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kp2171 · Nov 27, 2005, 10:10 PM

Not a big TV watcher, so don't sub to cable or dish... but I'd like to do better than the rabbit ears.

There is an old off air antenna in the attic and I was wondering:

1) Can I just run coax up and hookup to the off air without mounting the antenna outside the house? Seems to me that its got to be better than rabbit ears, even if its not optimal.

2) I've run coax to dish and setup that before, but never to an off air. Is there special hardware that connects the coax to the antenna? I haven't really had a chance to look at it, as the attic isn't very accessible at the moment. Having a hard time finding any info on hardware required to hook up.

Thanks in advance.

fredg · Nov 28, 2005, 06:13 AM

Hi,
Many yrs ago, I lived in a Townhouse in a large city. The Homeowners Association wouldn't allow TV antennas on top of the houses.
So, believe it or not, I put one in the attic!
Get yourself a cheap TV antenna. Go into the attic.
I hung my from the roof, using a strong string, running the TV cable down through an electric outlet, from the attic to the den.
You can buy a simple little box, about $5, to hook the regular TV cable to (two wires), then screw the little box into the cable screw on back of the TV set.
Then, have someone yell up at you, and twist the antenna until your picture is clear. Then, use a string, and tie the antenna down, pointing in that direction. It works!
Best of luck.

labman · Nov 28, 2005, 06:36 AM

The antenna in the attic is an older technology once widely used. Likely the one up there was working fine when somebody switched to cable. The 300 ohm twin lead was much more common then. If it has a couple of screw terminals, you will need a simple adapter. You may even have one that came with a VCR or something. Do the rabbit ears use one? If not, a couple of bucks at Radio Shack or wherever you buy coax at.

Many older antennas were VHF only. You may need a separate antenna for it, or at least, a splitter at the TV. Many of the kids in our area missed educational TV because their parents weren't technically proficient enough to connect a simple splitter.