low signal help

[djrussell]

hi there, i'm a little new to antenna configurations but am trying to figure out how to make mine work. i'd really appreciate any advice people could offer.

i'm on 136th st SE in 98208. from antennaweb, these channels should be available
E: 9.1, 11.1, 22.1
F: 4.1, 5.1, 7.1, 16.1, 51.1
G: 20.1
H: 13.1
between 184 and 216 degrees. most are 20 miles away. some are almost 40 miles.

right now, i get 4, 5, 9, and 22. none of them are particularly reliable. about 20% of the time they get scrambled or drop out.

i recently installed an HD7080P in my attic (pointed at about 200degrees) that has an asphalt shingle roof. it's an end unit, 2 story townhouse. there are 5 coax cables that enter the attic. i cut the one for the outlet i want to get antenna signal and connected the antenna to it. the connection was made with a 4-way splitter. only one output is being used right now though. i planned on cutting/connecting more of the existing cables as i wanted to use the different outlets. i replaced the accessible cable in the attic with rg-6 quad shield but cannot access the cable in the walls and can't pull it out. it's about 15yrs old but the weather here isn't too extreme. there is approx 60ft of cable from antenna to the jack.

also, there are powerlines that run almost parallel with the signal. there are trees and greenbelt areas roughly the height of my house.

so how does all that sound? do i have a proper antenna for my situation? would a preamp be of use and help obtain some of the channels i don't currently get? mounting on the roof is not an option.

[winegard]

Good morning djrussell -

Here is the response from Technical Services.

The HD7080P antenna should be large enough for the close stations but may marginal for the 40 mile stations in your attic. The first thing I would try is running a cable from the antenna directly to one TV set to see what kind of signal quality you have without the splitter. A good quality 4 way splitter will reduce your signal levels by 60% or more plus you are already reducing your signal levels by at 50% since your antenna is in the attic. So lets see what kind of signal we have coming from the antenna to one TV set.

If we have a good signal then we can amplify these signals and over come our splitter loss using an HDA-100 distribution amplifier ahead of the splitter. If the signal is weak or bad going to one TV an amplifier may not help since an amplifier can only build up a signal given to it and can not suck in signal. If that is the case the only cure would be to move the antenna outside to receive a stronger signal or try a larger antenna in the attic such as the HD7698P.

[djrussell]

thanks for the response. i'll try bypassing the splitter and report back. i didn't want to try a preamp yet just for those reasons, there might not be anything to amplify.

the HD7080P was advertised as having a 0-50 mile range so i thought it would be adequate for stations 40 miles away. i'm not REALLY concerned with them though so no big deal.

[winegard]

The HD7080P is rated as a 50 mile antenna, but placing any antenna in an attic will reduce signal by 50-90%.

[djrussell]

i tried bypassing the splitter. it turned out i was actually using two outputs. the 2nd output was maybe 30-40ft of cable and is disconnected now. signal reliability is slightly better. i only gained one analog channel though.

it doesn't make sense to me why i can get 4 and 5 but not 7 and 16 when they're broadcast from the same distance and location.

any other suggestions or is an attic antenna just not viable for me?

[winegard]

Good morning djrussell -

The signal power output levels of those stations could be different which would allow you to pickup some of the stations and not others.

We would recommend either mounting the antenna outside or moving up to a larger 60-65 mile antenna if mounted in the attic. I understand in your original post you stated that mounting on the roof is not an option, why is that?

[djrussell]

ahh, that makes sense about the broadcast power. mounting on the roof is more trouble than i wanted to go to. it's looking like my only option though if i want the available channels. the upper part of my roof is 18 ft so i would need to borrow a big ladder to reach. then i would need to invest in a tripod which is more money i'd rather not spend.

thanks for the help. i appreciate it.