new here, new to ota, new install (pix). am i missing anything?

[evilrt]

let me just say that this place is great. i lurked here for about a month learning some things and decided to get an ota antenna for myself.

let me also say that i am not a cord cutter. i really enjoy my FiOS service and would go insane without pay channels. i did the install as a backup for when trees fall during storms and knock out the Verizon services. this has happened 4 times in the 5 years i've lived here.



as you can see i live fairly close to the major network transmitters which are all clustered together so that was a bonus. that is what made me decide on the Channel Master 2016 with 75' of Belden 1694A coax. its mounted on a 25 foot mast and is sitting 27 feet above ground pointing at the Empire State Building.





i had 2 existing ground rods 8' apart from each other so i added an additional 10' ground rod another 8' away from the 2nd rod so i could run the ground wire from the mast as straight down as possible. all 3 rods are bonded together to the electrical panel with 4 awg. i used a 3GHz grounding block with Digicon compression connectors inches away from entering the building with a short piece of solid#8. it was fairly easy for me to set this up and make the splices because i am an electrician so i am familiar with working with tools and wire on a daily basis.





since i have an open basement i was able to drill holes in the rafters and snake the rg6 up the wall along with existing wiring and to the vhf/uhf input on the tv. i clean my screen every other saturday. i don't know why my set looks like its scuffed up in this pic lol.



am i missing anything with this set-up?

let me say that the picture quality is amazing. i have a steady 98% to 100% on all majors and over 90% on all the little meatball stations that i can care less about receiving. they're all pretty much hidden from the menu because many are in Chinese and Indian, none of which i speak or understand. i kept the Latin speaking HD channels because the ladies are nice to look at.

SO... now that i was able to pull this off i think i was bitten by the hobby bug. i did not do too much searching but what are my chances of getting local ABC WTNH 10 out of CT? CBS WRGB? do i really need to buy a monster antenna and add it to my existing one? can i couple 2 signals in one wire without compromising the signal? should i use a pre-amp? these are the thing i'm trying to learn and figure out and learn from you guys. i might also get into the FTA satellite thing too for some wild NFL feeds. we'll see. thanks in advance!

[GroundUrMast]

That's a near textbook installation, very neat, good looking.

The only thing I see that may deserve attention is the coax as it enters the siding. The coax should be run below the hole, then up to enter the hole. This will keep rain water from running down the coax and possibly into the wall through the hole. Calking the hole is an equally important step that will help keep the wall cavity dry.

How long is the cable (looks like #4 AWG) from the inter-system bonding device to the ground rod?

Thanks for the excellent post!

[evilrt]

my dad is bringing over some clear caulk this weekend so i can fill the hole. that hole was drilled with a slight upwards pitch, so water wont be getting in but bugs might. the #4 AWG from the mast travels straight down for a little over 2' where it is bonded with 2 acorns to a 10' ground rod. the wire is uncut and continues 8' to another 10' rod and again 8' to a 3rd rod continuing into the house to the main panel. its 22'-25' long.

[GroundUrMast]

The grounding sounds wonderfully over-built.

The signal from WNYZ-LP, real CH-6 is more than 40 dB stronger than the signal from WRGB... It would take truly extreme efforts to have any hope of receiving the WRGB real CH-6 signal at your location. No consumer grade equipment would get you close to the 'ball park'

The situation for WTNH is better, but still in the realm of 'Extreme Measures'. A ganged array of Antennacraft Y10713's (two, four or eight could be tried) might have a chance... this would be an experiment... not guarantied to succeed. What you would be building is electrically similar to a UHF panel antenna... but physically larger so that it will operate at the lower frequency range.

http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=1024

[evilrt]

that's kind of what i figured... almost impossible. i'll stick with my locals and medium antenna. my fiancé's dad's jaw dropped when he saw the picture quality on my set last night so now we have a project at his house. i'm thinking an RCA ANT751. he lives 2 miles from the ESB, in Jersey, off the Hudson River, with a clear shot at the tower. it's a simple install. thanks for for help, GUM!