HD Antenna

[SirChadwick]

What do you guys think of this antenna?
http://www.hdtvantennas.net/LargeMultidirectional.htm

[paulh]

(Note there is no such thing as a HDTV antenna, an UHF / VHF antenna from the 50's could be fine. HDTV is suceptable to multipath, ghosting in analog, so a quality antenna is usually needed for HDTV)
The Channel Master 4221 (http://www.channelmaster.com/images/3021_4221.jpg) is generally known as one of the best UHF antennas for HDTV receivers.

The antenna you pointed to looks to be the same general design and should perform pretty well. (Assuming you only need to pickup stations with a frequency higher than channel 12)

For more difficult reception areas, Channel Master makes an 8 bay antenna with even higher gain, the 4228.

If your installation needs an antenna pre-amp, then you need a quality amp, as many old ones introduce too much noise for the digital signals. The CM 777x series is regarded highly.

If you are shopping around, Winegard is also known to make quality antennas.

[SirChadwick]

Thanks!

[Mike500]

The Winegard PR4400 and PR8800 are a better deal, if you can't get the Channel Masters locally. They fold up and are cheaper to ship by UPS. The 8 bay Channel Master is good, but you'd pay as much as the antenna for shipping;

Check out StarkElectronics. They ship to individuals:

http://www.starkelectronic.com/wnpr8800.htm

Forget any omni-directional antenna. You need an antenna with a very high front/back ratio to eliminate ghosts in ntsc and dropoffs in HD.

[sleepy hollow]

The Winegard PR4400 and PR8800 are a better deal, if you can't get the Channel Masters locally. They fold up and are cheaper to ship by UPS. The 8 bay Channel Master is good, but you'd pay as much as the antenna for shipping;

Check out StarkElectronics. They ship to individuals:

http://www.starkelectronic.com/wnpr8800.htm

Forget any omni-directional antenna. You need an antenna with a very high front/back ratio to eliminate ghosts in ntsc and dropoffs in HD.

Can such an antenna be mounted in the attic? (I see this one would easily fit in mine). I live about 12 miles from most broadcasters in the DC area and within about 40 miles of Baltimore stations. Would be satisfied to get only DC HD stations if indoor mounting might sacrifice Balt. Also, would I need a rotor of some sort to get optimal tuning?

I should also mention that I live in one of the highest points in Fairfax County (adjoins DC).

thanks

[paulh]

Any rooftop antenna can be used in your attic, assuming your attic has enough space for the antenna. However, roofing materials reduce the signal to an antenna (If you have a metal roof, then don't bother with a attic antenna). Also If you have a wire-mesh plaster walls, then that may also make getting a signal improbable.

At 12 miles without hills between you and the towers, an attic mount with that quality antenna should be just fine. 40 miles to Baltimore may be too much a stretch unless you have ideal conditions. If there is the rotational space in your attic, then a rotator would make general pointing much easier. Some people find that there are "sweet spots" in their attic for best reception, it just takes luck to find them, so leave enough slack cable so you can move your antenna around.

[sleepy hollow]

Any rooftop antenna can be used in your attic, assuming your attic has enough space for the antenna. However, roofing materials reduce the signal to an antenna (If you have a metal roof, then don't bother with a attic antenna). Also If you have a wire-mesh plaster walls, then that may also make getting a signal improbable.

At 12 miles without hills between you and the towers, an attic mount with that quality antenna should be just fine. 40 miles to Baltimore may be too much a stretch unless you have ideal conditions. If there is the rotational space in your attic, then a rotator would make general pointing much easier. Some people find that there are "sweet spots" in their attic for best reception, it just takes luck to find them, so leave enough slack cable so you can move your antenna around.

Thanks for the information. FYI, I have a plywood/fiberglass shingle roof. The house does have aluminum siding on 3 sides. I currently have a small v-shaped antenna in the attic that pulls in VHF stations just great from DC and not badly from Balt. Problem is that it needs to be pointed to Balt to get best reception and then that throws off one or two of the DC stations.

I am going to HD in about 2 weeks with installation of my 921. Sounds like I should first try the existing antenna for UHF reception and see which, if any UHF simulcasts I can lock onto. UHF I believe penetrates better than VHF. I'll also try a different spot or two, but the v-shaped antenna barely fits among the rafters.

The smaller UHF antennas like winegard offers appear to be better suited for mounting and rotation in my attic.

So, if I can get a nice assortment of HD signals with the existing antenna, then great, but if I can only get the signals I prefer by re-aiming, then maybe it's time to think about a rotating UHF-only setup.

Does this make sense? [My problem is that I will have 2 sat dishes on the house and prefer not to add an exterior antenna.]

Also, what about the winegard "square deal" antenna? Do you know whether that might be able to see 40 miles to Balt? I understand that I could actually add that to one of the dishes and combine the signals to the receiver.

thanks