We cut the cable a few months back, and in general we’re very happy not being nickeled-and-dimed to death by Comcast and putting up with their crap.
We have Netflix and Hulu Plus, but for everyday news and local stuff I got this attic antenna and this preamp, attached to 3 TVs though the existing coax network from when we had cable:
I hope it’s ok to link to those products on Amazon; not endorsing them, though they do work pretty well under the circumstances. The picture, when it’s coming in well, is astonishingly sharp.
But I guess we are pretty far from the signal towers, because a lot of times, even if it’s just a slightly windy day. we get a fair amount of signal breakup. Changing the direction of the antenna seems to work sometimes, but not always. And I know the general direction I should be pointing it toward.
So is there anything else I can do besides install a roof antenna-- a more powerful preamp, or maybe hacking the attic antenna somehow? I notice when I’m holding the antenna to try to adjust its aim the signal gets better because I become an extension of the antenna, just like with those old rabbit ears. So I was thinking maybe I could attach some wiring to the antenna and run it throughout the attic, or something.
if you’re in a fringe reception area, the only thing you can really do is try different antenna types. You can try a higher gain antenna, but that comes with the disadvantage of being more directional.
amplifiers won’t help you because if the antenna is only picking up a poor signal, the amp will boost the poor signal and all of the noise with it. Antenna amplifiers are useful where your receiver is far away from the antenna, or you want to split the signal to multiple receivers.
I live only 7 miles from the local antenna farms. When I look at the signal strength meter on my TV, it’s moving almost continuously from excellent to weak and back, with the picture breaking up accordingly. I’ve tried different antennas, too. The only thing left is a rooftop antenna, which my wife violently opposes.
What you have already done are the normal first steps. That antenna is OK but there are much better ones. If most of the stations you want are located at about the same compass heading, you can use a higher gain antenna without dealing with an antenna rotator.
An 8-bay “bow tie” UHF antenna is about the best you can fit into a small attic-type space. Here are some examples:
However if you have enough space (length-wise) you can install a high-gain UHF yagi antenna: https://amzn.com/B00CX700EY
A very long yagi like the above will typically have slightly more gain than an 8-bay bow tie but is often more difficult to mount.
It is best to try and keep antennas away from large conductive objects like HVAC ducts, metallic foil insulation, etc. Those will distort the signal and dampen reception. If your attic has lots of headroom, the higher the antenna is mounted the better.
They do make multi-direction UHF bow-tie antennas which would be useful if the stations were in two different directions:
All of the above are UHF only (except the Channel Master 4228 claims high-band VHF), and most HD stations use UHF. In some areas, a few HD over the air stations may use VHF. Even though they are not designed for it a UHF antenna will pick up a strong VHF signal at close range.
The below web site can help you determine what stations are in your reception area, whether they are UHF or VHF, and what antenna type is best for you:
Great info! Leaving soon on a camping trip for a few days so I wanted to thank you guys now for the replies so far, and in advance for any replies in the next couple days.