OTA antenna for E* in Altadena, CA (Los Angeles)?

[mitchfx]

I just got Dish installed last week, and was considering the addition of an OTA antenna to get better quality HD locals. It appears that ALL of the stations I need are coming from the same location, Mt. Wilson, which is less than 5mi from my house in Altadena CA (just northeast of Los Angeles). AntennaWeb shows them all between 53 adn 41 degress orientation, and betwen 4.6 and 4.8 mi distance. When I filter the list to "Digital Stations Only", they are all UHF frequency.

Considering this, what are some good choices for an antenna to pick up ONLY the HD locals (CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, WB, and PBS/KCET)? I would prefer to install it in my large attic space if possible instead of on the roof. Also, what is the best method for SPLITTING the signal to reach both of my Dish Boxes (vip622 and 211)?

Thanks,
Mitch

 

[Jim5506]

How much space do you have in your attic?

Since you are installing in an attic, and splitting the signal, I recommend an unamplified CM4228. It will help with the 50% signal loss in the attic and the 50% signal loss in the splitter and no amp is needed due to the high gain of the antenna.

Only caveat, might be the 36" height and 39" width might not fit in the attic or be able to be rotated to the right direction in there.

 

[mitchfx]

Jim, thanks for the reply. It looks like I have more than enough space up there for the CM4228. A question about the line split...

The MOST convenient place to add the splitter is after about 20ft of cable where it comes out of the attic and behind my entertainment center. I need to install this BEFORE my custom woodwork goes in, and continue the 2nd line from there down existing holes back there to the basement crawlspace. Then from there is about 25 feet again to the 2nd Dish receiver. Since is orders of magnitude easier to do it this way VS a split in the attic and running a 2nd coax line from there to the 2nd TV, and it will be VERY difficult to make any changes behind the ent. center after the cabinets go in...I want to make sure I do the split right.

Am I correct in assuming that if I end up needing an amplifier this setup will be ok since it's best to add it BEFORE the split anyway (which would be in the attic)? What kind of splitter should I go for? A simple passive type?

A really cool, old school electronics shop is across the street from my office and they carry the full Winegard line. On their website I spoted this model...

http://www.electroniccity.com/brands/45.asp

What's interesting about this one is that it can mount on the existing dish and SUPPOSEDLY be diplexed with the same coax line. Is this kind of signal piggybacking even recommended?

Thanks,
Mitch

 

[oljim]

That $130 ant has 1/2 the gain of a Winegard 4400 that cost about $20, I would stay away from diplexers and run a cable just for ant.

 

[mitchfx]

Haha!

Ok, some funny stuff....

I got the 40" uhf antenna from radioshack and tested it in my livingroom. Works great. A few days later I get up early to beat the heat and climb up into the attic of my recently purchased house. Low and behold the previous owner already had the larger version of the SAME antenna up there! It was folded up a bit and back towards the corner so I had previously overlooked it. Coax cable to my entertainment center was already hooked up and all I had to do is plug it into the box. Pleasant surprise!

Good thing I bought my antenna somewhere that's easy to return.

-m