Antenna inside attic vs. outside roof
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doctordialtone
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Yes.
The signal will be stronger because it doesn't need to pass through all of the building materials in your roof.
Not a lot, but probably noticeable with weak or far away signals.
My attic antenna work ok but not great up until I put a steel roof on. That ended that set up in a hurry. Up on the roof it went.
doctordialtone
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Yes
StaticDischarge
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Yes, yes it is...
Asking that question here is like going to a candy store and asking if candy tastes good.
But unless the only signals you are interested in are very strong, then yes the higher you get your antenna the better your reception will be.
mmckenna
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All building materials have some amount of RF attenuation.
If your roof has any metallic material, that's going to be a big issue. That might be foil backed insulation, metal roofing, etc. Also, getting your antenna away from RF noise sources in the house is a good thing.
Also, roofing material doesn't magically block lightning, so proper grounding/suppression is still required.
If you are going to go through all that, put the antenna outside. The higher up it is, the farther off your "radio horizon" will be. That means you'll hear more stuff. Use the best coaxial cable you can afford. Exact type will depend on the length of the run and the frequencies you are interested in.
And do not forget proper grounding and lightning suppression.
mmckenna
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You've got to give us some parameters.
What frequencies are you interested in?
What is your budget?
Usually "low profile" and "good" don't work well in the same sentence.
I would like a wide band antenna, 0.01-1300 Mhz. There is no specific band that I am particularly interested in, my needs are very general. I would like to have something to do with my daughter: SW; planes; public safety, etc. Also, I am planning on getting a ham license soon so I also want to be able transmit. Is all this possible on one antenna? I would like to keep the price under a hundred bucks; maybe two hundred including the coax. It's not super important that it is low profile, just would be nice if it less than four or five feet. Thanks in advance!
No such thing exists. The closest would be a discone antenna going from 100-900MHz or so. The lower the frequency, the longer the antenna has to be. A 1/4-wave 27MHz CB antenna is about 108 inches long.
Which is only half the antenna.
mmckenna
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For the shortwave stuff, something like an end fed antenna can be a simple solution.
For the higher frequencies, a discone antenna can be a good choice.
Yes! It definitely is, use the mast for all it's worth. Results vary due to many determining factors: terrain, RF noise, foliage on trees, etc but it sure beats signals having to fight through building and roofing materials to get to your antenna. I have an Austin Spectra mounted about 15 to 20 feet above my roof line and have picked up stations from over 100 miles away with the right conditions
Which antenna would be better for overall use as a base station antenna mounted external for a SDS200 - Diamond130J discone or Austin Spectra? Both cover about the same frequencies. Pros/ Cons of each
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