SEA Antenna Selection

[kea]

I've been lurking on this site for sometime and have found some very useful information. I've finally purchased my first HDTV (Panny 58PZ800U) and would like to use an attic antenna for my local broadcasts (2 story house). I currently have sat tv w/o locals. I currently have a Radio Shack VU-120XR just set across the joists in the attic which runs to a distribution hub in the basement and is then homerun to 3 tvs. My zip is 98001 and my address is located at 47.286010, -122.264745. On my old analog tvs I get marginal reception on the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) get poor to marginal reception on FOX and not much beyond that. The reception is much better with the new Panny except I'm unable to get the digital broadcast for KING (NBC) and no analog or digital reception for KCPQ (FOX). Should I try a pre-amplifier with my current antenna setup or is there a better antenna option to choose. Should I live with I have now and address this after the 2009 conversion? TIA for your input.

[burnett317]

From what I can tell you live in the South end of Seattle (Burien area?)
As you know your long/lat address I assume you've checked out antennaweb.org, and tvfool.com?
TVFool will show if you're line of Sight etc. and aprox signal strength at your location. Might be a stupid suggestion, but pull the antenna out of the attic and put it on the roof. Your antenna may be resting across house wires etc. I also find that turning the antenna just 10 degrees makes a big difference on my reception. Also check the splitter, are all ports used on it?
If you find something that works please let me know.

[hdtvlabs]

You are getting your signals from a two major antenna farms at orientation 42deg and 350deg, and the FOX channel comes from another, 3rd, direction (306deg). Which direction are you aiming your antenna?

A pre-amp won't help you with FOX. IMO, what you need is a rotor.

[kea]

Thanks. I had ordered a Winegard HDP269 pre-amp and it arrived today. I haven't noticed any visible improvements though. I have it pointed at about 345deg KOMO, KIRO and PBS all come in clear both analog and digital. KING only comes in on the analog station. I don't get anything on KCPQ on the new Panny, but it does come in fair on my old tv downstairs (analog). With as wide as the 120xr is, it wouldn't be able to manauver with a rotor. The wide VHF end must be carefully rotated around the trusses. There is enought space to put up two antennas in a fixed position, or would a HD7696P work better? Burnett, I'm in the FW/Auburn area just S of Hwy 18 and on the hill just W of Hwy 167. I'll let you know if I can get any better results.