Antenna Suggestions

[muhockey86]

I've got an antenna that I want to mount in the attic; however, I need help finding a solution to get the feed from the attic to an upstairs bedroom. Any suggestions?

 

[kb2vxa]

A hole in the closet ceiling is a good place to start, the rest is up to you.

 

[Jim41]

I have had success by putting a hole in the closet ceiling at one of the front corners of the closet. Routed the cable thru the closet ceiling, down the closet wall, under the closet door, and along the base board to the scanner location.

Jim41

 

[n5usr]

I did the hole-in-the-ceiling approach, but I intended to bring down many many more cables... (I have a 2-1/2" conduit coming through my ceiling - and am about to need another! )

If you want to make it look really spiffy, and don't plan to move things around much, you could fish the cable down the wall behind where you are going to locate the scanner, cut in a new outlet box (they sell some specifically for this, you feed them in through the hold and they have ears to grip the sheetrock) then connect the cable to a barrel-type connector in a blank plate. Then it just looks kind of like a TV cable connection (or exactly like one, if you use F connectors - I'd probably use BNC) and you connect a patch cable from the scanner to the wall.

I've also seen some cut-in rings that just provide a place to screw a cover plate, without the full box - that would work as well, and might be more useful if you have thick / stiff cable coming down from the attic.

 

[kb2vxa]

WWWWOOOOOAAAAAA HOSSIE! Hold on a minute there Baba Louie, he's a scanner guy, not an electrician! Muhockey, do you know what fish tape is? A keyhole saw? No? I didn't think so. (;->)

 

[smason]

not an electrician! Muhockey, do you know what fish tape is? A keyhole saw? No? I didn't think so. (;->)

I once saw something fishy through a keyhole, does that count?

 

[muhockey86]

Lol...ya lets keep this simple....not my house....moving back in with my parents after graduation : )

 

[shaft]

I bet they would appreciate you running the cabling thru the walls rather than cutting a hole in the ceiling. Its not hard at all.

 

[PHOENIX_SCANNER]

I bet they would appreciate you running the cabling thru the walls rather than cutting a hole in the ceiling. Its not hard at all.

On the contrary...

When I rented years ago, I punched a 1/2" whole through the ceiling and tacked my rg8 to the wall, and hooked that bad boy up. Sure, it was ugly. But when I moved, I removed the cable, and with a ball of spackle, filled the hole, and when done you couldn't even tell it ever happened.

If you put in a box in a rental, the owner may well say "what the hell is this thing", and be less than happy.

 

[poltergeisty]

1) Stud Finder

2) Fish Tape

3) Drywall Saw

4)Wall Plates

..and 5. Common Sense. :lol:

 

[ampulman]

1) Stud Finder

2) Fish Tape

3) Drywall Saw

4)Wall Plates

..and 5. Common Sense. :lol:

Sounds good. Just one question to all:

How would you go about finding the spot to make your attic penetration?

Amp

 

[n5usr]

WWWWOOOOOAAAAAA HOSSIE! Hold on a minute there Baba Louie, he's a scanner guy, not an electrician! Muhockey, do you know what fish tape is? A keyhole saw? No? I didn't think so. (;->)

God forbid we make suggestions that might be out of someone's skill level! No, it's better they never know what's possible!

Besides, what I suggested is *EASY* for the given situation, definitely not something that requires an electrician. Heck, I was doing this kind of stuff to my parents' house when I was a teen. Not even a need for a fish tape in most cases, as interior walls in most houses are not insulated - just drill a hole in the top stud of the wall and drop the cable down. The parts, tools and even books with instructions on doing it are readily available at all home improvement shops.

I also prefer NOT to assume people CAN'T do something or figure it out for themselves. If in the end they can't but are interested, they can say so and I'll fill in further details.

Now, I did assume ownership of the house - that wasn't mentioned, and as I know very few people who rent houses I don't think about it as an option. If that is the case, without management approval the small hole in an out of the way place is definitely the better option. But one could always ask management - I always had good relationships with landlords, and was allowed to do all kinds of things, as long as I asked and explained what I wanted to do first.

 

[n5usr]

Sounds good. Just one question to all:

How would you go about finding the spot to make your attic penetration?

Amp

This can be a bit fun sometimes. The easiest thing I have found, when possible, is to run the cable down near an electrical outlet. I prefer not to mix my data or coax cables with power, so I'll move a stud over so I'm not inside the same wall cavity with the electrical. Then you just have to find where they drilled and ran the power cable down, then move over from there. (How much to move over of course depends on how far apart your studs are.)

If you don't have a handy power cable to guide you, it may come down to using landmarks. Measuring from where two walls come together, or referencing from where the ceiling fixtures or HVAC ducts go through (if the're in the attic). In these cases, try to shoot for the center of the cavity between studs, that way you have a fair amount of wiggle room - you don't have to drop the cable directly down on top of where you want your box, but it helps to be between the same set of studs!

For the impatient, if you don't mind patching a tiny hole in the ceiling, I have also used a thin stiff rod. Push it up through the ceiling right over where I want to put the box, then go up in the attic and find the rod poking up out of the insulation. Much faster, more accurate, but you do have to deal with the tiny hole you make in the ceiling. (Oops, another assumption - I've never had to mess with plaster ceilings and walls - sheetrock is easy to cut/patch/repair! )

 

[WayneH]

Moved to the Antenna forum....