Again, thanks for all the advice. This has actually been a fun journey from being clueless about OTA antennas to learning from people who know what they are talking about. I'm pretty excited to try the ideas that have been presented. It will cost a little more, but hey, I'm saving by not not giving my money to the satellite company. (my wife points out, after the DVR, we are about even, right now)
I have to share a quick story about a little added cost to my project. When I was moving that Huge Winegard 7698 around in the attic, I slipped and knocked a hole in my ceiling above my second story staircase. My wife was not amused. How big was the hole? Roughly, a size 11 shoe. Luckily, drywall is cheap. It took me an extra weekend because I needed the sand in between coats of mud, then letting the texture dry. Home Depot does a great job of matching paint colors when you bring in a sample of what i broke out
i have one more story, but I am going to save that for another post.