Antenna in attic.....OTARD no help....HOA

[glen4cindy]

For the time being, and certainly longer that I would like, we are going to be stuck in this HOA.

I've looked into OTARD and according to those rules, a HOA can mandate attic installation of TV antennas which is exactly what I'm dealing with here.

Not having the equipment to test, if I go to the expense of a good antenna, how much signal penalty am I going to face having to place it in the attic?

Also, can those be amplified? Or should I feed 1 thing like a Tivo Roamio and then clients for additional TV's?

I'd much rather feed live signal to more than 1 TV at a time.

Looking to eventually cut the cord.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Hall]

The HOA can't do that unless you live in a condominium or similar in which you don't "own" the outside area.

What type of home do you live in ?

 

[glen4cindy]

The HOA can't do that unless you live in a condominium or similar in which you don't "own" the outside area.

What type of home do you live in ?

I live in a single family 1 story home.

http://www.hindmansanchez.com/resou...te-dishes-and-antennas-questions-and-answers/

Q: Can the association require indoor (attic) antenna installation?

A: If acceptable reception is possible, installation, maintenance or use is not unreasonably delayed, and the cost is not unreasonably increased, then associations may require indoor installation. However, for some types of service, indoor installation may not be feasible. In those cases, the association may not require indoor installation."

Who decides if the reception is "acceptable"?

 

[fred555]

Who decides if the reception is "acceptable"?

Get a Tv fool report for starters:

http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29

Please post your report when you finish.

 

[danristheman]

You can put a tower outside I believe that hoa can't block that? We have several hoa around here that has towers by their homes.

 

[Hall]

Test the antenna outside and see how many channels you get. Then try it from the attic. If you get fewer channels, that is unacceptable to you, right?

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[fred555]

Also, can those be amplified?

Yes, but the TV Fool report will tell if is needed. If needed a pre-amp can be used.

I'd much rather feed live signal to more than 1 TV at a time.

Pretty common and easy to do. I am assuming your house is wired for cable TV or pay satellite already? If so you an use that cable infrastructure probably.

 

[larrykenney]

... if I go to the expense of a good antenna, how much signal penalty am I going to face having to place it in the attic?

Also, can those be amplified?

You will definitely lose some signal with the antenna in the attic, but how much depends on what materials are used on the roofing material and siding. Aluminum siding and certain types of roof tiles can reduce the signals more than 50%, but if the roof is asphalt shingles and the building is made of wood, you will lose a lot less. An antenna in the attic will certainly be a lot better than an indoor antenna down by the TV.

When we see your TV Fool report we can then answer the question about amplification.

As far as distribution, there are 4 port and 8 port distribution amps where you connect the antenna to the input and then run coax from the outputs to all the TVs you want to use. Works great!

 

[Hall]

I used to have an antenna in the attic but a) I was less than 10 miles from towers and b) I positioned it to point through wood + shingles instead of the aluminum siding. It worked fine.

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[Peter Parker]

You can put a tower outside I believe that hoa can't block that? We have several hoa around here that has towers by their homes.

They can require attic installations. That being the case I doubt they would approve a tower.

 

[harshness]

The best place to start is with a neighbor who has a working setup in a similarly built home. If nobody has one, there's your sign (and possibly a sign that OTARD is in play).

We really do need to see what your incoming signals are predicted to look like to offer detailed advice.

 

[jayn_j]

I live in a single family 1 story home.

http://www.hindmansanchez.com/resou...te-dishes-and-antennas-questions-and-answers/

Q: Can the association require indoor (attic) antenna installation?

A: If acceptable reception is possible, installation, maintenance or use is not unreasonably delayed, and the cost is not unreasonably increased, then associations may require indoor installation. However, for some types of service, indoor installation may not be feasible. In those cases, the association may not require indoor installation."

Who decides if the reception is "acceptable"?

FWIW, I would be questioning that link. The site seems to be a law firm that specializes in representing the interests of HOAs and property managers. Definitely not your friend. The FCC link on OTARD is: https://www.fcc.gov/media/over-air-reception-devices-rule#block-menu-block-4
Nothing in the FCC link allows the HOA to force an attic installation.

The closest thing on the FCC site is this Q&A:

Q: What restrictions prevent a viewer from receiving an acceptable quality signal? Can a homeowners association or other restricting entity establish enforceable preferences for antenna locations?

A: Enforceable placement preferences must be clearly articulated in writing and made available to all residents of the community in question. A requirement that an antenna be located where reception would be impossible or substantially degraded is prohibited by the rule. However, a regulation requiring that antennas be placed in a particular location on a house such as the side or the rear, might be permissible if this placement does not prevent reception of an acceptable quality signal or impose unreasonable expense or delay. For example, if installing an antenna in the rear of the house costs significantly more than installation on the side of the house, then such a requirement would be prohibited. If, however, installation in the rear of the house does not impose unreasonable expense or delay or preclude reception of an acceptable quality signal, then the restriction is permissible and the viewer must comply.

The key point in your favor is the substantially degraded phrase. As others have mentioned, the attic can cause a signal to be attenuated by 10-20 dB and that is enough to result in unreliable to non-reception for all but the strongest signals.

 

[kittyhas1000legs]

I'm not a lawyer, but I say find out what the HOA "rules" are, install the antenna outdoors (maybe in the back yard or the side of the roof away from the road), and if anyone complains, tell them to petition the FCC. So long as you follow OTARD by installing it properly outdoors, and you can show the signal is "substantially degraded" by installing indoors, you should be fine and it's on THEM to prove that they can force you to change the installation.

The first property manager at my apartmentt complex had a complete freakout, and I told her to talk to her boss. The antenna was within OTARD rules, but big and visible, so I just moved it on the balcony. The next property manager (one month later) said to put up my dish and we'll go from there (making sure it's within OTARD). The current property manager hasn't said diddly about my dishes and antenna, though to be fair the antenna's surprisingly well hidden for a VHF-lo/UHF antenna.

Like others have said, it'd be best if we had your TVfool report. If you plug in your address and it says your signal is calculated at "block level", find your exact coordinates and put those into TVfool instead (can be found on Google Maps).

 

[Peter Parker]

I doubt that glen4cindy really wants to do battle with the HOA. I think that Harshness hada good idea when he mentioned investigating to see if anyone else in the area has a successful attic installation.

 

[glen4cindy]

Here is the TV Fool report:

 

[jayn_j]

Not worth the fight IMO. Put the antenna in the attic and point it at 235 deg. You have a better set of signals than I have for my attic antenna.

 

[fred555]

What he said ^.

That is one of the better TV Fool reports we have seen in a while.

 

[glen4cindy]

Would I need a preamp for a 4 way slitter and about 50 to 75 feet of coax ahead of the slitter?

 

[fred555]

I would not use a preamp at first. A preamp is used to boost distant signals.
You may be too close to some towers for that, as that could degrade your signal.

I usually install the antenna, then hook it to a single TV, adjust, aim and fiddle for best overall signal.
I bring a TV to the antenna and watch the signal meter.

Depending on the lengths of the runs in your house, and losses, a distribution amplifier may be needed.
It is used just like a splitter but also boosts the signals slightly to overcome any losses incurred in distributing the signal
throughout the home.

Amazon product ASIN B001PI09SEThere may be better ones out there, this is just an example.

The other option is just a plain old passive splitter.

I usually start simple. After you test to your one TV and get everything good, then put in a four way splitter.
See what it looks like on the different TVs.
I don't think you can hurt anything by using a distribution amp.


Is your home wired with coax already?
for Cable?
for Satellite?
Where is the main distribution point for the coax throughout the house?

 

[Hall]

Yeap, as others have said, you'll be fine. You're close and most are in the same direction, within a few degrees of each other.

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