Can HD7697P be mounted in an attic?

[monyman20]

Hi all. I'm new to this whole thing. I tried searching the boards to answer my question but I couldn't find anything. I bought an HD7697P and put it in my attic. All the channels I'm wanting are in the Blue to Violet zones and the towers are all in the same direction about 32-34 miles away. When I did a channel search, it produced zero channels. Is there a problem with putting this antenna in an attic? Will it only work mounted on top of the roof? I'm able to get channels inside the house with a cheap indoor antenna, so I thought I would at least be able to pick up something with this massive antenna in the attic. I'm trying to troubleshoot the cause (a problem with the wiring, etc) but I wanted to make sure the antenna would work inside an attic first. I live a two story house with nothing but single story houses next to me. Any ideas would be appreciated!

[winegard]

Yes, the HD7697P can be used in an attic. However, placing any antenna in an attic will result in an average of 50% signal loss. This is because the signal must pass through your roofing. Homes with metal roofs may experience an even greater loss.

Now, since you mention you are able to pick up stations on your rabbit ears that you cannot on the HD7697P that does raise some other questions. How long is the cable run from the attic? Are you running to multiple televisions? You could definitely try adding a pre-amp into the mix as long as the antenna is getting enough signal.

If it is the signal at the antenna itself make sure you have it pointed correctly towards the tower. If it is, moving it horizontally one way or another may also make a difference, similar to moving rooms when your on a cell phone and getting better signal.

[monyman20]

I'm using the same cables that were running to the previous owner's satellite dish. I would guess it is about 70 feet of RG6 coax cable. I think what I might try doing is connecting the rabbit ear antenna at the end of the cable and see if i get reception with it there like in the house. If I do, then I guess I have a problem with the antenna (connectors, not pointed in exactly the right direction, etc). If not, then I may have an issue with my cables. I guess I'll just have to do some trial and error troubleshooting.

[ANTENNA VISION]

[winegard]

Definitely look into a pre-amp at that distance. Here are some quick guides as to which to choose.

Recommended Pre-Amplifiers
If you have an extended cable run from your antenna to your television set or are providing signal to multiple television sets your antenna may need a Pre-Amplifier.

VHF/UHF Antenna Pre-Amplifiers
1 Television, Over 75 Foot Cable Run: Winegard HDP269
4 Way Split, Over 75 Foot Cable Run: Winegard AP8700

UHF Antenna Pre-Amplifiers
1 Television, Over 75 Foot Cable Run: Winegard HDP269
4 Way Split, Over 75 Foot Cable Run: Winegard AP4700

[KNP 2516]

ADMIN EDIT

KNP 2516 -

We greatly appreciate you being a part of our forums and you are obviously knowledgable on the subject. However, because this forum belongs to us we do want to provide our customers with the best possible information provided by our many engineers and technical services staff.

In this post you state that antennas will no longer work in an attic. This is absolutely not true and we have a few million antennas in attics working just fine today, even with the digital signal.

Please refer to my above post. Antennas will work in attics or anywhere else you wish to put them. Obviously you will lose signal strength and you must compensate for this by having a larger antenna than you would need if mounted outside. The materials in your roof will also make a large difference in this signal loss.

Thank you,

Winegard Company

[monyman20]

So why would multi-directional rabbit ears in the attic receive a signal but a 9 foot long directional antenna not receive a signal?

Also, does the antenna need to be suspended in mid-air with the boom horzontal to the ground? Is there an issue if it is touching the plywood decking or at a slight angle? Like i said, I am brand new to this and just getting my feet wet. I've got about 25 days before I need to decide whether or not to take the antenna back to Fry's and just get my money back.

Thanks for all the replies so far.

[winegard]

Monyman20 -

There are several issues you could be having. First, make sure your antenna is pointed in the correct direction directly towards the towers. Next, make sure the antenna is not angled, it should be as straight as possible. Get it up off the plywood if you can and keep the directors away from plywood as well. Keep in mind that the signal has to pass through anything around those directors.

I would still recommend a pre-amp with your cable run distance. Also, once you have done the above if you are still having problems try moving your antenna horizontally in your attic to a different location, making sure to still point the antenna towards the tower.

[monyman20]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll give it a try this weekend and let you know if I'm still having any issues.

[ANTENNA VISION]