Attic antenna

[DennisKink]

I’m not able to climb up on my roof to install a scanner antenna. I can however get up in my attic. If I install an antenna up in my attic(it would put it up about 13’), would it improve reception even receiving through the roof? Also I would like to hear suggestions on type/model of antenna. TIA

 

[popnokick]

Assuming you don't have a metal roof, foil-backed insulation, lots of metal studs and/or metal HVAC ducts close to the antenna, then almost ANY antenna you put in the attic is going to work better than something on a lower floor (and of course not as well as a rooftop mount outdoors). You may want to test what sort of signals you're getting in the attic by putting up the simple wire-version of this antenna in the attic -
Homebrewed Off-Center Fed Dipole - The RadioReference Wiki
Scroll down the page in the article to see the wire version. You can make it in about 15 mins and for $10 or less. Mine worked so well in the attic that I built the copper pipe version.... and left it in the attic. I have unused CATV cables in the attic so I simply connected the OCFD antenna to a splitter and routed it to the old CATV system in the house. Now I have a scanner antenna "outlet" in several rooms of the house on both floors (where the old CATV outlets are). BUT.... you certainly can put just about any antenna in your attic if it fits... and usually get better results than from a lower floor.

 

[DennisKink]

Thanks popnokick. Very informative.

 

[JamesO]

Below are some options.

Suggest you also search my user name in the Antennas and Associated Hardware section for information on my LNA configuration.

The Antenna Farm, Your two way radio source
Classic VHF UHF Base Station Antenna 25MHz
https://www.amazon.com/TRAM-1465-Mobile-Ground-Plane/dp/B004PGMFGM
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P9JAVF6?tag=viglink20662-20
DPD Productions - Base & Mobile Antennas for Radio Scanners: VHF, UHF, NOAA, Low-Band, 700 MHz, Police, Fire, Public Safety
https://edsantennas.weebly.com/
https://www.amazon.com/Procomm-SPIDER-Station-Scanner-ft-Coax/dp/B0061X2EAO
REGULAR Duck Aircraft Band 118 - 125 MHZ
Kreco Antennas - Manufacturer of High Quality Antennas
https://centerfireantenna.com/antenna-menu/deluxe-discone-antenna/
JTD-1 JETSTREAM JTD1 25-1300 MHZ DISCONE TX 144-220-440-900-1200 MHZ
SD 1300 U / N
https://centerfireantenna.com/antenna-menu/vhf-hiuhf-multi-band/
https://centerfireantenna.com/antenna-menu/vhfuhf-multi-band/

 

[bkantor]

I have an old TV antenna mounted in the attic that came with my house- definitely improves reception. I

 

[N9JIG]

I have an attic full of antennas. While they work pretty well I would trade half of them for a single outside scanner antenna!

Do you best to stay away from things like metal flues, HVAC ducts or other metal work in the attic.

The nice thing about attic antennas is that you don't need to get fancy with mounting gear. A piece of kite string works great to hang an antenna off a rafter.

 

[DennisKink]

Thanks everyone for the informative replies.

 

[DennisKink]

Assuming you don't have a metal roof, foil-backed insulation, lots of metal studs and/or metal HVAC ducts close to the antenna, then almost ANY antenna you put in the attic is going to work better than something on a lower floor (and of course not as well as a rooftop mount outdoors). You may want to test what sort of signals you're getting in the attic by putting up the simple wire-version of this antenna in the attic -
Homebrewed Off-Center Fed Dipole - The RadioReference Wiki
Scroll down the page in the article to see the wire version. You can make it in about 15 mins and for $10 or less. Mine worked so well in the attic that I built the copper pipe version.... and left it in the attic. I have unused CATV cables in the attic so I simply connected the OCFD antenna to a splitter and routed it to the old CATV system in the house. Now I have a scanner antenna "outlet" in several rooms of the house on both floors (where the old CATV outlets are). BUT.... you certainly can put just about any antenna in your attic if it fits... and usually get better results than from a lower floor.

Finally got around to building the wire antenna from the wiki. Works great. I’m monitoring a taxi company using LTR at over 25 miles away and it is very clear.