracket assembly. Be sure that the ground wire makes metal to metal contact (not wire to paint).

A Split-bolt (http://www.homedepot.com/buy/electrical/electrical-tools-accessories/blackburn/2-solid-to-6-solid-split-bolt-connector-64770.html) is used to connect ground wire to existing heavy gauge wire such as the cable from your service panel to the ground rod.

A Ground rod clamp (http://www.homedepot.com/buy/outdoors-fencing-electric-fencing-fencing/zareba-brass-ground-rod-clamps-3-pack-181526.html) is useful if you are going to connect ground wire directly to a ground rod.

A Coax ground block (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2150597) is a simple way to make a grounding connection to the coax shield.

As you see, most or all of these parts are normal stock items at the home improvement stores. I didn't spend much time looking for the single coax block on the Home Depot web site, but I found dual blocks (for satellite and multiple antenna installs). I'm fairly certain they carry both styles.

The #10 wire is available by the foot, bare or with insulation. Home Depot also stocks Scotch brand #2228 Moisture Sealing Electrical tape, useful for sealing coax connectors from the elements.