Pros and Cons of attic installation

[higgins]

I am going to be mounting a Scantenna soon. I saw a really nice set up in the picture forum where the antenna was mounted in the attic. I was wondering if that works pretty good or would it be better outside. Logically it seems outside would be better, but for pure height in my situation mounting in the attic would be the easiest. Any thoughts?

 

[fuzzymoto]

I have mine in my attic for now...but I will most likely put it outside in the spring. The Scantenna would not fit vertically in my attic so I have just a Radio Shack 20-176. Mine was a tremendous improvement over the previous antenna and location.

Pros: Easier installation, no grounding hardware necessary, no weatherproofing hardware necessary, no risk of weather or lightning damge, no loss of signal over time from weathering, easier/safer install (no ladders or power lines), fewer connectors (less loss)

Cons: Lesser signal (no signal if you have foil-backed roofing), limited space for larger antenna

 

[kf4lne]

Wet roof and snow covered roof can lower signal, grounding is more difficult and you may have to worry about static buildup on the antenna from air movement through the attic, but thats rare and you have to be sure you use parts that are still rated for outdoor use since during the summer the attic can get well over 100 degrees.

 

[consys]

I have three antennas in my attic, and they all work great! My house is single story with a plywood and asphalt shingle roof.

I had two Radio Shack multi band ground plane antennas with radals (a discontiuned item). The wind destroyed the outside one in about 4 months...

The attic also has my 2 meter band (ham) J-pole, and a large dipole made out of two metal slinky toys stretched the 40 foot width under the peak. The slniky isn't the great HF ham antenna I want, but picks up the hywaypatrol (42Mhz) better than anything else I have.

I also have and outside discone higher than the roof peak by about ten feet, I use it less than the rest of them. I keep disconnecting it durring storms (lightning), and then don't go back to it. It doesn't seem have any strong advantages, it's just sort of there if I want to use it.

I only wish my attic (and budget...) were bigger.

Have fun!

 

[brwkem]

John

do you have your attic tennas grounded?

 

[consys]

I didn't go out of my way to ground the attic antennas as I didn't see a compelling reason to. However, my HF rig and tuners are all case grounded (more on that in a minute), so any antenna connected to them has the coax shield grounded. I still don't have a lighting arrestor for the out side antenna, so I disconnect it; and it is prone to static durring the sustained dry winds we get here. No problem with that from the attic antennas.

All the case grounds go to a piece of salvaged copper bus bar. The bar connects with a #2 about 10 feet long to an outside ground rod I installed. The rod is bonded to the house ground as required by code.

 

[KC1UA]

I have a few RS groundplanes in my attic, along with an end-fed shortwave antenna, which works superbly. I still weatherproof mine though, and I think it's prudent to do so. The ventilation in my attic, between end and ridge vents, introduces moisture over time, and moisture leads to the corrosion of antenna connections over time.

In some high signal areas, attic mounting may actually be an improvement over outdoor mounting. A little less signal might mean a little less overload of some of the radios we use these days.

 

[scansomd]

I'm curious about the methods you utilize to route the cable from the attic to your listening post.

I plan to mount some antennas in my attic this spring and would like to hear your different ideas and methods.

 

[fuzzymoto]

My coax runs across the attic floor then down through the ceiling of an adjacent laundry room, then around rthe corner into my scanner. It's not perfect but it's a fairly clean install with no additional connectors in-line.

 

[Jim41]

Attic Installation

I have run coax from the attic through the ceiling of a closet, under the closet door, and along the baseboard to the scanner location.

 

[BoxAlarm187]

All of my antennas are mounted outside right now, but I do plan on putting at least one in my attic this spring. I am going to drop it down through the stud channel, and then through the sheetrock behind the desk, and to the back of the scanner.

 

[consys]

Ditto Jim41s' closet access here.

 

[BryanTheRed]

I ran my coax through the wall just like a Cable tv setup, then just put a wall plate for cable tv hook up but just ran the cable through and right to the scanner!

 

[SIMON11]

This looks a good antenna but I don't see any information on its gain.
Are these as powerful as a Cushcraft AR270B. I know that the frequency range is less on this but how does the gain compare.