Newbie to OTA antennas bigger than rabbit ears

jmc98

Supporting Founder
Original poster
Supporting Founder
Jan 11, 2005
822
43
32.750N 97.488W Fort worth Tx
i am thinking about attic mounting a radio shack vu-90xr and was wanting to know if i mount the antenna over the garage how much would the ac and furnace interfere with the signal ?
 
You will more than likely have issues with your 2 VHF channels (8 & 9). A small antenna outside would be a much better choice. The ANT-751 has slightly better performance than the VU-90 & is very inconspicuous.
 
Try it, might work as close as you are. If you have a higher attic you would be better off, an attic over a garage is usually single story height. If you have two story houses between you and the garage location it could kill the signal or cause reflections.
 
You are 33 miles from the antenna farm east of Mansfield.

Putting an antenna under a roof cuts available signal at least in half.

Like Iceberg said, if you have an owned home, not a condo or apartment, there is very little any HOA can do to prevent you installing an outdoor TV antenna, and if may be against FCC regs for them to make you get prior approval.

You MUST be allowed to install an antenna - it is a public safety issue - HOA can go pound sand.
 
Here is a link to the FCC's OTARD ruling. This is what everyone is referencing:
FCC Fact Sheet on Placement of Antennas

Basically, as others have mentioned, you can tell the hOA to go take a leak. Just hand them a copy of this page, and watch them disappear.

We really ought to sticky this reference on this forum. I seem to be digging it up every other week.
 
It is not an unlimited license. They can require you to keep the antenna hidden from the street, unless doing so prevents you from receiving signal.

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: For antennas designed to receive analog signals, such as TVBS, 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 where they are not visible from the street would 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.
 
It is not an unlimited license. They can require you to keep the antenna hidden from the street, unless doing so prevents you from receiving signal.

... or if it requires you to purchase a longer piece of coax
... or if it requires adding a new mounting point
... or if it requires hiring an installer
... etc.

The language is very consumer friendly.
 
this is the problem for installing anything outside our hoa ccr " No antennae shall be installed or used for the purpose of receiving of electronic unless installed in the attic of a Residence or otherwise not in view from any public or private street shall not be more than 24" in diameter." thus the reasoning for the attic install and my intial question, can anyone recommend any good installers in DFW ?
 
jmc98 said:
this is the problem for installing anything outside our hoa ccr " No antennae shall be installed or used for the purpose of receiving of electronic unless installed in the attic of a Residence or otherwise not in view from any public or private street shall not be more than 24" in diameter." thus the reasoning for the attic install and my intial question, can anyone recommend any good installers in DFW ?

Local CC&Rs cannot take away your rights granted to you by the federal government via the FCC's OTARD.
 
I hope you did not cut and paste that quote, because it is gramatically and therefore legally horrendous and makes no sense.

Additionally, the size limitation (according to OTARD) is only applicable for satellite dishes.

OTA TV antennas must be sized according to the frequency of the channels to be recieved and the strength of the antenna, that limitation would rule out rabbit ears outside as they are more that 24" from tip to tip.

You may locate an antenna outside, out of street view, if it works for you to receive the DFW OTA channels.

If you cannot receive your local channels with such an antenna, then you may do whatever is necessary, relocate, elevate, whatever in order to receive those channels satisfactorily.

This is not an esthetic issue, with the FCC it is a public safety issue and therefore trumps any and all HOA and local rules and regulations.

If you cannot receive local channels, you may not be able to receive emergency warnings and those who prevent you from receiving those warnings are liable for any and all property and personal injury and loss that might have been prevented without their obsitinace.
 
Iceberg--I want to install an OTA antenna in my attic. I visited multiple sites and once again seek the advice of SG. Local channels and other. I'm in SW FL--lightening capital of the world. I prefer attic mount unless...
I Have an HOA and submitted multiple posts regarding my (and your) HOA sat dish experiences.
 
homeyg said:
Iceberg--I want to install an OTA antenna in my attic. I visited multiple sites and once again seek the advice of SG. Local channels and other. I'm in SW FL--lightening capital of the world. I prefer attic mount unless...
I Have an HOA and submitted multiple posts regarding my (and your) HOA sat dish experiences.

Haha seeing the house is my parents and I have to go by there rules I was asking an information question and I thank all those who responded to my question and I am thinking of trying to get the antenna installed at the peak of the roof for added height if it can be done I am also thinking about a pre amp any suggestion on a good one?
 
I hope you did not cut and paste that quote, because it is gramatically and therefore legally horrendous and makes no sense.

Additionally, the size limitation (according to OTARD) is only applicable for satellite dishes.

OTA TV antennas must be sized according to the frequency of the channels to be recieved and the strength of the antenna, that limitation would rule out rabbit ears outside as they are more that 24" from tip to tip.

You may locate an antenna outside, out of street view, if it works for you to receive the DFW OTA channels.

If you cannot receive your local channels with such an antenna, then you may do whatever is necessary, relocate, elevate, whatever in order to receive those channels satisfactorily.

This is not an esthetic issue, with the FCC it is a public safety issue and therefore trumps any and all HOA and local rules and regulations.

If you cannot receive local channels, you may not be able to receive emergency warnings and those who prevent you from receiving those warnings are liable for any and all property and personal injury and loss that might have been prevented without their obsitinace.

When all is said and done you should try to appease the HOA. They may lose the antenna issue because of the FCC ruling, but that does not mean they cannot extract revenge. You make your neighbors mad with your big honking antenna tacked on the front of your house, they could find all sorts of other problems with your house. Is your lawn not mowed properly? Is that a paint issue? Not to mention getting along with neighbors.
 
One should note that Mike has previously admitted to being on his HOA BoD.

How far should that go, Mike? If the HOA accepts a payment from the local cable company and then passes a rule banning dishes, is it proper to roll over and let them take their kickback? Seems to me that the compromise works both ways. I would certainly consider their opinion before putting the big antenna on the roof, but if it is the only way to avoid a $100/month cable bill, I might do it anyway.

In my experience, it isn't my neighbors I annoy. It is 2-3 people in a neighborhood of 100 families that want to make every house look just like theirs.

Jay (no longer in a HOA community :D )
 
One should note that Mike has previously admitted to being on his HOA BoD.

How far should that go, Mike? If the HOA accepts a payment from the local cable company and then passes a rule banning dishes, is it proper to roll over and let them take their kickback? Seems to me that the compromise works both ways. I would certainly consider their opinion before putting the big antenna on the roof, but if it is the only way to avoid a $100/month cable bill, I might do it anyway.

In my experience, it isn't my neighbors I annoy. It is 2-3 people in a neighborhood of 100 families that want to make every house look just like theirs.

Jay (no longer in a HOA community :D )

I do not know if you were posting about me since your post was right under mine, I thought I should respond. I am not on the board of a HOA (never even been in a HOA), and there is not even an HOA in my neighborhood. I was pointing out that one has to live in the neighborhood, and making enemies even when doing a legal activity could have reprocussions further down the road.
 
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