Long range attic antenna?

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I'm trying to find a good antenna to mount in the attic to pick up local channels. The small indoor antennas hardly pick up one or two channels even on the second floor. I'm hoping once I get into the 2nd floor attic that things will improve with a larger antenna.

Can anyone recommend a good long range antenna? I need an omni-directional antenna to get a signal from towers about 44 miles away in opposite directions. Will an attic antenna even work at that distance?
 
Whether an attic antenna can reach 44miles depends on your terrain, surrounding trees, and other nearby structures. It also depends on your house construction. If the exterior is metal siding or stucco then the antenna has to be mounted on the roof, as you won't get a signal in the attic. There are way too many variables for anyone here to say whether it will work or not

Where I live there are mountains and lots of 2-story buildings, thus the omni-directional antennas wouldn't reach 50 miles in all directions. Long range antennas are all directional. I'm using a directional antenna mounted on the roof with a signal booster; the towers are 40~50 miles away.
 
Are there even any tv channels worth watching that an antenna can pick up? Only the home shopping network and a korean infomercial here.

44 miles is quite a stretch.we are about that far and combined with a low power tv station.well you can see where im going. More static than tv
 
Getting both front and back signals at 44 miles each way could be a problem from the attic mount. I have a home made 8-bay vertical stack bow-tie antenna with twin solid reflectors (making it directional) in my attic (35 feet above ground level). Depending on what direction I turn it, I can pick up Detroit and Canadian stations (which would be a around a 120 - 130 mile in a straight line) , as well as the local stations (10-30 miles away), from my Cleveland, Ohio location. If I had a wide gap mesh reflector set up on my antenna, I would get 180 degree reception but the reception lobe patterns would be smaller. Check out Channel Master antennas, they have a 8-bay horizontal bow tie antenna, with omni-directional reception that has an 80 mile reception rating. It is a CM-4228 model. Again, with an attic mount: wiring, siding, gutters, types of shingles, adjacent houses, trees, etc. can play havoc on reception quality from transmitters.

Nuff said,

xtell
 
Long range and attic antenna don't go together, you'll need to get it on the roof if you are that far from the towers. The link I posted in the thread Warstud pointed to is still a great source of information.

http://antennaweb.org/
 
Originally Posted By: xtell
Getting both front and back signals at 44 miles each way could be a problem from the attic mount. I have a home made 8-bay vertical stack bow-tie antenna with twin solid reflectors (making it directional) in my attic (35 feet above ground level). Depending on what direction I turn it, I can pick up Detroit and Canadian stations (which would be a around a 120 - 130 mile in a straight line) , as well as the local stations (10-30 miles away), from my Cleveland, Ohio location. If I had a wide gap mesh reflector set up on my antenna, I would get 180 degree reception but the reception lobe patterns would be smaller. Check out Channel Master antennas, they have a 8-bay horizontal bow tie antenna, with omni-directional reception that has an 80 mile reception rating. It is a CM-4228 model. Again, with an attic mount: wiring, siding, gutters, types of shingles, adjacent houses, trees, etc. can play havoc on reception quality from transmitters.


The CM-4228 is not omnidirectional. It cannot pick up channels behind it due to its metal grid, which blocks out signals from that direction (to prevent ghosting).
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Are there even any tv channels worth watching that an antenna can pick up? Only the home shopping network and a korean infomercial here.

44 miles is quite a stretch.we are about that far and combined with a low power tv station.well you can see where im going. More static than tv


All our local stations broadcast over the air in High Definition. ABC,NBC,CBS etc. also PBS stations, ME tv,Create and many more.I use an antenna in my camper about 40 miles from Detroit and get about 20 stations.
 
A pair of DIY hoverman grey antennas set up to switch btwn the two, each pointed to your respective signal locations is where I'd start. Basic amplifier tv side of switching, but close to the antennas.

I have a single H-G in my attic and have it aimed to get stations from the south, 30-55 miles away. I'm almost 180* to a northern market, and can pick up those stations most of the time. I'm not running a reflector, and the stations are almost complete duplicates from each market. I just keep my channels saved for the southern market. You could try a pair of H-G's on equal length leads to a common, and point to each market with reflectors. Save the hassle of switching, and see if it works for you. A couple of hours and less than $100 investment.
 
If you have foil backed insulation in your walls it can wreck your signal.

I wish TVs had two RF inputs for just this scenario. It could scan them both and decide which had the better signal (with the ability to manually override).

But you could get a set top box that rides on a spare HDMI input (or even Y Pb Pr analog) for the 2nd antenna so you can stay in your easy chair. What's one more remote?
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
If you have foil backed insulation in your walls it can wreck your signal.

I wish TVs had two RF inputs for just this scenario. It could scan them both and decide which had the better signal (with the ability to manually override).

But you could get a set top box that rides on a spare HDMI input (or even Y Pb Pr analog) for the 2nd antenna so you can stay in your easy chair. What's one more remote?
why does it have to be automatic, a remote A/B switch will let you choose from your easy chair. Ideal would be a remote just below the antennas so you could use just one feedline. If you use a preamp make sure the switch can pass DC to power it or mount the preamp below the swtich.
 
Some HD stations still broadcast on VHF-Hi

If you are reaching out for weak signal(s) and some of them are VHF-Hi then you will want an antenna that will handle that frequency range.

I have had very good luck with the Antennacraft HBU-22 & HBU-33 but they stopped building them. A ChannelMaster CM-3016 or equivalent may be what you need http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=CM-3016&d=Channel-Master-CM3016-Suburban-Advantage-TV-Antenna-%28CM3016%29&c=TV%20Antennas&sku=

or the Winegard http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=HD7694P&d=Winegard-HD7694P-VHFUHF-HDTV-Antenna-%28HD7694P%29&c=TV%20Antennas&sku=
 
Originally Posted By: Digital2k2
I need an omni-directional antenna to get a signal from towers about 44 miles away in opposite directions.


Pretty sure there is no antenna made that has this kind of lobe pattern at that range. If there is, I would like to know about it.

Can you mount on roof? Roof mount with a good directional antenna, and a quality rotor like a rebuilt CDE or a new Hygain would be ideal.

I went through this same thing years ago, and I mounted my antenna outside with a rotor, and have been enjoying 50+ channels ever since. Late at night and in early morning I have tuned in vhf channels at 110 air miles, but they are repeats, so I don't bother. Just surprising to see them pop up when doing a channel scan.

If you want to try combining two TV antennas, then read this tutorial because there is a lot more to it than meets the eye.
 
Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
Some HD stations still broadcast on VHF-Hi

If you are reaching out for weak signal(s) and some of them are VHF-Hi then you will want an antenna that will handle that frequency range.

I have had very good luck with the Antennacraft HBU-22 & HBU-33 but they stopped building them.


Did not know that Antennacraft quit making the HBU-33. A lot of people were having good results with it amped at a low cost. I like Antennacraft antennas, and I currently use their Colorstar C490. If I lived up north though, I would definitely opt for their heavy duty series or the Winegard equivalent.
 
Well, I wanted to get The CW, which is in the other direction (there are two towers in the other direction, and the one for The CW is actually 33 miles away). Besides that, I could give up The CW and get about all other channels I want pointing 44 miles 157ºSSE. They are all UHF except for three that say 155ºSSE Hi-V. What is Hi-V? If the antenna says it will pick up VHF, would that include Hi-V?

I think I can get that angle in the attic pointing through the asphalt shingles, though there are some trees in that direction unfortunately.

This antenna says attic mount is an option, but max range is 50 miles. I'm not sure between going through attic material and the trees if 50 is enough: http://www.channelmaster.com/STEALTHtenna_Digital_HDTV_Outdoor_TV_Antenna_p/cm-3010hd.htm
 
High vhf is 7 through 13 and low vhf is 2 through 6. When it comes to antennas, bigger is usually better, and you get what you pay for.

My suggestion is to try an Antennacraft HBU-55 or 44 or a Winegard HD7698P or the HD76997P. Those antennas are able to receive high vhf and uhf.
 
It's odd because 13.1, 13.2 and 13.3 are the ones that say Hi-V. Really only care about 13.1 which is ABC. All the others including 3.1, 3.2, 10.2, 10.1 all say UHF.

If that 50 mile antenna wouldn't be enough, I wonder if an outdoor antenna rated for 100 miles mounted somehow in the attic would work?: http://www.channelmaster.com/Digital_HDTV_Outdoor_TV_Antenna_p/cm-2020.htm

AntennaWeb color codes for my area are Violet and Blue.
 
There is a good possibility that antenna will work, but read Denny's Antenna test before you make your choice. His stacker is number 1, but he wants too much for what it is. Number 2 Channelmaster 3671 has not been made ever since Channelmaster quit making them in the USA. I wanted this antenna, and tried to find one, but the price was just too much.
 
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