Antenna for FM, UHF, VHF?

[dmccarty]

Hey Dan...This is the antenna I have. I can recommend it. Take a look...
Winegard Metrostar, omnidirectional TV antenna, Bi-Directional , Sensar TV antenna, small antennas that can be installed in attic or on roof top good for all digital and HDTV

Thanks Dave, I put that in my wishlist.

The current plan is to take one of my old antennas that came with my old TVs, hang it in the attic and see what happens. You link is timely because I have moved from the idea of getting a larger antenna, which would be directional, to using something smaller. The one station we want is not that far away so the omni directional antennas should work just fine for this one channel. I suspect other channel will be picked up just fine as well. We do want FM though. Our reception to the main radio station can be iffy so the antenna should help.

Now I just have to dig out our old antennas that came with the old TVs, put them in the attic and see what happens. I just have to find the time to get up early in the morning before the heat builds up.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

I'm about to ditch directtv too. Hate the programing, if you watch a show at noon or miss it, don't worry, it will be back on at 2 pm, 4 pm and 6 pm. Same shows on repeatedly on most all channels every day.

mark

Some of the show repeats are a good thing but some days it seems like you see the show on four or more times! Then the show will be on the next couple of days as well...

Later,
Dan

 

[Redbug]

I got tired of messing with rotors long ago. They always lock up and something more to go wrong...not to mention more wiring to worry about.

You can also get an adjustable amplifier if your antenna does not seem to pull in some stations, although the omni does come with one. The one below has more gain, if needed.
Antennas Direct | Micron Variable In Line Amplifier Kit

That's a darn good idea about putting it in the attic instead of outside. Now that's thinking inside the box!

Let us know how you do...

 

[CBW1999]

I have a UHF loop, super cheap dollar store antennae hanging in a second floor window. Does just as good, if not better than the one I may and it isn't amplified at all.

 

[tcreeley]

I have a metal roof, barely get one local channel. I don't want satellite. Will an antenna outside and above the metal roof work to get reception. Been a while since I could watch TV. I have the amplified signal rabbit ears- useless.

 

[Redbug]

TC...I am certainly not an expert, (am a ham, though), and some others will chime in...I hope...

Generally...the higher the antenna, the better the reception. Digital signals require better antenna reception than the analog TV signals of old. With digital, you either get the picture or you don't. Analog, you could still watch a program even though it was snowy.

I also think the antenna under the metal roof impedes performance. You need to have the antenna outside and preferably above the roof line. There's other factors, too. It also depends on where the TV station is located, the power output and the sensitivity, (or gain), of your antenna.

To boil it down...I would set your antenna up outside and experiment around with the height. Use a good quality of coax, like RG59 or RG6, since there is a lot more signal loss over distance with the cheaper thinner coax.

You can save a lot of money in the long run with free TV, (what the heck is that... all the kids ask), and dropping cable or dish. Maybe free TV, landline w/DSL and Netflicks streaming, instead?

 

[dmccarty]

I got tired of messing with rotors long ago. They always lock up and something more to go wrong...not to mention more wiring to worry about.

You can also get an adjustable amplifier if your antenna does not seem to pull in some stations, although the omni does come with one. The one below has more gain, if needed.
Antennas Direct | Micron Variable In Line Amplifier Kit

That's a darn good idea about putting it in the attic instead of outside. Now that's thinking inside the box!

Let us know how you do...

Rotors sound like a PITA. I can see the need for them but thankfully we don't have the need. We have a big splitter in a wiring box that has COAX going to each room in the house. I think that box has an amp but it has been awhile since I opened up the box to see. The Directv signal has not had a problem with the splitter. What I am going to do is hang an old loop antenna in the attic and replace the COAX to the Directv dish with the COAX going to the loop. Depending on how the works, I will go from there, but an omni directional antenna seems like it might be the best solution. This TBN conversation has moved me from a more directional antenna to an omni.

We have had multiple lightning strikes around the house with the last one being 16 months ago that took out a large Oak about 125 feet from the house. That oak shaded my wood splitting area and I was supposed to be splitting wood the day the bolt hit. The bolt hit out of a clear blue sky. There was a storm front 20-30 miles west of us and I had decided that I would not split wood because I would likely get rained out before I wanted to quit. I was talking on the cell phone and looking out the window when the flash of white happened followed by the bowel releasing boom! Bark blown from the tree almost hit the house.

Putting up a lightning rod, errr, antenna does not seem like a good idea. An outside antenna is even more problematic because we have large roof overhangs. I dont' want the antenna mounted on the roof so it would have to be held at the roof edge which is well away from the house wall. Furthermore the side of the house that would have the antenna would require a pole at least 20-24 feet to get to the peak of the roof, much less above the roof line.

Later,
Dan

 

[Redbug]

Dan...When we have storms, we unplug everything within reason. I have my main incoming TV line set up where it is accessable in the house, (and where I can get to it easily), and then down to my basement where the splitters go to each room. That way when we have storms, I undo that main antenna line inside, as well as unplug the amplifier electric plug near it. By unplugging the amplifier, coax from the antenna, and electric to the TV's themselves...it's all disconnected and that's about all you can do. I also have added more ground rods around the house for grounding, too. We have had stuff taken out in the past, but not since we started manually unplugging everything. A direct strike would take out the fridge, AC, etc, though.

Funny thing...I have a solar powered gate opener out front, (with battery), that has never had a problem. Go figure. Maybe because the chain link fence itself is grounded so well in the ground? That thing has been the Rock of Gibralter for at least 17 years.

 

[Aging TOO Fast]

Dan...When we have storms, we unplug everything within reason. I have my main incoming TV line set up where it is accessable in the house, (and where I can get to it easily), and then down to my basement where the splitters go to each room. That way when we have storms, I undo that main antenna line inside, as well as unplug the amplifier electric plug near it. By unplugging the amplifier, coax from the antenna, and electric to the TV's themselves...it's all disconnected and that's about all you can do. I also have added more ground rods around the house for grounding, too. We have had stuff taken out in the past, but not since we started manually unplugging everything. A direct strike would take out the fridge, AC, etc, though.

Funny thing...I have a solar powered gate opener out front, (with battery), that has never had a problem. Go figure. Maybe because the chain link fence itself is grounded so well in the ground? That thing has been the Rock of Gibralter for at least 17 years.

Two thoughts -

given the power of lightning maybe this would be ineffective but????????

One thing which I have not done yet, but planning to consider after doing some research on.... (we have some, but not alot of thunderstorms) grounding the removed coax lead.

I have diconnected the antenna lead coming into the house , IN THE HOUSE, and just let it hang in the past, have not been wild leaving it just hang.
I am thinking that when antenna is disconnected, I want to maybe connect the dangling end ( inside house) directly ( coax connectored) or indirectly (wire wrapped outside of coax close but not touching main coax core) to a ground of some sort, thereby try to control direction/ path of lightning to ground, if hits the antenna and follows into house.

I am NOT an electrician- but how have you added extra grounding rods? Have you added them TO the EXISTING power ground rods?, or place elsewhere at sub boxes or other spots??? in the electrical system of the house / shops ect.?
the point why I am asking Is, ( my understanding) you can cause issues if the ground rods are not
properly placed in a wiring system (if placed in/at multiple locations not at original grounding location of the system bad idea)

 

[OkieDave]

I had surprisingly good luck using a six-foot length of coax with one end stripped about 8". Yes, I'm serious--I cut the connector off and stripped the last 8" down to the center conductor (the copper, not the braid/foil), and attached the other end to the TV. Got about twenty channels with it, and I'm down in a bit of a valley.

 

[stingray1]

How to Make a Homemade TV Antenna | TV Antenna Plans

I've played around with a couple of these ideas. The most effective I have found is the single coat hanger model. I have about a 30 mile radius to the transmitters I get and don't have any problems. I have good line of sight from the first floor for the most part.

Home : DIY TV Antennas
This is my favorite site for simple and effective plans. Although my wife keeps wondering where her hangers go to

Another, more technical site:
www.freeantennas.com

has some interesting ideas for directional antennae for wireless access points. I know there is another thread somewhere talking about using wireless cameras on the farm and overcoming transmission limitations.

FWIW- about a year ago we did the same thing, dumped satellite and use Netflix and over the air. Don't regret it at all.

Thanks for the links.

 

[dmccarty]

Wow, I started this thread at the first of August....

I finally canceled Directv in December and bought the Winegard 2000 antenna, Amazon.com: Winegard MS-2000 HDTV Antenna with Cable: Electronics, which I installed yesterday.

I spent a good hour in Lowes finding a metal pipe to mount the antenna in the attic. The antenna has a plastic plug that screws into the bottom of the antenna housing. I took the plug and found a metal cap that would fit the plug and a pipe that would fit the cap. Course, when I got home the pipe would not fit the antenna. :confused3::laughing::laughing::laughing: So I went back to Plan A which was to just tie the danged antenna to the ridge beam by a rope. :thumbsup:

Using the rope was fast and easy. I could have installed the danged antenna quicker than shopping for the metal pipe.

So far so good with the antenna. The picture quality is very good though we are having spot outages this morning due to rain. The antenna I bought was an amplifier which was problematic. The stations we will watch the most is PBS and the transmitter is 10-15 miles away so using an amplifier was iffy. However, other channels we might watch needed the amplifier. Danged if we did and danged if we don't. :shocked: I bought the amplified antenna figuring if it caused a problem with the closest stations we wanted to watch I would just unplug it. The amped antenna is working just fine.

I also hooked up the antenna to the stereo. The sound seems much better than the small dipole we had hooked up but time will tell.

Our old Directv boxes were SD not HD though our main TV is a large 65 inch HD set. We get HD quality on DVD, BD and some streaming video we watch, but many shows we like are SD, so the old DirectV boxes really did not bother us. However, it is real nice seeing some of the programs on TV in HD. I don't watch football, or other sports for that matter, but when I was setting up the system yesterday there was a game on a channel. Danged if it did not look like we were in the stadium. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

We have one flat screen TV that does cannot handle the digital signal so a converter box will be here soon to hook up. Glad I put in a wiring closet for Cat 6 and coax. All I had to do is move around the wiring in the closet to rewire things.

Later,
Dan

 

[k0ua]

Way to go Dan, sounds like you got it under control. Nothing like have this neat and organized with the wiring closet.

James K0UA

 

[ray66v]

An amplifier on an antenna used to be a problem, if you had strong stations close like you do. It would usually result in lots of wavy lines, especially if the amplifier gain was set too high.

From what I have seen, this problem, as well as the old ghosting problem, goes away with digital television.

I was able to turn my amplifier all the way up, after I switched over from analog to digital, with no problem.

I have let Directv rob me since 1995. Someday, I may pull the plug too.

 

[Redbug]

Ray...Maybe antenna TV and Hulu? I have noticed that many people are going that way. The costs for cable/dish TV is too much to spend in my opinion. I think we are seeing the beginnings of a revolution. There are a lot of people dropping pay TV.

 

[dmccarty]

Ray...Maybe antenna TV and Hulu? I have noticed that many people are going that way. The costs for cable/dish TV is too much to spend in my opinion. I think we are seeing the beginnings of a revolution. There are a lot of people dropping pay TV.

An amplifier on an antenna used to be a problem, if you had strong stations close like you do. It would usually result in lots of wavy lines, especially if the amplifier gain was set too high.

From what I have seen, this problem, as well as the old ghosting problem, goes away with digital television.

I was able to turn my amplifier all the way up, after I switched over from analog to digital, with no problem.

I have let Directv rob me since 1995. Someday, I may pull the plug too.

The cost of Directv and the lack of decent shows has annoyed us for years. During the week, the only TV we were watching was kid shows and/or reruns of certain shows. Even that viewing was much reduced because of the kids homework and sports. Mostly it was the kids watching reruns of their shows when they had their homework done. There was seldom anything on that we would watch. We gave up on broadcast TV getting close to 10 years ago, we don't watch sports, and so much of today's shows is reality nonsense that we don't watch, yet we were paying almost $90 a month. We have talked for years about turning off Directv and finally got serious last summer. Even then I did not call up Directv until December because we were so busy.

One of the first things the Directv employee said was thanking me for being a loyal customer. <Insert Smirk> I knew they would try to keep us as a Customer but we had discussed what we thought Directv was worth to us. We figured $20-30 a month was what Directv was worth to us. As the Directv representative was reading the script to keep us, I told her that the programming had gotten worse and worse over the years. The channels we used to like were now showing reality TV shows that was not worth squat and we had to pay more and more for channels, like ESPN and MTV, that we do not even watch. I told her if she could not provide the same channels we get now for $20-30 a month we were canceling. She could lower the price by $20 a month which was the current offer for anyone who called. You would think a "loyal customer" for so many years could get a better price. <Insert Smirk>

She was supposed to keep the service on for all of December but the service stopped working in the middle of the month. :confused3: I had already paid for a full month so we will see if they send me a check. Yeah Right. The service cut off did not matter much since we were out of town for a week.

We are streaming quite a bit of content from Amazon and Netflix. It is really nice to pick your programs to watch when you want to watch. One of the reasons we waited so long to cancel Directv was because our DSL service was unreliable. We would have to reset the modem frequently, sometimes multiple times a day. A few months ago the provider did an upgrade and reliability has greatly improved. We only get 3 mbps but it works just fine. We generally are watching old TV shows made decades ago so HD is not an issue though we seem to get HD ok. I don't think HD is perfect at 3 mbps but it works.

We have told the kids for a very long time that at some point we were canceling Directv so they knew that day would happen. We told them we would buy a bunch of DVDs for them to watch and they got a bunch of shows to watch from Santa. For $90 a month we can buy quite a few of the shows they like to watch on DVDs...

I think it was 12/2011 when we started streaming video. We wanted to see how well it worked and if we would have the shows we liked to watch. Streaming has worked just fine and sure is cheaper. The only real complaint we have is that finding shows via the BlueRay player is a PITA. Trying to find programming via a remote works but is slow. Eventually I will get a new PC and we will move my desktop to the living room to help stream video. Oh, the other service that we have found surprising interesting to watch is YouTube. The only other issue we have is licensing with All Creatures Great and Small. Amazon had the license. I watched the series over the years but sometimes I would miss episodes. When it showed up on Amazon I started watching each and every episode from the start. I was in the fourth or fifth year when Amazon lost the license early in 2012. The first year is now available but not the other years. I figure eventually Amazon or Netflix will get the series and I will finally be able to watch the entire series. :laughing::laughing::laughing: If I have waited 20-30 years, I can wait another year or two. :shocked:

Later,
Dan

 

[ray66v]

6 of my 8 tv's just get antenna, (free), tv. There are lots of channels in my area. And I have to say, there is almost always something to watch.

I don't care about watching the latest movies. In fact, I don't watch may movies at all. That limits internet based programing.

I would miss my dual tuner DirecTivo DVR. I like being able to flip back and forth, between the two tuners, watching two shows at once, and avoiding the commercials. :thumbsup: It is only possible to use it for Directv, and I have a paid, lifetime subscription.

If Directv keeps playing hard ball, as in removing features from their standard definition service, (so far Nascar track pass, and the NASA channel), trying to force me to give them another $10 a month for Hi def, that could cause me to say, bye bye to them.

My main tv is a really nice 50 inch standard definition tv. I am perfectly happy with it. And, until it gives up the ghost, I am not going to pay for Hi definition service I can't use.

I am sure that Directv does intend to discontinue offering standard definition service in the future.

 

[dmccarty]

6 of my 8 tv's just get antenna, (free), tv. There are lots of channels in my area. And I have to say, there is almost always something to watch.

I don't care about watching the latest movies. In fact, I don't watch may movies at all. That limits internet based programing.

I would miss my dual tuner DirecTivo DVR. I like being able to flip back and forth, between the two tuners, watching two shows at once, and avoiding the commercials. :thumbsup: It is only possible to use it for Directv, and I have a paid, lifetime subscription.

If Directv keeps playing hard ball, as in removing features from their standard definition service, (so far Nascar track pass, and the NASA channel), trying to force me to give them another $10 a month for Hi def, that could cause me to say, bye bye to them.

My main tv is a really nice 50 inch standard definition tv. I am perfectly happy with it. And, until it gives up the ghost, I am not going to pay for Hi definition service I can't use.

I am sure that Directv does intend to discontinue offering standard definition service in the future.

We don't watch movies very much at all. When the wifey and I were dating we NEVER EVER went to a movie. Not one. We have only been see one movie together and that was to see one of the Harry Potter movies with the kids. I won't be gong back to a movie theater any time soon either. That was expensive, the sound was damaging loud and we did not have a pause button. :laughing:

We are streaming old TV shows like Leave it to Beaver, Andy Griffith, Cheers, which our youngest calls Beers, etc. We also watch documentaries and UK mysteries which used to be on Directv but are now mostly replaced by reality scat. We have not watched ABC, NBC, CBS, etc, in years though we have started to watch Big Bang Theory that is in reruns. I have not looked too much at Hulu but they are supposed to have current TV shows available. Since we don't watch those the shows now there is no need for us to stream them.

HD is very nice. We were very impressed when we moved up to a 35 inch CRT semi HD TV but when we bought the 65 inch full HD we were really blown away with the difference, especially with BlueRay. OTH, since we are watching so many older SD shows, the TV is not used to its best other than its size.

Later,
Dan

 

[ray66v]

We don't watch movies very much at all. When the wifey and I were dating we NEVER EVER went to a movie. Not one. We have only been see one movie together and that was to see one of the Harry Potter movies with the kids. I won't be gong back to a movie theater any time soon either. That was expensive, the sound was damaging loud and we did not have a pause button. :laughing:

We are streaming old TV shows like Leave it to Beaver, Andy Griffith, Cheers, which our youngest calls Beers, etc. We also watch documentaries and UK mysteries which used to be on Directv but are now mostly replaced by reality scat. We have not watched ABC, NBC, CBS, etc, in years though we have started to watch Big Bang Theory that is in reruns. I have not looked too much at Hulu but they are supposed to have current TV shows available. Since we don't watch those the shows now there is no need for us to stream them.

HD is very nice. We were very impressed when we moved up to a 35 inch CRT semi HD TV but when we bought the 65 inch full HD we were really blown away with the difference, especially with BlueRay. OTH, since we are watching so many older SD shows, the TV is not used to its best other than its size. Later, Dan

Thanks, glad to hear that there is enough, "other than movies" to watch.

My 50 inch was the last of the square standard definition tv's, and it really has a nice picture on it.

I do have 2 HD tv's in the house, so I know what I am missing.

To pay for a wide screen tv roughly as big as the 50 inch square one I have now, is not something I am looking forward too.

 

[Redbug]

Hmmmmm...Here's a few TV channels...on line...

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...N0VvOWVaRElSSmc&single=true&gid=0&output=html