Here is my antennaweb report. I'm close to the towers yet have trouble getting a signal on 27-1 with an antenna that clips on my satalite dish. There is a large water tower in the area that might be in the way.

Any recomendations for a medium directional antenna? Could i install it in my attic?

Thanks

Martin

DTV Antenna
Type Call Sign Channel Network City State Live
Date Compass
Orientation Miles
From Frequency
Assignment
* green - uhf WMTV-DT 15.1 NBC MADISON WI 322° 3.4 19
* green - vhf WMSN-DT 47.1 FOX MADISON WI 305° 5.5 11
* red - uhf WBUW-DT 57.1 CW JANESVILLE WI 322° 3.4 32
* red - uhf WISC-DT 3.1 CBS MADISON WI 305° 5.5 50
* red - uhf WHA-DT 21.1 PBS MADISON WI 305° 5.5 20
* red - uhf WKOW-DT 27.1 ABC MADISON WI 305° 5.5 26

Three of the four towers are at 305' from your location so I'd suspect you'd have trouble with the others also. Do you ?

Does your satellite dish just so happen to point in the direction of the broadcast towers ? I'm not sure if those clip-on antennas (very unpopular around here, by the way....) are directional or not.

the clip ons can be a challenge if conditions are not quite right and diplexing the signal with satellite can be problematic.

given the conditions antennaweb hints at, suggest the winegard hd 7078p minimum or hd7080p. leaning more towards the hd7080p.

my guess would be the "clip on" antenna is pointed in the wrong direction. Most satellite dishes point in a southern (180 degrees) direction and your broadcast towers are N-NW, so at best you are receiving off the back of the antenna.

At less than 6 miles from the towers, and all stations UHF, a coat hanger pluged into the antenna in connector would work 8-} , but a Phillips Silver Sensor indoor antenna would work much better

there have been instances where I needed to install the hd7084p or hd8200p where there were reception challenges 4 miles from towers.

clue...green/red at 3 miles. something is up. if there is indeed an issue, the clip on or coathanger would most likely not be enough to overcome whatever reception challenges exist there. a clip on , batwing, saucer, sensor variety tend to not be sufficient under those circumstances.

if you are an installer and you have difficulty with reception, you go to the truck and pull out a different antenna and try that and keep going till you find one that works. most users do not have that luxury.

I would think in that case, instead of screwing around, would go with a decent performer even a few sizes bigger than suggested on paper, have some cushion and avoid the hassle of exchanging, shopping, installing, trying, removing till you find an antenna that works.

amped multi directionals are risky there because you are so close to the towers. you may be better off with a higher performing passive style combo antenna like the hd7078p or hd7080p mentioned above.

will the antennas suggested above fit in an attic? the elements are wide in the back and can be a challenge in a snug space. but outdoors, the antennas handle reception challenges well. I tend to avoid bowtie style antennas or the smaller multidirectionals where there is potential for reflections (watertower), other obstructions, or reception challenges.

Here is my antennaweb report. I'm close to the towers yet have trouble getting a signal on 27-1 with an antenna that clips on my satalite dish. There is a large water tower in the area that might be in the way.

Any recomendations for a medium directional antenna? Could i install it in my attic?

Are your antennaweb results for your exact address or your zip code? Rick0725 is pointing out that your results have green and red color codes while only 3 to 5 miles from the broadcast towers. If the antennaweb results are just for the zip, post the antennaweb results for digital stations for your exact address and enter, say 40', under the options link for the antenna height.

If I read your post correctly, you are getting all the other nearby digital locals using the clip-on antenna? WKOW-DT 27 (DT=26) is the only one you can't get? Checking the FCC database for WKOW-DT, it shows a licensed power of 171 kW and a Construction Permit power of 400 kW. It also has a DX construction permit power of 201 kW, so it is not clear what power the station is running at. The bottom line is that the clip-on is not a very good antenna. A Silver Sensor UHF indoor antenna may do the job or you may something more substantial such as a CM 4221 4 Bay or CM 4220 2 Bay bowtie. But we need clarification on your antennaweb results first. You could also go to tvfool.com and enter your exact location and post those results here as an image file.

Edit: Scratch the Silver Sensior from the list of possible antennas. Missed that WMSN-DT 47 is broadcasting on VHF 11 and, BTW, will stay on VHF 11 after the analog shutdown (which will confuse people in the future to have a UHF numbered station actually broadcasting on upper VHF).

Thanks for the help. The antennaweb results are for my exact address.

Here is some more info. I recently moved into this house from a house that was only 2 miles away. At my previous house I was on top of a hill and used rabbit ears on each HDTV and got great reception.

At this new house i tried several types on indoor antennas including the silver surfer and the amplified silver surfer. None of them would bring in all of the channels without repositioning the antenna for each channel. My next step was my current antenna - one that clips on the dish. It worked fine for 4-6 weeks until recently where I no longer get 27-1. All of the other channels come in fine. The Dish is aimed to the SW so its pointed about 90 degrees from the TV stations. The only thing i can think of is that the antenna shifted slightly due to some high winds. When i first installed it it was quite sensitive to small adjustments.

The TV towers are all NW of my location and so is the water tower which is within 1/2 mile.

I've attached the tvfool image as requested.

Also, follow the link below for a picture of the rear of my house before the Dish was installed. The Dish and clip on antenna are mounted on the roof directly above the electrical meters seen on the far left of the picture. One thought is that the height of the rest of the roof may be blocking some reception. The picture was taken facing West.
Rear of house (http://picasaweb.google.com/bmartin5150/HousePhotos/photo#5022679379713826994)

Any advice will be appreciated. I'd like to buy and install an antenna prior to Wednesday's season finale of LOST. Any brick and mortar retailers handle the Wingard antenna mentioned above?

Winegard hd7080p

these prices from reputable internet locations . the antenna would ship ups. the prices arent bad compared to what I purchase wholesale. Winegard outperforms and are better constructed then the antennas available at radio shack and lowes (cm advantage series antennas)

http://shop.willyselectronics.com/browse.cfm/4,1.htm

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=HD7080P

Here is my antennaweb report. I'm close to the towers yet have trouble getting a signal on 27-1 with an antenna that clips on my satalite dish. There is a large water tower in the area that might be in the way.

Any recomendations for a medium directional antenna? Could i install it in my attic?

Thanks

Martin

DTV Antenna
Type Call Sign Channel Network City State Live
Date Compass
Orientation Miles
From Frequency
Assignment
* green - uhf WMTV-DT 15.1 NBC MADISON WI 322° 3.4 19
* green - vhf WMSN-DT 47.1 FOX MADISON WI 305° 5.5 11
* red - uhf WBUW-DT 57.1 CW JANESVILLE WI 322° 3.4 32
* red - uhf WISC-DT 3.1 CBS MADISON WI 305° 5.5 50
* red - uhf WHA-DT 21.1 PBS MADISON WI 305° 5.5 20
* red - uhf WKOW-DT 27.1 ABC MADISON WI 305° 5.5 26

Take a 5 foot length of RG6 or RG59 and stripp back one end exposing aprox. 5 inches of the center conductor. Put a female connector on the other end and connect it to your TV antenna input. You might be suprised at what you receive.

Any brick and mortar retailers handle the Wingard antenna mentioned above? Lowes and Home Depot and other similar stores stock antennas and I believe Lowes carries Winegard. It may or may not be the exact models listed above.... Do NOT bother checking their website though. You gotta go to the store as they don't seem to list antennas online.

If you have a little time you might try making one of the antennas discussed at the link below. The very first one works for alot of people, esp. at a short distance (although Rick0725 has alot more experience than I do in antennas). The advantage is that you can try out one or more designs very inexpensively. If you like one that you built but don't like the looks or don't trust the construction, then you can buy a similar one that's commercially-made. This week's Lost is just that, but you have time for next week's episode. For simple designs you can put together quickly I would suggest the double bowtie, the colinear (posts 449,467 488 489), and the Hoverman (post 714).
http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9613&st=0

bmartin5150, I would try to build a homemade antenna. I did use the plan from the link that lemmalone posted above and I pick up all the Madison DT Station yes I get Fox DT 47 on channel 11 that is 57 miles away with my Homebuilt DB-2 and I get Milwaukee WMVS DT10 on 8 that is 43 miles away with no problem and the antenna is indoor.

-Willie


It could been the wind that shifted the antenna, We did have a wind advisory earlier this week and last week in my and your area. I was seeing OTR semis learning to one side look like the load has shifted to the side going down the road then a wooded area or large building block the wind then they are level again then pass the blocked wind area then back to leaning to side. Even with my quad-axle loaded with gravel grossed at 73,000 pounds like to push me around on the road.

Does anyone know if any of these Winegard UHF antennas will pick up high VHF (particularly Ch 13).
HD-9032
HD-9075
HD 9095

I'm presently using a small RS UHF with booster and get all the DT channels available from Mt Mansfield VT except 22-1, which is broadcasting on 13 with low power.

My TV fool printout is attached. Signal is acceptable most of the time. Pixies every once in a while, but still within reasonable limits. I'd replace the RS with any one of the Winegards if there is a reasonable chance of picking up 22-1

(note that the RS is picking up 14 ok 5-1 and 5-2)

Thanks for your wisdom in advance