Blocked by a hill in San Carlos, CA

[napali]

Hello,

I live in San Carlos, CA. We moved just a few blocks south, but now a hill blocks direct Line Of Sight view to the San Francisco TV towers. The basic indoor rabbit ears antenna, which used to work fine at the old location, no longer pulls any of the San Francisco channels, although the East Bay channels (with direct LOS) still work fine. Here's the TVFool report at 10ft above ground:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...05598c3a8fe4a9

Just in case, a report at 25ft is below (it's 1-2dB better for SF stations):

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...05595d343e2ff8

Could someone be so nice to recommend an antenna for my situation? I understand I'd need at least attic if not the rooftop antenna. If it has to be rooftop, then something relatively small and discrete would be a plus.

The channels I'm interested in are all in the 12-50 range, so hopefully an UHF-only antenna might work. The weakest channel we'd like to receive would be KBCW (2Edge 14.3dB according to TVFool). And I understand the antenna will probably have to be quite directional and point to SF (at around 330 degrees), but if it could still pull KQEH from the side (91 degrees LOS 41.2dB), it would be nice.

Also, for the rooftop installation. How many feet of cable length would be okay without a pre-amp? I have two opposite corners of the house as candidates for the antenna location: the best candidate is about 60 ft away from the TV, and the second best is only 22-25 ft.


Hope I didn't miss anything - but if I did, just ask. Thank you in advance!

The Current Broadcast Tv stations/channels that are transmitted and received in the , USA , Canada , Mexico , are.

VHF low band channels 2 thru 6.

VHF high band channels 7 thru 13.

UHF band channels 14 thru 51.

Your location has receivable Broadcast Tv stations/channels , All 3 Tv bands.

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Install a Antenna Craft HD850 All channel antenna Above The Peak of the roof in such a manner that the reception is not impeded and blocked by the roof and house in the directions of , north west , north , north east , east.

Aim the Antenna Craft HD850 antenna at about 325 degree magnetic compass direction. San Francisco.

Here is how to aim the HD850 antenna , http://www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html.

The groups of Tv stations to the ~ east ~ , are Strong Signal Strength are LOS=Line Of Sight and as such , will be received at back angle and front angle to the HD850 All channel antenna.

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Here are some above the roof antenna mounts.

http://www.ronard.com/909911.html.
Use the 5 foot tripod antenna mount , ronard (911) .

http://www.ronard.com/34424560.html , Use the , ronard (4560) , eave antenna mount.

http://www.ronard.com/ychim.html.
Measure the chimney , and use a , ronard (2212) or ronard (2218) or ronard (2224) .

Buy the ronard antenna mounts at solidsignal by typing , ronard (x) , inthe solidsignal search box or buy from ronard.

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Here are some places to buy antennas and etc. .

http://www.solidsignal.com.

http://www.amazon.com.

http://www.antennacraft.net.

http://www.ronard.com.

http://www.winegardirect.com.

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It is Ok to Test reception first With a Winegard LNA-100 'Boost' antenna system amplifier.

And then without the LNA-100.
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For 1 Tv connected use No splitter.

For 2 Tv's connected use a simple common 2 way splitter.

For 3 Tv's connected use a simple common 3 way splitter.

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As always , trees and tree leaves , plants and plant leaves , have a Negative effect on Broadcast Tv reception and so do hills and mountains and buildings including you own roof and house and other obstructions.

The Best Practice is to install the HD850 antenna at a location that has the least amount to no amount of obstructions of any type or kind in the directions of reception including your own roof and house.

Digital Tv Tuners can develop - Digital Glitches - that are not cleared out with simple channels scans.

Do a Double Rescan , http://www.dtv.gov/rescan.html.

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Here is the Federal Antenna Law that says Yes you can install a Broadcast Tv Receive Antenna of Any Size above the roof so as to have reliable reception.

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html.

[napali]

Thanks a lot for a quick and detailed response, teleview! I did a search on Antenna Craft HD850, and I fully agree with you, it should work reliably for my case.

However, I can't help but wonder if this would be an overkill for me. With 81" of length and 111" of width, it may not fit into the attic. I totally understand the bigger is better, and the higher is better, and roof is better than attic, but I also want to minimize the hassle involved, even if it means I won't be able to watch all possible channels that I could with, say, Winegard HD-8200U.

The channels I care for are in 27-50 range, plus the only VHF-HI channel 12, and that channel comes with respectable NM of 38.0. Am I really wrong to assume that a compact UHF antenna that is not too bad for channel 12 could work? For example, according to http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/TemporaryPage.html, AntennasDirect ClearStream 4 has -5dB gain at channel 12 along with very solid 11-12dB gain on my UHF channels. It's very compact, and would easily fit in the attic at the location I was considering.

Also, how about compact combo antennas, such as RCA ANT751, Channel Master CM2016 and Winegard HD-1080? Would these be too weak for my needs if I mount them just outside my window with clear view of the blocking hill (and no nearby obstructions)?

And if those won't work, what about medium-sized Winegard HD-7694P and AntennaCraft HBU22? Sorry, you can probably tell I did some qoogling since I read your response.

Finally, I'm afraid I didn't understand your suggestion here:

It is Ok to Test reception first With a Winegard LNA-100 'Boost' antenna system amplifier.
And then without the LNA-100.

You mean to buy it together with the antenna, and then return it if it doesn't improve reception? Or you mean trying it with my existing rabbit ears first?

Thanks again!

Yes you are free to test all of the antennas that you have listed at your location.

If a antenna you have listed works Ok then you are good to go.

If not , send it back and try another one.

If I were to recommend a antenna that you have listed , I would recommend a ANT751 above the roof in such a manner that the roof and house are not blocking reception to the , north west , north , north east , east.

Aim the ANT751 at about 325 degree magnetic compass direction.

And yes you are free to start with the ANT751 in the attic and then move the ANT751 to the roof.

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The LNA-100 is to be used with the antenna I have recommended or the antennas you have listed.

And you can also try the LNA-100 with Non amplified rabbit ears indoor type antenna.

If you choose , you can do a test with the LNA-100 , first connect the LNA-100 , and then scan for channels , then remove the LNA-100 and see if any channels are not received.

When LNA-100 is removed , do not , scan for channels , it is a test to see what happens to reception without the LNA-100.

[napali]

Thank you, teleview! It looks like ANT571 can be bought at Walmart (although a bit far from where I live), so I can try that first (probably in a few days though).

In the meantime, it seems that the (unpublished) UHF gain for ANT571 is only around 5dBd. Would that be enough for a 2Edge 14dB signal, and does it handle multi-path well?

With regards to LNA-100, it seems that it's not a preamp, so I'd have to place it at the TV, possibly after 60 feet of RG-6. So it won't help with signal loss in the cable, I presume.

Also, could anyone else on this forum comment please? It would be helpful for me to hear a second opinion..

[patrick_here]

napali,
I live in Redwood City and would be happy to share my antenna experiences with you. I sent you a message through this forum. (go to >Forum>UserOptions>PrivateMessages>ListMessages>). That message has my email address.

-Patrick