Need help choosing indoor antenna...

[ToddUGA]

Hello all.

I'm looking to buy an antenna for my attic. I live about 40-45 miles away from the towers. All the digital channels are UHF except for one which is located on VHF channel 4. My attic is pretty roomy and is up pretty high. There are also dormer windows that face in the exact direction the towers are located, so I could mount an antenna to point out of one of them. Roof mounting isn't an option for me. Any suggestions?

 

[Cokeswigga]

sounds like you are going to need a uhf/vhf antenna...
since its inside you will need one larger than one that would be necessary for roof install...

channel master and winegard are popular brands

 

[ToddUGA]

I was thinking about the Channel Master 3671. Mounted in front of my dormer windows, would I get a good signal?

 

[Cokeswigga]

Thats a monster antenna... it'd think it would work decently...

you might want to search for attic installtions to see what people are experiencing...

(having never installed an antenna in the attic, I would think that you would have a pretty decent shot at getting good signal with the largest antenna available to you) I have heard that installing in an attic will cut the range in half...

according to channel master the VHF range is 100 miles while UHF is 60

So it might be close, but I would think that this antenna would give you a pretty good shot at doing what you want.
If this doesn't work, I'm not too sure that anyting else would work in your attic.

This should work aweome on your roof though

 

[Cokeswigga]

how come you can't roof mount?

I think it's a try it out and see if it works kinda things


and whats a dormer window?

 

[charper1]

Depending on your attic/house construction materials and the area's topography; expect around 35% - 45% of an antennas rated performance to be LOST when inside the attic. YMMV.

Is being in a rental the reason you can't mount optimally at roof level or higher?

 

[ToddUGA]

My roof is very high and very steep. I don't feel comfortable installing something there. I've tried to find a local dealer that installs antennas but haven't found one. Plus, living in the south, I worry about the antenna being a magnet for lightning strikes.

Here's a picture of a dormer.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e2/Dormer.jpg

 

[ToddUGA]

OK, I've decided to install either the Channel Master 3671 or Winegard HD8200P on the peak of my roof with a rotor and amplifier, which should get it pretty high. Between these two, which is the better antenna? Also, how do I go about grounding this sucker to protect against lightning strikes? Will having a large antenna on top of my roof affect my homeowner's insurance?

 

[Cokeswigga]

OK, I've decided to install either the Channel Master 3671 or Winegard HD8200P on the peak of my roof with a rotor and amplifier, which should get it pretty high. Between these two, which is the better antenna? Also, how do I go about grounding this sucker to protect against lightning strikes? Will having a large antenna on top of my roof affect my homeowner's insurance?

Wow, so you decided to put the biggest antenna up on your roof! (You can try putting it in your attic and see if it works)

Do you need the rotor, I thought all your antennas were out in one direction.

I did receive a message from a member on another forum who perfers the connection on the channelmaster antenna vs the winegard. He said the channelmasters were a higher quality connector and had a higher protection from corrosion.

As far as the pre-amp, if your coax line isn't going to be that long it may not be necessary. You can try with and without it to see what works. In my case the preamp was NOT needed, and was causing a slight problem.

Grounding is a special issue. You should search this, and if you are still concerned, contact a professional installer or electrician. The NEC codes are very specific about grounding/bonding etc. If your antenna is not properly installed, your insurance may have an issue with it.

With this big antenna where is claims UHF 70+ miles and VHF 100+ miles, and you are only 40 miles away, it might work fine in your attic. Then you wouldn't have to worry so much about mounting it on your roof. I would try it in your attic before mounting it on the roof.

Personally, if I lived in an area where lightning was a common thing and I was gonna mount it on the roof, I would have it checked out or installed by a pro.

 

[bryansr]

I have installed several attic antennas and I found out that Shingles filter out a LOT of UHF & VHF signal! I tried to convince the customer that would be the case BUT they paid for it and I did the work. Then they complained about the picture I told them IF you let me install it outside there would BE NO Problem with the signal!

BryanSR

 

[Rick0725]

I did receive a message from a member on another forum who perfers the connection on the channelmaster antenna vs the winegard. He said the channelmasters were a higher quality connector and had a higher protection from corrosion.

Sorry this is definately misinformation.

The winegard is much better made and is the exact opposite of what you heard. the cm antennas are of old school 300 ohm design.

the hd series antennas are characterized by:
-Steel hardware is zinc plated for maximum corrosion resistance.
-better engineered feed system. all hd series antennas are 75 ohm antennas. the 75 ohm downlead coupler simply snaps into place and eliminates the need for matching transformers.
-no rivets to get loose with age with high impact ABS girder design and support insulators.
-Engineered for extra strength with double boom braces
-Platinum HD antennas deliver powerful VHF performance and offer additional 1 dB to 2 dB higher gain on VHF and UHF

the hd8200p is the better antenna

average dbd gain
cm3671
low vhf 6.2
hi vhf 10.9
uhf 10.0

hd8200p
7.0
11.5
13.3


mileage claims were a means of characterizing an antenna within a manufacture's model range before the current color antenna ranking scheme was introduced. The reception horizon is typically 65-70 miles anyway.

I am 12-19 miles from the local towers and use an hd8200p for vhf and a 91xg for uhf with an hdp 269 preamp and I split the signal about a dozen times. overkill in antenna size recomendations is bullcrap and so is advising against a preamp. You just need to pick the correct amp for the application.

 

[ToddUGA]

The HD8200P it is then. Now to find someone in the middle Georgia area to install it for me.

BryanSR, you wouldn't happen to be in the middle Georgia area would you?

 

[bryansr]

Yes, I am in Macon.

 

[voomvoom]

Hi Todd, I have the HD8200p antenna with a Winegard MODEL DA-1136 (40-1000 MHz Distribution Amplifier) and it works great. It's a VHF/UHF/FM Deep Fringe Antenna, I also have a rotor to position it with. I live about halfway between Lizella and Roberta (20 miles from the tower farm) and get all the locals. My benefit is, I also get Atlanta pretty well. I get 11, 43 (69), and 44 (63) practically all the time. I get 2, 5, 17 and 46 most days and practically every night. I get 34, and 36 most nights, and I get 30 under Ideal Atmospheric conditions. Remember though that clouds can affect reception from that distance. I also get 3 from Columbus practically all the time, with 38 and 54 a lot and occasionally 9. I also have luck with other stations at times, but I won't go there now. You can get an eave mount, which I think work really well. But, an installer might have better ideas. Good Luck!

Al

 

[ToddUGA]

Well, my antenna is up and running. I ended up with a Channel Master 3671 and a 7777 pre-amp installed on my roof. I'm currently getting about 65-70% on WMAZ (4) and 40-50% on WMGT (40) and WGXA (32). At night I can pick up WMAZ and WMGT decently, although there are occasional dropouts. Is there anything I can do to improve the signal? I'm thinking of taking it up another 5 ft and see if that helps.

My brother is using a Channel Master 3016 antenna and can pick up WMGT and WGXA at almost 100% without a pre-amp. WMAZ only comes in about 20% for him however. He's about 5 miles away from me and lives in the country. I live in the city. I thought maybe I was overloading my receiver and took the pre-amp off, but it didn't help.

Any other ideas for getting more signal? I think I may have done a crappy job crimping my f-connectors on my RG-6. I didn't have a crimper and used basically a pair of pliers. I'm going to buy a crimper this afternoon and do things correctly and see if that gains me some signal.

 

[voomvoom]

You might try turning it slightly away from the towers, to see if there is any improvement. You never know?

Al

 

[ToddUGA]

Tried adjusting direction without much success.

I have my cable running from my outside grounding block through the outside wall to the back of a coax mounting plate mounted inside. I then run a separate cable run from the wall plate to the 7777 amp. Would a continuous run of cable from the grounding block to the 7777 amp inside give me more signal? I wasn't sure how much signal I would lose joining two pieces of RG-6 at a wall plate.

 

[DetFan]

I bought this, Just got it today and hooked it up to my VIP 622, and I am very impressed. Ill be cancelling my expensive HD package soon. Indoor and working great.

TERK HDTVi Indoor UHF/VHF HDTV Antenna


Of course Im only about 11 miles from the towers..SO that could make a difference.

 

[texasbrit]

I bought this, Just got it today and hooked it up to my VIP 622, and I am very impressed. Ill be cancelling my expensive HD package soon. Indoor and working great.

TERK HDTVi Indoor UHF/VHF HDTV Antenna


Of course Im only about 11 miles from the towers..SO that could make a difference.

The HDTVi is one of the few decent indoor antennas - it's a clone of the Silver Sensor which is a very good UHF antenna, with added "rabbit ears" for VHF. It's always my first recommendation if someone has VHF and UHF digital stations and wants (or has to have) an indoor antenna.

 

[lunkie]

Would a continuous run of cable from the grounding block to the 7777 amp inside give me more signal? I wasn't sure how much signal I would lose joining two pieces of RG-6 at a wall plate.

Tell me you don't have the 7777amp inside? Just the the power supply, right? The fewer the connectors the better, especially if you using pliers to crimp them. Are you using a good RG-6?