Glitchy reception of several <6 mile away channels

[ginginlala]

Here's my reception map:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...40338eaf12a2d3

I live on the third floor of a 5 story concrete building. The block is fairly tree-lined, and there are 3 story buildings lining the opposite side of the street. My antenna is on a south-facing windowledge, facing across the street.

After failing to have much luck with rabbit ears, I purchased this antenna: http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=3730720

The TV in my apartment is located in a room with south-facing windows -- almost directly due south. The antenna is currently on a ledge outside one of the windows. There are no windows facing any direction but south that can be used.

The antenna is currently sitting on the ledge. It is NOT mounted. I MAY be able to mount it to the wooden edge of the window, but the rest of the building and outer structure is concrete.

THE PROBLEM: I get CBS (WCBS), NBC (WNBC), and FOX (WNYW) perfectly fine. ABC (WABC) is somewhat glitchy. WPIX, which is a very important station for me, is varying degrees of unwatchable almost all of the time.

This is bothersome because, as you can see from the chart, I'm about 5.1 miles from all of the relevant transmitters! Unfortunately, I am unable to face the antenna to the northwest.

Any ideas? I'm very reluctant to pursue a rooftop solution because that will require negotiation with my landlord, and because...well, that just seems silly given that I'm 5 miles from the transmitters (right?).

Thanks in advance, and apologies for length here -- thought I'd err on the side of oversharing.

[Electron]

How is the building positioned?? , As an example , Is this a east and west length ways building?? Is your unit located on either end of the building?? If this is a east / west building and your unit is on the south side and there are units on the north side , perhaps there is a way to run a coaxial cable up in the ceiling and and across a hall way to the north side of the building , might have negotiate with neighbor across hall.

[Electron]

Yes it is very much Ok to provide more information. The more useful information the better. As you are finding out , concrete does a nice job of , reflecting , reducing and blocking tv transmissions. Other , reflector , reducer , blockers , are , metal siding , bricks , stucko Wire , metal backed insulation , solar panels.

[ginginlala]

Wow. Thank you for the quick replies!

Building is north-south oriented, and our unit is a floor-through, so there's no hallway -- it's all our apartment. We do have north-facing windows on the opposite side of the apartment. I cannot relocate the TV there (the two rooms on that end are kitchen and bedroom), and running cable from the north side to the south is not an option.

So, yeah, basically I'm pointing an antenna south to pick up signal from transmitters to the northwest. Perhaps unsurprisingly, when I aim the antenna north inside the unit, I get no result (going through I-have-no-idea how many brick and concrete walls to get to air).

I read something on another forum about "bouncing" the signal off buildings across the street. Is this...I dunno...even possible? Realistic?

I note that my signal improves dramatically when I position the antenna about 4 feet above the ledge and 2 feet away from the building, facing directly south. TiVo shows the WPIX signal rating going from about 14/100 to 54/100 when I do that. That is, of course, basically floating in mid-air -- I can't think of a mounting solution to position the antenna there.

[Electron]

More , information , suggestions , and questions. The tv transmissions are VERY STRONG at your location , a amplified antenna in Any shape or form is not indicated. The amplifier in or on or connected to the antenna Will Overload and be 'a' cause of bad or no reception. The concrete buildings and the tv transmissions that are getting into your building are bouncing and reflecting tv transmissions all around , the tv digital tuner Does Not Like all the multipath (reflected signals). Here is my suggestion that is really a outright recommendation , Find A Way to get a coax cable from the south part of unit to the north part of the unit on the inside of the unit from room to room , go above ceiling panels , run the coax where the wall meets the ceiling or run the coax where the floor meets the wall , drill holes just above the base board , through the wall , run the coax through and in bath room cabinets that are mounted on the floor/wall , run the coax through/in kitchen cabinets. Get the coax from point A to point B in your living space. I will return with information of antennas to use and receiving reflected tv transmissions off of other buildings. O I forgot one , run the coax inside the airconditioning/heating duct work.

[Dave Loudin]

With what you've told us, you're catching reflections off the buildings across the street - a common trick in urban areas. The problem you're having is threefold: 1) reflected signals are not always the "cleanest" in the world, 2) despite what the packaging says, the RadioShack antenna does not perform well in the VHF band, and 3) any amplifier included with an antenna at your location will likely be overloaded with the avalanche of massively strong TV and FM signals.

I suggest you try one of two antennas on your balcony. If it doesn't work, you will have to find a way to aim northwest using the same antenna. The first is the RCA ANT-751, a compact log-yagi that covers the channels you need. The second is the Antennas Direct C2v, which is a planar array with a dipole for VHF. The AD will likely win with style points if you need to worry about such things.

Do not buy an amplified antenna.

Good luck!

[Electron]

Returned with a question , is there a balcony with your third floor apartment and if so what side of the building?? Further antenna information will be tailerd to balcony or no balcony. I do not just whip out a answer. I put some real thought and information into it.