Hopefully I won't leave any info out. There are four main channels I would like to receive. CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX. The problem is with fox. I can get ABC, NBC, CBS perfect. FOX and ABC are the same distance and direction. So why can ABC be so good and have trouble with FOX? I'm using a RCA ant751 antenna. It's in the attic( I know get it out of there). To make it worse plywood on roof has a radiant barrier (foil). My house is positioned so that the antenna points out the end which is just wood/vinyl( It's not pointed at the roof). The signal meter on my channel master dvr+ shows great numbers for everything but fox. I'm guessing a preamp will not help. Would a larger antenna help? Roof mount will require renting something to install. So my only other option is mounting it lower on the outside end that faces the stations. Mounting outside will be on opposite end from service entry.(ground) So from what I've heard from others that will mean a ground rod driven on that end and wire to connect to service ground rod. Thanks for any advice.
Signals are not uniform at any given point in space, they are a chaotic mess. You have to search for and find a "sweet spot" where everything plays nice.
Move the antenna around and try several other spots in the attic.
I think you understand the issues with the attic installation. The foil is a 100% barrier to TV signals, and the roof edges may diffract the incoming signal, generating local nulls. And wood/vinyl is not radio transparent.
If you mount outside, the antenna needs to be grounded properly to protect you and your family. This is a good thread about grounding - http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=901
Thanks for the replies. Just for the heck of it I stuck it outside today. Fox got a little better ( actually viewable) but I lost NBC. It may be 4' lower than it was in the attic. I'm fairly close to NBC so that surprised me. For NBC to be so strong in the attic and now outside, nothing. Does it affect a antenna if the house is behind it. (The house is not between the antenna and the direction of stations)
Depending on the distance and frequency, an object behind, or off to the side, may accentuate, or attenuate a signal.
Up, or down by as little as a few inches, may also help find a sweet spot.
You may also try twisting it to see if NBC comes in, w/o FOX dropping out.
I moved it around a little and got NBC back fairly strong. FOX is working but I don't think it will be reliable. I thinking of just going ahead and mounting it above the roof with a eave mount kit. That will put it around 32'. I have a couple of questions before I do that. How do I know if I need a preamp? If a distribution amp is all I need then that's no big deal. I'm probably going to get a lift to install it so that's why needing to know about the preamp is important.
There will probably be around 100-125' of wire total, 2 TV's and a dual tuner channelmaster dvr+. Thanks again for the help.
