On Sun, 31 May 2009 14:04:50 -0700, Usual Suspect
wrote:

Yes, but the original poster may not have such an ideal location.

TV Fool azimuth plot:
http://i44.tinypic.com/2a4wghx.jpg

Nice plot. Kinda looks like you'll need a rotator. The -3dB
beamwidth varies from 54 to 95 degrees. At best, 3 antennas will
cover 3*95 = 285 degrees. At worst, 3*54 = 162 degrees.

Was considering 3 antennae with wide reception angles pointed generally at
45, 140, 310 deg. Only 3 are LOS (15, 18, 33)

What are the ranges and approximate signal strengths? Looks like 18
and 33 can be covered with one antenna pointed at about 250 degrees. A
second antenna at 45 degrees *MIGHT* catch the largest number of
channels. However, there's no optimum location for a 3rd antenna to
catch all the remaining stations. You'll probably have to pick and
choose among the relatively strong ones and take what you can get.
With a UHF only antenna, stations 2-13 are problematic (or
impossible). If you're going to run multiple antennas, you'll
probably need an antenna switch, 3 tower mounted amplifiers, and 3
coax cable runs. If you try to combine then with a power splitter,
you'll get interaction between antennas and an ugly and unpredictable
pattern.

With an indoor antenna of any sorts, which ones can you receive
(including the weak ones)? With only 4dBi of antenna gain, I don't
think you'll be able to dig the ones you can't receive out of the
noise.

Pretty flat terrain, no tall structures nearby . Top of the mast: 14 ft. agl.

They let you have a 14 ft mast and you're worried about the antenna
police? Might as well go for broke. Install a real yagi antenna,
tower mounted amplifier, and rotator. For the tower amp, I recommend
a Channel Master 7777.
http://www.channelmasterintl.com/amplifiers.html
For an antenna, whatever you can find. The bigger and uglier the
anenna, the better it works. See specs at:
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html

If you're not sure, buy just one antenna, hang it out the window on a
broom stick, and see what it does. If you're close, continue with
your proposed ideas. If it looks hopeless, give up before you burn
any more money.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558