Thread: OTA reception expertise requested

Generally, higher is better, but you don't need to be more than 5' above most reflective surfaces (shingles, etc.).

In your case it may depend on how large and mature the trees are. I assume the trees are between you and the broadcast towers. In my case, I have two 50-year-old elm trees, right in the way, less than 20' from my house, and my reception is acceptable with the antenna on a 5' mast in the middle of my roof (not more than 15' total from the ground).

Gable mounts are easiest to install and ground, and also the cheapest, but they don't work on fully-hipped roofs like mine. Chimney mounts are also nice, if you have a chimney. A tripod mount with a 5' mast section is the last option to consider, and probably the hardest to ground elegantly.



You may try just putting a bowtie in your attic where the omni is currently located, point it down the middle of your transmitter cluster, and see what happens. Omnis typically have -6dB of gain, which means they're a quarter as effective as the reference dipole antenna (rabbit ears can be configured for 0dB of gain), while a 2-bay bowtie is more like +6dB, or four times as good as the reference.

Thanks Cowboy.

I'll take the omni back to radio shack. sounds like that's just not going to be the best option, even if roof mounted.

I'll pick up a bowtie per the online spot you mentioned, and try mounting it in the attic first.

If that does not work, I'll try a gable mount.

thanks so much for the help!

As I said in the second post try a cheap set of rabbit ears in the attic. You may need an F-81 SPLICE to connect the rabbit ears coax to your coax but as close as you are to the broadcaster it may be all you need.

hi boba,

I will try that first. in fact, when I return the 360 antenna to RS today, i will get one from the and give it a try.

Budget TV Antenna - RadioShack.com

If this doesn't work, none of the others will, either.

Cowboy the reviews look good I hope he tries one and it works as well for him.

hey guys,

so, I went down to Radio shack and thought I would try this:


UHF/VHF/FM Indoor Antenna With 12-Position Fine-Tuning - RadioShack.com

put it up in my attic, and it's not bad. I get consistent 100 signal strength on 4(NBC), 6(ABC), and 10(CBS). 28(FOX), is the issue. I can't seem to get any higher then 76 signal strength, and as result, I get audio dropouts and occassional video artifacts.

tried adjusting the rabbit ears higher/lower as well as the spread between them....

argh....every site on the web I check for signals tells me that an indoor antenna should pick up all of these stations easily.

this antenna is rated for 30 miles, and i have read that if used indoors you can lose 50% of an antenna's reception capability......I am only 3.3 miles away.....

starting to wonder if I just need to bite the bullet, get one of the outdoor units you guys suggested, and put it on a gable mount.

my concern is: if I am getting virtually 100% on 3 of the 4 locals I want, and they are all basically in the same direction and distance from me, will I have any better luck getting 28?

this antenna biz is definintely more art than science :-0

I don't like that antenna because it's too complicated. The more complex the system, the easier it is to screw up...but try this:

Extend the rabbit ears to full length, and set them to 45* apart (not 90*), which is to say about 23* from straight up. Point the hoop towards the tower from which ch28 is broadcast; the TVFool.com report gives you the heading information. Aim it broadside, as if the hoop were a magnifying glass and the tower is an ant you're trying to observe.

Don't worry about losing some signal from the other channels, because you have a surplus of strength, but you also have this one problem area that needs direct attention. 75 on the signal meter is waaay more than enough, but the audio dropouts indicate that you're still dealing with multipath. You can also try aiming the hoop 90* off-axis, putting the ch28 tower inside a "null," which is antenna-speak for a blind spot. You can also fiddle with the tuning dials a bit, but whatever you do, do NOT amplify this antenna.

Good advice Cowboy it looks like he is almost cured. From dropouts every couple minutes to one channel being bothered by multipath is a step in the right direction. Hopefully your aiming instructions will get the last bit corrected.