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Old 18-Nov-2016, 3:41 AM   #1
stonesif
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Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 3
Best antenna for rural Maine?

Here's my report: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...dfaff281c68a4a I'd ideally like to get the major networks (PBS, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX).

My current plan is to try an antenna in the attic. I know, I know, but it's a new house and my wife wants to save a roof mounted for the last resort. If the antenna doesn't work, buy an amplifier. And then if that doesn't get the results I want, put it on the roof.

I'm currently looking at a DB8 antenna like this one, or a Yagi type like this one. Would you recommend either of these, something similar, or a different one altogether? Thanks!
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Old 18-Nov-2016, 1:46 PM   #2
rickbb
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 341
Your unlikely to be happy with an attic mount especially on a new house. New houses tend to have that foil backed paper under the shingles. It blocks a lot of signal.

But you might get lucky, the house may not have that issue or be built so the roof line is pointed at your towers allowing you to aim the antenna out of the gable end.

You have a mix of VHF and UHF with many Low VHF stations so I'd rule out a bow tie style like the DB8. The Yagi you linked to is a good antenna, but does not do low VHF.
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Old 19-Nov-2016, 1:46 AM   #3
WIRELESS ENGINEER
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Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Eastern Ohio
Posts: 101
Neither of those antennas would be good since most of your channels are VHF
I would suggest 2 vhf/UHF combination antennas aimed in the two different directions you need or one on a rotator
Warren electronics shows they have the Winegard Hd7078p in stock for 79 dollars and 2 of those and a antenna coupler would likely get you going
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Old 19-Nov-2016, 12:55 PM   #4
wizwor
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 55
stonesif, I recently had the pleasure of spending a weekend in a place called Ebeemee Township which is about 100 miles north of you. Those folks are so far away from things that their DirecTV dishes only pick up SD tv and their local channels are New York. I was there for the first game Tom Brady played this year and was assured there were places where the game could be watched. This is their tvfool report...

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...e2cb2d281330e5

I brought a Stellar Labs 30-2476 and a length of fence rail with me (looked like a lance on the side of my Ford Focus). We pointed the antenna south, snaked 50' of coax into the house and watched the Patriots crush the browns. We pulled in WABI (CBS, CW, and Decades) and WVII (ABC and Fox).

https://freetvforme.wordpress.com/20...patriot-games/

I noticed a LOT of antennas on houses as I drove from 95 to Ebeemee Township. I'm confident you can have success and I would encourage you to knock on the doors of people who have antennas on their roofs to see how much success they have had and what is working for them. Leverage that.

I happen to have a couple antennas in my attic and I happen to have just sided my house this summer. We sided the house with vinyl and they wrapped and insulated the house before putting the siding up. There was no attenuation whatsoever...

https://freetvforme.wordpress.com/20...iding-my-home/

I have heard of foil backed insulation, but not too many attics are insulated. You should be able to determine whether this will be a problem by doing a visual inspection. If you have to shoot through a roof, metal is a shield and even wet asphalt can dampen your signal.

My first question is what is the orientation of your home? If your roof peak runs from southwest to northeast, you will be shooting through the peak. You need to worry about the siding and insulation. If it runs from southeast to northwest, you will be shooting through the roof in most cases.

Your channel list...

UHF
WFYW 41 37 Three Angels Network
WPFO 23 218 Fox, Grit, and Comet
WGME 38 228 CBS, GetTV, and American Sports Network
WCSH 44 232 NBC, Justice, and Antenna TV

VHF-LOW
WGCI 4 359 NBC, Justice, and Antenna TV
WLBZ 2 67 NBC, Justice, and Antenna TV

VHF-HIGH
WCBB 10 218 PBS, World, and Create
WABI 13 58 CBS, CW, and Decades
WMEB 9 58 PBS, World, and Create
WVII 7 67 ABC and Fox
WMTW 8 233 ABC and Heroes and Icons

Unless you are interested in Three Angels, you can point a good UHF antenna to 225 degrees and should be able to pull in the other three stations. I would use a 91xg for this. Unless WCSH does not pan out, I would ignore the VHF-LOW stations altogether. I would point a Stellar Labs 30-2476 67 degrees and not worry about WMTW and WCBB.

Two yagi style antennas (hopefully) at two peaks of your house coupled with an RCA TVPRAMP1Z seems like a good place to start.

The Stellar Labs antennas are inexpensive. You might want to get a couple...

https://freetvforme.wordpress.com/20...-labs-30-2476/

Have fun!
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