I live no more than 9 miles from the broadcast source (Empire State Building) and antennaweb indicates that all the channels I care about fall between red and yellow antenna types - so a medium directional with no pre-amp.
I currently use a Silver Sensor near the first floor window in a 2-story house (all surrounding houses are 2 stories). Although antennaweb indicates CBS, ABC, FOX are in yellow ranges (S-Multi antenna), the Silver Sensor can reliably pick up only NBC, which is in the red range (M-Direct antenna). That sounds counterintuitive, so I'm confused which antenna to choose for my roof. So, here are my questions:
1. Which antenna is recommended for the city area to pick up VHF/UHF/FM signals? I've been looking at these:
Channel Master antennas and pre-amps from Warren Electronics
Winegard Antennas from Warren Electronics
2. Is it bad to buy an antenna that is over spec? As in, if I got a large directional antenna when I only need a medium directional antenna.
3. Are these mount/masts available on these websites specifically designed to grasp antennas? From the photos, they look like plain metal poles.
4. I have little hardware experience, so how does one go about bolting a mount/mast to a roof? Will a hammer and nails do? If so, any recommendations so my antenna doesn't go flying in a gust of wind?
5. My grounding block is in the back of the house. The TV is in the front of the house. Is it ok to install the antenna midway, then run the coax to the front of the house and the grounding wire to the back of the house? Or should the coax and the grounding wire run together?
As you can see, I don't have much experience with any of this. I called the local antenna store to see if a pro can do it, but the guy indicated that it'll cost $230 and he does not ground it. He indicated that he hasn't grounded antennas in the 10 years he's been in servce. At that rate, it seems like I can afford to buy a few antennas if I get it wrong, but the grounding portion sounds important. Any help would be appreciated.
I currently use a Silver Sensor near the first floor window in a 2-story house (all surrounding houses are 2 stories). Although antennaweb indicates CBS, ABC, FOX are in yellow ranges (S-Multi antenna), the Silver Sensor can reliably pick up only NBC, which is in the red range (M-Direct antenna). That sounds counterintuitive, so I'm confused which antenna to choose for my roof. So, here are my questions:
1. Which antenna is recommended for the city area to pick up VHF/UHF/FM signals? I've been looking at these:
Channel Master antennas and pre-amps from Warren Electronics
Winegard Antennas from Warren Electronics
2. Is it bad to buy an antenna that is over spec? As in, if I got a large directional antenna when I only need a medium directional antenna.
3. Are these mount/masts available on these websites specifically designed to grasp antennas? From the photos, they look like plain metal poles.
4. I have little hardware experience, so how does one go about bolting a mount/mast to a roof? Will a hammer and nails do? If so, any recommendations so my antenna doesn't go flying in a gust of wind?
5. My grounding block is in the back of the house. The TV is in the front of the house. Is it ok to install the antenna midway, then run the coax to the front of the house and the grounding wire to the back of the house? Or should the coax and the grounding wire run together?
As you can see, I don't have much experience with any of this. I called the local antenna store to see if a pro can do it, but the guy indicated that it'll cost $230 and he does not ground it. He indicated that he hasn't grounded antennas in the 10 years he's been in servce. At that rate, it seems like I can afford to buy a few antennas if I get it wrong, but the grounding portion sounds important. Any help would be appreciated.