Parker, CO 80134 Antenna Question - Type, placement and feed

BulldogBBall:

Welcome to the forum. Your signals are very strong and in the same direction, about 300 degrees. You should try your C2 antenna indoors on one TV to see what you can get.

The C2 antenna is primarily for UHF channels 14-51, but you have 3 VHF channels on real channels 7, 9, & 13. Your C2 might also be able to pick them up. There is an antenna called the C2V that is designed to have some gain on VHF:

C2V Antenna
VHF 174 - 216 MHz (Channels 7-13)
UHF 470 - 806 MHz (Channels 14-69)
Max gain: 10.4 dBi UHF;3.1dBi VHF

C2 Antenna
Range: Up to 50 Miles
Gain of 10.2 dBi
Consistent gain through the entire UHF DTV channel spectrum

It is possible for you to connect (with a UVSJ) a simple VHF antenna to your C2 to pick up 7, 9, and 13 if your C2 doesn't get them.
FCC regulations override HOA regulations in many cases to allow you to have an outdoor antenna.
http://www.fcc.gov/guides/over-air-reception-devices-rule
You should be worried that your outdoor antenna is grounded to meet NEC regulations for electrical safety and to prevent your insurance company from rejecting a claim if anything bad happens.
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1333059/grounding-antenna-and-dish

If you get the channels you want indoors on one set, then use a splitter to feed the other sets, If the splitter makes the signals too weak, add a distribution amp like the CM3414.

If you don't get what you want with an indoor antenna, maybe you have an attic.

If you still don't get what you want, then you will have to put your antenna outside using one designed for UHF and VHF-high like the RCA ANT751 or the Winegard HD 7694P.
http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=ANT751&d=RCA-ANT751-1080p-HDTV-Outdoor-Antenna-(ANT751)&c=TV Antennas&sku=044476064524
http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=HD7694P&d=Winegard-HD-7694P-High-Definition-VHFUHF-HDHD769-Series-TV-Antenna-(HD7694P)&c=TV Antennas&sku=
Edited by rabbit73 - 2/18/13 at 4:37pm

I'm not so sure an indoor antenna will give good results. You are 27 miles away from the towers for the majority of the stations which is a lot to ask for an indoor antenna. And PBS on VHF 13 is 38 mies away. VHF is always going to be harder to get for an indoor antenna.
You can certainly test out your antenna. If the results are not good, you are going to probably have to mount it outside.
Do you live in a house, townhouse, condo? Do you have an attic? You could also try the antenna in the attic.

We do offer a C2->C2V upgrade kit on our website. Unfortunately, it's out of stock at the moment with expected availability after Easter.

Shop now > Accessories > Reflectors

Yeah, that's the correct antenna you ordered.

If you mount it in the attic or inside the garage, it does not need to be grounded. But keep in mind the higher you place the antenna, the better. So if your attic is higher than the garage, it would probably be better.
But nothing is guaranteed until you try it out. So I would try inside the garage first and go from there. If the results are not good, you probably have to put it outside. Make sure you point the antenna towards the WNW where your stations are coming from.

Since there's no such thing as a free lunch, there's always a certain amount of signal power lost in cabling and splitters. The key to the puzzle is to understanding the amount of the loss and ensuring that we provide enough signal at the input of the cabling scheme so that the output, after losses, is still enough to adequate reception. Think of checking your bank balance before going shopping so you know what your spending budget is. Similarly, we do need to keep our input and loss budgets in mind. Your local signals are very strong since you're close so there aren't any concerns in that department.

The On-Q splitter you indicated probably has a maximum of around 8 dB of insertion loss. If you were to add 100' of RG6 coax total run (antenna to splitter plus longest from splitter to set), you'd have a total loss budget of approximately 14 dB. As long as the signal at the antenna terminals is 14 dB greater than the signal required at the TV, reception should work. In practice, another 10+ dB of additional margin is desirable.

Since you won't be using all of the outlets of the splitter, installing a 75 ohm F-terminator on any otherwise open outlet is strongly recommended.

One of this forums participants (rabbit73, maybe?) has, in the past, posted an illustration that shows the concept quite well.

Don't drill any holes until you've tested reception in the selected spot. I've learned that signals often don't cooperate with our choice of the easy spot.

I have always placed 75 ohm F terminators on unused outlets of splitters but often wondered if that negates the loss incurred by using a splitter with more outlets than needed. I have a feeling it does not. It would be appreciated if a member with greater engineering experience would chime in while this subject is raised.

Be aware that you may have reception problems on certain channels due to multipath interference. Try different locations in your garage to find the 'sweet spot' before you lock down the antenna.

Terminators prevent undesired signal reflections in the cabling that might otherwise be caused by unterminated outlets but they don't negate the splitter's insertion loss. Using them is good practice just like wearing a seatbelt when in an auto. You don't need them until you REALLY need them.

That is about what I thought from my prospective as a hobbiest. So, it sounds as if the OP in this thread should replace that 8 way splitter with a two way.

It probably doesn't matter, he has plenty of signal. A difference of 4 dB insertion loss isn't going to affect reception of any of his local stations.

Keeping the above shopping budget going, if you have a bigger than usual paycheck, you don't mind paying full price for that Porterhouse instead of waiting until it goes on sale at the meat department at the Piggly Wiggly.

If you are only going to have 2 TV's hooked up, I would just replace the 8 port splitter with a 2 way splitter