Another n00b Needing Help

[Kae006]

Hey guys, I'm Keith from Texas. My wife and I are officially cutting the cord from DirecTv next Wednesday and plan to use Netflix and Redbox Instant for the bulk of our viewing but I would like to have the local channels for football season and my daily news fix as well. Aesthetically, I would love to be able to stay inside the attic but I don't believe that is possible as I have a radiant barrier decking in my attic (has anyone had any success with metallic roof decking and reaching channels w/in 50 miles on an attic install?). I'm okay with going on the roof but would like to keep it as fashionable as possible as I don't care too much for my wife's complaining and we are in a very suburban neighborhood. I am not worried about having a hundred channels, I really just want the Big 5 if at all possible, I believe they are all located in the same area ~45 miles south of me (Houston). Here is my Signal Analysis link:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...e1c69d0441c190

Another question, my DirecTv dish coax currently runs into my attic and then into a 4 port Swim (?) splitter that has their DirecTv logo on it. I'm assuming this isn't proprietary and I could reuse it for my antenna setup but would love to hear thoughts on that as well.

I'm only 26 and this will be my first ever antenna install, considering I'm still a virgin please try to use layman's terms if at all possible!

Keith

[StephanieS]

Hi Keith,

You have a favorable tvfool map to work with.

An Antennacraft HBU22 would work fine for your situation. It's not a beast of an antenna by any means. Orientate to magnetic heading 175. Make sure to have as clear pathway as possible to the south. If you are shooting through trees, reliable reception may be more problematic.

You should be able to find an antenna chimney mount:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Channel-M...3080/203763048
Then a 5 or 10' 1 1/4 inch pole from your local homedepot or super hardware store equivalent ought to do the trick.

How many TVs do you intend to serve? Four? If so you may need a distribution amp. (http://www.channelmasterstore.com/TV...fiers_s/40.htm)

As for you direct TV equipment, generally the coax can be repurposed. The splitters though it's best to remove all the direct TV installed splitters and install ones you know are compatible with over the air TV.

I would expect with the HBU22 aimed to magnetic 175 with no trees or other obstructions you would see the big 5 plus the majority of Houston TV broadcasts. You may also see KBTX CBS off the back from College Station.

Cheers.