Attic Antenna, HVAC, Cable routing

[Kumba]

I've poked through a few a few threads in here about sticking antennas in the attic, and wanted to know if anyone knew if having HVAC ducting up there would get in the way of things, reception-wise. I'm thinking (from what I read), using some PVC pipe mounted between two studs ought be a good mount point for a small discone (I'm targeting 800MHz here, so I'm taking a guess at what would make a good choice).

Then the other question is cable routing. I mostly use my scanner in my computer room, so running a straight coax jack down to it is probably the best option. Unsure of the length needed...I haven't really poked my head up in there too much. Probably going to use LMR-240 and snake it down the wall someplace, then come out of a wall plate at the same height as a standard receptacle and up into my scanner (BCD396XT).

 

[ampulman]

I spend a lot of time on the HVAC forums, and have never seen any post relating to radio reception.

That being said, some points come to mind. Since you talk about ducting (only), I'm assuming there is no equipment located there. While newer equipment, with variable speed (DC commutated motors) blowers would be less problematic, some older units might cause some problems with starting/stopping (probably minimal at most).

As far as the ductwork is concerned, flex duct would cause less problem than metal ducting. Is the ducting suspended, or lying on the attic floor. If the latter, try mounting your antennas as high above them as possible.

Amp