Getting closer - need a final push

[KickCable]

I ditched my Cable (to much $$$) and am now trying to go old school (antenna) again

My Zip Code 50265
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapp ... 8f860faa87

I have a small hill between me an the towers and I think that is what is causing me problems.

My Setup:
-Trek HDTV antenna (had some good reviews). This one:
http://www.amazon.com/Terk-HD-TVS-Slim- ... 743&sr=1-7
-100 feet coax cable
-Amplifier SV-A15PRS
-8 way splitter box (I bypassed this for testing)
-10 feet cable to LCD 720p TV Viewsonic N3760W

Channels I get with varying success (5%-70% signal strength):
5-1 VHF Low
5-2 VHF Low
8-1 VHF Hi
8-2 VHF Hi
11-1 VHF Hi
11-2 VHF Hi
11-3 VHF Hi
13-1 UHF
13-2 UHF
13-3 UHF
17-1 UHF
17-2 UHF
17-3 UHF
19-1 UHF
23-1 UHF
39-1 UHF
39-2 UHF
39-3 UHF
41-1 UHF

Goals:
- Get a better signal - so I can see all the above channels.
- I would like to keep the antenna in the attic.
- Not spend a bunch of $$$ on equipment I don't need

Note.
I did get a slight better results when putting the antenna outside on wood ladder but not enough to convince me that the effort of putting it on the roof is worth it.

So my questions to the pros are:
What would be best?
1) Add a preamp onto the first 100 feet of coaxial cable?
2) Get a better antenna - which one (needs to get the full spectrum VHF/UHF above)?
3) 1 & 2
3) 1 & 2 & put the antenna on the roof (relay want to avoid this one)

[swazi]

I dont think that antenna is going to cut it for attic use.
As a trial - go to best buy -they carry clearstream antennas. Get the C2. Remove the amp, put the C2 on a ladder or prop it up temporarily on your roof with the shortest coax cable possible and point it to 20 degrees. Rescan and see what you get. I know it is not VHF but it would give you a good indication of what is possible before adding obstructions and noise. If the results are good, try the attic.
You can always return the C2 to BestBuy afterwards.

I am no expert but have years of experience and have learnt that trial and error is the only way to get good results. There is no silver bullet.

[KickCable]

Thanks for the response.

I did a LOT of testing with the existing antenna - and as I mentioned the signal strength between when it is on a ladder pointing 20deg or in the attic (only a few feet higher) same angle that is about the same.

My question is still the same since bestbuy has no antenna in store that covers the VHF/UFS spectrum and I would have to by multiple antennas if I go with the C2 one:
What has the best chance of success (to get about 30% improvement)?
1) Add a preamp?
2) Get a better antenna - which one (needs to get the full spectrum VHF/UHF above)?
3) 1 & 2
4) get on the roof (only if nothing else works) - I'm not god with heights

[tigerbangs]

OK, the Terk antenna is not going to be effective for VHF, plain and simple, nor will it work properly to reject the multipath interference that you will experience due to the intervening hills and the otherwise strong signals that you have. You need to dump the Terk antenna, get yourself a good all-channel conventional antenna like a Winegard HD-7082P or a Channel Master Crosfire 3679, and mount that antenna on the roof: sorry, there are no other good alliteratives for you, sorry to say. gimmick antennas like the Terk will work in only very limited situations, but whatever antenna that you have will lose at least 50% of it's available signal when mounted in an attic. Bite the bullet, install one of the recommended antennas, aim it at a compass heading of 20 degrees, and your problems will be solved.

http://www.channelmaster.com/HD_televis ... a_s/42.htm

http://www.winegard.com/kbase/upload/HD7082P.pdf

http://manuals.solidsignal.com/AntInsta ... ampaign=CJ

[KickCable]

Conclusion time:

Menards (My local hardware store) had a sale going and I got the RCA ANT3036XR (good review in this forum and its similar to the recommendations above), so I decided to give it a go.

First, as one of the reviews noted, putting the RCA antenna together is not as simple as it should be. The pieces don't slide into each other as they should causing a lot of hammering and bending (grrr).

That said my setup is now still exactly the same as it was (except different antenna).
Antenna in the attic 100 feet coax and a amp to distribute the signal throughout the house (currently going straight to the TV for testing).

Conclusion:
The RCA (L 110 X H 30 X W 110) is HUGE compared to the TREK (L 8 X H 16 x W 16) so I could barely fit it in the the space I had for it (no dimensions for the antenna to be found any-ware nor in the manual or on the box for the RCA antenna). I was unable to unfold one of the large back end elements fully due to the size constraint.

That said the RCA improved my signal strength by 30% across all channels moving most channels to 80% signal strength.
Only on station that is further away and that has a week signal to start with is coming in at a low 35% signal strength (was 5%) with the TREK antenna. I'll send them an email to boost the signal - just for me - ha ha.

All in all I'm happy!
No cable bill and no antenna to install outside.
The antenna will also last longer in my attic.

I still like the TREK antenna - its SMALL and looks nice inside or outside your house and performs well for it's small size.

Thanks everyone for your input.