Updated TV Antenna Thoughts

[Oldpath05]

I have been using a PCT MA2-4P amplifier for about 3 years with good results. $35 on Amazon.

Is this the one you have must go behind TV ehh?>> Amazon.com: PCT 1-PORT BI-DIRECTIONAL CABLE TV HDTV AMPLIFIER SIGNAL BOOSTER WITH PASSIVE RETURN PATH: Electronics

 

[KYErik]

I was living in Salem, IL and was able to pull in most channels out of St. Louis (75 miles away) using a large "traditional" 60 mile rated RCA antenna on a 7 foot pole and an RCA preamplifier with FM trap. Without the pre-amplifier, I could get no channels. Aiming the antenna properly was essential. I also tried a basic amplifier- but that made the signal worse. Some days the signal was better than others- but I got most of the stations 80% of the time. I was so far away that electrical interference was an issue. On many days, reception on some stations would suddenly get bad around 9am but then improve by 3-4pm- rain or shine. I guessed that shop between me and the radio station was running some equipment.

TVfool.com is a good website for seeing what type of antenna signals you can expect at your address. Despite the name, it is a reputable website.

 

[George2615]

I have 2 of these antennas with built in amplifier and rotor
HDTV Outdoor Amplified Antenna HD TV Rotor Remote 360 deg UHF/VHF/FM 150 Miles | eBay
One on my garage roof tripod about 30' off the ground. Picks up 36 HD digital channels from stations 70-90 miles away.

Bought a second one for my travel trailer. Mounted on to a removable mast pole on rear bumper. At 15' off the ground I get 26 channels. Works much better than the factory camper winguard bat wing antenna.

Check on TVfool as mentioned for OTA stations in your area.

 

[lakngulf]

I finally settled on the HD Stacker antenna with the Winegard LNA 200 preamplifier.
Had good email conversation with the guy who sells the HD Stacker and gave it a try.

Put it together today with a make shift arrangement

Worked like a charm

One of the suggestions made was to disconnect power to the amplifier to see if it was working. I was shocked. With it off I lost the picture I was viewing. Happy so far. Now to get it installed on a pre existing pole as high as possible.

 

[frugalangler]

One of the suggestions made was to disconnect power to the amplifier to see if it was working. I was shocked. With it off I lost the picture I was viewing. Happy so far. Now to get it installed on a pre existing pole as high as possible.

That isn't really a valid test, as the amplifier will not pass the signal thru when not powered, you'd need to remove it from inline to do that A/B test.

 

[lakngulf]

That isn't really a valid test, as the amplifier will not pass the signal thru when not powered, you'd need to remove it from inline to do that A/B test.

Shows how much I know. The stations I picked up are 40 - 60 miles away. I was able to get stations from North and South, with the antenna pointed north. Maybe the tractor FEL was a good conductor.

 

[cqaigy2]

Looks pretty good! Only thing i'd suggest is another tractor, in case you need to do a little work around the place. I had to try a number of locations for the antenna, before i found a spot that worked for the channels i wanted to receive. Your going to love how good the pictures look on the HD channels, nature and sports shows, look great. No compression on the OTA like there is on sat and cable.

 

[RalphVa]

Have tried several. None work very well or any better than rabbit ears. Use DirecTV to get local channels as the most reliable.

Ralph

 

[lakngulf]

Have tried several. None work very well or any better than rabbit ears. Use DirecTV to get local channels as the most reliable.

Ralph

There are websites where you enter your exact address and get an idea of what is available and strength. tvfool.com is one.
A very good one is DTV Reception Maps | Federal Communications Commission

I currently have the DirectTV local channels (Family Plan). I get more local channels with the antenna, clearer picture, and cost payback will be only six months.

 

[buickanddeere]

I have taken over my Mom's farm house and plan now to disconnect Direct TV and go with OTA antenna. Will be at the house for summer gardening and fall/winter hunting so TV programming needs have greatly reduced, after my Mom's passing in August. Some time back I posted a thread and was about to settle on a Winegard HD7698P or Channel Master CM-4228HD EXTREMEtenna 80.
I am about equa-distance between Montgomery and Birmingham channels, but the websites show Bham to be a bit better.

Now I go to Winegard website, run the address test and they recommend this:

Supposedly, it has some built in amplification and works great (according to several reviews).

Anybody have experience with this antenna? What do you think?

I put one of those little critters on the eve, about a foot above the peak of my Daughter's house in Sarnia. Surrounded by tall trees with heavy leaf cover. I wanted to install the top rated channel 7-51 Winegard HD7698P but she started to chirp about an " Ugly Antenna". I had my doubts that something that small and unobtrusive would work. Much to my surprise it does alright, in fact very good considering the low cost and small size.
The cable from the antenna to the TV is critical. The Amazon shipper slipped a cheapo RG-59 into the order instead of the RG-6 requested and paid for. After the daughter kinked the cable into a mess in a door frame ( don't ask ) I installed a RG-6 from Walmart. Picked up two more transmitters with the low loss cable.
Picks up everything from Detroit except FOX and CW plus the local stations. One of these days I'll extend the antenna 6 or 8ft higher into the air as an experiment. So far 9 transmitters received with a total of 25 channels.
She has high speed internet so most TV viewing is via a Kodi Box and a Fire Stick. Every now and again the Kodi crashes and they use the antenna. If they want local news, weather, sports etc they switch to antenna.
If you keep in mind that the Flat Wave is a modest antenna designed to received near and medium distance transmitters, it is an excellent unit.