Antenna selection (for cities) and installation questions

[ghostman]

I live no more than 9 miles from the broadcast source (Empire State Building) and antennaweb indicates that all the channels I care about fall between red and yellow antenna types - so a medium directional with no pre-amp.

I currently use a Silver Sensor near the first floor window in a 2-story house (all surrounding houses are 2 stories). Although antennaweb indicates CBS, ABC, FOX are in yellow ranges (S-Multi antenna), the Silver Sensor can reliably pick up only NBC, which is in the red range (M-Direct antenna). That sounds counterintuitive, so I'm confused which antenna to choose for my roof. So, here are my questions:

1. Which antenna is recommended for the city area to pick up VHF/UHF/FM signals? I've been looking at these:
Channel Master antennas and pre-amps from Warren Electronics
Winegard Antennas from Warren Electronics

2. Is it bad to buy an antenna that is over spec? As in, if I got a large directional antenna when I only need a medium directional antenna.

3. Are these mount/masts available on these websites specifically designed to grasp antennas? From the photos, they look like plain metal poles.

4. I have little hardware experience, so how does one go about bolting a mount/mast to a roof? Will a hammer and nails do? If so, any recommendations so my antenna doesn't go flying in a gust of wind?

5. My grounding block is in the back of the house. The TV is in the front of the house. Is it ok to install the antenna midway, then run the coax to the front of the house and the grounding wire to the back of the house? Or should the coax and the grounding wire run together?

As you can see, I don't have much experience with any of this. I called the local antenna store to see if a pro can do it, but the guy indicated that it'll cost $230 and he does not ground it. He indicated that he hasn't grounded antennas in the 10 years he's been in servce. At that rate, it seems like I can afford to buy a few antennas if I get it wrong, but the grounding portion sounds important. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[RandallA]

I just bought the CM4220M antenna and placed it in the attic. I'm getting 100 signal on most channels. Being that it's a small antenna, it can be used indoors too. I put it in the attic because I didn't want to deal with grounding.

4220 Channel Master UHF Antenna

 

[ghostman]

I just bought the CM4220M antenna and placed it in the attic. I'm getting 100 signal on most channels. Being that it's a small antenna, it can be used indoors too. I put it in the attic because I didn't want to deal with grounding.

4220 Channel Master UHF Antenna

Oh yes, the classic DB2. I'm tempted to make one of these. I even tried to, but it picked up no more signal than my Silver Sensor on the first floor. I did a pretty bad job making it though. I'm in a multi-family house and the second floor is occupied by another family, so the roof is the only high-level option. And if I'm putting it on the roof, I figured I might as well try to get VHF, UHF and FM signals too.

Just curious, where on an antenna does a grounding wire attach? Is there a specific screw/hole/whatever designated for it?

 

[ciwsguy]

I found out the hard way that too much signal strength is just as bad as very low signal strength. When too big, the signal saturates the receiver. My receiver indicated "no signal'. My problem was caused by a pre-amp that it turns out I did not need. Removed the pre-amp and my problems were solved. So is it bad to buy an over-spec antenna (I presume you mean too much gain)? IMO, yes.
Are these mount/masts available on these websites specifically designed to grasp antennas? I don't think so. Got mine from Lowe's. Shipping will far outweigh the local taxes you would pay, so I recommend buying locally.
How does one go about bolting a mount/mast to a roof? Screws and a mounting kit. Some tri-pod pole-holders (for lack of a better term) are available with the feet screwed to the rafters, not the roof sheeting. Waterproof exposed hardware with sealant. I mounted my exterior antenna using to the gable of my Garage with the antenna over the roofline. I bought stand-offs, and galvanized lag screws for the mounting kit. It's very stable and I don't have wind loading problems with my Winegard PR4400.
Will a hammer and nails do? No. If you do, expect the wind from the first storm that comes along to rip it out. You should use exterior grade screws, with the screws driven into the framing members (i.e., rafters if on the rooftop or studs if a gable or wall mount).

 

[ghostman]

Thanks for the detailed response. I'm looking at the CM4221 (DB4-like design) now, even though I only need a MD antenna. I'm hoping this will not provide too little or too much signal strength. I've seen it on the roof of a house two blocks away, so it must be appropriate in my area. As for mounting, I'm considering the chimney mounts, since they seem to get the job done without the need to take the drill to the brick wall.

Grounding is still an issue though. My grounding block is in the back of the house while the TV will be near the front. The buildings are all connected to each other, so the coax would have to travel through the house, through three walls to get to my TV. The alternative is to run the cable on the front of the house, but there is no grounding area or water pipe there and the surrounding area is concrete. It's no wonder why nearly all the houses in my area have ungrounded antennas.

 

[ciwsguy]

Thanks for the detailed response. I'm looking at the CM4221 (DB4-like design) now, even though I only need a MD antenna. I'm hoping this will not provide too little or too much signal strength. I've seen it on the roof of a house two blocks away, so it must be appropriate in my area. As for mounting, I'm considering the chimney mounts, since they seem to get the job done without the need to take the drill to the brick wall.

Grounding is still an issue though. My grounding block is in the back of the house while the TV will be near the front. The buildings are all connected to each other, so the coax would have to travel through the house, through three walls to get to my TV. The alternative is to run the cable on the front of the house, but there is no grounding area or water pipe there and the surrounding area is concrete. It's no wonder why nearly all the houses in my area have ungrounded antennas.

I'm no grounding expert, but couldn't you drive a copper or galvanized spike into the ground and tie the grounding block to the spike with a 10 AWG wire? That's what I did.

 

[Jim5506]

It must be tied directly to the building's electrical ground or you run the risk of creating a ground loop.