[archi1]

Hi,

I bought a stealth antenna (medium range) recently and I have already installed it on my roof. Here are my problems:

When I bought the antenna the salesperson asked me if there were any buildings over 4 stories tall within a couple blocks of my house. The answer was no. I do have some pretty big trees however. Apparently he must have thought big tree meant 15' tall. Mine are MUCH larger. Anyway, based on our discussions, I assumed that HD broadcasts could spread and be received well around trees or through branches. Apparently this is not the case. The antenna I bought is upgradable with an add on amplifier. I am wondering if this will help enough to improve reception through trees? I have a tree that is within 10 feet of my antenna and the antenna is aimed right at the tree. Honestly I don't know that I have a good spot on my roof. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

As for reception, I bought the antenna to receive HD broadcasts. I just got my Dish 6000 with 8VSB module. I am supposed to be able to plut my antenna into the receiver and get local HD channels. Since the system is not hooked up yet, I cannot confirm what kind of reception I will get but I'll bet it is pretty bad. Does anyone have experiences with getting good reception when surrounded by trees? Sorry for all these elementary questions but this is my first antenna experience in my current house. My other house was easy... No trees.

Thanks

 

[Glenn_L]

Since your antenna is already installed, just get the Dish6000 running and give it a try. A amp won't help with getting reception past trees, but it can help if you have a very long cable to your receiver.

 

[settopguy]

Go ahead and connect all the wires so you can test the system, but be prepared to either move the antenna or prune the trees.


An amp only helps with weak signals. If the signal is blocked by an obstruction you would just amplify noise.


If the tree has leaves in the summer, the signal may be worse then.

 

[the Saint]

I have just gone through multiple attempts to get a stable signal and I am about 25 miles from the towers but I am surrounded by trees, My final solution with the help of Glenn is a horizontal stack with cm 4248 yagi antenna along with a cm7775 preamp as well as a nte rotator and r6 cable.


I now have a steady signal with no drop outs even through the trees; however, the rotator is essential and the antenna direction is very sensitive and must be adjusted to get a steady signal.


So my suggestion is to try a rotator first and if this is not enough then consider a horizontal stack....see www.atechfabrication.com for more antenna information.



The Saint