Also seeking antenna advice in a rural area...

Mainah · 10-07-2009, 11:04 AM

Hello All,

A new member here in somewhat rural Maine (lol - isn't all of this state rural) with the same kind of question that Dachshund (that was the breed of my childhood dog, "Twiggy") had posted a few weeks ago... I would be very glad to share the results of what I learn as I venture down this DTV road... to help other future readers with their situation who may find this forum as I did.

Here is my address-based TV Fool Report as well as a map-based TV Fool Report as suggested by Piggie to Dachshund in the first thread I posted to... (just before Piggie left this forum).

I currently have one TV on the first floor with a Tivax STB-T8 Converter and Tivax DT-01 rabbit ears. That setup brings in channels 38 and 43 fairly clearly, but that's all folks... On the second floor I have the same converter with an older set of Zenith rabbit ears - the model number might be ATS 310 or ETA 343. The second floor set up also only gets channels 38 and 43 clearly... it also sporadically gets channels 35, 44 and 8 - with heavy pixelation / frequent signal lose.

I am really only interested in some of the green and yellow channels that show up on the TV Fool reports and would really like to bring these in with an attic-mounted antenna set up. I would guesstimate that I would need about 40' and 20' feet of cable to get to the 1st and 2nd floor sets (respectively) from an attic-mounted antenna. The house is a colonial style, so the attic is fairly spacious (as attics go, I guess).

I am not sure if you folks would need any other information from me before providing advice, but if you do, just let me know!

Thanks very much in advance for your assistance!

Mainah

Don_M · 10-07-2009, 12:11 PM

Well, you're going to need a spacious attic! One look at the report's "radar plot" shows signals coming in from all different directions, so you really need a directional antenna on a rotor to get all the stations you want.

Lots of people in these situations understandably get interested in omni-directional antennas, but they're not a good choice here for three reasons: By design, omnis capture both direct and reflected signals, and reflected signals (the reason for analog ghosts) cause loss of digital reception; an omni probably won't pull in most of those "yellow" stations reliably (I know this from personal experience); and every omni relies on an amplifier. Because the first three stations on the report are quite strong, most amps built into omnis are likely to overload, causing loss of reception -- particularly among the weaker signals you want.

If you have a diameter of at least 12 feet for turning an antenna in the attic, I would suggest a Winegard HD-7696P antenna turned by a Channel Master 9521a rotor. Connect the antenna to a splitter and the TVs using RG-6 coaxial cable, and scan for new channels the first time you adjust the aim for each station. Try the antenna by itself first -- it may have enough gain to drive both TVs without a boost. (This is where outside mounting would help: You definitely wouldn't need an amp for two sets on a 7696, and you might even be able to step down to the smaller HD-7694P and still get reliable reception!)

If it turns out you need the boost after all, add a Winegard HDP-269 pre-amplifier to the system as needed. It's capable of handling several strong signals without overloading.

Mainah · 10-26-2009, 06:09 PM

Hello Don,

Sorry for the delayed reply - crazy busy life and I misplaced my forum password - but that re-surfaced over the weekend after I excavated down through the Jurassic period of my desk! Anyway, I was afraid that the answer you provided might be the one to come back... As you might guess, I have truss construction here... so while I might have around 8' of clearance I sure don't think I have 12'! :-(

If I am forced to move the antenna outside would your advice on the make / model / rotor combo change any or would you still go with the Wineguards / Channel Master in a rooftop application?

Thanks Again!

Mainah

EscapeVelocity · 10-26-2009, 06:41 PM

I think you might do well with a 4 Bay bowtie with screen removed, plus a pair of rabbit ears combined with a UVSJ, with a Winegard 269 and an FM Trap in the attic.

Attics can be weird places though.

Mainah · 10-28-2009, 08:21 PM

Thank you for the reply and food for thought EscapeVelocity...

Sounds like an interesting set up... for sure! Any further thoughts on recommendations for brands / models of the 4 bay (never have worked with this type of antenna before - so do the screens come off relatively easily on many of them?).

As well as adviice on brands to consider for the Rabbit Ears, UVSJ and FM Trap? I am sure there are probably higher end components as well as knock offs from asia and elsewhere... Also, would this be stationary or would I also want to include a rotor in the mix to point the array in various directions... since I seem to have broadcasts from all corners of the compass!

Thanks again for the advice and reply!

Mainah

erieadams · 10-28-2009, 08:31 PM

if anyone can help you figure this out these two can they helped me and I got more channels then I was hoping for

Mainah · 11-15-2009, 12:01 PM

Hello All,

Maniah here again… A quick update - I have ordered some OTA DTV components but they have not arrived yet… I will report back my results with this new equipment when everything is assembled and working. I do have another question for you good folks today – if you don’t mind... I told my dad about his site and he was curious to see what sort of advice he would get from you based on his TV Fool reports.

Here is his address based report as well as the preferred map / coordinate based report.

I believe that if he could get good reception with a stationary antenna pointed towards the cluster of stations to the S / SE on the TV Fool plots, then that would be preferably to only getting "okay" reception with an antenna setup that could be rotated to pick up those few outlier stations. If you have any questions or need some more info before providing advice, just let me know!

Thanks again for all your help!

Mainah

andrew44 · 11-15-2009, 12:33 PM

Hi,

This is the analysis of my possible ? DTV signal.

TV Fool

It doesn't look good to me but I wondered if there was anything I go buy etc that would allow me to view over the air HDTV? I'm sick of paying for satellite when I only really watch viewing that is available to many for free? Is there no way of amplifying the signal etc?

Thanks in advance,

Andrew

Tower Guy · 11-15-2009, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrew44

Hi,

This is the analysis of my possible ? DTV signal.

TV Fool

It doesn't look good to me but I wondered if there was anything I go buy etc that would allow me to view over the air HDTV? I'm sick of paying for satellite when I only really watch viewing that is available to many for free? Is there no way of amplifying the signal etc?

Thanks in advance,

Andrew

I'd try three Y10-7-13 antennas with Jointennas for channels 13 and 11. (Jointennas are available from Amazon.com)

If you want ION or Telemundo a 91XG is worth a try. The CBS station is too weak.

Preamp: Channel Master 7777

andrew44 · 11-15-2009, 12:51 PM

Thanks for the prompt reply. Is there nothing else I can do this all seems crazy just to get some tv! I don't mind paying more if I can get it to work as I figure I'll save in the long run.

Thanks again,

Andrew


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