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Originally Posted by vt6364
Yes, the flat roof is outdoor, but it's facing South where there are fewer channels (the north side of this area is hitting the south wall of the 2nd-story part). And Yes, the attic is under the concrete-tile roof; not only that, there are lots of foil-covered air ducts and AC/FAU equipments in there too!
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Attic install is going to be a challenge.
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When I "tried pointing half of the DB8e at 80degT outside my front window, and lost many channels", I actually detached the 2 parts and connect the TV directly to the balun (didn't know that box houses a balun inside though). Once I conluded that a DB4 is not enough, I put them back and never decoupled them again. So I left the 2 halves coupled when trying it in the attic.
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Did you rezero the tuner after dropping one of the DB4s? This could make a difference in the channels found. Also, you have decent signal coming from the South, I'd think a DB4 would be sufficient for that direction but the 80deg direction it might not be sufficient.
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Ah, I see what you're doing. Sounds simple enough I will try it and let you know. What's the max thickness this VHF element can be? I have some of the more-common 12-14 AWG wire around in my garage, but not 8 or 10. I am thinking maybe I can find some aluminum sticks or something that are as thick as the bowtie elements themselve. Would that be even better?
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Wire gauge gets thinner as the number goes up. You could use 12 or 14 AWG as a test, it will be easier to attach to the set screws. Thicker is better for radio reception but I'd be very careful about over torqueing those set screws trying to get some big fat element under them. They probably would strip out pretty easily so be careful. If you are planning on returning the DB8 you could just run the test with the thinner wire, it should work but support them with some kind of plastic standoff at the ends so they don't sag too much. The nice thing about copper is that it is very malleable so you can just flatten the ends with a hammer to make a thin connector that will fit under the set screws.
The real point of the test is to aim a DB4 South and rezero and rescan your tuner and see what channels you get at what signal levels. Add the VHF mod and rezero and rescan and see if you pickup the VHF stations or if they come in at a higher signal level and it doesn't trash the UHF stations you got in the pre-test.