Antenna Recommendation
 

Hey folks been reading the boards and still can't figure out the best antenna for my situation.

I would like to install the antenna in the crawl space/unfinshed part of the attic. The attic back wall faces north and the roof slope faces northwest , 2 areas that the antenna could be mounted, it's about 30 to 32 feet above ground.

All the sations I want face north or northwest, and only 1 channel I want is VHF which is WTNH about 21 miles away and the furthest channel I care about recieving is WFSB UHF 36 miles away.
https://www.tvfool.com/modeling/tmp/...ar-Digital.png

would an uhf 8 bay antenna like the Channel Master CM 4228 get the job done? Whats the best way to pull in the one VHF channel I want? Thanks for the help in advice.

Greetings KBEX,

Your report is reasonably straightforward. Installing in the attic complicates things though. You'll find many here including myself do not favor attic installations for the unpredictable effects it can have. These include multipath and electrical interference that would make an otherwise reliable channel unreliable. Further, you have a complicating factor in that your Hartford broadcasts at magnetic 350 are down in the 20 (nm) db range. This is important because once you start to get to about 30-25 (nm) in signal strength, there may not be enough signal to penetrate your roof. The translation here is that anything below 30 (nm) db in strength may be unreliable in an attic installation. The main cluster from Hartford is in that category.

All that said, I would install a two antenna system outdoors and clear of any obstructions. For UHF, a Antennas Direct DB8e pointed to heading 350. I would add a small VHF capable antenna such as the Antennacraft HBU11 and I would point it to magnetic 311.

How many TVs do you wish to serve and how long do you project your cable runs to be?

Cheers.

Thank you StephanieS,

I kinda feared that, I prewired the crawlspace and put an electrical outlet several years ago, besides the grounding it wouldnt be much more work for me to put the antenna on the outside of the house, the crawl/attic would still be a good hub.
Due to high winds off the water and ease of installation, I would prefer to put the antenna on a j-mount on the northfacing back side of the house. The Antenna would be unobstructed facing north/northeast towards the stations and it's finished height would be around 33 feet above the ground. Does that sound like a decent plan?

We have 3 tvs in total , 2 are watched 99 percent of the time. I would to be able to run a signal to 3 of them, but I really only need 2.
Thanks again.

A J-pole mount actually is less reliable in higher wind areas than a traditional tripod or chimney mount. A couple years ago a strong thunderstorm and "redirected" my J-pole mount. I had it tightened down beyond sufficiently however, mother nature bent metal and I had to remove the J-pole.

There is also a consideration that a J-pole isn't going to be adequate for mounting a DB8e and HBU11. Normally, the J-pole is fine with smaller single antennas. Larger, stronger antennas require more room, plus you need to be able to ideally have 6' or so of accessible pole space to mount the DB8e on top, and 4' below HBU11. A single J-Pole isn't the way to go in this case. You can see here that the DB8e uses all the space available:

http://www.northwestfirearms.com/att...nna-jpg.85379/

You could add a second J-Pole with the HBU11 4' away from the DB8e. The 4' away distance is important because if the antennas get to close they can alter each others reception properties.

A stronger more weather tolerant system though would be similar to what I have installed with a roof mounted tripod:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ctures1491.jpg

Or chimney mount:

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/8...0503144040.jpg

For this recommendation, I am not going to suggest a mast mounted preamp. Instead, the DB8e and the HBU11 will be combined via a mast mounted Antennas Direct EU385CF combiner. This takes the VHF signal from the HBU11, the UHF signal from the DB8e and combines them into one lead. A preamp is often recommended on the mast. In your situation with three splits of the signal I often prefer to make sure each split is getting amplification at the split instead of pushing it down from the mast through the splitter.

The distribution amplifier you'll need will be a Channel Master 3414. This will reside in your house at your point where the signal gets split three ways. The nice thing about the CM 3414 you'll have an option to add a 4th feed off the antenna system in the future due to it being a 4 port unit.

Your elevation is good, it's just settling on the mounting system that works whether you go with 2 J-Pole mounts 4' apart then combined via a EU385CF, mast mount or tripod mount. The antennas are the easy part, it's the installation that works for you.

With the antennas outdoors, all of Hartford should all things being equal be reliable.

Cheers.

I'd beg to differ since it depends more on what the J-mount is attached to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h30udVLNfSs

55 m/s = 123 mph which is a strong cat 3 hurricane wind speed. You will notice that the DB8e's J-mount is clamped to a steel I-beam so as to eliminate the variability of the mounting surface.

thank you for the response & all the info Stephanie , thanks ADtech for that video.
I think for my needs the 2 antenaa, 2 J Pole solution is the way to go. I have a dormer on the west side to mount the HBU11 4, both antennas wold be space by 10 feet or so. If the chminey wasnt 100 years old I would have gone that route, but i dont want to add any stress to it. I do like the idea of easy access either by ladder or window for adjustment reasons for th j mounts.

I'm wondering is there's a similar bowtie /bay antenna alternative to the HBU11, I can almost pull in the one VHF channel I need with just a piece of coax hanging out the back of the tv.
I was looking at something like a 2bay vhf/uhf combo I could possibly pull in some stations across long island sound.
Thanks again.

ANtennas Direct has a VHF Retrofit kit that may meet your needs - https://www.antennasdirect.com/store/Reflectors.html

thanks timgr I was able to buy a Channel Master CM-4228HD for a decent price locally originally just to run some tests up in the attic and I'm pulling in both VHF stations easily, so I may just keep this model since it wont require a second antenna.

Just an update with the CM-4228 I'm sucessfully recieving all stations up in the attic through a window facing directly north. WFSB was the toughest to pull in but comes in clear at night and a peak signal around 57 on the Panansonic tv signal meter.

The leaves are still on the trees, so imagine with the added bonus of a preamp,being outside facing the antenna local and additional mast height I should be in business with a real clear picture. Going to install the grounding rod this weekend and order the rest of the equipment
Again thanks for the help everyone very much appreciated