Any advice on TV antennas?

[space_cowboy]

I'm thinking about dumping cable and don't really watch enough to consider a satellite ( I don't think so anyway). Don't want to mount anything on the roof, so has anyone had experience with something that could be mounted in the attic or underneath the eaves? Thanks

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Turntable - Pro-Ject 2.0

Phono Preamp - Parasound PPH-100

Receiver - H/K AVR-210

DVD - Sony DVP-S360

TV - RCA 31"

Mains - KLF-20

Center - KLF-C7

Surrounds - Optimus Pro LX-10 (LOL, soon to be replaced)

Sub - Yamaha YST-SW160

Reinforcement - JBL 4638

[j-malotky]

Cowboy

In my current home. I purchaced a roof antena and mounted it in the trusses over the cars in my garage. Ran the Co-ax down the walls into the floor joists of the basement to the old cable box splitter.

In the house I am building, I mounted the same roof antena in the attic trusses before the drywall and insulation was put in. I also ran a 1 1/2" PVC conduits from the attic to the basement for computer network and Coax lines. This way I can re pull something else in the future. Everything is home run to my basement.

JM

[HDBRbuilder]

Back a few years ago before the VA doctor finally got my medication correctly adjusted, I lined my living room with Reynolds Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil...since it tended to keep them alien voices from the Crab Nebula from getting to me quite as often as before the foil was duct-taped to the walls and ceilings. One day I was messin around and the tv antenna touched the wall, and I realized that if I just left it there against all that foil, I could pick up all kinds of stations!!

So, even though the doctors at the VA hospital finally pretty much got my meds adjusted out good, I still have all that foil lining the inside of the living room just so I can get all those channels...well, not quite all of them...seems the Comedy channel from Venus stopped coming in so clear a few years back...a pity...them Venusians were funny as hell!

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I can now receive private messages

[Malcolm]

You may wind ou deciding you want an antenna on the roof. If you have strong signals and no multipath problems, you might get adequate reception with an antenna mounted in the attic or under an eave. But, you loose a lot of signal with an attic installation and are limited on the size antenna that will fit. And it is hard to mount a good high gain, directional antenna under an eave.

If signals come from one direction, or two directions about 180 degress out from each other, you can use a dipole (sometimes called a bidriectional antenna)either in the attic or under your eaves. Most of them are amplified. They are offered by several manufacturers. I have used them in the past with success. I have even received stations 90 miles away fairly clearly when weather conditions were ideal at certain times of the year. I currently have one in the attic which I use only for VHF. Signal is not as good as I would like. But, I don't watch VHF all that much because most of the VHF stations here also broadcast in digital on UHF channels.

I put a big yagi with corner reflector (Channel Master 3023)on the roof for UHF. It wasn't a big deal, just a 10 foot mast strapped to the chimney. A taller mast would almost certainly be better, but reception is good enough and a taller big mast is a lot more work to install because of the size and the need to guy it. Luckily, all the transmitters I care about are within a few degrees of each other, so I don't even need a rotor.

If the signals come from many directions, you will probably need an omnidirectional antenna in either location. You can use a simple unamplified one if the signals are strong enough. Otherwise you will need to use an amplified one.

You could also use any roof top antenna that will fit in your attic. Best to mount it on a piece of mast hung from the ridge pole so you can turn it to get best reception. You probably won't be able to turn it much, so a rotor probably wouldn't make sense.

If you select an unamplified antenna and don't get a strong enough signal, you might also consider an in-line mast-mounted amplifier.

Here is a good site to check out:

www.starkelectronic.com/allant.htm

They have most of the top names like Channel Master, Winegard, etc. If you go with one of those, or the equivalent product from Radio Shack, you should do OK. Avoid Terk. It is highly overrated and way overpriced.

If you consider other manufacturers, avoid anything that sounds too good to be true or uses pseudo scientific terms, like spilateral, in its description. Snake oil is still being sold. Antenna design has been well understood for many years. There haven't been any major breakthroughs in a long time.

If you are considering digital TV, ignore descriptions like "digital ready" or "digital compatible" for antennas. This is just advertising hype. The same things that make a good analog TV antenna make a good digital TV antenna.

[New Daddy/Old Daddy]

Many years ago, when I was no daddy, still living in the spawning pool, my dad put the largest antenna he coulf fit in the attic with a directional motor. I won't say why he did it, but it drove me nuts. It was a dynamite set up, but there was one local station that always had a shadow and other sporadic problems on other stations. We could pick up some stations that lesser rigs couldn't, but of course reception would suck when the game was blacked out locally. You'll never stop wondering how much better a roof rig would be. Don't do it man!

Mike