OTA Antenna?

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pinkcookies26

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Nov 11, 2006
62
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I bought an antenna ( Phillips Mant940 ) at Lowes and put it in the attic. Is this ok? If not, wheres a good place to mount an indoor antenna for HD reception and how can I figure which way to point it. Any info would be greatly appreciated cause I can't seem to get it to stop freezing every 5 seconds. Thanks.
 
1. I would ease that thing out side and as high up as you can.

2. Keep in mind that is UHF only.

3. What is this thing's beam width?
 
1. I would ease that thing out side and as high up as you can.

2. Keep in mind that is UHF only.

3. What is this thing's beam width?

Also, being inside your attic causes other things as well. take into consideration the type of structure, how much signal are you losing trying to go thru the roof, any metal up there (vents ect.) that also can cause trouble.

You'll be better off in the long run to place it outside as Charper mentioned and the higher the better.

You'll also need to look at antenna web as Brewer mentioned to see what direction your towers are in.

Jimbo
 
If antenna web's info is a bit confusing to you...

Call the stations, ask for the station engineer and ask where their transmitters are located.

Instead of latitude and longitude coordinates they'll give you street coordinates or a general idea where they are.

In many cities like mine, the towers are generally located in the same "area" on a "tower farm". This is not the case in all cities. Some cities have towers in all directions.

Call and find out.
 
All the put-it-outdooors suggestions are great. But you said:
I bought an antenna ( Phillips Mant940 ) at Lowes and put it in the attic.

Just to clarify: have you already installed (or partially-installed) it in the attic? If so, hook it up and see if/how it works. If your signal is strong enough it may do the trick. I've read of it being done. You lose nothing by trying, and the first-pass wiring can be a temporary run down the attic stairs and across the house.
 
All the put-it-outdooors suggestions are great. But you said:


Just to clarify: have you already installed (or partially-installed) it in the attic? If so, hook it up and see if/how it works. If your signal is strong enough it may do the trick. I've read of it being done. You lose nothing by trying, and the first-pass wiring can be a temporary run down the attic stairs and across the house.

Good point,
I figured the poster had already done that :up

Jimbo
 
To the original poster: it's just the wrong way to buy an antenna. The type of antenna you need will depend on where you are in relation to the transmitters, whether they are on VHF or UHF, what sort of transmitter power they are using and the terrain between you and the transmitters. A site like antennaweb can help, or you can post your zip code here and someone will use antennaweb and/or other sites to help you sort out what antenna you need.
 
I have one of these and it works pretty well. I even hooked it up to my FM tuner and it made a huge improvement in the reception, even if it's not designed for it.

I didn't see anywhere in the directions that explained what part of the unit to aim at the tower farm, but I assume it should be the pointy side.
 
It all depends on your location. Try this site and see how far you are from the towers and what kind of antenna they recommend.

AntennaWeb

The website says all I need is a small multi directional but I have one and I can't get squat with it, just some religious channel that I've never heard of. :(
 
What is your actual zip. just saying "small multi" is really not the best info; let us look at your distance and heading info, along with the general knowledge of your area's topography.
 
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