Plopping an outdoor antenna into the attic

[mm]

Is there a problem letting an outdoor tv antenna sit on the floor
joists and insulation of an unfinished attic? As long as the surface
is dry, does it matter what supports the antenna?


I have a friend whose tv reception is pretty bad since the digital
conversion. Even the major network stations in Baltimore go out on
her sometimes (as they have for me). She's taken to watching tv on
the net.

She doesn't want an antenna on the roof, and the hatch leading to her
attic is too small for me to enter. Not because I'm fat, which I am,
but because my chest is too big, front to back, for the hatch, even
though my rib cage is not fat. Maybe a half inch total front and back
more than it ever was. (It's not that I'm big-chested either. Her
hatch must be strangely small.)

So I was thinking I might be able to stand below the hatch (just a
square hole with a piece of plywood to stop the breeze), raise an
outdoor antenna into the hatch, use a 1x2, maybe with a notch cut in
the end to unfold each element after it passes the hatch, and lay the
whole thing down on the attic floor.

This sounds tricky, and I want to look at my antenna again, but I'm
not too worried about the tricky part. (Last year, I had a broken
outside floodlight that was two high to reach with a standard 15-foot
extension ladder, but I changed it without using any ladder, from
inside the attic and from the ground outside.)

I just want to make sure that, other than losing 4 extra feet that it
could be mounted higher (if we got some lanky guy to go up there), it
will work okay on the floor, or maybe on a cardboard box on either
side of the hatch.


After my success last night, with your help, improving the sound in my
bedroom tv, I finally got around tonight to bringing my new, pretty
big, outdoor antenna into the attic, unfolding it, and connecting it.
I used to get 10 stations, and now I get 9 more plus maybe 6 more
substations. Some are duplicate networks or in languages I don't plan
to watch, but still, I'm quite happy. Because I haven't yet cut the
2x4 to mount my antenna higher, and out of my way, it's sitting on two
cardboard boxes, but not on the floor.

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[Steve Kraus]

Nothing to lose by trying unless this place is really old and has knob and
tube electrical wiring that could be frayed by now which you don't want to
get near with something like an antenna. Other than that give it a try.
You'll probably want to keep it away from any pipes or electrical conduits,
cables, flex, metal flues, etc.

But really...if a smaller person can get up there you might as well have
them do it. Attach a short pipe to a roof rafter and clamp the antenna to
it so it hangs in the middle of the space. That would give the greatest
chance of success. If that doesn't do it she should reconsider a rooftop
aerial.

Your friend should really think about enlarging the opening if it's that
small. If there is room up there to deploy a full size tv antenna it's
probably a good place for storage and that would be hampered by the small
opening.

 

[mm]

On Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:00:46 -0600, Steve Kraus
<screen@SPAMBLOCKfilmteknik.com> wrote:

Nothing to lose by trying unless this place is really old and has knob and
tube electrical wiring that could be frayed by now which you don't want to
get near with something like an antenna.

No, it's a modern house, but there is something to lose by trying.
She's a pain in the neck. I like her and I'm glad to do her favors,
if I can get in and get out. But if she buys the antenna -- I'm not
paying for it -- and then there is little improvement** she'll be very
unhappy, and almost blame me for being wrong about what would work.

**That's a separate possibility, even if resting on the floor isn't a
problem. I have to look her address up on tvfool.com

Other than that give it a try.
You'll probably want to keep it away from any pipes or electrical conduits,
cables, flex, metal flues, etc.

Good point. I don't think I even looked when I had my head up there.

But really...if a smaller person can get up there you might as well have
them do it. Attach a short pipe to a roof rafter and clamp the antenna to
it so it hangs in the middle of the space. That would give the greatest
chance of success. If that doesn't do it she should reconsider a rooftop
aerial.

Like I say, she's a pain in the neck. (Fortunately for me, she
doesn't read Usenet) She has another ex-boyfriend ready, willing, and
able to put one on the roof. And annoyed at her for her not being
willing to let him. I consider myself laid back and "understanding"
because if she doesn't want it, I do understand.

He's not that small even, but I guess he's smaller than I am. But I
get stuck at the middle of my breast bone and there is practicaly no
flesh there, at most a quarter of an inch and there must have been at
least an eighth of an inch there when I wasn't fat. I can't check out
my back well, but despite the expression, fatback bacon, as best I can
tell, I don't think my back is actually fat. Just my belly.

Your friend should really think about enlarging the opening if it's that
small. If there is room up there to deploy a full size tv antenna it's
probably a good place for storage and that would be hampered by the small
opening.

Maybe so. I'll mention it.

 

[D Yuniskis]

Steve Kraus wrote:

Your friend should really think about enlarging the opening if it's that
small. If there is room up there to deploy a full size tv antenna it's
probably a good place for storage and that would be hampered by the small
opening.

Even if not used for storage, what good is the opening if folks
can't get *through* it??! (e.g., wait until there is a roof leak
and you **need** to get up there *now*... :> )

 

[mm]

On Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:42:16 -0700, D Yuniskis
<not.going.to.be@seen.com> wrote:

Steve Kraus wrote:
Your friend should really think about enlarging the opening if it's that
small. If there is room up there to deploy a full size tv antenna it's
probably a good place for storage and that would be hampered by the small
opening.

Even if not used for storage, what good is the opening if folks
can't get *through* it??! (e.g., wait until there is a roof leak
and you **need** to get up there *now*... :> )

Good point.

Also, I have no trouble getting through the hatch into my own attic.
I could be a lot fatter and still have no trouble.

(I do barely make it past the closet shelf, with the ladder resting on
the shelf and the front wall of the closet behind me. That's because
I'm fat. But that wasn't a problem at her house. And leaving my
attic, facing away from the shelf, no problem.

I should measure my hatch and her hatch. And maybe there was some
good reason they made it so small.


Hmmm. Checking www.tvfool.com maps, including the radar map, I see
that for her address, they only have 7 stations in the green area and
2 in the yellow, a total of 9, a lot less than I had. Even if I say
the antenna will be 40 feet high, far higher than she would like, that
just puts 5 in the yellow area, a total of 12 stations. Plus 4 of the
five are the same networks she gets locally, and the one that is
independant, it says in Wiki plays reruns from the 60's and 70's. I
get that on another station and she has expressed no interest in them.

Maybe she's stuck. Or I should get her an omnitdirectional antenna
that can be mounted on a piece of tubing screwed to the frame of her
hatch???



I think she has gotten more stations than I have most of the time I
have known her, but that has changed.

Her job is in jeopardy now as well as some of her assets and she
really can't afford cable now. This tv thing is just salt in the
wounds.

 

[Sansui Samari]

On Mar 6, 10:40 pm, mm <NOPSAMmm2...@bigfoot.com> wrote:

Is there a problem letting an outdoor tv antenna sit on the floor
joists and insulation of an unfinished attic?   As long as the surface
is dry, does it matter what supports the antenna?

I have a friend whose tv reception is pretty bad since the digital
conversion.  Even the major network stations in Baltimore go out on
her sometimes (as they have for me).  She's taken to watching tv on
the net.

She doesn't want an antenna on the roof, and the hatch leading to her
attic is too small for me to enter.  Not because I'm fat, which I am,
but because my chest is too big, front to back, for the hatch, even
though my rib cage is not fat.  Maybe a half inch total front and back
more than it ever was.  (It's not that I'm big-chested either.  Her
hatch must be strangely small.)

So I was thinking I might be able to stand below the hatch (just a
square hole with a piece of plywood to stop the breeze), raise an
outdoor antenna into the hatch, use a 1x2, maybe with a notch cut in
the end to unfold each element after it passes the hatch, and lay the
whole thing down on the attic floor.

This sounds tricky, and I want to look at my antenna again, but I'm
not too worried about the tricky part.  (Last year, I had a broken
outside floodlight that was two high to reach with a standard 15-foot
extension ladder, but I changed it without using any ladder, from
inside the attic and from the ground outside.)

I just want to make sure that, other than losing 4 extra feet that it
could be mounted higher (if we got some lanky guy to go up there), it
will work okay on the floor, or maybe on a cardboard box on either
side of the hatch.

After my success last night, with your help, improving the sound in my
bedroom tv, I finally got around tonight to bringing my new, pretty
big, outdoor antenna into the attic, unfolding it, and connecting it.
I used to get 10 stations, and now I get 9 more plus maybe 6 more
substations.  Some are duplicate networks or in languages I don't plan
to watch, but still, I'm quite happy.   Because I haven't yet cut the
2x4 to mount my antenna higher, and out of my way, it's sitting on two
cardboard boxes, but not on the floor.

Thanks for any help you can give.

It actually used to be fairly common to put the television aerial in
the attic. I used to live on the top floor of some older apartments
years ago, and they had huge antennas from the 70's in the attics of
each building. No one was using them anymore. I wish I could have
snagged one now, but I didn't feel like taking it apart and snaking
through the 2x2 attic access. Back to the subject at hand... it must
have worked, if so many people used to do it before cable and
satellite. I don't know if metal roofing or something of that nature
would raise hell with it or not..

J

 

[William Sommerwerck]

There should be no problem, as long as the antenna isn't "too close" to
metal objects and surfaces.

The only real problem with putting an antenna in the attic is that reception
might deteriorate when it rains. The antenna will them be surrounded by
slightly conducting surfaces.

 

On Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:40:54 -0500, mm
<NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com>wrote:

Is there a problem letting an outdoor tv antenna sit on the floor
joists and insulation of an unfinished attic? As long as the surface
is dry, does it matter what supports the antenna?

What problems were you fantasizing about this time?

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:40:54 -0500, mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com>
wrote:

Is there a problem letting an outdoor tv antenna sit on the floor
joists and insulation of an unfinished attic?

No problem as long as:
1. There's no metal nearby such as the usual electrical wires in the
ceiling.
2. The building walls are fairly transparent to RF. That doesn't
work with stucco, where the chicken wire blocks RF. It also doesn't
work with brick, concrete, or aluminum siding. It also doesn't work
if you have aluminum foil backed insulation material in the walls.
More generally, it doesn't work with anything except thin wood siding.
3. If your antenna is going through the roof, the roofing material
also needs to qualify. Typical gravel impregnated roll roofing and
shingles are not very RF transparent. Wood shingle and shake will
work. I'm not sure about a tile or rock roof.
4. If the other houses in the neighborhood are similar to yours, it's
highly likely they will also be the same height. That means your
signal will need to go through both your roof or wall, as well as your
neighbors. Estimate the line of sight and see how many houses, trees,
and buildings you need to penetrate.

She doesn't want an antenna on the roof,

Have her order cable TV or satellite TV. End of problem.

and the hatch leading to her
attic is too small for me to enter.

Every neighborhood has kids that are willing to do such things. With
your apparent abilities and size, you'll go through the ceiling if you
step between the ceiling joists.



--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

On Sun, 07 Mar 2010 03:11:17 -0500, mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com>
wrote:

On Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:00:46 -0600, Steve Kraus
screen@SPAMBLOCKfilmteknik.com> wrote:

Nothing to lose by trying unless this place is really old and has knob and
tube electrical wiring that could be frayed by now which you don't want to
get near with something like an antenna.

No, it's a modern house, but there is something to lose by trying.
She's a pain in the neck. I like her and I'm glad to do her favors,
if I can get in and get out. But if she buys the antenna -- I'm not
paying for it -- and then there is little improvement** she'll be very
unhappy, and almost blame me for being wrong about what would work.

**That's a separate possibility, even if resting on the floor isn't a
problem. I have to look her address up on tvfool.com

Other than that give it a try.
You'll probably want to keep it away from any pipes or electrical conduits,
cables, flex, metal flues, etc.

Good point. I don't think I even looked when I had my head up there.

But really...if a smaller person can get up there you might as well have
them do it. Attach a short pipe to a roof rafter and clamp the antenna to
it so it hangs in the middle of the space. That would give the greatest
chance of success. If that doesn't do it she should reconsider a rooftop
aerial.

Like I say, she's a pain in the neck. (Fortunately for me, she
doesn't read Usenet) She has another ex-boyfriend ready, willing, and
able to put one on the roof. And annoyed at her for her not being
willing to let him. I consider myself laid back and "understanding"
because if she doesn't want it, I do understand.

He's not that small even, but I guess he's smaller than I am. But I
get stuck at the middle of my breast bone and there is practicaly no
flesh there, at most a quarter of an inch and there must have been at
least an eighth of an inch there when I wasn't fat. I can't check out
my back well, but despite the expression, fatback bacon, as best I can
tell, I don't think my back is actually fat. Just my belly.

Your friend should really think about enlarging the opening if it's that
small. If there is room up there to deploy a full size tv antenna it's
probably a good place for storage and that would be hampered by the small
opening.

Maybe so. I'll mention it.
I see several points that should be made.

If she is in an area with limited reception, the higher the
antenna, the better the reception. It's a simple equation. She can
accept having the antenna on the roof, or suffer with inadequate
reception. Squeezing an antenna into the attic is a half-assed
solution.

A second point is why you continue to put up with "a pain in the
neck". Perhaps you should 'man up' and face the facts. At age 60,
there are 9 men for every 10 women. At age 70, there are 8 men for
every 10 women. At some point you should ask yourself if the benefits
of this relationship are worth the aggravation.

PlainBill

 

[mm]

On Sun, 7 Mar 2010 04:44:20 -0800, "William Sommerwerck"
<grizzledgeezer@comcast.net> wrote:

There should be no problem, as long as the antenna isn't "too close" to
metal objects and surfaces.

Okay. I'll look closely. At least I can get my head in there.

The only real problem with putting an antenna in the attic is that reception
might deteriorate when it rains. The antenna will them be surrounded by
slightly conducting surfaces.

She'll have to live with that.

 

[mm]

On Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:09:21 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
wrote:

On Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:40:54 -0500, mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com
wrote:

Is there a problem letting an outdoor tv antenna sit on the floor
joists and insulation of an unfinished attic?

No problem as long as:
1. There's no metal nearby such as the usual electrical wires in the
ceiling.
2. The building walls are fairly transparent to RF. That doesn't
work with stucco, where the chicken wire blocks RF. It also doesn't
work with brick, concrete, or aluminum siding. It also doesn't work
if you have aluminum foil backed insulation material in the walls.
More generally, it doesn't work with anything except thin wood siding.
3. If your antenna is going through the roof, the roofing material
also needs to qualify. Typical gravel impregnated roll roofing and
shingles are not very RF transparent. Wood shingle and shake will
work. I'm not sure about a tile or rock roof.
4. If the other houses in the neighborhood are similar to yours, it's
highly likely they will also be the same height. That means your
signal will need to go through both your roof or wall, as well as your
neighbors. Estimate the line of sight and see how many houses, trees,
and buildings you need to penetrate.

I'll look into all these things. Thanks.

Her construction is pretty much like mine, and the attic antenna is

working well for me.

She doesn't want an antenna on the roof,

Have her order cable TV or satellite TV. End of problem.

I'm glad you said that. I'll have her send the bills to the address
below.

and the hatch leading to her
attic is too small for me to enter.

Every neighborhood has kids that are willing to do such things. With
your apparent abilities and size, you'll go through the ceiling if you
step between the ceiling joists.

Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[mm]

On Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:15:19 -0700, PlainBill47@yahoo.com wrote:

I see several points that should be made.

If she is in an area with limited reception, the higher the
antenna, the better the reception. It's a simple equation. She can
accept having the antenna on the roof, or suffer with inadequate
reception. Squeezing an antenna into the attic is a half-assed
solution.

She knows all this. She doesn't want an antenna on the roof.

A second point is why you continue to put up with "a pain in the
neck".

Therapy? We're going to have therapy? Goodie!

Perhaps you should 'man up' and face the facts. At age 60,
there are 9 men for every 10 women. At age 70, there are 8 men for
every 10 women.

Yeah, but you're talking about 10 70-year old women. This one is
decades younger than I am.

At some point you should ask yourself if the benefits
of this relationship are worth the aggravation.

Thank you, Ann Landers. When we have more time, I'll explain
friendship to you.

PlainBill

 

[PeterD]

On Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:40:54 -0500, mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com>
wrote:

Is there a problem letting an outdoor tv antenna sit on the floor
joists and insulation of an unfinished attic? As long as the surface
is dry, does it matter what supports the antenna?


I have a friend whose tv reception is pretty bad since the digital
conversion. Even the major network stations in Baltimore go out on
her sometimes (as they have for me). She's taken to watching tv on
the net.

She doesn't want an antenna on the roof, and the hatch leading to her
attic is too small for me to enter. Not because I'm fat, which I am,
but because my chest is too big, front to back, for the hatch, even
though my rib cage is not fat. Maybe a half inch total front and back
more than it ever was. (It's not that I'm big-chested either. Her
hatch must be strangely small.)

Dear dog, way too much information!

So I was thinking I might be able to stand below the hatch (just a
square hole with a piece of plywood to stop the breeze), raise an
outdoor antenna into the hatch, use a 1x2, maybe with a notch cut in
the end to unfold each element after it passes the hatch, and lay the
whole thing down on the attic floor.

Why not hire some skinny kid? That's what I'd do.

This sounds tricky, and I want to look at my antenna again, but I'm
not too worried about the tricky part. (Last year, I had a broken
outside floodlight that was two high to reach with a standard 15-foot
extension ladder, but I changed it without using any ladder, from
inside the attic and from the ground outside.)

I just want to make sure that, other than losing 4 extra feet that it
could be mounted higher (if we got some lanky guy to go up there), it
will work okay on the floor, or maybe on a cardboard box on either
side of the hatch.


After my success last night, with your help, improving the sound in my
bedroom tv, I finally got around tonight to bringing my new, pretty
big, outdoor antenna into the attic, unfolding it, and connecting it.
I used to get 10 stations, and now I get 9 more plus maybe 6 more
substations. Some are duplicate networks or in languages I don't plan
to watch, but still, I'm quite happy. Because I haven't yet cut the
2x4 to mount my antenna higher, and out of my way, it's sitting on two
cardboard boxes, but not on the floor.

Thanks for any help you can give.

I don't think it is bad to use that antenna there, but think you
really should have someone there to aim and angle it for best
reception. Realize as well that attic antennas don't (IMHO) give quite
as good performance as a roof mounted one.

 

On Mar 6, 10:40 pm, mm <NOPSAMmm2...@bigfoot.com> wrote:

Is there a problem letting an outdoor tv antenna sit on the floor
joists and insulation of an unfinished attic?   As long as the surface
is dry, does it matter what supports the antenna?

I have a friend whose tv reception is pretty bad since the digital
conversion.  Even the major network stations in Baltimore go out on
her sometimes (as they have for me).  She's taken to watching tv on
the net.

She doesn't want an antenna on the roof, and the hatch leading to her
attic is too small for me to enter.  Not because I'm fat, which I am,
but because my chest is too big, front to back, for the hatch, even
though my rib cage is not fat.  Maybe a half inch total front and back
more than it ever was.  (It's not that I'm big-chested either.  Her
hatch must be strangely small.)

So I was thinking I might be able to stand below the hatch (just a
square hole with a piece of plywood to stop the breeze), raise an
outdoor antenna into the hatch, use a 1x2, maybe with a notch cut in
the end to unfold each element after it passes the hatch, and lay the
whole thing down on the attic floor.

This sounds tricky, and I want to look at my antenna again, but I'm
not too worried about the tricky part.  (Last year, I had a broken
outside floodlight that was two high to reach with a standard 15-foot
extension ladder, but I changed it without using any ladder, from
inside the attic and from the ground outside.)

I just want to make sure that, other than losing 4 extra feet that it
could be mounted higher (if we got some lanky guy to go up there), it
will work okay on the floor, or maybe on a cardboard box on either
side of the hatch.

After my success last night, with your help, improving the sound in my
bedroom tv, I finally got around tonight to bringing my new, pretty
big, outdoor antenna into the attic, unfolding it, and connecting it.
I used to get 10 stations, and now I get 9 more plus maybe 6 more
substations.  Some are duplicate networks or in languages I don't plan
to watch, but still, I'm quite happy.   Because I haven't yet cut the
2x4 to mount my antenna higher, and out of my way, it's sitting on two
cardboard boxes, but not on the floor.

Thanks for any help you can give.

If she has aluminum siding you can just forget it. Looking at
Antennaweb.org for ZIP 21201, 5 of the channels are only 3.5 miles
away. You might be TOO close to the towers and actually be _under_ the
RF. Also, you have 2 high band VHF and 5 UHF channels 38 to 46. You
might want to check out some of the Winegard antennas on this page.

http://www.winegard.com/offair/vhfuhf-antennas.php#hd7694p

I have a SquareShooter in 90274 split 5 ways with no preamps. In my
case the VHF is filled in by an antenna in the rafters of the garage.
We are 35 miles from Mt Wilson with barely Line Of Sight so while the
signal is solid, the multipath is minimal. Multipath (BAD for DTV)
gets better with high Front to Back ratio. That HD7694P antenna is 5
ft long and 3 ft wide so wouldn't be too hard even in the restricted
access. It has quite good gain and Front to Back.

G˛

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:50:36 -0500, mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com>
wrote:

I'll look into all these things. Thanks.

More suggestions... A bow-tie and barbeque grill antenna will
probably fit through the attic entrance. It's much narrower than a
big yagi antenna. Something like this:
http://www.jedsoft.org/fun/antennas/dtv/gh.html
http://www.digitalhome.ca/ota/superantenna/
http://www.jedsoft.org/fun/antennas/dtv/xgh.html
http://www.qsl.net/va3rr/hdtv/hoverman.htm
Lots more including the usual made from wood, coat hangers, and
aluminum foil:
http://uhfhdtvantenna.blogspot.com

This is one of my clueless friends attempt to build one. Please don't
copy it as it doesn't work:
<http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/DTV-jw/index.html>

Anyway, find a fiberglass telescoping window washing pole at the
hardware store, attach the antenna to the top, and shove it through
the access hole in the ceiling. You can move it around a bit and also
spin it for best reception. The big advantage is that you don't have
to climb up into the attic. If the roof peak is fairly high, you can
probably clear the ceiling wiring and ducting.

Also, think seriously about an amplified antenna or add on amp. The
amp should be mounted on the antenna. The power supply goes near the
TV. My favorite for weak areas is the Channel Master 7777. Second
best is the Winegard AP 8275.

Her construction is pretty much like mine, and the attic antenna is
working well for me.

And your construction is like...??? My crystal ball is at the
sorcerers getting a recharge, so I'm not able to devine your house
constuction.

She doesn't want an antenna on the roof,

Have her order cable TV or satellite TV. End of problem.

I'm glad you said that. I'll have her send the bills to the address
below.

No problem. My paper shredder needs a warmup before tax time.

Good luck and please get someone smaller and lighter to do the attic
work. The posterior you save may be your own. (I'm 62 and gave up
running network wires in crawl spaces and climbing towers at about
55).

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[mm]

On Sun, 7 Mar 2010 15:10:26 -0800 (PST), stratus46@yahoo.com wrote:

On Mar 6, 10:40 pm, mm <NOPSAMmm2...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
Is there a problem letting an outdoor tv antenna sit on the floor
joists and insulation of an unfinished attic?   As long as the surface
is dry, does it matter what supports the antenna?

I have a friend whose tv reception is pretty bad since the digital
conversion.  Even the major network stations in Baltimore go out on
her sometimes (as they have for me).  She's taken to watching tv on
the net.

She doesn't want an antenna on the roof, and the hatch leading to her
attic is too small for me to enter.  Not because I'm fat, which I am,
but because my chest is too big, front to back, for the hatch, even
though my rib cage is not fat.  Maybe a half inch total front and back
more than it ever was.  (It's not that I'm big-chested either.  Her
hatch must be strangely small.)

So I was thinking I might be able to stand below the hatch (just a
square hole with a piece of plywood to stop the breeze), raise an
outdoor antenna into the hatch, use a 1x2, maybe with a notch cut in
the end to unfold each element after it passes the hatch, and lay the
whole thing down on the attic floor.

This sounds tricky, and I want to look at my antenna again, but I'm
not too worried about the tricky part.  (Last year, I had a broken
outside floodlight that was two high to reach with a standard 15-foot
extension ladder, but I changed it without using any ladder, from
inside the attic and from the ground outside.)

I just want to make sure that, other than losing 4 extra feet that it
could be mounted higher (if we got some lanky guy to go up there), it
will work okay on the floor, or maybe on a cardboard box on either
side of the hatch.

After my success last night, with your help, improving the sound in my
bedroom tv, I finally got around tonight to bringing my new, pretty
big, outdoor antenna into the attic, unfolding it, and connecting it.
I used to get 10 stations, and now I get 9 more plus maybe 6 more
substations.  Some are duplicate networks or in languages I don't plan
to watch, but still, I'm quite happy.   Because I haven't yet cut the
2x4 to mount my antenna higher, and out of my way, it's sitting on two
cardboard boxes, but not on the floor.

Thanks for any help you can give.

If she has aluminum siding you can just forget it. Looking at
Antennaweb.org for ZIP 21201, 5 of the channels are only 3.5 miles
away. You might be TOO close to the towers and actually be _under_ the
RF. Also, you have 2 high band VHF and 5 UHF channels 38 to 46. You
might want to check out some of the Winegard antennas on this page.

http://www.winegard.com/offair/vhfuhf-antennas.php#hd7694p

I have a SquareShooter in 90274 split 5 ways with no preamps. In my
case the VHF is filled in by an antenna in the rafters of the garage.
We are 35 miles from Mt Wilson with barely Line Of Sight so while the
signal is solid, the multipath is minimal. Multipath (BAD for DTV)
gets better with high Front to Back ratio. That HD7694P antenna is 5
ft long and 3 ft wide so wouldn't be too hard even in the restricted
access. It has quite good gain and Front to Back.

G˛

Thanks for the suggestions, and thank you Peter also. I'll try to put
them to use.

 

[Robert Macy]

On Mar 9, 1:01 pm, mm <NOPSAMmm2...@bigfoot.com> wrote:

On Sun, 7 Mar 2010 15:10:26 -0800 (PST), stratu...@yahoo.com wrote:
On Mar 6, 10:40 pm, mm <NOPSAMmm2...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
Is there a problem letting an outdoor tv antenna sit on the floor
joists and insulation of an unfinished attic? As long as the surface
is dry, does it matter what supports the antenna?

I have a friend whose tv reception is pretty bad since the digital
conversion. Even the major network stations in Baltimore go out on
her sometimes (as they have for me). She's taken to watching tv on
the net.

She doesn't want an antenna on the roof, and the hatch leading to her
attic is too small for me to enter. Not because I'm fat, which I am,
but because my chest is too big, front to back, for the hatch, even
though my rib cage is not fat. Maybe a half inch total front and back
more than it ever was. (It's not that I'm big-chested either. Her
hatch must be strangely small.)

So I was thinking I might be able to stand below the hatch (just a
square hole with a piece of plywood to stop the breeze), raise an
outdoor antenna into the hatch, use a 1x2, maybe with a notch cut in
the end to unfold each element after it passes the hatch, and lay the
whole thing down on the attic floor.

This sounds tricky, and I want to look at my antenna again, but I'm
not too worried about the tricky part. (Last year, I had a broken
outside floodlight that was two high to reach with a standard 15-foot
extension ladder, but I changed it without using any ladder, from
inside the attic and from the ground outside.)

I just want to make sure that, other than losing 4 extra feet that it
could be mounted higher (if we got some lanky guy to go up there), it
will work okay on the floor, or maybe on a cardboard box on either
side of the hatch.

After my success last night, with your help, improving the sound in my
bedroom tv, I finally got around tonight to bringing my new, pretty
big, outdoor antenna into the attic, unfolding it, and connecting it.
I used to get 10 stations, and now I get 9 more plus maybe 6 more
substations. Some are duplicate networks or in languages I don't plan
to watch, but still, I'm quite happy. Because I haven't yet cut the
2x4 to mount my antenna higher, and out of my way, it's sitting on two
cardboard boxes, but not on the floor.

Thanks for any help you can give.

If she has aluminum siding you can just forget it. Looking at
Antennaweb.org  for ZIP 21201, 5 of the channels are only 3.5 miles
away. You might be TOO close to the towers and actually be _under_ the
RF. Also, you have 2 high band VHF and 5 UHF channels 38 to 46. You
might want to check out some of the Winegard antennas on this page.

http://www.winegard.com/offair/vhfuhf-antennas.php#hd7694p

I have a SquareShooter in 90274 split 5 ways with no preamps. In my
case the VHF is filled in by an antenna in the rafters of the garage.
We are 35 miles from Mt Wilson with barely Line Of Sight so while the
signal is solid, the multipath is minimal. Multipath (BAD for DTV)
gets better with high Front to Back ratio. That HD7694P antenna is 5
ft long and 3 ft wide so wouldn't be too hard even in the restricted
access. It has quite good gain and Front to Back.

G

Thanks for the suggestions, and thank you Peter also.  I'll try to put
them to use.

try it below the attic first then move up

 

[mm]

On Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:08:27 -0800 (PST), Robert Macy
<macy@california.com> wrote:

try it below the attic first then move up

Good idea. Obvious but not thought of. Thanks.