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View Poll Results: Can I use an antenna?
Yes 3 75.00%
NO way 0 0%
May be 1 25.00%
Voters: 4. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 7-Sep-2015, 9:26 PM   #1
Hobiecat
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 5
Antenna Impossible?

My wife and I watch very little TV, and would like to drop our Satellite account. We would like to be able to watch the local channels. The problem is:

My TVFOOL report : http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...8e034a08511f71

My house is surrounded by trees, I have attached a picture showing the front of the house and the trees.

My wife does not want the antenna on the outside, so it will have to be in the attic, pointing out towards the front of the house and the trees. The attic will have pressed board and shingles in the way. There is no siding, or insulation foil in the way.

The worst station is WLOS 13.1 at 14.3 NM dB; the other stations have a stronger signal. All the stations are basically in the same direction, so a directional antenna will be acceptable.

I could use some direction on a. Is it possible for me to get the local channels, including ABC via an attic Antenna; b. Which antenna (I have a lot of room in the attic so size is not a factor) should I buy; and c. amplification.

Thank you in advance for you help.
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Old 8-Sep-2015, 1:32 AM   #2
rabbit73
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Location: S.E. VA
Posts: 2,750
Quote:
My house is surrounded by trees, I have attached a picture showing the front of the house and the trees.
Which direction does the front of the house face?
Quote:
My wife does not want the antenna on the outside, so it will have to be in the attic, pointing out towards the front of the house and the trees.
Ah, yes. We are familiar with the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor).

So, now you have two strikes against you: unknown signal loss from an attic location for the antenna and trees that are certain to block signals.

a. Probably not, but you will not know until you try
b. Winegard HD7698P
c. Channel Master 7778

There is no magic antenna that will "see" through trees. Heed the advice from ADTech:
http://forum.tvfool.com/showpost.php...90&postcount=3
http://forum.tvfool.com/showpost.php...26&postcount=2
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File Type: jpg Trees and UHF2.JPG (101.4 KB, 1675 views)
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Last edited by rabbit73; 8-Sep-2015 at 2:15 AM.
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Old 8-Sep-2015, 1:43 AM   #3
Hobiecat
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Join Date: Aug 2015
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The front faces almost 0 degrees, so to get to the stations I want I have to point the antenna slightly to the left as I stand in my attic facing the front of the house.
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Old 8-Sep-2015, 3:23 AM   #4
eggman531916
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Posts: 75
I noticed WLOS has a Nm factor of 14.3, which for myself is about as good as my signals get. I played around with a few antennas in my attic and I was able to receive my two strongest signals inside (needed a preamp to accomplish this). The problem was that they each had different locations to be received in the attic, even though the transmitters were beside each other. Best guess, try it and find out. It can be alot of fun, especially if you build your own. It's made me somewhat of an addict for this stuff.
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Old 8-Sep-2015, 3:27 AM   #5
eggman531916
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Here is mine just for comparison.
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...8e0347b25ade1c
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Old 8-Sep-2015, 11:04 AM   #6
Hobiecat
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Thanks Eggman and Rabbit. You are giving me some hope that I can make it work. My satellite bill just went up to $75.00; I can afford to buy a good antenna and still save money.
We like college football, with OTA national stations and sling TV for 5 months at $20.00/mo we will save a lot of money.
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Old 8-Sep-2015, 11:47 AM   #7
No static at all
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I would give the attic a try, but keep the fingers crossed tightly, especially for channel 13. Unfortunately their highly directional signal is pointed away from you, so even outside it would be trciky at 72 miles out.

If the attic doesn't work is the wife flexible on an outside antenna?

The other thing to consider is if you get the Winegard 7698 it is nearly impossible to re-fold w/o damage. I would lean towards the Antennacraft HBU 55 if you can find one on Ebay.
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