Roof mounted HD antenna

eman1200

eman1200

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Mar 10, 2013
Messages
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Location
Oakland, CA
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Bro do you even lift
I bought a window mount HD antenna and I rarely get a good solid signal. When I DO get a signal the picture is crystal clear but that's about 10% of the time. Woods surround my house. So I'm wondering if I should put the effort into a roof mount to get the antenna up high. This could potentially double as a mount for a new liveatc feed setup as well. But my main concern is if the mount will be worth it or not. Thanks yo.
 
eman1200 said:
I bought a window mount HD antenna and I rarely get a good solid signal. When I DO get a signal the picture is crystal clear but that's about 10% of the time. Woods surround my house. So I'm wondering if I should put the effort into a roof mount to get the antenna up high. This could potentially double as a mount for a new liveatc feed setup as well. But my main concern is if the mount will be worth it or not. Thanks yo.
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Your results depend on what broadcast stations are available in your area, and the path between them and your antenna. In the VHF and UHF bands used for television, transmission is pretty much Line of Sight.
So if you live on top of a mountain you are likely to have many choices. In a canyon, not so much. Antenna height helps a lot. In the old days (before cable and satellite) lots of people had tall towers for their TV
antennas. These days they are a rarity. However, how they work hasn't changed. If you want good reception, get your antenna up in the air. It helps to have a directional antenna that can be rotated, and also has
a built-in preamplifier. Those are available pretty cheaply these days. I bought one for about $25 on eBay - and it works great!. Before you spend any money though, check to see what stations are available in your
area. Here is an example of an online utility that will clue you in: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29 There are others - google it!. One more thing: TV today is Digital. Great pictures when
the signal is strong enough - but completely gone when it is not (like turning off the light). Signal strength is affected by weather and obstructions (including foliage). Be forewarned!

Dave
 
How far are you from your local broadcast tower(s) and what's the terrain like between them and you?

FCC publishes "contour" maps of likely coverage for every licensed TV broadcaster.

You said you have a "window" antenna. Is it a window facing the direction that would "see" your local tower?
 
If you decide on a roof antenna, I recommend THIS ONE. I am using it with great satisfaction.

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By the way, there's really no such thing as an "HD antenna." An antenna design that got good pictures with the old analog (SD) standard will also get good results with digital (HD).

Generally speaking, height helps because it reduces the number of reflecting obstacles in your reception path. In addition, a higher gain antenna helps, and it's best to get an antenna that achieves that gain without the use of an amplifier. The reason is that an amplifier increases the amplitude of the noise as much as it does the signal, and does nothing to improve the directional characteristics of the antenna.
 
denverpilot said:
....You said you have a "window" antenna. Is it a window facing the direction that would "see" your local tower?
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it is, but there are trees in the way. the reason I'm not fully convinced that makes a huge difference is there are days when the signal is uninterrupted, but most days it's just horribly unwatchable.

Mason said:
If you decide on a roof antenna, I recommend THIS ONE. I am using it with great satisfaction.

6761173_sa.jpg;canvasHeight=500;canvasWidth=500
Click to expand...

looks nice. I'm probably just as interested in HOW you mounted it.
 
......or even in your attic if you've one.
 
The best antenna I've seen was built by stringing wires through the attic. Reception was really good, never a blip even on what should have been marginal channels.

How do you distribute the antenna signal to TVs through your house? I don't have wiring for this and I don't relish the idea of cutting holes to fish wiring from the attic to the first floor.
 
bflynn said:
....How do you distribute the antenna signal to TVs through your house? I don't have wiring for this and I don't relish the idea of cutting holes to fish wiring from the attic to the first floor.
Click to expand...

I don't....at least not yet. Right now this is a single-TV operation. My goal was to find out if anyone got shtty reception with a window antenna then mounted a roof antenna and got significantly better reception.
 
eman1200 said:
I don't....at least not yet. Right now this is a single-TV operation. My goal was to find out if anyone got shtty reception with a window antenna then mounted a roof antenna and got significantly better reception.
Click to expand...
I bought one of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amplified-D...389258?hash=item2814e737ca:g:M0QAAOSwxp9W-OEf
I stuck it up on a telescoping painting pole (the type you can screw into the handle of a roller), and attached same to a railing post on my back deck with long hose clamps. It's been
there for over two years - and still works. Something like that would allow you to evaluate your possibilities without spending much money.

Dave
 
eman1200 said:
I bought a window mount HD antenna and I rarely get a good solid signal. When I DO get a signal the picture is crystal clear but that's about 10% of the time. Woods surround my house. So I'm wondering if I should put the effort into a roof mount to get the antenna up high. This could potentially double as a mount for a new liveatc feed setup as well. But my main concern is if the mount will be worth it or not. Thanks yo.
Click to expand...

This one's working great for me. https://www.antennasdirect.com/store/db8_ultra-long-range-dtv-antenna.html . 29 to 45 miles from the towers.
 
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