Over The Air TV and Antennas

[stevet]

I am sure just about everyone is aware that Free TV over the air can deliver HDTV quality that is unmatched by Cable or Satellite Providers.

I would be interested in how anyone has fared with using any specific antennas that can be purchased through Tiger Direct, Walmart , HD or Lowes or other reatil outlets.

Has the one you are possibly using lived up to your expectations based on the manufacturers claims? I for one know that the ratings are probably exaggerated and with UHF, the ranges can vary just by way of where the antenna is located.

I cobbled together a 4 bay bowtie antenna from vaious materials I had at home and the antenna works very well considering it is in my attic and is more than 60 miles from the transmitters. I live between Jacksonville and Orlando Antenna Farms and can receive about 14-18 channels from each if I turn the antenna either north or south.
I want to get an outdoor antenna to improve the reception but wanted to hear what your experiences were if you have purchased any of these. I am attaching a link to some of the units Walmart is selling and most are available from various sources.
Real world reports from the members here is more credible to me than the reviews given for each antenna. I have even asked neighbors who have outdoor antennas what the results are like and cannot really get a straight answer from them.

Thanks for your input.

Robot or human?

 

[danemodsandy]

I Have....

....A basic, current-model "rabbit ear" antenna from Mall Wart.

Since I'm in an urban area, it does just fine - far better than local cable and satellite providers, in fact. The compression used by those providers is painfully apparent on "niche" channels like MeTV; on a large-screen TV, the picture looks like a lower-res YouTube video.

I get crystal-clear reception without compression artifacts. That's right, cable fans - a better picture than you're getting - for free.

 

[wayupnorth]

I have an old roof mount antenna for locals that has been there at least 30 years. It worked fine for old tv, but the new digital mostly works good unless its windy and stormy. Cant get it on satellite as the package I signed up for in 1999 did not have locals available then, upgrade, less channels, more money, I dont think so.

 

[a440]

ClearStream™ 4 Ultra Long Range UHF TV Antenna

I have had this Antenna for a few years now. I live in Atlanta near the busy airport. I catch over 148 Channels. I am able to receive channels in Tennessee, Alabama, on a good day Louisiana.
I do not have it on a pole. I just put against the wall outside where the pay cable came into the home. I hooked up the pay cable 'cord' to the antenna so that it would run to all of the service outlets in each room of the house. I keep saying that I am going to put it on a pole that will be above the house. I haven't because there seems no reason to. Perhaps I would catch more channels. Everything that I watch comes in crystal clear so I have not seen a reason to put it on a pole.
When I bought the one I own I bought it as Sam's Club for $99. Online was running about $200 at the time.

http://https//www.antennasdirect.com/store/ClearStream-4-Ultra-Long-Range-Outdoor-DTV-Antenna.html

 

[beekeyknee]

winegard dot com, channelmaster dot com, antennasdirect dot com, antennadeals dot com, antennaweb dot org/address dot aspx plug in your information hit submit. Boom, there you go. You can get multi-element antennas for different directions and amplifiers for signal strength if you're trying to receive a fringe signal. Don't just rely on retail. Internet good friend!

 

[whirlcool]

We've used Winegard antennas since the 1960's with excellent performance. We have a large Winegard that needs to be roof mounted, just haven't gotten around to it yet.
In the meantime, we are using a Winegard powered "flat" antenna. We are 50 miles from the antenna farm and get excellent results.

 

[firedome]

We've never had cable so...

have always used over the air to watch, pretty exclusively, the 3 local PBS channels, since I don't suffer the ubiquitous and idiotic advertisements of commercial TV gladly. Digital has been far more frustrating to receive than analog, both here in NY and in VT, though we aren't all that far from transmitters, it may be goegraphy. We had a Rat Shack circle element type w/ amplification when digital first came out, that worked fairly well but died. It was replaced with a rectangular "monolith" slab looking RCA that is really and truly horrible, not recommended! So we are looking for something better, and will try some of those mentioned above.

 

[kb0nes]

Steve,

First off do whatever you can to avoid people selling "HDTV/Digital" antennas at exorbitant prices. The RF has no idea if the modulation is digital or analog and it doesn't matter, as long as the antenna covers the channels in question it will work the same. This is one of those situations of the unscrupulous taking advantage of people that don't know better. HDMI cables suffered from this when they were new.

Find a site like www.antennaweb.com and go look at your local channel layout. You can search on your address there and see what channels you can receive and a guesstimate of how strong the signals should be. Most of the current HDTV signals are broadcast on the UHF band, old channels 14 and higher. Many markets also have HDTV signals on the upper VHF channels, say 9-13. It pays to look at your area when you choose an antenna. If you have VHF programming you should get an antenna that covers the upper end of VHF.

In your location you may be best served with a directional antenna to cover the two distant metro areas but then you would need a small rotor to spin the antenna. You could likely just choose a small antenna and throw it out there and see how it does. If you need to point different directions, a rotor could be added later.

Where I'm at just south of Minneapolis I'm about 25 miles from our primary TV transmitter farm. I have a small outdoor VHF/UHF antenna and I get every channel in the area perfectly. I experimented with marginal antennas years ago and I was able to receive every HD channel but one perfectly with a 9" piece of wire stuck into the 'F' connector on my TV! That was before a few channels shifted back down to VHF High which probably wouldn't work too well (antenna too short).

All in all my experience with ATSC digital broadcasting has shown it to be pretty robust compared to analog that preceded it. As long as you have a passable signal you have a perfect picture. Your home brewed antenna likely proves that to you. Indoor or in attic antennas can be more problematic with UHF since attenuation due to building materials is much higher.

 

[rp2813]

Agreed.  The mumbo jumbo about needing a digital antenna is total BS.  I'm using '60s vintage equipment on the roof -- with deteriorated leads -- and getting a clear signal from 45 miles north.  On another TV I'm using plain old rabbit ears along with a "bowtie" for UHF and am getting almost all those same channels.

 

Every channel comes through clearer than it did on analog with a giant rooftop fringe area antenna.

 

The nice thing about digital is that you're never going to get snow or ghosts.  It's either perfect or it's pixelated/not there.

 

[wiskybill]

I have this antenna

mounted on my house. It's actually intended for use on an RV, but it comes
with mounting hardware for a pole.

I live in NE Ohio and am about 60 miles south of Cleveland and about the same distance west of Youngstown. A buddy of mine bought it for his RV and never used it and gave it to me. So, I decided to try it out on the house. I have it pointed mostly to the north towards Cleveland. It receives all the available channels including the Youngstown stations to the east. Considering the terrain of NE Ohio, and the fact that the mounted position is far from ideal, I was surprised at how well it worked.

The NIB antenna I just bought over the weekend at the RV show in Cleveland and it's
going on my camper in the spring. $35 show price from GeneralRV. The Winegard Sensar that's on my camper now died last summer, so this is the replacement. This
is a powered antenna and has a 12VDC power pack.

 

[davey7]

I just have a regular RCA or something rabbit ear set on top of my tv and crystal clear reception except during storms. My immediate upstairs neighbors can't get a picture to save their lives with a fancy digital antenna! ha!

 

[kb0nes]

One comment I forgot to add in my post above. Try to avoid buying any antenna that has an internal preamplifier or internal electronics.

In the vast majority of cases electronics like these aren't necessary and are more likely to cause harm then good. The only case a preamplifier may help is if you need to keep the physical size of the antenna at a bare minimum. Good antenna receiving performance comes from sizable metal conductors in the air, not tiny silicon chips. Having tons of amplifier gain in the antenna opens the door for nearby signals to swamp the amp and destroy performance.

The RV antenna that Bill posted is an example of this. On an RV (or if you are stuck with an indoor antenna) you may need a preamp to keep the antenna physically small. My hunch is that your outdoor installation could easily accommodate a small conventional TV antenna with a UHF corner reflector.

 

[stevet]

Home made Antenna

I just wanted to post some pics of the antenna I put together from scraps in the garage.
It is in my attic and I am getting just about all the Jacksonville stations with this antenna inside!

It is not as exotic as a Grey-Hoverman antenna which has even better gain but it serves the purpose for now. I am still planning on getting an outdoor unit and possibly a rotor so I can get the Orlando stations since I am equidistant from both antenna farms.
The first one is the full 4 bay shot and the 2nd is just a closer look at how simple this antenna is.

 

[a440]

Steve,
That is a great antenna that you made!
You may be disappointed if you buy an antenna an put it in the same place as yours that you don't catch any further channels.
Have you a place that you could put your home built antenna outside of the home? I bet you would get a further range.
B

 

[kb0nes]

Steve, I LOVE the home made 4 bay bowtie array!! It is amazing at what one can build that will work as well (or better) then a commercial antenna.

It was in the late 80's that I built my first CB antenna for a buddy. That started a love for playing with antennas and RF, both transmitting and receiving. I've experimented with antennas from 190Khz to 10Ghz it is all fun. Typical TV and FM antennas are comparatively simple since the transmit signals tend to be pretty strong.

 

[rp2813]

Foil

Back in the analog days, we used to stay at a beyond-rustic beach cabin owned by our friend's neighbor.  It had B&W portable set from +/- 1970 and the built in rabbit ears were the only antenna option.  The TV would only pick up a few stations out of Salinas/Monterey, and a couple out of San Jose that were barely watchable.

 

Having seen it done but never having tried it myself, I wadded up some foil and pressed it onto the tips of each rabbit ear.  Damned if it didn't improve things!

 

[stevet]

Outdoor location is ready to go!

Brent, here is a pic of where my antenna, when I get it will be mounted. The window closest to the current dish is right where the tv is located in a built in under the window.
Ironically, the antenna has to face towards the North which is right up the rise in the roof. But I don't think it will attenuate the signal much. If I face it south, I will get the Orlando channels. I already tried it with the antenna at ground level and it worked.
Just have to decide on what to get. I really like the dual 4 bay bow tie antenna that can be mounted in such a way as to receive signals from 2 different directions.
But we really only need it to get the Jax stations as that is where my wife drives my son to school every day and we would like to see the weather and traffic reports for the morning drive.

 

[a440]

Steve that looks like a great location.

I am sure that you have been searching around on the internet for information. This is an interesting website that will tell you where the channels are being broadcast from in your area (direction) and the best position of the antenna for your area. I have seen a few sites such as this. Perhaps someone has mentioned them in above post.
B

Antennas Direct | TV Transmitter Locator and Mapping Tool

Find your nearest digital TV transmitter with Antennas Direct's mapping tool. It's a quick and easy way to find digital television transmitters (DTVs) nearest to your location.

www.antennapoint.com

 

[sudsmaster]

When I got this home 17 years ago, there were two rooftop antennas. They gave fairly good reception with the SF TV tower about 30 miles northwest of here, as well as another tower slightly to the south. In fact the picture quality was generally better than I was getting with Comcast cable. So I dropped the cable. I was even able to aim one antenna towards San Jose and get channels there, which was handy when the local NBC affiliate moved from SF to SJ. I put in a switch box in the middle of the house, with leads coming in from both antennas, and splitters that would allow the switch to choose one, or the other, or mix both signals. From there it goes to an amplifier with four outputs, which are distributed to various rooms around the house.

 

Eventually the one I had pointed to SJ fell apart. It was at least 30 years old. By that time broadcast digital had taken over, so I got an Antennas Direct Clearstream II HDTV antenna to replace it. It works well enough for ATSC reception. I still use the standard rooftop antenna to enhance signals from some ATSC channels that use VHF band to transmit (channels 7 and 11, I think). And, also, for FM signals, although at present I don't have it hooked up to a radio.

 

For another small TV I had set up in the patio, I just used a set of rabbit ears... and that worked almost as well as the rooftop antennas, once I got it placed properly.

 

I also experimented making my own antennas, using wood and PVC tubing and copper pipe. These also worked, but were a bit ugly, LOL.

 

The remaining rooftop standard antenna looks like quite an antique. It's probably older than the one that fell apart, but was made with less plastic and hence has lasted longer. If and when it goes I'll probably get another standard antenna in its place.

 

Most channels from SF/San Bruno come in loud and clear. There can be some dropouts when the weather gets really dicey, but that doesn't happen too much.

 

For cable shows... I have found various websites where I can watch all sorts of such content for free, and that works well enough for me.