Digital Antenna Opinions

[Scott Reppert]

Anybody here using an outdoor, mounted digital TV antenna?

Best reception? Best manufacturer? Best price?

All I know is that a the RCA passive "set in a window" model will not work for me.

TVFool says I should be able to get at LEAST 3 stations in Fairmont and I got none good enough to make the old Vizio think that there was any signal there at all.

Your input, as always, is valued.

Carry on...

[genlock]

In your market, some of the stations are on VHF high and VHF low and some on UHF.
You will need a combo antenna or separate antennas.
Since the TV stations are not all in the same direction from you, a rotator may be necessary.
If you live on a hill or in the clear, consider an attic mounted antenna.
No weather exposure problems and easier feedline run.
Use quality feedline and connectors. Stay away from Radio-Shack.
If not in the attic, put the antenna up reasonably high and in the clear.
I have an old winegard in the attic, 6' long combo. non rotatable.
Stations are 15 to 30 miles away. does fine off the axis of the antenna.
Nothing off the back. I only use antenna when cable has problems
or when something is on one of the digital sub-channels that I want to see.
That happens infrequently as TV stations don't promote that stream much.
Get satellite, get cable, there is not much on local tv anymore.
Probably be cheaper than a good antenna installation.

[CoolBreeze]

Due to the fact that I live in Charleston high on a hill, I didn't want nor need a huge antenna. I first went to Radio Shack and they said they didn't stock antennas as small as what I had found all over the Net. So I said fine, I'll order off the Net. This antenna is about 22 x 18.



For MY use, this is the perfect antenna. It's so small that I actually hid it in my bushes, pointed it in the right direction, and now I have 9 crystal clear channels.

But if you live out, you're going to need a larger antenna. There are lots of choices, depending on cost, distance, appearance etc. For instance:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Antennas+Di ... st=antenna

[genlock]

Coolbreeze mad a good choice for a UHF antenna.
Will it get channel 13 ok? It might if you have a clear shot.
Watch out for fantastic claims on antennas.
HD versus analog? Physics of antennas don't change with mode.
the more esoteric looking an antenna is, the more likely they won't work well.
In antennas, size matters. An antenna to get low-vhf will have to be larger
than one designed for UHF. Ask around in your neighborhood to see what other
people have that works. Outside TV antennas for consumer use are generally
poorly constructed. Well built antennas are available from companies that build
their products for the cable or MATV world. You can't afford them.
They are solidly built and have a direct coax connection. I don't have one.
Get a map and plot the locations of the TV stations in your area.
That will tell you the direction to point your antenna.

[Hoosier Daddy]

... or you could be like me and keep the Time-Warner and not care about any of this stuff ...

[Tom Taggart]

HDTV sets are strange. Many require to scan to find channels, you can't just tell them to go there. So a rotor is not practical.

I would plan on getting a couple of antennas that you can aim at the different stations. One advantage to HDTV--if you get enough signal, it doesn't necessarily care about "ghosts" or multipath.

Couple of links for you:

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/browse/HD ... as/1000172

https://www.tselectronic.com/antenna_index2.html

Don't bother with the amplified antennas, you are better off using a couple of antennas into a splitter (e.g., connected backwards to combine two or three feeds into one) then into a boost amp.

[Dave Loudin]

Scott,
Although I trust you have your receive location correct, the best way to get the most accurate predictions from TVFool is to use the maps option. After getting close with the initial run using your address, you can zoom in the Google map enough to drag the receive location pointer right over your house. Next, tweak the antenna height to see if there's any use to mounting on the roof.

After checking out random locations on the East Side and at my old house near Fairmont Senior High, I can say that unless you live up on the hills either side of Pleasant Valley Road, you are not going to get a whiff of Pittsburgh DTV. Your best bet is to get a VHF-only antenna (something like a Winegard HD-5030 would definitely work. A Winegard YA-1713 or an AntennaCraft Y10-7-13 may have small enough loss at channel 5 to work) aimed at Clarksburg and a UHF-only antenna (like the Winegard HD-8800 or HD-4400 or Antennas Direct DB-8 or DB-4) aimed at Chestnut Ridge for WNPB. Combine the feeds from the two antennas with a Pico Macom USVJ and you're set.

[CoolBreeze]

Coolbreeze made a good choice for a UHF antenna.
Will it get channel 13 ok?

Yes, 13 comes in as clear as the rest. Fact is, 13 was the ONLY channel that I couldnt bring in on my old rabbit ears. (I have a TV in the garage for when I want to watch local TV) I figured that not much more would solve the problem, and it did. I didn't want to mount an antenna on my house either, so this works perfect. Again, however, I'm on top of a high hill.

[rollsroyce]

Scott, I picked up an amplified rabbit ear type vhf/uhf antenna at Big Lots for $10.00. I live on rt 119 at the Mon/Taylor county line and with that antenna I can get studio quality pictures on my Vizio from ch.5.1,5.2,10.1,10.2,12.1 and 12.2. I already have Dish network with Pittsburgh locals, so it's nice having locals for news and other local interests. If you have any questions, call me. Dave.

[Dave Loudin]

Dave, you probably have about 20dB more signal to work with at your location versus what Scott has. The actual city of Fairmont is in a bowl for the most part. Only up around Fairmont State or, perhaps, along Country Club Road could you possibly get by with rabbit ears (amplified or not.)

[Scott Reppert]

Well, I'm higher than Country Club Road and about 100' below the fourth highest point in Marion County. I know that because there is a marker in a rock on top of the hill in front of our house that says so. I've got Ices Run over the hill in front and am staring directly at the WMMN tower about an air mile away in the back...

[Dave Loudin]

Dang, Scott, somehow I thought you were over on the East Side. Anyways, believe it or not, but my recommendations still stand. You're not going to catch a whiff of anything north of Morgantown. The smaller VHF antennas I recommended will work and the largest UHF antennas I listed will be needed for WNPB.

[cgarison]

Will it get channel 13 ok? It might if you have a clear shot.

That is my issue because I could get 13's digital channels before the transition date in June and now I can't pick up any of WOWK's signals.

Which indoor antenna would be best considering that WOWK came in great with a set of rabbit ears plugged into the back of the converter box?

[oldtvman2]

13 switched from their higher freq back to vhf 13 after the digital switch. you must re scan your tv to pick it up. if you received 13 before the switch after re scanning you should get it again. several stations changed frequencies after the digital change over as the lower ones have better coverage.

[cgarison]

Many thanks and much obliged.

Now I can watch CSI Miami and the Mentalist when I am home.

[rfhertz]

I thought WOWK turned off the UHF early, in December 2008, and fired up the CH 13 digital rig? So nothing changed June 12th, 2009. Or so I thought?

[Kitesgot]

Highest gain for consumer antenna (UHF) is the Channel Master 4248. Put a small UHF pre-amp on it, and you're ready to go, about 100 bucks total.

[Dave Loudin]

Highest gain for consumer antenna (UHF) is the Channel Master 4248. Put a small UHF pre-amp on it, and you're ready to go, about 100 bucks total.

I think you mean the 4228HD. If you get one, you should perform a field modification as described here.

[oldtvman2]

don't know how to delete duplicate post?

[oldtvman2]

not working there anymore but i heard that they had transmitter trouble and didn't want to put any money in something that would be going off the air soon. with two transmitters i don't see why they couldn't have made one that would work. they had a large supply of spare parts. i had every part in file cab. and in order, easy to find. i don't know when they changed their digital frequency to 13. they were going to stay on their original digital frequency and not go back to 13. but this changed. glad to be of help MERRY CHRISTMAS to all