Antenna suggestions for Toledo OH 43623

[chauser]

Here are my TVFool TV signal analysis results: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapp ... eecab05d90

My specifics: two-story house with attic. Would like an indoor antenna, but based on tigerbangs one post, looks like that is wishful thinking!

There is a small stand of tall (say 40-foot) trees on the west side of my house about 30 feet away. Otherwise just your typical suburban re4sidential area with the usual mix of trees. My house is wood frame, first floor brick exterior, second floor aluminum siding.

My priorities for station reception are as follows:
HIGHEST PRIORITY - Toledo stations - WTOL, WGTE, WTVG, WNWO, WUPW
SECOND PRIORITY: WBGU (Bowling Green)
LOWEST PRIORITY: Detroit/Cleveland stations.

Will be running signal to:
1) Samsung LCD HDTV on first floor.
2) TV tuner card (Hauppage) on new HP desktop - just a few feet away from the Samsung TV.
3) Possible 3rd future small HDTV TV on second floor.

What kind of outdoor antenna would you recommend? Specific models would be appreciated! Also, would mounting an antenna in the attic be reasonable? (Roof is typical shingles - no metal or clay tile)

Thank you so much for any assistance you can provide.

[tigerbangs]

You have left open a few too many possibilities to cover every requirement, so I will try to concentrate on the closest stations, and and address those. As you are aware, a brick and aluminum-clad house is no place for an indoor antenna: the results are likely to be unsatisfactory, and unpredictable. The Toledo stations will be easy, WBGU, which is 40 miles away, and in a different direction will be a bit tougher, but still possible. I would suggest a 2-antenna system, along with a distribution amplifier to feed all of the TV sets in your home. Use a roof-mounting, and mount a Winegard HD-7694P aimed in the center of the spread of the Toledo transmitters, approximately 100 to 105 degrees compass heading. This antenna will pull the Toledo stations for you well.

WBGU lies in a compass heading roughly 100 degrees from the Toledo stations, and won't be picked up adequately by Toledo antenna. For WBGU, you will need a fringe-area UHF antenna aimed at 200 degrees. I would suggest using an AntennasDirect XG-91 for this purpose mounted on the same mast as the Winegard, but separated vertically on the mast by at least 4' . You will need to use a channel 27 pass-band filter to isolate the WBGU signal from the signals coming from the Winegard antenna. I suggest contacting the Tin Lee company of Toronto, who can inexpensively build such a pass-band antenna joiner (http://www.tinlee.com) Use that antenna joiner to combine the signals from the two antennas into one coaxial cable downlead cable, and run that cable to your attic or basement.

You must then run coaxial cables through your house from the locations where you want TV reception, and then terminate them at a central location where the cable from the antennas and the runs from the various TV sets can converge. At that point, install a small distribution amplifier like a Channel Master CM3414, whcih will have both splitting and amplification built into one box. The distribution amplifier will require using AC power, so be sure that it is located somewhere that AC power is available..

Once installed and connected, attach the cables to the TV tuners on your various TV sets, and have the tuners scan fore stations, and you should be successful seeing all of your network programming plus WBGU.

[chauser]

tigerbangs, thanks for the recommendations. For now, I am going to just concentrate on the Toledo stations, then address WBGU down the road.

For the Winegard antenna, would you recommend a tripod-type roof mounting? Or would a simple bracket mount (such as a Winegard DS-2016 Universal Pipe Mount) be sufficient? My roof has a fairly flat pitch (say about 20 degrees).

[tigerbangs]

Without knowing your roof, it would be hard to say. Tripods require making holes in your roof, and they need to be carefully sealed when you are installing otherwise they will leak and cause a lot of problems. Technically, most municipalities rule against vent-pipe installations, however, I have done quite a few of them, and they seem to be fine. Fortunately, the Winegard antenna is fairly light, so you may be OK as long as your vent-pipe is metal and not PVC.

Good Luck...

[chauser]

Thanks, tigerbangs. I had thought about that, too. I think that would work OK, and I like that idea better than trying to mount it on my chimney. I'll let you know how things work out!