Attic antenna questions

[DevoNH]

Hello,

First, thanks for all the great information - love this site.

My not be critical for my questions, but here's my report:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...9e74ac8d343afb

I'm happy with my results with a passive indoor antenna, but would like to improve the signal strength if I can do so fairly easily. While I'm sure a roof mounted configuration would be best, I'm not willing to fight my condo association on it. Based on info here, I'm sure I could win that battle, but fear I'd suffer retribution on other issues.

So, my questions:
1) Would an attic antenna definitely provide a better signal than an indoor?
2) Is there a "best" antenna for attic installation?
3) Currently, I can receive channels from all directions without adjusting my antenna. Would I be able to do the same with an attic installed antenna? (looking for simplicity)

Finally, is there a how-to guide specific to attic installation?

Thanks,
Dave

[ADTech]

1) Usually, yes. It has additional height that gets it out of some of the ground clutter and further away from potential noise sources.

2) The one that works and fits in your attic is the "best" one. It may take several attempts to find that one.

3) Possibly. It would be necessary to give it a try to see how it does. Attics are unpredictable, more so than indoors.

We have a "generic" attic installation tip sheet on our web site at http://www.antennasdirect.com/attic_installation.html You may find it to be useful.

[John Candle]

How many Tv's are/will be connected??

[DevoNH]

As long as it doesn't add too much cost/complexity, this would be for two TVs.

I read GroundUrMast's suggestion from another recent NH thread http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=2075 and was thinking this could be a good solution for me.

To apply his suggestion to my location, have a Antennacraft Y5713 pointing north to pick up WMUR and WENH, and a UHF antenna pointing south for the rest. Thoughts?

In that thread, he suggested a Direct DB-4 as an example. Is that my best choice?

Thanks,
Dave

[John Candle]

I suggest a , http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp...Cable-9MS2000)

[GroundUrMast]

Originally Posted by DevoNH

As long as it doesn't add too much cost/complexity, this would be for two TVs.

I read GroundUrMast's suggestion from another recent NH thread http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=2075 and was thinking this could be a good solution for me.

To apply his suggestion to my location, have a Antennacraft Y5713 pointing north to pick up WMUR and WENH, and a UHF antenna pointing south for the rest. Thoughts?

In that thread, he suggested a Direct DB-4 as an example. Is that my best choice?

Thanks,
Dave

I think that the 4-bay panel antenna would do well for you. You can try it by itself, then decide if the Y5713 is needed.

Attic installs come with much unknown until you try. As the roof gets wet and loads with snow... you'll find out how things really are.

[DevoNH]

Thank you both for your recommendations. I was starting to have the same thought about just trying a 4-bay first since it looks like I should be able to pick up ABC and PBS south of me with that and not need to worry about the VHF channels to the north. And if the attic proves troublesome as winter approaches, John's recommendation looks like something the condo association probably wouldn't fight me on.

[GroundUrMast]

It was not that long ago that apartments and condos routinely provided a local master antenna system. As I drive around Seattle, it's quite common to see the large VHF antennas on the roofs of apartments and condos. Obviously those systems have been abandoned in place... in some cases tens of thousands of dollars of abandoned investment.

Post DTV transition, there are only four VHF transmitters on the air in the Seattle area while there are about sixteen UHF transmitters plus several fill-in translators also on UHF. So obviously those big VHF antennas are slowly corroding away and the cable company has people convinced they have no choice.