Mounting 8 Element Bowtie HDTV Antenna 70 Mile Range DB8eWHATAfter ‘cutting the cord’ from my ISP (Internet Service Provider) and installing Roku devices on our four TVs, in addition to Amazon Prime Video & Netflix, something was missing – local programming. Out of curiosity, I hung a 50-year-old, 8-inch, circle-type, UHF antenna on the kitchen TV and pointed it towards transmitters in Peoria, IL, about 25 miles away, and received 13 stations. Using a different, rabbit-ear antenna hung on a TV in the den, 18 channels came in clearly. Since a fair amount of work had been done concealing cable/wiring in the wall for these wall-mounted units, I wanted something that looked cleaner. Neither of the two TVs in the finished basement received local signals.After reviewing multiple, attic-mount antenna products on Amazon & other venues, it came down to the 8-Element bowtie or a Channel Master CM-4228HD. Both units are somewhat pricey, but the (retired) design engineer in me was thinking about picking up stations 65 miles northwest (Galesburg area), and perhaps 82 miles southeast (Champaign area). Due to ignorance on my part (not understanding how the single, flat-panel Channel Master could be omni-directional), I opted for the 2-directional Bowtie.HOWAntenna research resulted in replacing existing RG-59 coax with tri-shielded RG-6 (quad-shielded for one run) and adding an AMP PCT-MA2-4PN amplifier. The longest run is 78 ft, the shortest, 42. Unfortunately, that required digging through 18 inches of attic insulation, to drill holes and fish cable. Original fishing holes couldn’t be used because the RG-59 was sourced from a different location.As a point of interest, Amazon’s “Coax Cable Crimper, Coaxial Compression Tool Kit Wire Stripper with F RG6 RG59 Connectors”, which had the tools needed for making specific lengths of cable, was under $20 – a local big-box store was selling the crimping tool alone for over $30, pricey for a one-time use.A comment needs to be made here: while YouTube videos depicting how to add connectors to unterminated coax is helpful, they failed to mention needing excellent gripping strength to mount the connector onto the coax far enough that the dielectric is adequately inserted. After many attempts using pliers to hold the connector while pushing/twisting the cable into it, it finally worked. A flaring tool may have been helpful.The antenna was assembled and mounted onto an 1-1/4”x5 ft length of rigid PVC pipe (O.D. 1.66”) before going into the attic via a pull-down, ceiling ladder in the garage. Max. mounting pole size is 1-3/4”. Getting the mounted antenna through the 18x50” opening, unassisted, was awkward.The antenna was mounted after lag-screwing a length of 1”x6” board spanning two roof trusses, then drilling holes into it for two U-bolts to clamp the PVC mounting pole. Using TVFool.com and a compass to orient the antennas, mounting was unremarkable.To avoid compressing a large area of recently added insulation, I clambered around on the 1x4 cross-bracing of my trussed roof while holding/mounting the antenna. That turned out to be an uneventful adventure, other than digging through insulation to recover a dropped socket wrench. With attic temps easily over 120 degrees, it was a great way to lose weight.RESULTS- Kitchen (16-month-old Samsung SmartTV) - from 13 to 26 stations- Den (2-yr-old Sony XBR Series, SmartTV – from 18 to 26 stations- Basement office (6-yr-old Sony XBR series – from zero to 23 stations- Basement media room – 10-month-old XBR series, SmartTV – from zero to 26 stations- Clear signals were received from all stations including a few near Galesburg, 65 miles NW.- None were received from stations near Champagne, 82 miles, SE.- All received signals are excellent – no pixilation, ghosting, fading, etcWRAP UP NOTESI drilled a 3/16” hole through the PVC mounting pole, right above the top U-bolt clamp and put a 3” long ‘safety’ bolt thru it (with nuts on both side of the pole) to ‘catch’ the antenna if the clamping U-bolts loosened and the pole slid down.There are probably other, less expensive antennas that would have provided the same results, but I wasn’t interested in pursuing antenna dynamics to figure out what was needed. I learned a long time ago, I can’t afford to buy ‘cheap’. Paying a little more for a product with good reviews and customer service, beats having to replace a cheap item that fails prematurely or performs poorly.I used quad-shielded cable to the office TV because it ran down inside the wall next to a POE ethernet cable used for a security camera. I’m not sure that was needed but had read something about possible interference from the ethernet cable.SOMETHING COMPLETELY UNRELATED TO THIS PRODUCTThere’s an, unrelated consideration for folks with multiple TVs who are thinking about cutting the cable. Initially, I eliminated everything but internet, but found I’d lost access to non-premium channels like Discovery, History, Science, PBS, MASH reruns, etc. – a subscription to a service was needed to get them. Some of those services, e.g. DirecTV Now, limit the number of TVs that can be streamed to, without paying extra. Customer satisfaction seems to be an issue too.I did a cost breakdown to see how to get the most bang for my buck while streaming. With cable, I had 4 set-top boxes and was subscribed to 4 different Premium channels (HBO, Starz, ShowTime, Cinemax, which all seemed to show the same movies). My cable bill exceeded $220/month.After comparing various services, I ended up going back to my ISP for a basic HD TV subscription to around 60 channels and one set-top box. Including fiber-optic internet, my cable bill has reduced from $227/month to around $110, plus $14(?) for Netflix Ultra (which seems to have recently increased in price). I’m not including the cost of Amazon Videos because it came as an extra to Prime, which I’ve had for years, but never used (video). The initial hardware cost of the Roku devices and antenna will be recovered in 4 months.A perk of having the TV subscription is the free WATCHTVEVERYWHERE. Almost every channel I subscribe to through the set-top box, can also be watched on the other TVs via the SmartTV apps or Roku. One major exception is The Weather Channel (live). I still haven’t figured out how to get that.