# Any success with antenna thru attic window?



## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

I'm likely going to buy a DB8 ( i'm 40 miles from source) http://antennasdirect.com/DB8_HD_Antenna.html and wanted to know if anyone ever had an antenna successfully set up next to a window? That side of the attic faces right where the philly locals are for me and it would be much easier if I could do it this way.

Someone in my area said they had success with this antenna, so that's why i'm likely choosing it. But any other alternatives would be appreciated also. Always looking for better/stronger/ faster


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## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

As long as the window is just plain glass, without an coatings, it should pass your TV signal just fine without much attenuation.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

It's a 50+ yr old leaky aluminum frame and I doubt they had coatings back then  Maybe Ill be in luck after all


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## JimSpence (Sep 19, 2001)

BTW, the Channel Master 4228 is less expensive.
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?main_cat=03&CAT=&PROD=ANC4228


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## A J Ricaud (Jun 25, 2002)

If it matters, the DB8 has higher gain (15.8 dB) than the 4228 (12 dB).


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## JimSpence (Sep 19, 2001)

It may very well matter.


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## rajkej (Sep 13, 2004)

newsposter said:


> I'm likely going to buy a DB8 ( i'm 40 miles from source) http://antennasdirect.com/DB8_HD_Antenna.html and wanted to know if anyone ever had an antenna successfully set up next to a window?


My antenna is in an attic without windows and works great.


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## AbMagFab (Feb 5, 2001)

litzdog911 said:


> As long as the window is just plain glass, without an coatings, it should pass your TV signal just fine without much attenuation.


None of that matters. I'm 30+ miles from the towers (in DC), and I have my antenna in my attic. It's pointing through plywood and shingles, and I get perfect reception.

OTA UHF passes through just about anything (brick fireplaces tend to be a little hard though).


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## jfischer (Oct 14, 1999)

Let us know how that antenna works when you get it, please? I'm using the RS 4' UHF antenna to get my signals in Denver, and Monday Night Football is on the 2,000 watt blowtorch that ABC sees fit to use for now. 

I can usually watch MNF without too many breakups, but I'd be willing to drop $100 for something better if I thought it would give me a more stable signal.


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## ilkevinli (Jan 6, 2001)

I have mine set up in my attic and I get 100% signal for my local channels. I set it up there bjust incase I need to move realign it for some reason


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## Dmtalon (Dec 28, 2003)

rajkej said:


> My antenna is in an attic without windows and works great.


I too have a $40 attic antenna (small outdoor antenna) in my attic with no windows, and I am in Northern KY, and can pick up both local HD (Cincinnati) and Dayton, OH HD channels. I can't get *all* of the Dayton channels, but most of them.

And ironically the Dayton channels tend to be better quality (not better signal) and broadcast audio in DD vs. the local networks that are not in DD.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

jfischer said:


> Let us know how that antenna works when you get it, please? I'm using the RS 4' UHF antenna to get my signals in Denver, and Monday Night Football is on the 2,000 watt blowtorch that ABC sees fit to use for now.
> 
> I can usually watch MNF without too many breakups, but I'd be willing to drop $100 for something better if I thought it would give me a more stable signal.


I will update all my ongoing threads IF and when all this gets installed. Next weekend at earliest unfortunately.


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## comp4pod (Dec 31, 2004)

I have been using the 4228 for a year in my attic, no windows. I live in S.E. Mass and get Providence and Boston stations without any problems. My signal is usually in 80's or 90's. It was too large for my attic opening. I checked with channel master and they said I could break a few rivets to partially disassemble the antenna, then replace with screws. Worked like a champ!


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

I have a very preliminary note on my DB8. (I'm 40 miles from towers) Leaned it up against my dining room table and got 40's intermittantly. I was amazed. Took it outside and got a solid 70 leaning up against my picnic table. I did not get all the philly locals but did get the nbc/cbs/abc. I'm now virtually positive if I just install this a bit higher and adjust, i'll get everything. Of course the thing was not even aimed or perpendicular or anything the right way. 

What's amazing is, from what i've been told, uhf is line of sight. Well I have an 8ft fence, line of bushes, tall tree, neighbors house all in the way and got this good of a signal just 3ft off the ground. It better not rain this weekend.


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## TyroneShoes (Sep 6, 2004)

AbMagFab said:


> None of that matters...OTA UHF passes through just about anything...


I had it proven to me quite graphically that simply adding metalized heat-control film to windows can completely mess up DT reception. I had a twinlead dipole taped to a window and had to remove a slice of film to get reception back.

Anything that blocks or reflects RF signal, or absorbs it (leafy trees or cloud vapor where the droplet size is similar to the wavelength, such as Ku satellite) can pose a problem. It doesn't simply "pass through anything" as if observing the laws of magic, rather it obeys the laws of physics.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

jfischer said:


> Let us know how that antenna works when you get it, please? I'm using the RS 4' UHF antenna to get my signals in Denver, and Monday Night Football is on the 2,000 watt blowtorch that ABC sees fit to use for now.
> 
> I can usually watch MNF without too many breakups, but I'd be willing to drop $100 for something better if I thought it would give me a more stable signal.


I know this is probably out of date and too late to help you but I'm updating some old threads with my final antenna experience to hopefully help someone out:

They mounted the DB8 on the chimney with a 10ft pole this morning but it appeared even though it was on the roof, I couldn't get in ch 64 and 67 in the high 80s like i did in the attic. My guess is the chimney was 5 ft to the right of the original spot inside and i guess that made the difference. But i didnt' want the hassle of a tripod.

Anyway, after over 1 hour of struggling aiming the antenna 1 millimeter at a time, and trying a pre amp from the guy (turns out my regular amp was better anyways), I've now gotten fox (42) to be solid mid 60s and channel 67 and 64 seem to be solid 68ish or 72 ish. If everything stays as is, i'll be thrilled as I can record solid 60 signals. Even channel 54 is a solid 65 now. But I was wondering if the dense fog helped or hurt the aiming this morning? If all the channels die tonight after the fog is gone, i'll scream lol.


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## killerdc (Jan 21, 2005)

rajkej said:


> My antenna is in an attic without windows and works great.


Ditto. I have one of those big wire ones up in the attic with no windows and I live a good ways away from the arilington sources. It works just fine.

Actually a moot point, hopefully. The HD installer is there right now putting up my 5 LNB dish and HD box.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

killerdc said:


> Ditto. I have one of those big wire ones up in the attic with no windows and I live a good ways away from the arilington sources. It works just fine.
> 
> Actually a moot point, hopefully. The HD installer is there right now putting up my 5 LNB dish and HD box.


so you dont care about upn/pbs/wb in hd right?


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## TyroneShoes (Sep 6, 2004)

A J Ricaud said:


> If it matters, the DB8 has higher gain (15.8 dB) than the 4228 (12 dB).


The _rated_ gain on the 4228 is probably conservative, and it is more consistent throughout the band. The higher gain of the DB-8 only applies to channels from about 45 and up, reaching 15.8 only in the highest UHF channels, which are not relevant in many locations. It actually has lower gain at lower UHF channels than does the 4228. According to this very cool site:

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html

as you can easily see, the 4228 is about a dB or two higher for channels in the 30's, and the DB-8 is about a dB or two higher for channels in the 50's. When gain is that close, the directionality might be more significant, depending on the terrain and the distance. It's easy to add amplification after the fact to increase gain, but difficult to do much about directionality outside of the original antenna choice itself. Bottom line, make that choice carefully, and based on specific requirements.

Both are very good antennas, but the less-expensive, easy-to-install 4228 certainly seems to have the best track record of success for DT reception, and is probably the better choice in 75% of the over-40-mile reception scenarios, again depending upon terrain and distance. Also, while it is not rated for VHF, it still receives 7-13 very well. You probably can't go wrong with either one.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

TyroneShoes said:


> The _rated_ gain on the 4228 is probably conservative, and it is more consistent throughout the band. The higher gain of the DB-8 only applies to channels from about 45 and up, reaching 15.8 only in the highest UHF channels, which are not relevant in many locations. .


Except the tiny philly market of course  why in the world they put stuff at 54 64 67 is beyond me.

Well i watched my 1st fox HD show (uhf 42) tonight after my antenna install. Even with the low 60s signal it had zero dropouts. Maybe there's hope for me yet.

I actually have a long term plan here so as to salvage my 200 bucks i spent to have this thing put on the roof (especially if the antenna doesn't hold the signal). I'll get the hd dvr for the Big 4 then just aim for upn/wb with the antenna. Assuming PQ is not too bad on the satellite of course.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

hopefully an end to this thread at last...can't believe it's been 5 months:

Tiny update on my DB8 antenna saga for anyone following along. And he did seal the coax this time after I asked him to. Also, his antenna didn't do any better than mine so the DB8 is indeed a good antenna. 

After the guy trying every foot or so on the length of my roof, and even a higher roof, I settled on the original spot over the place in the attic where i got great numbers. I'm definitely shooting between a house and an unseen object in the distance. The installer was pretty flabbergasted how just a foot made a huge difference.

So now that I was 6ft away from the chimney, using a tripod and 5 ft pole instead of a 10ft on the chimney, I'm pretty confident the high winds wont move this mount again. CH 64/67 are in the 80s. Ch42 is a solid 71. Wb 54 is a somewhat solid 68. Of course cbs/upn are 90 since they are in the lower UHF.

In my case, higher wasn't always better. A foot horizontally made the difference between 10-15 on the signal meter. I spent 400 in labor etc getting it this far so hope they kill ch 54wb and move the programs down to 32upn. Then I'd be set. Or if they even put CW on directv I'd be ok if the signal was as good as OTA (not likely though)

I just hope he's not right that when the leaves grow on a tree (200+feet away) that I'll have problems


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## NatasNJ (Jan 7, 2002)

I got a Cheapo $49 radioshack HDTV antenna last night. Hooked it up to my new TV. 
Was able to get CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, WB, & UPN for the most part (had to make some minor adjustments for Fox but I could get it in) and this is with the antenna in my basment not near a window. 

So I assume if that antenna was working pretty good that the Directv OTA antenna on my roof pointing in the right direction should provide me a solid signal on all my locals. Is that a safe assumption?


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