Hello... I'm new to this forum, but so far I've learned some good stuff! I just picked up a Panasonic (TH-50PX60U) and a DB4 for OTA HD. I have been testing it in my house and it does tune in all my stations, but is VERY sensitive. I can only get most stations by holding it in a weird position very still.

My original plan was to stick it in my attic (new build, ranch style, no metal) and I am wondering if I am going to have better or worse reception from my attic than I am getting currently from my living room? If I hold it just right, the picture is stellar! I am planning on testing, but it is difficult with one person, so hoping for advice first before I climb up.

After seeing how sensitive it was, I was considering upgrading to the larger DB8... but wondering if that will REALLY improve things.

Then I started reading things on the UNI-Directional and got really confused. So, I'm looking for some solid advice.


Here are my results from antennaweb:

* yellow - uhf WFUM-DT 28.1 PBS FLINT MI 173° 10.9 52
* yellow - uhf WJRT-DT 12.1 ABC FLINT MI 301° 30.1 36
* yellow - uhf WSMH-DT 16.1 FOX FLINT MI 300° 29.6 16
* yellow - uhf WEYI-DT 25.1 NBC SAGINAW MI 324° 15.5 30
* yellow - uhf WNEM-DT 12.5 CBS BAY CITY MI 337° 33.3 22
* green - uhf WAQP-DT 49.1 TBN SAGINAW MI TBD 300° 29.6 48
* red - uhf WDCQ-DT 15.1 PBS BAD AXE MI 354° 34.6 15
* blue - uhf WLNS-DT 6.1 CBS LANSING MI 247° 50.5 59
* violet - uhf WXYZ-DT 7.1 ABC DETROIT MI 168° 42.4 41
* violet - uhf WKAR-DT 23.1 PBS EAST LANSING MI 249° 51.6 55


Thanks!

you need to test the antenna on a tripod and section of mast (you will need them anyway), properly mounted, not at some funky angle, and step away from the antenna to get a better indication of your reception success.

touch and close proximity of your body to the antenna will affect the signal response. you need to aim in the direction of the towers, step away, get a signal strength reading, check the other channels, and procede from there.

If reception is multipathic on the first floor, it may also be on the 2 nd floor. Maybe not as bad because of the stronger signal strength on the second floor counteracting some of the affects. alot depends on home construction and a bunch of other variables and is difficult to determine prior to installation.

if reception stinks inside, drag the antenna setup outside with a longer coax and compare...in the driveway, deck, front lawn, on a small peak near the garage, whatever...and aim the antenna in the direction of the towers. If the signal is strong and stable outside, then that is where you may need to install the antenna.

WJRT-TV FLINT MI 36 12 ch12 is going back to vhf in 2009 and that is something to consider. long term the db4 will not be a good antenna choice. so there is an opportunity to change antennas now.

and WFUM FLINT MI 52 28 28 is going back to ch 28 btw.

your tower spread is quite wide and pbs may become an issue. determine this when you experiment. try to compromise to see if you can get a position where all the stations are stable. you may luck out since all the stations are yellow and the signal may be strong enough to lock several degrees away.

you may want to consider keeping the db 4 for pbs and combine another antenna for the others.

yellow - uhf WFUM-DT 28.1 PBS FLINT MI 173° 10.9 52 going to ch 28

yellow - uhf WJRT-DT 12.1 ABC FLINT MI 301° 30.1 36 going to ch 12
yellow - uhf WSMH-DT 16.1 FOX FLINT MI 300° 29.6 16
yellow - uhf WEYI-DT 25.1 NBC SAGINAW MI 324° 15.5 30
yellow - uhf WNEM-DT 12.5 CBS BAY CITY MI 337° 33.3 22
green - uhf WAQP-DT 49.1 TBN SAGINAW MI TBD 300° 29.6 48

and you may want to keep the stations below out of the situation.

* blue - uhf WLNS-DT 6.1 CBS LANSING MI 247° 50.5 59
* violet - uhf WXYZ-DT 7.1 ABC DETROIT MI 168° 42.4 41
* violet - uhf WKAR-DT 23.1 PBS EAST LANSING MI 249° 51.6 55

Hello... I'm new to this forum, but so far I've learned some good stuff! I just picked up a Panasonic (TH-50PX60U) and a DB4 for OTA HD. I have been testing it in my house and it does tune in all my stations, but is VERY sensitive. I can only get most stations by holding it in a weird position very still.

My original plan was to stick it in my attic (new build, ranch style, no metal) and I am wondering if I am going to have better or worse reception from my attic than I am getting currently from my living room? If I hold it just right, the picture is stellar!
You should get better and more stable reception in the attic. Higher up with fewer obstructions from the interior of the house. But attic will have dead zones so don't fix the antenna into 1 spot before finding a good location. I have a CM 4221 in my attic crawlspace mounted using a attic mounting bracket which is fixed to a large flat piece of scrap wood which I can slide around. I found a good spot, but I can still move the antenna around if I needed to.

You have considerable spread in azimuth for your local stations. The DB8 is more directional than the DB4 4 bay. (See the patterns at http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html). I would stick with the DB4 and put that up in the attic before looking at other antennas.

Thanks! Those were both helpful responses... I am this weekend I am going to spend some time positioning the antenna to see what kind of results I can get in my attic.

I'll be sure to post my results.

SA

**Update**

Well, I put it in my attic and it works prefect! I get all my locals in STUNNING HD!