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Was it the DB8 or DB8e that you purchased? Both are very directional when it comes to weak UHF signals. 10-20° off in either direction can easily make or break reception of those weak signals.
At patio umbrella height and if you're in a suburban type environment, I'd assume there is significant surrounding clutter such as trees, other homes, and the like. Work on getting the antenna into a spot where it has the clearest available line of sight back towards Detroit, regardless of whether that is high or low. A clear but low mounting location is usually far better than a higher location that is, for example, behind the crown of a tree.
Do NOT drill any holes in your house until you have satisfactorily demonstrated reception. I can't tell you how many times I've had to tell customers to move their antenna to fix reception issues. The unrealistic expectation is that a convenient mounting location can be made to work satisfactorily by wishful thinking just because it's convenient and doesn't require any extra work.
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