Help with Antenna Options

[Old Town]

Hello,

I'm new to the forums and just got rid of DirecTV. I have cabling throughout the house that I was hoping to take advantage of by adding an antenna to the existing coax and sending the signal throughout the house to three different locations. Is this possible?

My house is in Alexandria VA, just south of Washington DC. The front of the house faces nearly due West, and just slightly towards the North. Their are some 2 story apartment buildings across the street probably 100' away.

I'm interested in placing the antenna in the front of the house, inside a window on the 2nd floor (Approximately 12' to 15' above ground level).

I should have good reception to many of the DC stations. Here's the tvfool report: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...8e036a20413224

I am interested if anyone can lend some advice on what type of antenna would work best for this application, and if there are any specific products you would recommend. I'm not looking to break the bank, but as I'm saving $75 a month after ditching the dish, I'm willing to consider options. To make things more complicated the antenna would be visible from the street, so something that is discreet would be preferable.

Last, I could also consider placing an antenna in the attic, but this would require some additional wiring and not ideal.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[rabbit73]

Welcome to the Forum Old Town:

I'm new to the forums and just got rid of DirecTV. I have cabling throughout the house that I was hoping to take advantage of by adding an antenna to the existing coax and sending the signal throughout the house to three different locations. Is this possible?

You can use the existing coax but you must be certain that you have removed all the DirecTV multi switches and splitters and substitute an ordinary 4-way splitter.

My house is in Alexandria VA, just south of Washington DC. The front of the house faces nearly due West, and just slightly towards the North. Their are some 2 story apartment buildings across the street probably 100' away.

I looked at an aerial photo of what I think is your area that shows the green signal lines, and you will need to angle the antenna in the window toward the north.

I should have good reception to many of the DC stations.

Well, the signals are strong but the location of the indoor antenna is critical. You might need to try different locations, because there will be multiple reflections of the signals.

I think you should try the Antennas Direct C2V with the indoor stand. The "V" is the added dipole for VHF-High signals like ABC and CBS on real channels 7 and 9.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/antennas...&skuId=6847298
http://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direc.../dp/B007RH5GZI

[Old Town]

Thanks, this is helpful. The house is wired up in a strange manner in that there are two coax main lines coming from the demarc outside that come to an access panel in the utility room. All of the internal coax terminate in the box too, giving me the ability to connect any coax lines separate from lines I wish to avoid. It's sort of like an everyday-man's punch down panel.

It'll be easy to put a standard 4 way connector in the access panel using the coax from the antenna as the input, and I can pretty much use any coax location in the house to play with the location of the antenna.

Does it matter if I have it in a window vs behind a blank wall? Does the glass make more reflection of the signal than wood siding and plywood?

[rabbit73]

Does it matter if I have it in a window vs behind a blank wall?

You must try different locations with an indoor antenna.

Does the glass make more reflection of the signal than wood siding and plywood?

Low-E glass or metal screen in a window will block signals.

Please let us know the results of your tests on this same thread.

[Old Town]

Thanks for the recommendation on the Antennas Direct C2V. It took a while for me to get around to making the purchase, but a few days after I got it, my neighbor decided to get one also.

We're both very happy and we haven't even properly installed them yet. Mine is behind the couch, and her's in in the middle of the living room floor. We both get about 40 channels we would potentially watch, and maybe another dozen channels that are not our taste.

Like I said, these are not properly installed (literally sitting on the floor, of the first floor of the house) so there is some interference on some channels, and when a car drives by the signal goes weak. But I can send the signal through my existing wiring to 3 locations in the house.

I'm very pleased with the recommendation and the purchase. I just need to find a final location that get's the antenna out of the way.

Thanks.

[rabbit73]

Thanks for the report with the good news. I'm always glad to hear that my advice worked.