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Old 30-Jan-2017, 8:19 PM   #1
Triplejnj
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Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 3
Jackson, NJ: Antenna assistance requested

Hi everyone I'm looking for some assistance from the experts as this is my first venture into OTA land.
Here is my tvfool report:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...e6a4d63464781e

I picked up a ClearStream 4v antenna and mounted it up in my attic (I have a very steep roof!). The antenna is up at the highest point in the highest peak of my attic and facing straight out the front (plywood, vinyl siding) at about 32-33 degrees in order to pick up the NY stations just under 50 miles away. My goal is to pick up just 4 basic networks ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX. With my setup I was able to pick up strong signals for WCBS 33 and WNBC 28 (and about 20 other channels) but no trace of WNYW 44 or WABC 7.
I then added a Winegard LNA-200 and my signals for 33 and 28 were even better and I picked up an extra 30+ channels of varying strength but still no trace of WNYW or WABC. I did have the antenna in several different locations of the attic and found the spot is in now to be the best of the ones I tried. Facing straight to the front of the house, theres no roofing material or additional walls (besides the front of the house) in the way. I have attempted rotating a little bit in either direction -- nothing drastic. I never was able to see the 2 missing signals and only found that the stations I was pulling in were weakened by the rotation.
As an experiment I ventured onto my roof (freaking out my wife) and held the antenna at the highest point I possibly could (probably around 4 feet under where it was in the attic), pointed it in the same direction at 32-33 degrees and had my wife run a scan inside. Still could not pick up the WNYW or WABC signals.
At this point Im thinking I need to try a better antenna with stronger VHF high and UHF gains, but not sure which one to go with. I want to stick with my attic mount as I think it would be sufficient and didn't see much advantage over outside. That and I don't want to die trying to mount it. Any suggestions?
I had also posted this request for help on AVSForum and got some good input to start with:
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/25-hdt...requested.html

Last edited by Triplejnj; 30-Jan-2017 at 8:22 PM.
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Old 31-Jan-2017, 12:06 AM   #2
WIRELESS ENGINEER
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Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Eastern Ohio
Posts: 101
You may need to add a vhf yagi to get WABC

A 4bay bowtie would likely work a little better than the 4v on UHF stations but still may not get 44

The stellar labs 30-2475 vhf antenna is small enough for attic installations and is $24.99
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Old 31-Jan-2017, 12:44 PM   #3
Triplejnj
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Join Date: Jan 2017
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WIRELESS ENGINEER View Post
You may need to add a vhf yagi to get WABC

A 4bay bowtie would likely work a little better than the 4v on UHF stations but still may not get 44

The stellar labs 30-2475 vhf antenna is small enough for attic installations and is $24.99
Thanks for the response! I will need to look into antenna alternatives and would definetely have room for a bowtie for UHF and Yagi for VHF. Are there any specific bowtie antennas that are better than others? It seems they can vary widely in price, like this Xtreme Signal model one http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=HDB8X compared to an one from Antennas Direct https://www.antennasdirect.com/store...V-Antenna.html
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Old 31-Jan-2017, 10:10 PM   #4
WIRELESS ENGINEER
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Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Eastern Ohio
Posts: 101
The antennas direct db4e is pretty hard to beat for 4 bay bowtie antennas

The db8e is slightly better but twice the size and half the beamwidth
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Old 1-Feb-2017, 11:33 AM   #5
Triplejnj
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Join Date: Jan 2017
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WIRELESS ENGINEER View Post
The antennas direct db4e is pretty hard to beat for 4 bay bowtie antennas

The db8e is slightly better but twice the size and half the beamwidth
Thanks. So I take it in your opinion the DB4E may be the better choice?
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