Antenna recommendations
 

Hi,

First off thanks for any help and or advice upfront. Cord cutters unite :) !

Im looking for advice on what antenna will bring in real channels 8 - 32 at the 350 azimuth. Right now I have the RCA ANT751R Compact Yagi HDTV Antenna temporally mounted at ground level ( it is pointed directly at a tree BTW) and I am getting real channels 19,20,25 & 27. I plan on putting something permanent on the roof at about 25 to 30 feet up but I only want to go up there one time.
Grounding is also going to be a bit of an issue too because my main power will be on the opposite side of the house getting to it would add about hundred foot of RG6. So thoughts on driving a ground rod?

Once again thanks in advance for your help.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...90383fca9b9c9a

You can install a 5/8" x 8' ground rod directly below your antenna. Then you will need to connect the new ground rod to the ground rod at your service entrance using #4 solid copper wire. The new ground rod should be driven a few inches below the soil surface and the copper ground wire should be buried a few inches or more to protect it from damage.

Do not neglect the part about connecting the new ground rod to your service entrance ground. That insures that the two ground rods maintain the same electric potential and prevents some serious issues from occurring with voltage differentials that could cause significant problems.

I agree with Tim... If you opt to add a ground rod, it's necessary that you bond it to the existing electrical service ground system. It's not just some arbitrary 'code' issue. As Tim said, without a solid connection with rather heavy gauge wire, there can be problematic or even dangerous voltage differences between your antenna system and the rest of the existing grounded electrical system in the event of an electrical fault.

When you consider the cost of running #6 or heavier wire from your antenna system + new ground rod, it usually makes sense to skip the added rod... simply run a #10 AWG mast grounding lead back to the existing electrical service ground and spend the time and money to run the coax parallel with the mast grounding wire... grounding the coax at the existing electrical service. For most newer homes, this also makes sense because the pre-wired cabling in the home terminates near the electrical service meter & it's grounding system.


Adding 100' of coax will result in some attenuation, but a good quality preamp can overcome all that loss and provide for splitting to multiple sets. The Antennas Direct 'Juice' preamp is nearly a 'universal' application preamp.

Given that you already have the ANT-751, I would suggest that you try getting it above the nearby trees. It may not be enough antenna in the end but you may be pleasantly surprised.

If it fails to give you reliable reception when it's above the nearby trees I'd opt for at least a Winegard HD7694P though the HD7698P would not be too extreme IMO.

Thanks much for the knowledge. Getting to the existing ground and using a AMP makes the most since so that’s what I will do. I’ll also go ahead and get my existing ANT-751 up to the roof just to see what comes in. I didn’t want to make a bunch of trips up a ladder but the wife wants the smallest antenna possible Sooo before I invest in the Winegard I might as well give what I have a try. From reading other post I guess it does boil down to trial and Era every situation is going to be different.....I’ll let y’all know how the 751 works out at height.

Thanks again for the advice!

Please explain specifically what "some serious issues" could be. And what you mean by "electric potential." Any past examples of what has gone wrong when you don't follow your recommendations above that you could think of, would be helpful too.

I think this would help many people understand better in "real time" what issues you are raising concern about here. It would help translate code issues into everyday life.

Thanks Tim and GroundUrMast for your input!

Okay so just got off my roof and did a rescan and went from 13 channels to 56. What a difference 20ish feet makes. I am even getting the VHF channels. Nothing is mounted permanent yet and I still have to ground but at least I know I’m good to go.

Thanks again for the input it really helped working out what I needed to do and pushing me to just get it done. No more cable for me, should save me about 80$ a month.

This is a topic worth discussing and understanding... To avoid high-jacking the OP's thread, let's have the conversation in the existing thread: https://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=901

Sorry for the misunderstanding, GroundUrMast. I wasn't trying to high-jack John951s thread.

Since John brought up the grounding issue as part of his query, and I've seen this issue numerous times on TV Fool, I thought it would be helpful to folks for clarification from you Techs who know the "ins and outs" about this issue. Especially when NEC and related issues are not understood in laymen's terms by many people.

I appreciate the thread you forwarded.....Thanks again.....

P.S. Just read quickly through the thread you forwarded, but seems it brings up more questions than answers. It's too bad some people get worked up about this issue. For me, safety first (good advise that too many don't follow) and common sense can take you a long ways.....I'll post my questions on that thread.....BTW, congratulations John951 for improving your OTA TV reception at your location! Indeed, TV Fool is a very helpful tool for the issues you raised!