Questions about installing outdoor OTA antenna.

[elee532]

I'm thinking of trying to install an outdoor antenna to pick up my HD locals. Anyone know of a good set of instructions for a DIY'er? Will I have to install a second run of coax cable or can I somehow make use of the cable that already exists for the Dish antenna?

Otherwise, what should I expect to pay an installer? It should be pretty simple to follow the run that already exists from the Dish antenna. Can I call Dish to arrange such an installation, or do I need to find my own intaller? Anyone know an affordable quality installer in the Madison, WI area?

Thanks.

 

[cparker]

How far and in what direction are the transmitters for your locals? Do you have stuff in the way (like hills or buildings?) or are you pretty much line of sight?

I put my own CM4228 up. I didn't need a rotor so it was cheap and easy. And another run of coax is what I did. I think you really have to but I'm not sure.

CM4228 - $65
2 of the 10' mast sections (I go from the ground up) at $7 each - $14
42' of RG6 - (I think it was $20 .... the place I bought the antenna had it in bulk and cut me off a length)

Oh and a 4" standoff mount.... $10

So for about $109 and an hour of work it's done. I think an installer would have gotten about $250-$300

This is from memory.... and my rememberer ain't so good, but I think I'm pretty close.

 

[Peter Parker]

You can use diplexers to combine the DISH and OTA feeds. Some show some signal loss. Others do not. But it is a possibility.

 

[dodge]

installing an antenna

Look at this

Do It Yourself

 

[griz_fan]

This spring, I went through a similar situation. I wound up installing it myself, mainly because I couldn't find anyone in my area that installed TV antennas (or, at least anyone who was willing to advertise the fact that they did).

So, start here: http://www.solidsignal.com/manuals/AntInstallGuide.pdf
This PDF does a great job of showing you the basics of an antenna installation. I also ordered most of the stuff I needed from Solid Signal, too (www.solidsignal.com/antennas/). Fair prices, good service, and their tech support section of their website has lots of info. I did get the mast locally to save on shipping, though.

Our roof is steep, and my ladder sucks, so it wound up taking more time because I put extra effort into securing the co-ax 'cause I didn't want to go back on the roof