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Old 28-Feb-2012, 5:09 AM   #41
ghz24
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I guess you could put it in your attic.
To me that's like having a horse as an indoor pet.

I'd put it outside as high up as you safely can.

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Originally Posted by Tower Guy View Post
I'd wouldn't be too concerned about height
Tower Guy can correct me if I'm misrepresenting him but I think he means you needn't go to extreme heights, but above the roof line.

If you unfold that large of an antenna in the attic it may not survive being folded/extracted latter.
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Old 28-Feb-2012, 5:59 AM   #42
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Tv antennas and Tv reception

http://www.channelmasterstore.com , has converter boxes for older tv that do not have a Digital Broadcast Tv Tunner. Many of the Tv transmissions are Very Weak at your location , putting the antenna in the attic means you Will Not Receive Them. I have given you the information that will work , if you go your own way , well then thats your choice.

Last edited by Electron; 28-Feb-2012 at 6:07 AM.
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Old 28-Feb-2012, 11:27 AM   #43
ant
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http://www.channelmasterstore.com , has converter boxes for older tv that do not have a Digital Broadcast Tv Tunner...
I already have converter boxes (a DTV Pal (buggy regular for VCR and its DVR models) and Zenith DTT901 from years ago.

Last edited by ant; 18-Mar-2012 at 12:10 AM.
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Old 29-Feb-2012, 4:57 PM   #44
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FYI. I uploaded three photographs/photos. of the upcoming house at http://zimage.com/~ant/MiCasa2/ from this morning after 7:43 AM PST. They show two NW views (about 333 degrees on a very old compass [yea, I brought one]). As you can see with two of them, there is a big hill with many trees from the ground level. Also, this is the same view I pointed at to get some KABC7 and KTTV11 feeds with a portable DTV with its single rabbit ear antenna (horizontal). Obviously, channel 31.x worked easily here the best due to its half mile to its NE translator near by. I also took a shot of the house roof. All three were from the ground level in front of the garage.

Last edited by ant; 1-Mar-2012 at 5:56 AM.
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Old 29-Feb-2012, 5:36 PM   #45
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Hiya, phil! I see you're posting here as well as over at AVS. I will repeat what I recommended there for everyone's comment and review:

You are VERY shadowed to Mt. Wilson. Any locals from that direction will be scattered off of the top of the hill, and as TVFool shows, the VHF channels will bo this better than the UHF ones. Although the propagation model used by this site may not handle all scattering situations well, I believe the trends in your case, if not the actual values, are correct. For example, I doubt you will ever get a sniff of KCBS.

If I were you, I'd aim a big VHF antenna like the Winegard YA-1713 or the Antennacraft Y10-7-13 at Mt. Wilson, and tip the antenna up 15 degrees or so. That should get you 7, 9, 11, and 13. Next, I would aim an antenna (see below) at San Diego for the rest of the network affiliates.

What to use for San Diego is a bit of a quandry. You NEED KFMB RF 8 for CBS, but you don't need KGTV RF 10 for ABC. I can see at least two ways (I'm sure there's more) to go.

First, you could aim an Antennas Direct 91XG at San Diego for the UHF stations and use a rotor on the VHF antenna to swing it over for CBS. That way, you could combine both antennas into one coax drop to all your TVs.

Second, you could aim an Antennacraft HBU-55 or a Winegard HD7698 at San Diego. You would need to run a separate coax feed to all your TVs, as you could not combine the Mt. Wilson VHF antenna with this one.

Well, there is the third option of just buying the San Diego antenna and a rotor to swing it over to get the Mt. Wilson VHFs.

Each solution has its complications, so you will need to decide what you can live with and without.
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Old 1-Mar-2012, 6:11 PM   #46
ant
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Question Tower on my house properties' backyard hill?

Hi again.

The house has a big backyard and it is a slope of a hill with an open area (no trees). Is it possible to build a tower for an antenna that is higher than the trees (like a forest) surrounding my home properties. I could go up more the hill until the neighbor's fence, but the trees would be in the way. How high can I go without breaking any laws (FAA?)? If not, then it will have to be on the house with its chimney (tall point on it). Let me know if I should take photographs/photos. of the backyard to show what I mean.

Thank you in advance.

Last edited by ant; 1-Mar-2012 at 7:18 PM.
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Old 1-Mar-2012, 6:47 PM   #47
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Fold over or hinge base towers are the best , stand on the ground and mount and adj. antennas. http://www.palcoelectronics.com/pe300.aspx , http://www.rohnnet.com/towers-foldover
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Old 1-Mar-2012, 7:16 PM   #48
ant
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Question

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Fold over or hinge base towers are the best , stand on the ground and mount and adj. antennas. http://www.palcoelectronics.com/pe300.aspx , http://www.rohnnet.com/towers-foldover
Wow, expensive. Is there a FAA rule/law on high it can be? Can it go higher than that giant hill that is blocking my Mt. Wilson's view?
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Old 1-Mar-2012, 9:00 PM   #49
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Start here to learn more about towers. http://www.hamcity.com/store/pc/view...t.asp?idpage=7
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Old 1-Mar-2012, 9:24 PM   #50
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ant, you will have a much easier time relying on San Diego for some of your networks, especially for CBS. As Tower Guy and ghz24 implied, you're not going to see much improvement with mounting at the roofline versus going up 100 feet. Yes, tall towers get expensive!
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Old 3-Mar-2012, 2:17 AM   #51
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I listed the North and South channels. If you list them in columns side by side you will see what is being received in one direction or the other direction. http://www.antennatv.tv , http://www.thistv.com , http://www.mynetworktv.com , http://www.myretrotv.com , http://www.cwtv.com , http://www.amgtv.tv , http://americaone.com , http://www.tr3s.com

Last edited by Electron; 3-Mar-2012 at 2:34 AM.
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Old 3-Mar-2012, 5:33 AM   #52
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Looks like the best place to put a 60 foot tower is close to the south west corner of the house at the south end of the house. Looks like there is a opening in the trees with no trees close to the house to the south east. And no trees close to the house or further away to the north west. A 60 foot tower will help clear the trees.

Last edited by Electron; 3-Mar-2012 at 5:39 AM.
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Old 13-Mar-2012, 6:29 PM   #53
ant
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Electron View Post
Looks like the best place to put a 60 foot tower is close to the south west corner of the house at the south end of the house. Looks like there is a opening in the trees with no trees close to the house to the south east. And no trees close to the house or further away to the north west. A 60 foot tower will help clear the trees.
The tower idea is not going to happen since there are risks and very expensive. I still have yet to try the the more powerful antennae in the attic and on top of the rooftops. I did borrow a slightly more powerful indoor antenna from someone. It didn't improve much as I expected (e.g., managed to get KNBC4 and KCAL9, then lost them hehe). Stay tuned...

Last edited by ant; 13-Mar-2012 at 6:36 PM.
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Old 14-Mar-2012, 3:05 AM   #54
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I still think you will have better luck aiming at San Diego. Have you tried that with any of your antennas?
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Old 14-Mar-2012, 3:53 AM   #55
ant
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Originally Posted by Dave Loudin View Post
I still think you will have better luck aiming at San Diego. Have you tried that with any of your antennas?
Nothing except the front side of the house facing north with channel 31.x (NE 0.5 miles from that local transmitter/translator) and barely with KABC7.x and KTTV 11.x stations.
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Old 14-Mar-2012, 5:59 PM   #56
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Looking back at your TVFool plots, you're going to have to be at 25 feet in order to get the SD stations.
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Old 14-Mar-2012, 6:05 PM   #57
ant
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Looking back at your TVFool plots, you're going to have to be at 25 feet in order to get the SD stations.
And not even HD?
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Old 14-Mar-2012, 9:20 PM   #58
Dave Loudin
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SD = San Diego in this case!

Go back to my recommendations to you. You need an antenna like a Winegard HD7696P or similar at 25 feet for those stations. You can only bank on the VHFs from Mt. Wilson.

When you experiment with trying to get the LA stations, do you tile the antenna up, so that it looks more towards the top of the hill?
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Old 14-Mar-2012, 9:28 PM   #59
ant
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Loudin View Post
SD = San Diego in this case!

Go back to my recommendations to you. You need an antenna like a Winegard HD7696P or similar at 25 feet for those stations. You can only bank on the VHFs from Mt. Wilson.

When you experiment with trying to get the LA stations, do you tile the antenna up, so that it looks more towards the top of the hill?
Oh, haha San Diego. I thought you meant Standard Definition.
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Old 14-Mar-2012, 9:29 PM   #60
ant
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Loudin View Post
SD = San Diego in this case!

Go back to my recommendations to you. You need an antenna like a Winegard HD7696P or similar at 25 feet for those stations. You can only bank on the VHFs from Mt. Wilson.

When you experiment with trying to get the LA stations, do you tile the antenna up, so that it looks more towards the top of the hill?
What are the similiar ones of Winegard HD7696P that are in local retail stores and easily returnable?

With that single pole rabbit ear antenna on the portable DTV, I had it horizontal and adjacent to the mountains and that giant hill/small mountain blocking the transmitters for KABC7 and KTTV11. For channel 31.x, I think it didn't matter since it was 0.5 miles away.

The other antenna was rabbit ears with that circular antenna in the middle that you place on the table/CRT TV/whatever flat and big.

Last edited by ant; 15-Mar-2012 at 7:40 PM.
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