antenna recommendations Upstate NY

[hef]

hi,
requesting antenna recommendations for my house, antenna will be a in-attic installation, however the antenna will have direct line of sight through a in-attic window to the transmitters to the east, and possibly NE at 335.
Thanks,
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...d243217fd79e71

Hef

[Canadianeh]

Originally Posted by hef

hi,
requesting antenna recommendations for my house, antenna will be a in-attic installation, however the antenna will have direct line of sight through a in-attic window to the transmitters to the east, and possibly NE at 335.


Hef

Which channels are the ones you're really hoping to get? It looks like most of the receivable stations are UHF, except for VHF 10. Do you need to pick up that VHF channel? If not, I'd suggest an Antennas Direct 91XG, but I am a novice, so I'll let others provide more professional advice

[timgr]

Hi -

Quite possible you will get no more than a channel or two with an attic installation and that report. Plus the available stations are split between Syracuse (93) and Rochester (347) and you can't aim at both, even if it is through a window.

Why not a rooftop mount? If it were for me, I would run another report at well above rooftop level to see if the report improves. And I would rule out an attic installation.

Attic installations are a crap shoot, usually. There are just too many unknowns when you mount an antenna within a structure like that. And people that want attic installations typically have a dozen or two stations with strong signals (green zone) - which you don't have.

<edit> Good advice to you here from GroundUrMast and Teleview - http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=14452 - nothing has changed really.

[tomfoolery]

Just a guess, but it looks like you're on the west side of the lake, not too far from the water, and it's really lumpy around there. A small change in location makes a big difference in the report. I don't think you're going to get anything useful from within the attic, window or not. You're going to need a lot of gain, with that antenna as high up as you can get it. I also think you'll have a better shot at Syracuse, but once it's on the roof, some experimentation would be in order.

[Tower Guy]

Your only hope for a full set of affiliates is Syracuse. All the Syracuse stations are on UHF. My antenna recommendation would depend on the size/shape of the window. You may add the Rochester VHF stations with a Y10-7-13 installed in the optimum location for 335 degrees at least 5 feet away from the UHF antenna. Couple the two antennas with a TVPRAMP-1R.

[hef]

Originally Posted by Tower Guy

Your only hope for a full set of affiliates is Syracuse. All the Syracuse stations are on UHF. My antenna recommendation would depend on the size/shape of the window. You may add the Rochester VHF stations with a Y10-7-13 installed in the optimum location for 335 degrees at least 5 feet away from the UHF antenna. Couple the two antennas with a TVPRAMP-1R.

Tower guy, the attic window faces East and is about 2 feet wide by 3 feet high. Would be interested in hearing your recommendation for a UHF antenna for the Syracuse stations.
I plan on giving it a try.

Thanks,


Hef

[hef]

Originally Posted by tomfoolery

Just a guess, but it looks like you're on the west side of the lake, not too far from the water, and it's really lumpy around there. A small change in location makes a big difference in the report. I don't think you're going to get anything useful from within the attic, window or not. You're going to need a lot of gain, with that antenna as high up as you can get it. I also think you'll have a better shot at Syracuse, but once it's on the roof, some experimentation would be in order.

Yes you are correct west side of the lake, 1/2 way down.
Bristol mountain due west 3 miles.
There must be a mountain in between the location and Rochester?


I cant get any signal on the other side of the lake either.

Hef

[tomfoolery]

Originally Posted by hef

There must be a mountain in between the location and Rochester?

The Rochester towers are next to I-490, due south of Rochester, on Pinnacle Hill (south side of I-490). If you click on one of the Rochester stations in your report, you'll get another tab with the terrain profile (exaggerated for effect), and you can see that there is a big hill in the way, though with a high-gain antenna, you may be able to get some of them. Maybe.

Not so bad looking east at Syracuse. You can see the dip where the water is, which is how I came to the conclusion that you were on the west side of the lake.

[hef]

Ok I see what you mean - so the tv antenna location is on the right, the Transmitter on the far left?
How can you tell the TV antenna is below the large hill? Where is it referenced in the graphic?
Thanks.

[hef]

Originally Posted by tomfoolery

The Rochester towers are next to I-490, due south of Rochester, on Pinnacle Hill (south side of I-490). If you click on one of the Rochester stations in your report, you'll get another tab with the terrain profile (exaggerated for effect), and you can see that there is a big hill in the way, though with a high-gain antenna, you may be able to get some of them. Maybe.

Not so bad looking east at Syracuse. You can see the dip where the water is, which is how I came to the conclusion that you were on the west side of the lake.

As an experiment I ran another TV Fool analysis, this time about a mile due North of me towards Rochester, which is higher elevation.
The Nm db levels increased a great deal, especially the ones in Syracuse.


Hef

[tomfoolery]

Originally Posted by hef

Ok I see what you mean - so the tv antenna location is on the right, the Transmitter on the far left?

Yes.

Originally Posted by hef

How can you tell the TV antenna is below the large hill? Where is it referenced in the graphic?

I don't know for fact, but I've always assumed the 'ground' is represented at zero local elevation. With the Pinnacle Hill transmitters approaching 400 ft height above average terrain (HAAT), which I read somewhere when they used a 400 ft crane to modify WXXI's antenna to remove that off-center cross bar, a 20 ft high home antenna would eyeball-scale to 1/20th the height of the transmitter, at the center of the white. Which makes the home antenna barely above ground level, at least in the scale of those coming from Rochester. So that pretty much puts you deep in the shadow. Or so it looks to me. But even with 1-edge and 2-edge conditions, you may be able to get some of those stations, though it doesn't look promising.

[Tower Guy]

Originally Posted by hef

Tower guy, the attic window faces East and is about 2 feet wide by 3 feet high.

Hef

Your choices for that sized window include a 4 bay UHF or an Antennas Direct C-2.

My preference would be a DB4e. Mount it as close to the window as practical.

[hef]

I realize i will most likely need to position the antenna outside.

Is the DB8E a better performer than the DB8 with both panels pointed at the same broadcast tower? Its also 60 dollars more.
Given my situation I am going to concentrate on the Syracuse channels due east.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...9038a4ad0f65e1

[Tower Guy]

The DB-8e is the best antenna available but the regular DB-8 is not far behind. You will also need a preamp.