Suggestions gratefully appreciated - new installation help needed
 

Hello all,

My son and daughter in-law would like to install an antenna so that they could receive local and network channels. In particular, NBC, Fox, and CBS (i.e. the football channels).

They live in Dawsonville, a way north of Atlanta, but there are transmitter arrays locally on Coal Mountain which is less than 8 miles from their house, so we are hoping that they will be able to get decent reception. There is only one TV in the house.

They live in a one story house, which to all intents and purposes on the crest of a hill. There are no trees immediately adjacent to the house, nor any other tall structures/obstructions.

I told them I would ask for advice. Here is the link to the Signal Analysis which I ran by way of the Interactive Map plotter.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...8e038292476e8f

As a young couple with two small children, they do not have unlimited spend potential, and want to try and avoid making mistakes. This is why we are asking for advice first. They have set a target budget of ~$180. Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.

When I read your description I thought I was going to see many strong signals in the same direction. But, the report doesn't seem to match your description. I don't see transmitters 8 miles away and the location seems to be closer to Chestatee than Dawsonville.

Assuming the report is correct,
WXIA NBC, real channel 10, virtual 11.1, NM 16.3 dB, 210 degrees magnetic
WAGA Fox, real channel 27, virtual channel 5.1, NM 12.3 dB, 212 degrees magnetic
WGCL CBS, real channel 19, virtual channel 46.1, NM 14.0 dB, 212 degrees magnetic

WSB ABC on real channel 39, virtual channel 2.1, might also be possible, but it is a little weaker.

Those signals are listed as 2Edge which makes them less reliable because of terrain obstructions. I would like to give a guarantee for the young couple, but hesitate to do it because of so many unknown factors. See example in attachment 1.

They will need a high gain VHF/UHF combo antenna with a preamp mounted outside aimed at 212 degrees magnetic. The antennas to consider are the Winegard HD7697P and 7698.

The preamps to consider are the Channel Master 7778 and RCA TVPRAMP1R. The RCA is less expensive but might be less reliable.

The coax shield should be grounded with a grounding block that is connected to the house electrical system ground with 10 gauge copper wire for electrical safety and to reject interference. For further compliance with the electrical code (NEC), the mast should also be grounded in a similar manner to drain any buildup of static charge, but the system will not survive a direct strike. See attachment 2.

Thank you Rabbit,

I myself use a Winegard 7698, although I live a good 20 miles closer to Atlanta than they do. I am surprised that the Coal Mountain transmitter station/array does not provide any benefit, but such is life.

I think your suggestion matches almost exactly their budget, less the mounting equipment. We have had some practice at installing and grounding a roof mount antenna thankfully, as we installed one at my home over a year ago now.

Thank you for taking the time to review my son's signal profile. I will pass your recommendations along, and we will make a go of it in the next few weeks.

Best wishes