Would it be worth it?

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kf5qgf

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Ok so let me lay out some basics, I live in a one story home, of which the first 10 ft are wrapped in bricks, the top half is standard wooden siding. As it is now I have a dipole mounted above my window, getting decent reception, but I was wondering if hanging it in my attic would give me enough of an advantage to offset the 60' of rg-6 i would have to use. I'd prefer to hang it on the west side of my house, since most of the signals i'm looking for are from that bearing. So just bouncing it off of ya'll, tell me what you think and bounce some ideas back, we'll come to a conclusion no doubt. Thanks in advance. :)

Craig
 

LtDoc

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Make another dipole, hang it where you think you'd like to and then see what the differences are, if any. Unless you just can't put it outside, I wouldn't put it in an attic (anywhere indoors).
- 'Doc
 

kf5qgf

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I'm looking at some discones to hang outside, as soon as I can get my roommates on board lol, but it's a rental and they're stubborn. They will come around I think. Waitin for that to get my ham license i think tho
 

popnokick

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This is a longshot, and assumes you are not transmitting and using the antenna on a scanning receiver...but read on...
Any chance there is already some unused CATV or previously installed TV coax in the building that goes to the attic? Many places have this because they've switched to satellite TV.
If you have unused coax already in the attic, consider making a cheap and quick Off-Center Fed Dipole (OCFD), hanging it in the attic and connecting it to the unused coax. The are a slew of simple OCFD plans here on RR (search "OCFD") and the easiest among them will cost about $8 and 30 min of your time. Hang the antenna in the attic and connect the scanner to one of the coax outlets downstairs. You may need to verify the coax is connected or remove a splitter, but try it first. This will quickly and cheaply get you a reasonable indoor antenna while you figure out how to swing the "discone on the roof" or another type outdoor antenna.
 
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