Antenna Attic Ground Plane

The only restriction may be building materials which may contain your signal.

Antenna attic ground plane.

I have several vhf ground plane and discone antennas in my attic. Dipole and long wire antennas can also be used with mobile outdoor style auto tuners feeding them in an attic space. The difference will depend on the roofing and the band and what you want to listen to. You will need a peak in your attic that is tall enough for the antenna to fit.

If you attic isn t tall enough you could angle the antenna mounting to make it fit. It s a long way from the rabbit ear designs you might think of when picturing indoor antennas and much cooler looking than the metal contraptions often found outdoors. Putting an antenna in the attic is not as good as putting it outside. An antenna is no more or less likely to be struck that any other conductive object.

If you can in anyway get an antenna outdoors at height it will probably be a better solution than an indoor one. It is found that for a monopole antenna like a quarter wavelength vertical the ground acts as a plane to reflect the radio waves so that an image of the top half of the antenna is seen in the earth. As the name indicates the antenna ground plane acts as a simulated ground. The copper wire at the base of the antenna mast attaches to the copper vent tube that runs to the roof through the attic in a 55 year old house.

The ge 20431 futura outdoor indoor attic tv antenna is one of the best looking options on the market. What is an antenna ground plane. The ground plane antenna had 4 radials at the antenna base bracket assembly each radial was 1 4 wavelength long. You can find the formula for 1 4 wavelength antennas on the internet or pick up a copy of the arrl antenna handbook.

The wood structure is pretty transparent to rf energy. If the top of the antenna touches the walls or roof the performance may be affected slightly. Here s part of my setup. Signal strength from distant vhf repeaters does not seem to be affected even when the roof is wet.

There s nothing in any antenna handbooks that state that you can t do this and his coverage was generally okay. There is a misconception that antennas attract lightening. If your attic is at a good height around 9 18 feet give or take this antenna will function much the same as any other vertical antenna at the same height. Other locals are using screwdriver style mobile hf antennas that can work with a proper ground plane installed as a base below them.

Aluminum plates or chicken wire can be used to create the required ground reflection. I found that a firm grounding of antenna mast gave a better reception as well.