Attic Antenna Selection Help

[chicago121]

Hello all,

If anyone could give me some advice on selecting an antenna, I'd really appreciate it.

Here's my TVFool Report: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...9900e412f5448e

I'm currently using a Mohu Leaf antenna taped to the wall behind the TV, and get fair reception for most of the UHF channels from 21 up. I get intermittent breakup on NBC 29 depending on the weather that made the Olympics tough to watch at times.

With football season upon us, I'd like to upgrade my antenna to try to get more stable reception across-the-board on the UHF channels, and also get CBS on VHF Channel 12, which I cannot currently get at all. ABC VHF channel 7 would also be nice, but not absolutely necessary. All the channels I'm interested in are broadcast from downtown Chicago, so I think a uni-directional antenna would be fine.

I'll need to attic-mount the antenna, since a roof or pole-mount is a no-go with my wife. The antenna will connect to a single SiliconDust HDHomeRun networked TV tuner that attaches to my network/HDTV, so no splitters or anything. The cable run from the antenna in the attic to the tuner will be approximately 75-100 feet, from the antenna, out through the wall, down 2 floors into our crawlspace, over to the living room and back up to the entertainment center.

Any advice you guys could give would be very much appreciated. Let me know if you need any additional information. Thanks!

If the attic construction is wood with standard composition flat singles , No metal backed insulation , No metal roof , No solar panels , No thick roof tiles.

Mount a Winegard HD7082P antenna , with no antenna amplifier, in the attic aimed at about 70 degree magnetic compass direction.

Here is how to aim antennas , http://www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html.

Your location has Receivable Digital Tv Channels in ALL 3 Tv channel bands.

VHF low band Digital channels 2 thru 6.

VHF high band Digital channels 7 thru 13.

UHF band Digital channels 14 thru 51.

The HD7082P antenna receives ALL 3 Tv Digital Bands.

Here are some places to buy antennas and etc. , http://www.solidsignal.com , http://www.winegarddirect.com , http://www.amazon.com.

[TheFu]

I built a DB4 antenna for about $20 and an hour of my time that pulls in almost all yellow and lite-green stations in my area, including hi-VHF channels 8 (virt 8.1) and 10 (virt 11.1). It is based on the plans here: http://m4antenna.eastmasonvilleweather.com/index.html and looks like a CM-4221HD antenna, but is specifically designed to receive Hi-VHF channels too. Mine is mounted in the attic now too. Originally it was in an upstairs bedroom. All I can say is I am amazed at the difference 8 ft of height makes to reception.

I believe the CM-4221 only pulls in UHF. I'm just under 20 miles from the transmitters here. Since you are closer, there shouldn't be any issues unless you have metal siding or a metal roof or a big barn in the way of LOS.

I see your are referencing real channels, not virtual channels. Good.

This post http://www.dtvusaforum.com/dtv-hdtv-...ata-4-bay.html should help you select characteristic for a home-built antenna.

My cable run is not as long as yours, but with the signal strength you are getting, that might not be important. You could always place the HDHR closer to the antenna and only run an ethernet cable all that distance, if loss is an issue. I have an HDHR too.