Journal

TV antennas - OTA HDTV reception

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Nice! (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-09-22 22:57 (#2SSQ)

Damn I'm glad I was bored and scrolled down to the blog section. :-)

Couple of questions...

Why no mention of other tuner options? Last time I looked the only reasonable choice were the HDHomeRuns, and they were pretty expensive for handling only two tuners. They pretty much had a monopoly on network attached tuners, and all the PCI cards were iffy. Then of course you get into MythTV v. XBMC v. WMCE v. MediaPortal, so I guess I see why you stuck to antennas.

Second, regarding mounting forces, my house's original antenna was on a vent pipe and caused leaks when it ripped off in a storm. Do I screw into my poor old roof to mount a base/mast, or hope my old metal faux chimney can take the stress?

Re: Nice! (Score: 1)

by evilviper@pipedot.org on 2014-09-23 11:46 (#2STV)

Why no mention of other tuner options?
This journal is more than long enough as-is...
all the PCI cards were iffy
Not sure where you got that idea from. Cards from Hauppauge, Twinhan, and others work just fine.
Do I screw into my poor old roof to mount a base/mast, or hope my old metal faux chimney can take the stress?
I would only try a chimney mount to a heavy object, not a stove pipe vent, if that's what you mean. Even if you don't have a catastrophic failure, the added stress and movement is likely to shorten the life of your roof and cause leaks. If lacking large rooftop candidates, I most often prefer one bracket as high on the eves as possible, and a mast going down into the ground. Two brackets on the wall is even more-secure. Most other methods won't support a large antenna jutting up 10ft above the top of your roof.

A J-pipe dish mount works fine up to just a couple feet,... A tripod will let you go a bit higher, but still not nearly 10ft without supporting guy wires.

If you're concerned about making holes, there are "non-penetrating roof mounts" available, which set on top of your roof and just get anchored with bricks. You could compliment it with guy-wires anchored down at ground level, for taller masts... All without any holes in the building...

History

2014-09-23 11:46
Why no mention of other tuner options?
This journal is more than long enough as-is...
all the PCI cards were iffy
Not sure where you got that idea from. Cards from Hauppauge, Twinhan, and others work just fine.
Do I screw into my poor old roof to mount a base/mast, or hope my old metal faux chimney can take the stress?
I would only try a chimney mount to a heavy object, not a stove pipe vent, if that's what you mean. Even if you don't have a catastrophic failure, the added stress and movement is likely to shorten the life of your roof and cause leaks. If lacking large rooftop candidates, I most often prefer one bracket as high on the eves as possible, and a mast going down into the ground. Two brackets on the wall is even more-secure. Most other methods won't support a large antenna jutting up 10ft above the top of your roof.

A J-channpipels dish mount works fine up to just a couple feet,... A tripod will let you go a bit higher, but still not nearly 10ft without supporting guy wires.

If you're concerned about making holes, there are "non-penetrating roof mounts" available, which set on top of your roof and just get anchored with bricks. You could compliment it with guy-wires anchored down at ground level, for taller masts... All without any holes in the building...

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