Switching form Cable Cards to Antenna for HD Channels and have a few questions

Some considerations:
Antennas come in many varieties, so make sure you get one that does both UHF and VHF if your local stations broadcast on both. FM isn't necessary at all for TV, but would be if you're hooking up a radio of course.

Mounting an antenna in the attic is better than having it in the TV room (it's higher, you can get a bigger and uglier antenna) but not as good as having it on the roof. Keep this in mind when shopping.

Antennas tend to be very directional. Antennaweb should tell you the approximate angle and distance of your local towers. If they're all clumped together, a Directional antenna would let you focus in on their signal. If they're in multiple directions, you can either choose not to bother with some or get a multi-directional antenna.

If you post your zip code, or a copy/paste of antennaweb's report, we can offer a little more insight.

Depending on how far the attic is from the TiVo, you might need a pre-amp to overcome signal loss in the wire.

OK Great
It looks like all of your stations are broadcasting from the same area, except for one (KPXM). So, if you don't mind possibly not having KPXM, you can get a Directional antenna that'll point right at them.

They're all UHF now, but it's possible one or more might switch to VHF come 2009. I don't remember where the list of those is - hopefully someone else can chime in.

Since you're goingi in the attic, you might want to get a better antenna than antennaweb recommends. For example, they say Yellow (Small Directional). I'd beef that up a little -- a Medium Directional. Maybe a large if you want to overkill a little.

Something like this might fit: http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_disp...?PROD=ANCM5646
Of course, grab a tape measure and run up to the attic and see what you can fit.

If that doesn't quite cut it, adding a pre-amp might help. I think 50 feet of cable might benefit from the amp.

Basically yes, along with whether the antenna is directional or non-directional. Click on the words "yellow-vhf" or whatever in the Antenna Type column, and you'll get some details.


Yes, a compass will help. That column isn't labeled "Compass Orientation" for nothing. 0 degrees is north, 90 is east, 180 is south, 270 is west, and 360 brings you back to north again. Interpolate as necessary for northeast, etc.

You may find that the optimum orientation is somewhat different from the actual direction to the transmitter, because of multipath interference (signals reflecting off nearby objects). So use the antennaweb direction as a starting point, and experiment by changing the direction a bit at a time and observing the reception quality and the signal meter on your TV or receiver.

If you punch your exact address into antennaweb, when you get to the screen detailing the channels there's a button "View Street Level Map"

It'll center right on your house, and "point" to each of the towers. So, without a compass, it'll give you an idea which way to turn.