Sugestions with dreaded Boston & Providence Split....

[Map_guy]

Thanks for such a great site, I remember my grand farther having a TV antenna in the pre-cable days. Little did I know Id be following in his path 30 years later.

I live in New Bedford, MA (between cape cod and providence)and looking into cutting the chord or at least setting up an antenna so I still have a TV if the cable goes out due to storms.

I will be hooking up one TV (maybe two if it works). I live on a second floor apartment and have an attic to place an antenna in. I realize that the attic is not an a great location, but the roof isnt a realistic option for me at first and Id like to get the most stations I can with an inside the attic setup. Cable length would be like 20-30ft from antenna to TV.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...1dda7db62b54df

My location analysis shows Boston station in one direction and providence in another. Id like to pick up the major Boston and Providence stations for local news along with the PBS stations. Is it possible to grab stations from both cities?

Thanks in advance, appreciate any suggestions, excited to see what stations I might be able to pull in...

[GroundUrMast]

Consider the high gain and wide forward beam of the Antennas Direct DB-4e. Pair that with a High-VHF antenna such as an Antennacraft Y5713. You can then optimize the UHF aim and VHF independently. Combine the two using a UVSJ.

Outdoor mounting would be ideal. In the attic is an unknown until you put an antenna up there to see what the roof construction does in your case.

[Map_guy]

Thanks, so I am guessing from the reports on the two antennas and the report I would use the Antennas Direct DB-4e and point it towards Boston (355deg) and the use the Antennacraft Y5713 and point it towards Providence?

Kind of unsure which antenna is directional and which is general purpose, where I point the Antennas Direct DB-4e?

Would grabbing the Antennas Direct DB-4e first and seeing what I can get from Boston and then extending the range with the Antennacraft Y5713 make sense?

Thanks again...

[GroundUrMast]

The DB-4e would be aimed by facing it toward 355° per a compass (starting point, to be fine tuned). You'll be 'splitting' the aim between the two major groups of stations.

I don't know about your preferences, but I have no interest in WWDP, a ShopNBC affiliate. I would point the Y5713 at 323° to make WNAC & WPRI reception solid. However, you have the option to split the aim if you like.

A Simple 1 antenna reception situation.

For reliable reception.

Above the high point of the roof in such a manner that the roof and house are not blocking reception to the , north , north west , south west , east.

Install a Winegard HD7696P antenna with a Winegard HDP-269 preamp aimed at about 345 degree magnetic compass direction , a in between aim direction.

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

Here are some antenna mounts.

http://www.ronard.com/909911.html if using the tripod antenna mount use the 5 foot antenna mount.

http://www.ronard.com/34424560.html if using the eave antenna mount use the #4560.

http://www.ronard.com/ychim.html.

http://www.ronard.com.

Buy the ronard antenna mounts at solidsignal by typing the word ronard in the solidsignal search box or buy from ronard.

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

For 1 Tv connected use No splitter.

For 2 Tv's connected use a , HFS-2D , 2 way splitter.

For 3 Tv's connected use a , HFS-3D , 3 way splitter.

For 4 Tv's connected use a , HFS-4D , 4 way splitter.

Buy the HFS splitters at , http://www.solidsignal.com
, or , http://www.hollandelectronics.com.
___________

As always , trees and tree leaves do a good job of , reflecting , reducing , blocking , Digital Tv reception and so do buildings and other obstructions including your own roof and house.

It is best to install the HD7696P antenna at a location that has the least amount to no amount of obstructions of any type or kind in the directions of reception including your own roof and house.

The Tv/s Must Channel Scan for the Digital Broadcast Tv Channels , often neamed the 'Air Channels' or 'Antenna Channels' in the Tv setup menu because the Tv transmissions travel through the air from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna.

Some Digital Tv's will automatic channel scan for cable tv channels.

DO NOT channel scan for cable tv channels.

Go into the Tv setup menu and select , 'Air Channels' / 'Antenna Channels'.

[Map_guy]

I picked up the DB4e and did a quick dry run in the attic just to see how many stations I could get. It worked pretty well with some problems....

1.) WGBH (PBS) 2-1 RF19 (-54db) comes in and out with pixilation, but the signal seems to be higher definition, is that possible.

2.) WCVB 5-1 RF20 (-55db) doesn't come in it all

But this farther station (and others in between) comes in fine....

WPBX 68 RF32 (-70db)

What would keep WCVB 5-1 RF20 from coming in?

Everything is attic mounted now, would a preamp or rooftop installation fix these problems? Would the bigger DB8 pull these in better if in the attic?

On the whole I have been impressed with the picture quality, my phase two is the VHF-Hi antenna installation. Could this second antenna be replaced with another VHF/UFH antenna so I can get the Rhode island PBS station I am missing?

I am guessing I can't because of freq overlap, but not sure why. Trying to understand this better.

[GroundUrMast]

Test reception, with no amplifier, outside. Simply connect the antenna directly to a good TV tuner, with no splitter or other accessory. You can start the test at ground level...

You'll find some virtual channels are used for HD (720p & 1080i) content some or all the time, others are configured by the broadcaster to run in SD (480i) only.

Combining a UHF and a VHF antenna is easy because there is so much difference in frequencies, this make filter design and construction simple and inexpensive. Combining two UHF antennas requires expensive commercial grade filters, that are cost prohibitive to the consumer market. But they exist if you have the money.

[Map_guy]

I ordered the VHF antenna and the VHF/UFH joiner. As far as installation is concerned......

Read somewhere about mounting both antennas on the same mast and joing with short sections of coax. I actually have plenty of room in the attic. Is there any benefit to putting the UHF and VHF antennas on the same mast?

Is there a certain distance apart the UHF and VHF antennas need to be vertically and horizontally apart from each other?

I have a FM antenna mounted in the attic, do the antennas need to be a certain distance away from this?

[GroundUrMast]

Try to maximize the separation, consider 3' the minimum vertical or horizontal separation.

Avoid placing one antenna or anything metallic in front of any other antenna.