OTA (Over the Air) Attic Antenna for local channels - What do you use?

[ShokWaveRider]

Indoor Antennas simply do not work for us.

I would like to hear from folks that have successfully installed an Attic antenna (Not on the Roof) with success to get local TV channels. Especially those with personal experience.

Specifically, those who are about 35 - 50 miles from their local Transmitting towers and have a concrete or clay tile roof (Not Asphalt).

I have watched lots of videos and am having a hard time selecting an antenna model for my location and home construction.

Thanks in advance for assistance.

 

[REWahoo]

Specifically, those who are about 35 - 50 miles from their local Transmitting towers and have a concrete or clay tile roof (Not Asphalt).

Unfortunately I think you are probably SOL trying to get a signal through a tile roof at that distance no matter what antenna you use.

From the folks at Antennas Direct:

TV signals do not [like] terra cotta and natural stone very well. You can easily lose 90% or more of your signal.

Also saw this:

Spanish tile and other concrete title

If you have a tile roof that’s orange or blue, those tints come from metallic compounds in the tiles. Those metals are going to bounce the signal around and cause all sorts of havoc.

 

[statsman]

At those distances from the towers, all sorts of issues can appear. Honestly, I would try an antenna outside the house first (don't mount it) just to see if even that would work before considering an attic antenna. I figure an attic antenna wouldn't work for us because of the radiant barrier on the roof here in Central Texas.

 

[easysurfer]

I think location of antenna and line of sight to towers are more important than the actually antenna. Indoors, an antenna hung by a window works is more effective than just by the side of a tv. Also, positioning around different areas of the window can be the difference between getting decent vs poor reception.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I think location of antenna and line of sight to towers are more important than the actually antenna. Indoors, an antenna hung by a window works is more effective than just by the side of a tv. Also, positioning around different areas of the window can be the difference between getting decent vs poor reception.

I tried one everywhere and it didn't work. Upstairs and downstairs windows. It only gets 10 what I call rubbish stations. Nothing anyone would actually want to watch, all at a pathetic resolution.

 

[JoeWras]

I made a statement in this post that still stands: https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f54/tv-antenna-112280.html#post2709422

That statement is I need to move this antenna to the other side of the house. You can see it is pointing to the oblique slop of the roof. Even though the roof is shingle, it is attenuating. On the other side of the house, I can "see" directly through a thin wall. I think it will be better. I just have to go up there and do it. Pain in the neck. As is, this is a good antenna and works well for transmitters about 30 miles away. But I still get those occasional drop outs, especially during weather inversions. It has caused us to watch shows more on Hulu/Paramount/Peacock, which is a habit I want to break.

Can you place your antenna so the view of the transmitters is through a gable, like me? If your roof is all hips (common today), or the gables are in the wrong direction, then you may be SOL.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I made a statement in this post that still stands: https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f54/tv-antenna-112280.html#post2709422

That statement is I need to move this antenna to the other side of the house. You can see it is pointing to the oblique slop of the roof. Even though the roof is shingle, it is attenuating. On the other side of the house, I can "see" directly through a thin wall. I think it will be better. I just have to go up there and do it. Pain in the neck. As is, this is a good antenna and works well for transmitters about 30 miles away. But I still get those occasional drop outs, especially during weather inversions. It has caused us to watch shows more on Hulu/Paramount/Peacock, which is a habit I want to break.

Can you place your antenna so the view of the transmitters is through a gable, like me? If your roof is all hips (common today), or the gables are in the wrong direction, then you may be SOL.

I have good access, but the tile roof may be my problem. I would hate to invest in a good antenna just to get the same rubbish channels and not the 4 local channels I want - ABC, BBS, NBC and PBS. I can Get PBS via stream/app and Bloomberg too, but not the others.

 

[JoeWras]

I have good access, but the tile roof may be my problem. I would hate to invest in a good antenna just to get the same rubbish channels and not the 4 local channels I want - ABC, BBS, NBC and PBS. I can Get PBS via stream/app and Bloomberg too, but not the others.

Yeah, I understand. My classic Winegard was $60 at the time, enough for me to pause. At the time, that was a year of the Hulu/Peacock/Paramount.

Any obstruction will suck the life out of your signal. Metal and concrete are particularly bad.

One piece of advice I have is this: DO NOT expect a booster or amplifier to fix that issue. All it is going to do is boost the marginal reception. You won't feel good having amplified glitches. It may work in some cases, like if you are going to split the signal, but mostly, amplifiers are not worth it.

 

[easysurfer]

I tried one everywhere and it didn't work. Upstairs and downstairs windows. It only gets 10 what I call rubbish stations. Nothing anyone would actually want to watch, all at a pathetic resolution.

Have you looked at https://www.antennaweb.org/

Looking there might help show why you aren't getting more regular stations.

In my setup, it's not an attic but the antenna is outside on the balcony. I don't get all the local channels regularly and am limited because the window only faces one side.

Another thing worth thinking about too is how strong is your receiver? Don't know if there is a way to test but I'm pointing out as since the DTV conversion years ago, I've used about 4 DTV/DVR receivers.

The one that received the best it my very first DVR. A DTVPal. With that, I'd get all stations, indoors with just a homemade coat hanger antenna. Unfortunately, there were other glitches (like for no reason the recording would record in Spanish) that make that DVR not one to keep for me.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Have you looked at https://www.antennaweb.org/

Yes, they are about 35 - 50 miles away.

I am using receivers on 3 modern TVs, one is only a couple of years old. I was considering Getting a MediaSonic HW-150PVR-Y22 but again I am lothed to spend the money If I cannot get reception.

Peackock at $4.99 a month Gets NBC which is the main local channel we watch and PBS has a free App as does Bloomberg.

Still mulling solution before I cut the Cable cord.

 

[DallasGuy]

I don't get very good consistent reception UNLESS I use an amplified antenna. Someone else said that it wouldn't help very much if amplified. In my case, it helps a lot! So if yours isn't amplified, that might be worth trying. My main antenna is amplified and in the attic. If I use any other antennas in my house, they all work better for me when amplified. Also, the flat antennas don't work very well for me. When I originally tried to figure out which antenna to use, I bought 3 or 4 of them at Target/Walmart/Bestbuy, tried each one and kept the ones that worked the best for me....and returned the others. What works well for one location doesn't necessarily work well for another location.

 

[easysurfer]

Yes, they are about 35 - 50 miles away.

I am using receivers on 3 modern TVs, one is only a couple of years old. I was considering Getting a MediaSonic HW-150PVR-Y22 but again I am lothed to spend the money If I cannot get reception.

Peackock at $4.99 a month Gets NBC which is the main local channel we watch and PBS has a free App as does Bloomberg.

Still mulling solution before I cut the Cable cord.

Cutting the cable is a bit of trial and error to get things "good enough". If you get something like a MediaSonic, get from a place like Amazon with a good return policy in case things don't work out. Of course, then there is the time invested in testing. But do I dare say, that's part of the fun .

As for antennas, I've tried so many. Remember, indoor and balcony. I've tried a homemade coat hanger, Wineguard, Leaf, Basic Small Amazon and what I use now which is a HD Frequency Cable Cutter.

 

[rk911]

two things…OK, three.

1) Totally agree that mounting the antenna outdoors is the best option. If OTA TV is that important then either have the antenna professionally mounted on the roof or consider having a short Rohm Tower installed. TV signals are line-of-sight so height-above-average-terrain is paramount. The higher the better. Unlike analog signals which gradually fade out into “snow” over didtance, digital signals are either there or not. And it doesn’t take much to interfere with them…hills, buildings, trees, airports, etc. HAAT is your best friend along with an antenna designed for distance. And if you have more than one TV in the house a pro installer can get them all hooked up. BTW, are all of the transmitters for the desired stations located in generally the same direction? Also, you will want a quality 75-ohm coaxial cable (RG-6).

2) Winegard makes excellent OTA TV antennas. Based on your distance from the transmitters I recommend the classic outdoor Yagi-type. Checkout the Winegard Classic Series Yagi YA-7000 Compact, long range outdoor antenna. It boasts a 70-miles range. We have a 35-yr old Winegard Yagi (pre-dates DTV) on our roof which receives OTA signals just fine.

3) Do not fall for the products labeled as an HDTV antenna (even Winegard does this). There is no such animal. RF is RF…analog or digital, it’s all the same. The receiver in the TV decodes those signals. All the antenna is looking for are transmissions in a certain frequency range. The TV receiver does the rest.

good luck.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

My ABC 7 OTA channel is acting up right now (Wind) so I just opened their Roku app to watch the news and then it occurred to me that maybe you don't know that many network channels have their own apps on Roku. Have you checked, that might give you what you need.
I took a quick look and there is an app for WJXT and WLTV, I'm not sure if they're local to you, I guessed at Jacksonville. Some apps give just the news and some have the TV shows as well.
Also check what's available on their websites that can be cast to the TV.
Hope this helps.

 

[pb4uski]

Indoor Antennas simply do not work for us.

I would like to hear from folks that have successfully installed an Attic antenna (Not on the Roof) with success to get local TV channels. Especially those with personal experience.

Specifically, those who are about 35 - 50 miles from their local Transmitting towers and have a concrete or clay tile roof (Not Asphalt).

I have watched lots of videos and am having a hard time selecting an antenna model for my location and home construction.

Thanks in advance for assistance.

Can you use an outdoor antenna? FYI by law HOAs can't prohibit outdoor antennas, but they can regulate them.

I ended up using and returning about 5 different antennas in an effort to get better reception. At the end of the day a simple YAGI antenna was best.

I would suggest that you get a number of outdoor antennas and try them and see if there are any keepers and return the rest. Then, once you have an antenna that works the next step is to figure out how best to mount it.

If you can't get an antenna to work, try out YTTV.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

My ABC 7 OTA channel is acting up right now (Wind) so I just opened their Roku app to watch the news and then it occurred to me that maybe you don't know that many network channels have their own apps on Roku. Have you checked, that might give you what you need.
I took a quick look and there is an app for WJXT and WLTV, I'm not sure if they're local to you, I guessed at Jacksonville. Some apps give just the news and some have the TV shows as well.
Also check what's available on their websites that can be cast to the TV.
Hope this helps.

Yes, but it is only news not live TV. DW must have here Jeopardy, or I would use it just for the News.

 

[ERD50]

I made a statement in this post that still stands: https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f54/tv-antenna-112280.html#post2709422

That statement is I need to move this antenna to the other side of the house. You can see it is pointing to the oblique slop of the roof. Even though the roof is shingle, it is attenuating. On the other side of the house, I can "see" directly through a thin wall. I think it will be better. I just have to go up there and do it. Pain in the neck. As is, this is a good antenna and works well for transmitters about 30 miles away. But I still get those occasional drop outs, especially during weather inversions. It has caused us to watch shows more on Hulu/Paramount/Peacock, which is a habit I want to break.

Can you place your antenna so the view of the transmitters is through a gable, like me? If your roof is all hips (common today), or the gables are in the wrong direction, then you may be SOL.

You got me thinking. When we moved to our current home, I left the OTA attic antenna at the old place, and as a trial, put an older, simple antenna that I kept, in the attic here, as a test. Too marginal, I get a better antenna, and still had to fiddle with direction quite a bit to get some margin on all the channels (I ended up hanging it from a rope that I threw over a cross beam, and another rope so I could point it.

It's been OK, but I wish I had a little more margin - I'm afraid that some change somewhere will create some dropouts. Your post got me thinking, I'm going through the roof, and maybe through at a rather complex angle, going 'sideways' through a section.

I looked at a map again, and realized the attic over the garage (easily accessible, it has plywood flooring in that area) has a straight shot through the wall to the Chicago towers. But that wall is brick (but with a ~ 2'x3' gable vent, kind of Venetian blind style), so I'm not sure it would be any better. This site says that brick and asphalt shingles over plywood have about the same attenuation (-3 dB).

https://otadtv.com/reception/factors/index.html

But of course, everything at these frequencies is very site dependent, trial and error is needed at some point.

Then I also realized that it might be very easy to run a cable out that vent, and I might get away with a small, unobtrusive antenna that might be very easy to mount just outside that vent. Getting it outside would probably make a big difference. At our old place, about the same distance from the Chicago towers, one of those little flat antenna almost worked when it was inside on the second floor near a window. So getting it outside might do it.

Of course, the motivation isn't that high since it is working for now. But my Six Sigma training is still telling me to increase the margin to avoid future problems. Once an engineer, always an engineer?

-ERD50

 

[Qs Laptop]

Of course, the motivation isn't that high since it is working for now. But my Six Sigma training is still telling me to increase the margin to avoid future problems. Once an engineer, always an engineer?
-ERD50

Yes. Always.

"Better than" is the enemy of "good enough".

 

[ncbill]

IIRC, this is the amplified antenna Dish network used for its OTA outdoor antenna installation service (though IDK if they still offer such)

Televes DiNova Boss Mix UHF/VHF HDTV Antenna w/LTE Filter

I plan to put the above on the end of my deck if I cannot pay to get it installed on my chimney since I sure as heck am not climbing up there.

Might as well try it in your attic or on an outside deck or balcony if you have such since you can easily return it.

Amazon Warehouse even offers several used at a discount.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I think I shall try a Clearstream 4V and return it if it does not work.

 

[ncbill]

I think I shall try a Clearstream 4V and return it if it does not work.

No built-in amplifier on that antenna.

I have to use an external (channel master) amplifier with the 4-bay UHF antenna in my attic just to get local market stations, ~35 miles away.

And I have an asphalt shingle roof, not tile or metal.

And an amplifier should be installed on the antenna mast itself with the shortest wire run possible from the antenna to the amplifier for best performance.

That's why I recommended one with an amplifier (& LTE filter) already built-in.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

No built-in amplifier on that antenna.

I have to use an external (channel master) amplifier with the 4-bay UHF antenna in my attic just to get local market stations, ~35 miles away.

And I have an asphalt shingle roof, not tile or metal.

And an amplifier should be installed on the antenna mast itself with the shortest wire run possible from the antenna to the amplifier for best performance.

That's why I recommended one with an amplifier (& LTE filter) already built-in.

I have an amp.

 

[CRLLS]

Be aware that splitting the signal to 2TVs reduces the signal level by ~3dB, 50%. Splitting again for 3-4 TVs reduces it another 3dB, or 6dB total or 25% of the antenna's signal.

We have an old UHF/VHF antenna in the garage. Most of the time, reception is fine. We have a 2-output distribution amplifier with 11dB gain per port. From there we split each signal into 2 outputs making 4 lines out. They go out to 2 tVs, one Tablo, and the 4th is split between another TV and an FM receiver. Theoretically, we should have 5 and 8 dB gain over the signal level of the antenna by itself. Still, we get some dropouts. We get 3 or 4 bars signal then suddenly it drops to 1 or none. The picture and sound get a small hesitation. A second or two later the 3-4 bar level is back. I believe that the Chicago's O'hare air traffic may have something to do with it, along with the local airport. I tried a stronger amplifier that had no positive effect. I'd hate to put up a new antenna and have it do the same. If this is the root cause, then even a rooftop antenna will be blocked as the planes pass by.

 

[ncbill]

Be aware that splitting the signal to 2TVs reduces the signal level by ~3dB, 50%. Splitting again for 3-4 TVs reduces it another 3dB, or 6dB total or 25% of the antenna's signal.

We have an old UHF/VHF antenna in the garage. Most of the time, reception is fine. We have a 2-output distribution amplifier with 11dB gain per port. From there we split each signal into 2 outputs making 4 lines out. They go out to 2 tVs, one Tablo, and the 4th is split between another TV and an FM receiver. Theoretically, we should have 5 and 8 dB gain over the signal level of the antenna by itself. Still, we get some dropouts. We get 3 or 4 bars signal then suddenly it drops to 1 or none. The picture and sound get a small hesitation. A second or two later the 3-4 bar level is back. I believe that the Chicago's O'hare air traffic may have something to do with it, along with the local airport. I tried a stronger amplifier that had no positive effect. I'd hate to put up a new antenna and have it do the same. If this is the root cause, then even a rooftop antenna will be blocked as the planes pass by.

Thats why I have a large (4-bay) UHF antenna in the attic with an external amplifier dedicated to the upstairs TV & plan on adding another amplified outdoor antenna dedicated to the downstairs TV.

 

[pb4uski]

That one of the things that I like about my set up. Attic antenna to signal booster to Fire TV Recast... all in the attic... very short run.

And then the live TV or recorded shows are "broadcast" to tvs via WiFi so no long runs of coax for the signal to decay.