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In Reply to: RE: antenna needs posted by texanater on November 11, 2014 at 10:38:56
Couple of questions:
Can you mount an antenna outside? or in the attic?
if so - you then need to know the realative strength/direction of your target stations-
You can certainly put a dipole up in almost any location (though higher is better) and they have a small foot print-
If you can get into the attic - or outside - (on the roof?) you can mount either a Yagi - or Timbo's favorite (and arguably the best for directional gain) a rhombic - see FAQ section of AA for the whitepaper-
with a 'threaded input - 75 Ohm cable is what you want - you will need a balun transformer to connect the Yagi or the Rhombic to the extension cable.
Both the Yagi and the Rhombic are directional - so head to FM FOOL and get your directional survey - together with a compass you can orient the antenna spot on -
Happy Tuning
Follow Ups:
I actually have an antenna in the attic, I'll paste a link to show you which one. I bought it for off-air tv. Those cable companies have gotten their last dollar form me!!! It is just advertised for TV use. It has the 75 ohm transformer built in. It is described as a Yagi antenna.
The problem is my living room has the high ceilings and is not part of the attic system. There is no way to get a cable directly form the attic to the entertainment center. In case you are wondering, we don't have the tv in the living room. The living room just gets a stereo. I could run a cable outside the house or something if that antenna would do the job. Its great for tv that is for sure, great signal with no amplification!
Thanks for your thoughts!
Nate
You can't cheat an honest man, never give a sucker an even break or smarten up a chump -- W.C. Fields
any chance that you can come down from the attic and under the LR then up to the tunner?
I'm sorry I am not sure what you mean by LR, but given the context you are asking if I have a basement or space under the house and unfortunately no, it is on a concrete slab foundation. I would have to come outside the house and then back in. This could be done, there are cable holes for former occupant's cable. I'm pretty sure the cable drops are no longer active so I would have to run a line which isn't that big of a deal. Of course I would probably need an amplifier after the 3db hit from the splitter and the length of cable. This is all doable. I hadn't considered it before because I just assumed the radio frequencies were different enough to make the tv antenna not relevant.
Is that my best option? Its a good bit of but pain but doable.
Thanks for your time.
Nate
You can't cheat an honest man, never give a sucker an even break or smarten up a chump -- W.C. Fields
A TV antenna, while not optimized for FM, should still give you more improvement than your rabbit ears, based on size of the elements, and the hight gained by the attic placement. I know I've gotten some great TV signals from my roof mounted FM Yagi antenna before.
But why not try it prior to running the cable down to the system? Take the NAD up to the cable. I was going to suggest checking the NAD 412s signal strength meter, but a quick check of the owner's manual reveals that it doesn't have one. Do you have a spare amp and speakers you could test the tuner with in the TV room?
"I suspect the transmission locations are too spread out where I live to get much use out of a directional antenna."
The transmission locations being spread out is precisely the reason you would want an adjustable directional antenna. Omni antennas are weak, at best.
Take 6bq5's advice and check your house for FM reception on FM Fool (link below), and try taking the tuner to the cable hooked to your TV antenna first, if you can.
Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress.
I have the antenna running to 1 tv and I do have a spare amp and speakers. It might save me a bunch of headache to make sure it even works, or trouble shoot the system and have one less variable to consider.
I live in Houston which has a television antenna farm but the radio stations are all spread out. I'm not sure how much the directional part will help.
Thanks for the idea!
Nate
You can't cheat an honest man, never give a sucker an even break or smarten up a chump -- W.C. Fields
I checked it over the weekend. Now comes the PITA bit where I spend sever hours one day running cable all over my house and trouble shooting and swearing a lot as I find out where I screwed up. It will be worth it though I think, probably sound better and get rid of the ugly rabbit ears.
Nate
You can't cheat an honest man, never give a sucker an even break or smarten up a chump -- W.C. Fields
But the work part (especially when it involves bleeding and swearing) generally sucks. Next we'll discuss falling off a roof while trying to extend your mast up another two feet, in the attempt to pick up that weak signal college station at the low end of the band.
It's good to hear you tried it, and are taking the next step. You'll be glad you did, I'll bet.
FM FOOL is outstanding. Can't believe the amount of information and the quality of the report. Thank you.
FM lives between TV channels 6 & 7 - that is why the Yagi is a great solution-
Go ahead and use the old cable TV cable - that is 75 Ohm -
You may not need a line amp - with the NAD tunner - try it first....
Good luck
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