Welcome to the forum, Jim:
You sound like a tech type, so your friend is lucky to have your help. With signals that miserable he needs it.
The terrain between the transmitters and his location is causing interference to the signals, hence the 2Edge designation. Can you run a few more exact address (coordinates for greatest accuracy; maybe using the interactive map feature of tvfool that allows you to move the cursor to the antenna location) reports at different heights to see if it would make a difference?
Real channel 13 is the worst; here is its terrain profile. If you click on the callsign in the report, the profile comes up. The transmitter is at the left and his location is at the right:
Quote:
|
I brought up a POS indoor VHF/UHF with a built in amp (bought it on ebay for $20 or $25 dollars) and a low end field spectrum. Low and behold when I pointed it to the NW I had carriers pop up on the Spec An. I connected it to the TV and did a search. I was picking up a few of the channels but not all that I should.
|
Using a SA is a good way to hunt for available channels, but the tuner isn't going to pick them up unless the signal is far enough above the noise floor to give a SNR above 15 dB.
Quote:
|
I opened the window and placed it between the window and screen. I was picking up more (Possible Low-E glass blocking it).
|
The transparent metallic coating on Low-E glass can definitely attenuate a signal, as can a metal screen.
If your friend has a 2nd floor window that faces the transmitters at 69 degrees magnetic, maybe an antenna inside that window would avoid the weather, ladder, and preamp replacement problems. Otherwise, it's attic or preferably outside.
Quote:
|
I would like to keep the antenna as small as possible, ground level would be nice in the event that I need to install a preamp and it fails, he can replace it fairly easily (see 6' ladder), but not a deal killer.
|
His signals are in all 3 TV bands: 6 is VHF-low, 13 is VHF-high, and the rest are UHF, so small and near the ground is not realistic because a high gain antenna for weak 2Edge signals is large. Since 6 is the strongest, maybe you can get away with a VHF-high/UHF combo antenna and a preamp.
If money is no object, a tilt up mast would get the antenna down for repair, but it wouldn't be fun in the winter weather you have had.
If you mount the antenna outside, the coax should be grounded with a grounding block that is connected to the house electrical system ground with 10 gauge copper wire for electrical safety. 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.