No cable where we moved to and I'm not too excited about spending the bucks for a dish when I'd just as soon we were all doing something besides watching TV anyway. So I've got rabbit ears on the set and it's working so-so. I ran enough coax through the house to keep the electrons moving if/when I need. I'm thinking of putting a better antenna in the attic and using the coax to carry the signal to the TV. So what should I look for in an antenna? What are the critical parameters? What makes one better than another? Is this a reasonable approach? I definitely don’t want a tower outside the house and my attic is very high and easily accessible. Thanks ahead of time [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Your attic should work fine. We used to have an antenna in the attic and we were able to get signals from ~30 miles without any problems. We also put an amplifier on the antenna and that helped a little bit. When you first install the antenna, it pays to spend a little bit of time getting it pointed in the right direction. We found that turning the antenna made a real big difference for some of the stations.
The "boosted" antennas seem to work very well for land rececption. I had a Radio Shack one in my attic in MD for years, and it was wonderful.
I just moved to AZ, and am living in an RV with a Winegard boosted antenna, and get great reception. The local antenna guy (who installs outdside house antennas) tells me he cannot come close to the Winegard boosted RV systems.
The Radio Shack attic boosted system I had was pretty cheap (and cheap looking, but it worked)...this was in 1985, though. I think you have an RV, too....it's still a similar system, just a booster in line.
I hadn't considered the RV antennas. We do have one in our camper but don't keep a TV in there. Maybe I'll hit my favorite RV discount warehouse in Elkhart this weekend [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
I wouldn't rule out checking Radio Shack either, for home use, if they still offer a simple, plastic and aluminum boosted antenna. The only reason I say that is that anything designated for "specialty" applications, like RV's, or boats, or horses, (or other hobbies), sometimes carries a "surcharge" [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] Good luck! (the only reason I have the Winegard antenna is that it came built into the RV).
First issue is where are the TV signals comming from? All in one direction or from stations in different directions? If there comming from a single direction then a directional tv antenna on the roof or in the attic is fine. I would suggest a pre-amp at the antenna.
If the directions are comming from several directions then one of the omni electronic antennas with built in pre-amp will work. Again on the roof or in the attic if you have to.
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