[andy.s.lee]

Originally Posted by herplace

I think I'm getting this!

Great! We're here to share what we know, and it's good to hear that some of it is helping.

I'm thinking of trying a bigger (longer antenna element option) in a placement closer to the floor of the attic to see if despite a few feet of elevation being sacrificed all things not being equal the stealth option could work there. How the existing envelope impacts this placement is not understood exactly of course.

The minor change in height from the floor to the ceiling of your attic is negligible. What matters more is the stuff right next to the antenna (which might alter the antenna's raw performance) and stuff that sits in the path between the transmitter and your antenna.

On the first floor of most buildings, you usually have a lot more "clutter" for the signal to pass through (walls, trees, fences, neighbors' houses, cars, etc.).

In the attic, you're above most of the dense "clutter" and mostly just need to worry about stuff in your own attic (and maybe a neighboring house or two).

On the roof, you're above almost everything, and the antenna can get close to its ideal behavior.

What I am now wondering about this is whether I could enclose the area above the antenna so there could be sort of a floor over it. Shelf like. I can only imagine that the transmitter direction end would have to be clear and open to what an antenna without a floor over it would present to the situation. Am I guessing wrong about this? Does the "signal" need more than this to be picked up by an antenna?

If you install your antenna in your attic, it's a good idea to protect it from physical damage, which is what I think you're suggesting with a "shelf" or "floor". However, you do need to be aware of how you might be affecting the antenna's performance.

Most antennas are designed with the assumption that all the space around them is open (air). Surrounding the antenna with something else can impact its performance. Wood generally has a very mild effect on antenna behavior and is probably not a big deal, but I would be concerned about the nails or other metal objects used to hold the wood together. Metal has a big impact on performance and needs to be kept far away from the antenna elements when possible.

As a general rule of thumb, I'd suggest keeping the antenna out in the open as much as you can. It doesn't make that much difference whether the antenna is near the floor or near the top of the attic as long as the antenna is not being blocked by other things in the vicinity.

I believe I'm clear about the pre amp being located pretty close to the antenna and also that all a pre amp can do is help over come signal loss in the cable from the antenna to the T.V. Would that pre amp use rule out 30' cable loss completely?

Essentially, yes.

In the big antenna realm an attic floor set up would potentially allow a huge antenna that would look ridiculous on top of this building.

In my own experience, "large" antennas always seem huge at first because you're standing next to it while it's being assembled. Most of them are even bigger than I am. However, once you get these things up on a mast above the roof, it doesn't look that big any more.

As people get re-conditioned to the idea of seeing antennas on every-other rooftop, I think the "shock" of large antennas will go away. My wife didn't even notice that I changed antennas until I pointed it out to her.

Many thanks for having this forum to bounce ideas around on!

Perfect! That's exactly why it's here.

Best regards,
Andy