Antenna advice for 95991 Yuba City, Ca

[agwat]

Hi All,

I am planning on dropping Dish Network and replacing the Dish with an Antenna connected to a HTPC that I am building with a tuner card. In my area there are transmission towers due South and due North each at distance of 55-60 miles. I live in the Sacramento Valley so the terrain in either direction is as flat as a pancake. I own a 2 story house that has a chimney on the south side (I never use the chimney). It is actually easier to install an antenna on the roof than it would be to install it in the attic due to the configuration of my house and TV area. I am only planning on attaching the antenna to the tuner card on the PC, but the card has 2 inputs to receive digital stations. So here are my questions...

1) What would you all recommend as the optimal antenna. I am inclined to install something in the overkill department such as the Winegard 7080P. If I go with the 7080P would I need a preamp?
2) I am planning on pointing it only at the 2 transmission sites in Sacramento which are listed as being at 158 and 159 deg in relation to my location. Both sites are line of site without obstructions. I am guessing that the above antenna would pick up both sites without needing to be adjusted due to the 1 deg of separation? Meaning no need for a rotator...
3) When mounting the boom to a chimney is it possible that the chimney will cause interference? Is there an optimal height above the top of the chimney in that type of installation?

I guess that those are my first couple of questions. Any advice is dearly appreciated. I have attached the results from Antennaweb.

Thanks in Advance,
Andrew


DTV Antenna
Type Call Sign Channel Network City, State Live
Date Compass
Heading Miles
From Frequency
Assignment
* green
uhf KCVU-DT 20.1 FOX PARADISE, CA 341° 55.9 20
* green
uhf KHSL-DT 12.1 CBS CHICO, CA 341° 55.4 43
* lt green
uhf K19FY-D 53.1 TBN CHICO, CA 341° 55.7 19
lt green
uhf KRVU 21 MNT CHICO, CA 341° 55.7 21
* lt green
uhf KZVU-LD 22.1 MNT CHICO, CA 341° 55.7 22
lt green
uhf K18AO 18 NBC CHICO, CA 0° 35.2 18
* red
uhf KMAX-DT 31.1 CW SACRAMENTO, CA Jun 12, 2009 (post-transition) 159° 63.8 21
red
uhf KMAX 31 CW SACRAMENTO, CA 158° 62.2 31
red
uhf KQCA 58 MNT STOCKTON, CA 158° 62.2 58
* red
uhf KCVU-DT 20.1 FOX PARADISE, CA Jun 12, 2009 (post-transition) 341° 55.8 20
* red
uhf KOVR-DT 13.1 CBS STOCKTON, CA Jun 12, 2009 (post-transition) 159° 63.8 25
red
uhf KTXL 40 FOX SACRAMENTO, CA 159° 61.6 40
blue
uhf KKPM-CA 28 SAH CHICO, CA 341° 55.5 28
* blue
uhf KTFK-DT 64.1 SAH STOCKTON, CA Jun 12, 2009 (post-transition) 159° 63.8 26
* blue
vhf KXTV-DT 10.1 ABC SACRAMENTO, CA Jun 12, 2009 (post-transition) 159° 63.8 10
* blue
vhf KVIE-DT 6.1 PBS SACRAMENTO, CA Jun 12, 2009 (post-transition) 159° 61.6 9
blue
uhf KZVU-LP 22 MNT CHICO, CA 341° 55.7 22
blue
uhf KUCO-LP 27 UNI CHICO, CA 341° 55.7 27
* blue
uhf KTXL-DT 40.1 FOX SACRAMENTO, CA Jun 12, 2009 (post-transition) 159° 61.6 40
blue
uhf K19FY 53 TBN CHICO, CA 341° 55.7 53
blue
vhf KVIE 6 PBS SACRAMENTO, CA 159° 61.6 6
* blue
uhf KVIE-DT 6.1 PBS SACRAMENTO, CA 159° 61.6 53
blue
uhf KSPX 29 ION SACRAMENTO, CA 116° 55.4 29
blue
vhf KXTV 10 ABC SACRAMENTO, CA 159° 63.8 10
* blue
uhf KXTV-DT 10.1 ABC SACRAMENTO, CA 159° 63.8 61
* blue
uhf KTXL-DT 40.1 FOX SACRAMENTO, CA 159° 61.6 55
* blue
uhf KOVR-DT 13.1 CBS STOCKTON, CA 159° 63.8 25
blue
vhf KCRA 3 NBC SACRAMENTO, CA 158° 62.2 3
blue
uhf KSTV-LP 53 SPA SACRAMENTO, CA 126° 45.5 53
* blue
uhf KSPX-DT 29.1 ION SACRAMENTO, CA 158° 62.2 48
* blue
uhf KQCA-DT 58.1 MNT STOCKTON, CA 157° 62.3 46
blue
vhf KOVR 13 CBS STOCKTON, CA 159° 63.8 13
* violet
uhf KCRA-DT 3.1 NBC SACRAMENTO, CA 159° 63.3 35
violet
vhf K05EM 5 ABC REDDING, CA 350° 45.3 5

[agwat]

Sweet.

[hdtvlabs]

What would you all recommend as the optimal antenna. I am inclined to install something in the overkill department such as the Winegard 7080P. If I go with the 7080P would I need a preamp?

IMO, Winegard 7080P is not an overkill for you. Moreover, for Sacramento towers it is marginal on UHF and I don't think it has a good enough VHF to pick up post-transition ABC and PBS. I would pick 8200P/U instead if you insist on a single VHF/UHF Winegard antenna.

I am planning on pointing it only at the 2 transmission sites in Sacramento which are listed as being at 158 and 159 deg in relation to my location. Both sites are line of site without obstructions. I am guessing that the above antenna would pick up both sites without needing to be adjusted due to the 1 deg of separation?

1 degree is nothing, you don't need any adjustment of course. Even with highly directional antennas used for deep-fringe reception you don't need a rotator if the separation is less than 30 deg

When mounting the boom to a chimney is it possible that the chimney will cause interference? Is there an optimal height above the top of the chimney in that type of installation?

Only metal structures can cause interference to antennas when placed nearby (less than a wavelength distance approximately). As for the height, the higher you place the antenna the better, but if the terrain is flat and there is a line-of-sight to the towers, then the height isn't an issue. Place it reasonably high.