TV Fool  

Go Back   TV Fool > Over The Air Services > Help With Reception

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 26-Dec-2014, 12:42 PM   #1
woodardhsd
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 4
Eastern NC, need Small Attic Antenna

I wanted to get my brothers a small attic antenna for their apartment since they don't have cable tv. The attic/storage space is very small, only 5' tall, 4' deep. This is the only space to put an antenna, as the the little indoor rabbit ears type was not working very well.

Here is the TVfool for their location. http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...2c15b8d9cc0286

I bought a couple from Wal-Mart to try, including this one: http://www.walmart.com/msharbor/ip/G...tenna/20976617 which worked the best.

The channels I would really like to get are WITN, WNCT, WYDO, and WCTI. This antenna will get WITN at 8/10 bars, WNCT at 7/10, WYDO at 5/10, and WCTI at 4-5/10. That's fine when the weather is clear, but I'm worried WYDO and WCTI will start to fade away during poor weather.

Are there any other antennas I should check out that may work a bit better? I live across town from them and have a HBU22 split between 2 TV's, and I get all the networks at 9-10/10 bars. Unfortunately, that antena is just too big for their space.

Thanks,
Mike
woodardhsd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-Dec-2014, 10:55 PM   #2
LimeyRich
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 2
S. E. NC. Woods N of Wilmington

Hi : Brand new to this forum too. I see from your report that you are in about the same relationship mileage wise from the Jacksonville/Kinston/ New Bern , TV antennas ( to your S.W.) as I am from the Wilmington ones (to my W.S.W.).
We recycled two $14.95 two bay Amazon "Eagle Aspens"chinese cheapie's into a 4bay (McLapp design) antenna ( less than 38" high) that sits in our attic facing W.S.W. It's mounted on a 1 1/4 " wooden pole. The results are excellent, ABC,NBC,FOX,CBS,ION, plus much more! 19 named stations 24 viewable channels (6 sub-channels) altogether. Plus perfect viewing in the lousy weather we just had earlier in the week. Mc Lapp's link below.
[URL="http://m4antenna.eastmasonvilleweather.com/index.html"]

[URL="http://m4antenna.eastmasonvilleweather.com/index.html"]

So my point is, I think you would be very happy with a four bay DB4 "Whisker" type antenna in the attic also.
Hopefully the folks on this forum will chime in shortly, as they are a fountain of knowledge and helpfulness.
P.S. I know nothing technical about antennas. Just browsing this site helped.
P.P.S Walmart has those Eagle Aspens too
All the best, Happy Holidays! Rich.

OK I am having trouble adding links

Last edited by LimeyRich; 27-Dec-2014 at 4:06 PM. Reason: adding info
LimeyRich is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27-Dec-2014, 6:56 PM   #3
timgr
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Medford MA USA
Posts: 371
Hi Mike -

Couple of things you should be aware of. Effectiveness of an attic installation is difficult to predict. There are too many unknowns, in the material of the roof and structure, trees and buildings and other obstructions on the other side of the roof, and conductive and/or noisy wires, pipes, chimneys, etc. that are part of the building. Antennas are designed to function in free air, and you can change their electrical characteristics by placing them in other environments. Some building materials are more transparent to signals than others. Stucco, for example, contains wire mesh typically and is basically opaque to TV signals.

So did your antenna work in the attic location? Certainly I would test that before proceeding. An "attic antenna" is just a cheapened outdoor antenna - not weather proof. There's no way to design an antenna specifically for attic use that's different from outdoor use, other than you can make is flimsier. So consider whether you are getting good value from the GE antenna, compared to, say, an RCA ANT751. http://www.amazon.com/RCA-ANT751-Dur.../dp/B0024R4B5C - which also should be available from Walmart.

If the attic space is not terrible for signal, I think your main issue will be getting sufficient VHF-high reception. You probably want WNCT 10 and WCTI 12, which are pretty strong at your location and not too far separated at your locale. The VHF signal wavelength is long, and typically needs a large antenna for good reception. Bowtie arrays, which will likely fit in your space pretty well, are typically UHF only - ie https://www.antennasdirect.com/store...v-antenna.html Your typical VHF antenna is a yagi design, and is long. The Antennacraft Y5713 and Y10713 are often recommended here http://www.antennacraft.net/Antennas/AntennasVHF.html for combination with a UHF-only antenna. The Clearstream 5 is an alternative to something like the 5' long Y5713 https://www.antennasdirect.com/store/vhf.html but at a considerable premium. And you'd have to site it and your UHF antenna in your attic space.

The good think is you have quite a lot of signal in the air for that group of majors to the southwest, and they aren't too widely separated geographically. So you might be able to do it ...
timgr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4-Jan-2015, 10:02 PM   #4
woodardhsd
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 4
Quote:
Originally Posted by timgr View Post
So did your antenna work in the attic location? Certainly I would test that before proceeding. An "attic antenna" is just a cheapened outdoor antenna - not weather proof. There's no way to design an antenna specifically for attic use that's different from outdoor use, other than you can make is flimsier. So consider whether you are getting good value from the GE antenna, compared to, say, an RCA ANT751. http://www.amazon.com/RCA-ANT751-Dur.../dp/B0024R4B5C - which also should be available from Walmart.
The signal strengths in the first post are with the GE antenna.

Should the RCA do a better job picking up those signals?
woodardhsd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 4-Jan-2015, 11:44 PM   #5
timgr
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Medford MA USA
Posts: 371
Quote:
Originally Posted by woodardhsd View Post
The signal strengths in the first post are with the GE antenna.

Should the RCA do a better job picking up those signals?
Maybe. We have no technical data on the GE antenna. We also don't have any technical data on the RCA antenna, but it has demonstrated superior performance.
timgr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-Jan-2015, 1:18 PM   #6
woodardhsd
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 4
I ordered a ANT751 and it got it hooked up in the space. Now were getting 8/10 on all the channels I was hoping for. The only problem is it's about 3" too long for the space. Right now it's sitting with one end on the floor against one wall, with the other end pointed up about 15 degrees resting on the other wall. I'd rather not leave it like that since the antenna came with such a nice heavy duty mount. I'm wondering If I could shorten the main mast of the antenna up a bit by trimming the ends off and relocating the mast forward a bit.

Here's what I was thinking. I would trim .5"-1" off the front (narrow) end of the antenna at the green mark. I would cut the area off behind the last dipole (green mark) and move the mount forward between the last 2 dipoles where it says "HERE" in the picture. Could I do that without affecting the reception of the antenna?

I've attached a picture to give you guys an idea.
woodardhsd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-Jan-2015, 3:18 PM   #7
rickbb
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 341
I don't think shortening up the length they way you propose would be an issue.

But moving the mounting mast in that location is not something I would do. Those are your phase lines in that spot and the shape and spacing are very important. Especially the space away from other metal objects. I think anything metal there would pose some interference issues and may affect the quality of reception.

Lets see what the experts on here have to say.
rickbb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-Jan-2015, 3:42 PM   #8
timgr
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Medford MA USA
Posts: 371
Intuitively I'd agree with rickbb. If you put the steel J-pole between the last two antenna elements it will electrically couple with the antenna to some degree. There is an electrical resonance between the antenna elements that depends on their distance and passive electrical properties (impedance).

Since this is going indoors, you could cut it off and try hanging it from the ceiling with some string. If that works, you could try a plastic pipe or wood dowel for a little more rigid fastening. The heavy mast is meant to anchor it against the weather, and you won't need it indoors - assuming it's not needed as part of the electrical loading (I think it is not).

Shortening the boom theoretically changes the antenna too, but I suspect it won't matter. maybe one of the antenna design experts here will comment.

See if you can hang it from the ceiling without shortening it somehow. Operating not level )pointing at the sky instead of the horizon) probably reduces the antenna sensitivity, since it has a vertical as well as horizontal aperture.
timgr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-Jan-2015, 3:50 PM   #9
woodardhsd
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 4
Thanks for the replies, guys. I guess I was thinking it wouldn't make a difference as long as the mounting didn't touch the elements/phase lines.

I may just take a couple pieces of wood and cut a notch out of the top for the antenna to sit in on each end. Then screw those wood pieces to the wall.

Kinda like this:

Last edited by woodardhsd; 12-Jan-2015 at 3:54 PM.
woodardhsd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-Jan-2015, 4:02 PM   #10
timgr
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Medford MA USA
Posts: 371
Pretty sure vertical supports will affect the antenna less than horizontal, regardless what material you use.
timgr is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Go Back   TV Fool > Over The Air Services > Help With Reception


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off




All times are GMT. The time now is 3:59 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright © TV Fool, LLC