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Old 21-Nov-2012, 7:58 PM   #4
ADTech
Antennas Direct Tech Supp
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,942
Your new antenna is a UHF-only design. Generally, this is an ill-considered choice if reliable reception is expected of VHF stations. Given your description of the horse and the car, it's a common enough situation usually attributed to great intentions but a lack of technical detail. Please don't feel bad, it happens a lot.

Unfortunately, the Albany-Schenectady market is one of a relative few that REQUIRES an all channel antenna to ensure reception of the major local network broadcasts, the typical minimum requirement. Your CBS affiliate operates on low-VHF channel 6 while the Fox, NBC, & MyNetwork affiliates are on high-VHF channels 7-13. Ironically, your old antenna was the correct type for your market area.

Your recent reception success was probably an weather-related anomaly. Intermittently, a strong tropospheric duct can form that brings otherwise weak signals for a short time. the bast way i can describe it is to put into Start Trek - Deep Space Nine terms - a temporary, unstable wormhole type of effect. They come and go with the weather patterns.

Because of the sharp terrain blocking your immediate line of sight, you're likely going to be limited to VHF reception as those signals are able to "bend" (diffract) over terrain much more than will the UHF signals which will be much more line of sight proposition.

Unless you're willing to install a LARGE antenna, the odds of receiving the named stations are low. Depending on whether or not you're getting anything UHF off your UHF antenna will determine the path I'd suggest. If you're getting several of your other stations, ABC or PBS from Schenectady, for example, then I'd keep it and install a second channel 2-13 VHF-only antenna to try to pick up the missing VHF stations. I'd also suggest adding a dual-input pre-amplifier to perform the dual task of amplifying and combining the signals. We don't offer this particular antenna, but there are antennas available from either Winegard or Antennacraft that would work. Just be aware that the antenna is BIG. If you have sufficient room in the attic and do not have a metal or stone roof (or radiant barrier), then and attic mounting location *might* work well enough for you. Outdoors is strongly recommended if success is more important than aesthetics.

Good luck!
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