Television Antennas
 

I am looking for suggestions for television antennas- would like to be able to pull in as many signals as possible - what have some of you folks used that works or does not?

I have an RCA--- Ant751r with an RCA preamplifier. Works very well. We have satellite now & when it storms it goes out & I use the antenna to watch the news.

Ours are mounted about 25ft high.

I have a 5ft board w pieces of coat hanger, done to a design from the internet. I get 12 tv stations with this, in the house, connected to a TV w a digital box.

Best bet to find out wht stations are around you, and how far away. It may be difficult to pull in both near and far, in diffeent directions, with one setup.

Then, are all of them in UHF, or are some (typically anything 6 through 13) are on VHF?

UHF isthe big screen grid, or the small even vertical V shaped end of a big directional antennea. VHF are the horizontal rods, from short to fairly long. In this case, bigger really is better.

An outside antennea, high up, with no trees or building nearby, is the best. With a clear view, you can pull close to 100 miles. You need good coax cable up to it, and a pre amp on it, and aim it perfectly, but you can do it. The web site listing channels in your area likes to end at 50-60 miles, and they are right for a pooper setup, but if you are on a hill, got a tall mast, and no obstructions, you can do better than they say.

The little set top blob of an antennea is cheap to try, but will depend on where your windows are, if they pull in anything from maybe 25 miles around....

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/antennas-a...tal-television

General overview of where we are at with free TV and what you need.


http://www.antennaweb.org/

find stations near you, their location, and strength.


http://dennysantennaservice.com//

I have no connection to this place, and never done business with them, but find his web site to be easy to understand, and full of good advice on directions to go with TV hardware.

Don't go ask at Walmart, Radio Shak, or the like. I have found those folks to only know cable and sat TV, and will make 10 errors in a 10 minute conversation with you that will be totally wrong for you..... For example, there is no 'digital antennea', the old and new all are just the same, and no, VHF did _not_ go away, you still need those long rods for the channels 6-13, and.....

Paul

I have an old set of Rabbit ears(circa 1950) that'll pull in 30 channels (antenna farm is about 35 miles from here). Bought a new set (amplified antenna from Worst Buy) last night for the bedroom TV we finally bought and we get 2 channels and one of them is a Spanish channel - it'll be going back this week.
Probably be getting an outside antenna -- been looking at the "Lava HD-2605 Ultra Outdoor TV Antenna" will be about $90, supposed to be a 150 mile antenna. Looks like about a 20 - 30 minute job including getting the ladder out.

............I found a medium sized outside antenna for $40 or so and it works very well on craigs list . You can purchase 1" swedged(notched) poles in 5' and 10' foot lengths . My antenna is at 15 feet and it picks up most all channels available . , fordy

I bought this one. I'm at least 60 miles from nearest TV tower. Has worked good for me so far.
http://www.dennysantennaservice.com/...na_design.html

We use the tree outside. It picks up rather well. I am not putting you on. run the antenna cable out to the tree branch and connect the splitter with screws.

I've done business with Denny's. Product was as described, delivered promptly.

Big Dave, what kind of a tree is it? How tall? That sounds like a good idea.

I also have the piece of 2x4 with specially bent coat hangers. I get over 30 channels!!!!! All free, nothing to buy....ever!

I bought a large Wingard, I am in a hilly area and get about 150 channels.

Why do I have feeling, even with 150 channels there is still nothing on worth watching? :shrug:

We use the Mohu leaf antenna, and it picks up more channels than the antenna mounted on my rooftop that supposedly picks up "everything". I absolutely LOVE this antenna:
http://store.gomohu.com/the-leaf-ind...v-antenna.html

For one thing there is NO such thing as a HD Antenna. Just hyped up selling position over the new signal that is all. I am using a 14 years old Radio Shack one that sure was made Long Before ANY of this HD was even thought of.

I'll go with Paul (rambler) on this one.

Antennas are made to receive specific frequencies or a range of frequencies that are close together. Most TV antennas are set up to receive both the very high frequencies (VHF), old channels 2 through 13, and ultra high frequencies (UHF), old channels 14 through 69. They are also usually directional.

What you receive depends on how far away the broadcast antennas are and what direction. For getting the most channels you need the biggest, nastiest antenna you can get your hands on and a rotator. The best reception is when you have the antenna pointed directly at the broadcast antenna. I get about 100 miles.

The digital signals are broadcast on the UHF although some are now on VHF too. Any antenna that is made to receive UHF and VHF will work with the new digital signals because they are broadcast on the same frequencies as the old analog signal. An old TV antenna will work just fine unless it is pre 1950 or so. The first TV broadcasts were on VHF only and the earliest TV antennas didn't receive UHF. Sorry Paul but the "digital" antennas are just a marketing ploy.

Fordy, I never got Craig's List thru a TV antenna. Glad it's working for you. (Throw the cow over the fence some hay) LOL

Yvoone's, Seems like you and I and most folks on HT feel about like this Hee Hee Hee.

I have a Clear Stream CS-2 at the cabin w/ a Winegard amp & converter box. I'm around 70 miles north of Philadelphia. Without the amp I get one channel, with it I get about 20 selections depending on weather and leaf cover. The CS-2 is a UHF and gets channel 7 - 13 plus the UHF channels, I loose ABC 'cause it is channel 6.

www.tvfool.com will let you input your address or coordinates and see what is near.

My cousin's cabin is around 100' lower and he tried w/ the CS-4, twice the size of mine & the one I should have bought, and he failed to get any signal.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/RCA-Digita...r-DTV/10542272

Do these work, anyone know? Looking to get of the Dish bill. What is this about coat hangers & wood? Looking for cheapest alternative.

Do you need an outdoor antenna with this?

...............That will work , but a regular TV exterior antenna will pickup the most stations ! Craig's list always has used exterior ant's for sale , well below Radio Shack prices . , fordy

Ya they will but you pretty much have to be in the city that has the station they will not pick up a signal form very far away at all. That is why I never took my 16 year old antenna down form years ago, and I still can pick up these digital stations plus 4 times more then ever before. But I also have a rotor, and a power booster. So I can pick stations up form 100 mile away. Those little ----y thing sure wont do that, you have to be pretty dern close.

With the big roof mount antenna 11x14 a rotator and booster you will get channels from 75-100 miles. I think it was about $800 for everything when we put ours up. Well worth it in the long run. I have never paid for cable or dish. With antenna it is a one time expense that lasts a lifetime. I bought the antenna many years ago and added the rest when we moved farther out.

You will get what you pay for

Larry

We have a set of rabbit ears wrapped in plastic and stuck it on the roof, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Windy days my son has to put it back on the roof. Plan to get a good outdoor one soon. But this works for now.

Don't laugh... one of the best antenna's I've ever heard of was an old fashion metal bed spring. Some guys found one (old and rusty), somehow they hauled it up high in a tree. Then cleaned a spot on it and connected antenna wire to it and down the tree to the house. They had better reception than neighbors who spent hundreds on fancy systems.

www.tvfool.com will let you input your address or coordinates and see what is near."

All the suggestions about different antennas you have received , mean NOTHING, unless you know what is available in your area, your site, & antenna elevation. GO to the above site & enter your info to get that info. The site also has a forum where you can ask an expert about your particular under , " Help with reception."

Here is the antenna you want. It is called the Stealth Hawk. You can make it yourself with #2 gauge copper wire. I would recommend using a signal amplifier with it (channel master 7777),

Another DIY Antenna:
http://www.tvantennaplans.com/

That is all fine and dandy if you are close to the city and have many stations to choose from, but us that HAVE to pull in stations around a 100 miles away that is a waste of time and money. And in another direction of 40 miles away.

I bought one of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/Outdoor-HDTV...item1e8497fb19 off Ebay and I have been very pleased with the performance. Shop for price...mine was $28 including shipping.