HDTV Antenna in Family Room vs Attic

[duhaas]

I have my antenna and i was picking up pretty much all my channels, and I just moved the same antenna into the attic, and now I get all but Milwaukee Public TV which has about 8 channels, any reason why I would of lose my Public TV channels after moving it in the attic???

[Jesse]

Hi,

I read somewhere that your average 2x4/plywood/shingle roof will cause about a 20db signal loss to your antenna reception. The extra cable length may also be a part of the problem. Your PBS stations may broadcast at lower power, be farther away than the other stations or at a different compass heading than the others.

Assuming that you have got the antenna aimed properly I would try an amplifier next. If that does not work you may want to try a larger antenna with more gain. Check out solidsignal.com for OTA equipment.

HTH

Jesse

[Olias]

I live on the fringes of reception of the Milwaukee market and the public stations give me the strongest signal. There are so many variables when talking about antenna placement. Have you tried reorienting the antenna? Can you connect the antenna directly to the TV and get a signal strength reading?
I have two antennas in the attic, a monster pointed towards Milwaukee and a much smaller one aimed towards Madison. Turns out I really didn't need to buy the huge one for Milwaukee. Once I experimented and swapped the antennas and the smaller one had virtually the same signal strength as the larger one.