NYC - need help with antenna selection

[deluxe]

Hello,

I'm trying to determine the best option for high-performance OTA HDTV reception for a building in NYC. It's for a commercial application where quality will be paramount, and we'll need the widest option of stations possible. So we'd want something that will work for VHF and UHF stations.

Here's our location details:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...cd72710bf8cdc8

The situation is that we're on the 8th floor of a 16 floor building. Rooftop has line of sight to ESB, but we're looking at likely a 100'+ cable run from the roof to our location.

After looking at a bunch of forums here and elsewhere, I am seeing conflicting information. Some knowledgeable folks seem to suggest that an omni antenna will be fine (something like the CM3000 or MS2000 disk-type antenna). Others seem to suggest that with all of the possible building interference that we'll need a highly directional antenna pointed at ESB.

Can anyone recommend a good antenna (and amp?) setup, taking into account our very long cable run to the roof?

[Tigerbangs]

If you have access to the roof, and can mount your antenna there, then you will not have a problem getting good TV reception, even with 100'+ of cable between the antenna and the TV set. The TV signals are very strong in your location, but it is critical to have a clear shot to the ESB in order insure good reception. An omnidirectional antenna is not a good idea since they have no ability to reject multipath interference, and rely on a built-in or external preamplifier for their gain. it is likely that almost any preamp that you install will overload with the signal strength available from the ESB.

My suggestion would be to use a directional all-channel antenna like a Winegard HD-7082P mounted on your roof, along with an antenna rotator like a Channel Master 9521a, which will allow you to turn the antenna top see all of the available stations in the area. if a rotator is not in the cards, use the antenna permanently aimed at the ESB.

This antenna will have enough gain to compensate for cable lengths of up to 250' without the use of a preamplifier. I suggest that you use either RG-6q uad-shield or RG-11 quad shield coax cable when running cable from the antenna to your receive: my preference would be to use RG-11, which has considerably less cable loss than RG-6. if you need to distribute the signal to multiple TV sets from the antenna, it is a simple matter to use a distribution amplifier and splitter to run to multiple TV sets.

http://www.winegard.com/kbase/upload/HD7082P.pdf
http://www.channelmaster.com/product...ID=68&catID=34
https://edeskv2.belden.com/Products/#s=RG-11&r=0

[deluxe]

Thanks Tigerbangs. I received very different information from a tech at Solid Signal, who recommended the omnidirectional, amplified Winegard MS-2000 for my situation... I imagine I'll have to return that one. Thanks also for the cable recommendation.

[Tigerbangs]

The guy at Solid Signal doesn't realize what TV reception in NYC is like: I've done a number of antennas there before, and know the pitfalls: You will have no end of fun trying to use that MS2000 in Manhattan!

[deluxe]

A different Solid Signal Tech recommended the Winegard FreeVision FV-HD30, which doesn't seem to be appropriate either?

Thanks again for your help, Tigerbangs!

[Tigerbangs]

Trust me: follow my advice: I guarantee your results if you install properly!