Please help a newbie choose the proper antenna setup :)

[tundra]

Hello,

I've finally decided to cut our satellite provider, and have been searching for the proper antenna setup for our home. I'm finding myself totally overwhelmed and was wondering if the experts could help me out with some advise?

1) Here is the tvfool report for our home:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...0b86b2aa2347e5

2) Challenge 1: It's a ranch home with 50' -75' trees to the east.... unfortunately exactly in the direction we need to point our antenna ~130 degrees from mag north.

3) Challenge 2: The towers are a bit spread out so I'm concerned that if I aim at channel 21 (129 degrees), I won't be able to pick up the outlying PBS and CW stations (38 and 46)

I'm assuming I'll have to go with something outside, but if I could get away with an attic mount that would be ideal. What would you guys recommend? Do you think I'd be able to get all of the channels with one antenna and no rotation?

Thanks in advance for your insight!

-Matt

[Electron]

Reception will good for now with no leaves on the trees. Install a Antennas Direct DB4e antenna with a Antennas Direct CPA-19 preamp aimed at about 132 degree magnetic compass. Here is how to aim antennas , http://www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html. Install the antenna above the roof with a Strong and Sturdy antenna mount. http://www.ronard.com//Tripods%200703/4712.html , http://www.ronard.com/909911.html , http://www.ronard.com/ychim.html , http://www.ronard.com. Here are some places to buy antennas and etc. , http://www.antennasdirect.com , http://www.solidsignal.com , http://www.amazon.com , http://www.starkelectronic.com , http://www.3starinc.com. Buy the Ronard mounts at Solid Signal , type , ronard , in Solid Signals search box or buy from Ronard.

[Electron]

All of the tv stations/channels you will like to receive will be received and more , even WOSU 38 PBS and WWHO 46 CW. . When the leaves are on the trees and if channels are lost , the antenna can be mounted higher. Or if the trees are close to the house and not much trees are beyond , the antenna can be put on the other side of the trees. Or if the trees are 'some distance' from the house then the trees will not reduce the signal much.

[tundra]

Thanks so much Electron! I'll get busy looking up all of the information you linked

God bless!

-Matt

[phone man]

You and I view the same stations from Columbus. Looks like you're in the Marysville area. I would guess you'd prefer to get local news from Columbus but you do have the advantage of being within range of Dayton stations as well. An outdoor antenna/preamp at a decent height with a clear view to the southwest would make reception of Dayton stations very easy. If it was me I'd have two dedicated antennas aimed at Columbus and Dayton with an A/B selector switch.

How far away are the trees to the southeast? Are they solid with no gaps in the foliage in summer? As Electron mentioned, if the trees are right next to the house, placing the antenna away from the house where it gets a clear view can make a big difference in signal strength when the leaves are full.
A low mount with a clear view is better than a high mount that's obstructed.

[Electron]

Here are towers that lower to the ground , stand on the ground and install and make antenna adjustments. http://www.rohnnet.com/towers-foldover , http://www.palcoelectronics.com/pe300.aspx

[tundra]

Thanks again guys for the help! Thanks for the suggestion on the Dayton channels too. Down the line I'd definitely like to do a dual antenna setup to pick those up. For now though this is about all I want to spend as the initial setup is a nice chunk of change.

Here is a site plot, our house is boxed in red:


The trees to our east and south-east are pretty dense actually. The east side of our house is probably 30 feet from the trees. I'm thinking about mounting the antenna on the far west side of the house at the roof peak. It is a raised ranch with a pretty tall roof, so I'd estimate the height of the roof peak to be roughly 30 feet. Do you think that would be worth a try or should I look at my tower options?

I actually went ahead and bought a DB4e, CPA-19, and a Ronard heavy duty 5' tripod. That should be enough to get me started, for now

[phone man]

All you can do is try and see what happens. Before you install anything too permanent or drill holes, it might be a good idea to do a mock up installation just to see what kind of reception you'll get thru those trees. I don't know why but I when you mentioned trees, I pictured a single fence row. LOL!
Moving west away from them and capturing the signal as it comes over the tops of the trees is probably your best bet unless you can truly get the antenna above them.
Here is some good reading regarding signal diffraction. Also check the links at the bottom of the page. Good luck!!

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/siting.html

[tundra]

Haha yea we have more than just a few trees nearby

So I got the DB4e and amp last night and was playing around a bit. I rested the antenna between the couch and window in the south east corner of the house (closest to the trees).

The signal strength with the amp ranged from 70 - 99%, which I thought was really good for my quick check setup. I scanned and picked up 28 channels, a good number of them from both Columbus and Dayton, and was totally happy with that. So this weekend when I get some time I'm going to play around with a more permanent setup. I'll probably start by resting the antenna in the attic just for kicks and see how the signal strength is from there. It might work fine in the attic for now, but I'm guessing once the trees grow leaves things might change.

My motivation to play around on top of the roof during the middle of winter is quite low though LOL

Thanks for the link, I'll check that out!

-Matt

[Electron]

Aim the antenna in between the two citys groups of stations at about 162 degrees magnetic compass.