Clearstream5

[stanky1]

I know you are not a fan of the Clearstream5, but I am trying to minimize boom length to keep HOA and wife happy, not to mention ease of mounting. I am located at 33.095354, -117.292040. I am only interested in getting ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, and PBS on my one and only HDTV that has a built-in digital tuner. I was planning to pair this with the Clearstream4 (or 42XG) and mount them on the fascia of the second story. What are your thoughts?

Is a facsia mount strong enough to hold this set-up? Should I mount them on separate masts? If not, the uhf goes four ft above the vhf, right?

[tigerbangs]

I am not a fan of mounting any antenna on the fascia of a building, especially VHF antennas, because you will seriously impede the antenna's ability to reject signals from the side and rear, creating a severe multipath situation.

Given the terrain between the transmitters and you, I would expect some issues with UHF reception in your area, looking at your TVFool.com report http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapp ... d512e21b18

Additionally, it may be impossible to aim the antenna array properly by fascia-mounting the antennas: the VHF and UHF antenna need to be aimed in two different directions: it MAY, work, but I would never do it personally. Mast-mounted antennas are a much better solution, and you are likely to be much happier with the results. Remember that HOA rules about the prohibition of antennas have been ruled unenforceable by the FCC: you can do whatever is reasonable and necessary to receive local TV reception.

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

[stanky1]

Okay, it sounds like I need to figure out how to attach a mast on a tile roof without busting a bunch of tiles and causing a roof leak. Any ideas on this?

[tigerbangs]

Don't mount ON the roof, use a wall bracket or an eave bracket with a mast long enough to see above the highest part of your roof: Mounting through a tile roof is a BAD idea...LOL

[pavoman]

Hi there, wondering if you might be able to give me some guidance. I live in Carlsbad too (33.115129,-117.277349) and am planning to install an OTA antenna. The GeoSelector tool at HDTV Labs is recommending the ClearStream5 paired with the 42XG. Just like you, I'd like to install something that's not too obnoxious to wife/neighbors/HOA. And, also just like you, I have a tile roof and want to avoid mounting anything on top of it. Would you mind answering a few questions for me?

1. Which antennas did you end up selecting?
2. Where did you decide to mount them? (front/rear/side of your house)?
3. How did you end up mounting them? I read that you were considering a couple of options.
4. I'm which direction are they pointed? I've read that there are 3 towers in San Diego which you need to point to, and they are not exactly close together.
5. Which channels can you get and do you get decent quality?
6. Finally, did you install the antennas yourself or did you hire somebody to do it? I'm not terribly confident in my ability to do this (especially the grounding piece), so I'm wondering if you have any recommendations.

Sorry about the multiple questions but many thanks in advance for any insight you can give me.