AVS › AVS Forum › HDTV › HDTV Technical › Using existing coax for DIY antenna in attic
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Using existing coax for DIY antenna in attic

post #1 of 14
7/30/11 at 2:02pm
Thread Starter 
I am looking at building a DIY antenna for my attic and was wondering if it would work to tie into existing coax in my walls. Is there any need for an amplifier or will I be able to use that signal in multiple rooms of my house without signal degradation?

Will I have to hook up to the cable box outside? Or will I be able to wire it in on the inside somewhere?

I will have two hdtvs pulling signal off of the coax, one upstairs, one down.

The system downstairs will most likely have a Tivo hooked up to it in the near future.

Thanks in advance,

John
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #2 of 14
7/30/11 at 7:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ampliqtip View Post

I am looking at building a DIY antenna for my attic and was wondering if it would work to tie into existing coax in my walls. Is there any need for an amplifier or will I be able to use that signal in multiple rooms of my house without signal degradation?

Will I have to hook up to the cable box outside? Or will I be able to wire it in on the inside somewhere?

I will have two hdtvs pulling signal off of the coax, one upstairs, one down.

The system downstairs will most likely have a Tivo hooked up to it in the near future.

Thanks in advance,

John

If your existing cable is RG6, you should be good to go. You would basically have to run a coax from the antenna in the attic to where your main feed for the house is, perhaps to the outside box as you stated.

Whether or not you need an amp depends on how strong your signal is at the antenna. Since you are putting the antenna in the attic, you already lose some signal due to the roofing, siding, etc. But if you are close enough the the towers, it should be no problem.
If you can post your tvfool results, we can get a better idea of reception in your area ( your address will not be shown).
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 14
7/30/11 at 7:27pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikepier View Post

If your existing cable is RG6, you should be good to go. You would basically have to run a coax from the antenna in the attic to where your main feed for the house is, perhaps to the outside box as you stated.

Whether or not you need an amp depends on how strong your signal is at the antenna. Since you are putting the antenna in the attic, you already lose some signal due to the roofing, siding, etc. But if you are close enough the the towers, it should be no problem.
If you can post your tvfool results, we can get a better idea of reception in your area ( your address will not be shown).

I cant post a link until I post 3 times haha
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 14
7/30/11 at 7:27pm
Thread Starter 
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...3e47defb5c77ec
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 14
7/30/11 at 7:28pm
Thread Starter 
3
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 14
7/30/11 at 10:09pm
Based on your tvfool report, I would seriously consider putting the antenna outside. It looks as if the bulk of your stations are 50 miles away to the ENE, with none of them being Line of Sight reception. Have you tried to see what kind of reception you can get in the attic?

You also have an ABC station to the west, and an additional Fox and CW to the Southwest. You would probably benefit from putting in a rotor.

But first things first, see what stations you can get. If all you are concerned about is the stations to the east, then all you need is a UHF antenna. Otherwise to get all stations all around, you will need a high VHF/UHF antenna.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 14
7/31/11 at 2:52pm
Thread Starter 
thanks for the help :thumbsup:
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 14
8/3/11 at 6:12am
With that TVFool report, I would definitely use an outdoor antenna.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 14
8/3/11 at 2:31pm
FWIW, I live about 60 miles away from our towers and I get crystal clear, trouble-free, OTA HDTV with a 25 year-old Winegard UHF-VHF antenna on my roof (about 30 feet from ground to top of antenna). RG-6 cable from the antenna to the garage where it goes thru a small signal booster and off to the house using the existing cable (RG-56). One HDTV and two analogs with digital tuners. I have a rotor but don't have to use it because we get everything that is offered. If you can, I highly recommend an outdoor antenna. You can't go wrong.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 14
3/20/12 at 6:02am
Thread Starter 
I have finallly got around to installing the antenna outside. I had an interesting battle with the cable box going into my house, but thats another story.

Anyway, I was hoping for some help interpreting my tvfool report.

I reran it today. Here is the link

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...0b86352d76976b

Initially, I have it pointed north-northeast, and it is picking up quite a few channels, but ideally I wanted to maybe point it more south east toward Tyler.

Which direction will have to most channels? I don't plan on installing a rotor on it, so where I set it will be the final location.

Thanks in advance for the help.


John
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 14
3/20/12 at 8:31am
You only have one station to the S/SE, channel 36.

I would aim your antenna roughly NE, or about 65° magnetic direction, using a compass. Without a rotor, that will likely get you the most stations.

What kind of antenna are you using? Are you using a preamp?
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 14
3/20/12 at 10:44am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by arxaw View Post

You only have one station to the S/SE, channel 36.

I would aim your antenna roughly NE, or about 65° magnetic direction, using a compass. Without a rotor, that will likely get you the most stations.

What kind of antenna are you using? Are you using a preamp?

Here is the antenna I got.
http://www.homedepot.com/buy/ge-85-i...na-281205.html

I am not using a preamp. I have been studying the tvfool report, and 65deg does look like a good balance to get the most channels. Thanks
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 14
3/20/12 at 11:00am
That antenna doesn't have very much UHF gain (and also has a lot of long, lowband VHF elements that are of no use for the channels in your area). But if it works, that's all that matters. Do not add a preamp unless you're having dropouts from splitting it to multiple sets.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 14
3/20/12 at 5:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by arxaw View Post

Do not add a preamp unless you're having dropouts from splitting it to multiple sets.

The antenna appears to have a built-in amplifier so no preamp is required.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: HDTV Technical

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › HDTV › HDTV Technical › Using existing coax for DIY antenna in attic