Rural TV reception

[sherpa]

I like living away from the city but we have no TV reception.
We have a satellite dish but want to get rid of it if we can get some reception.
The only TV stations we can receive are 3 educational channels about 20 miles away.
We live about 100 miles from the city which has several good TV stations.
We cannot pull in these stations on our antenna.
I have a fairly new antenna, new TV and also attached a small booster, still no TV.
I hope someone knows some tricks to getting better reception?
What do you do to get a better TV signal?
sherpa

 

[murphy1244]

First hold your left index finger on your nose while standing on your right leg and hold your right arm straight north whilst singing Ole McDonald..
Works for me ...... Merry Christmas...:laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[techman]

You say you have an antenna, but the question is how big is it. For distance reception, longer is better. I pull in from about 60 miles with a 100" long antenna. Also with the new HD channels, most are on UHF frequencies. You should check what the actual broadcast (not the displayed channel) channel/frequency is and if all of the stations are UHF, consider getting a UHF antenna for distant reception. You say you have a booster, which I assume is an amplifier. The best amplifiers are antenna mount. The amp goes at the antenna, and a small power supply sits inside. Last is pointing. The longer the antenna, the more critical the aiming is.

At 100 miles you should be able to get good reception with the right equipment. It will cost you $100-$150 for the right antenna and amplifier, but it is a one time cost, and free TV thereafter.

I have purchased at: TV Antennas & Supplies -TV Antennas - Shop at SolidSignal.com - Page 1 and I am satisfied with prices and selections.

paul

 

[ultrarunner]

For many... Satellite is the only option.

We had neighbors in Washington that affixed their channel master antenna about 150' up one of the tallest fir trees with a rotor... they were the only ones that had over the air reception.

They did have reception issues when it got really windy.

 

[two_bit_score]

Assuming you are using a converter box or have a tv that accepts the digital signals about all I know to do is raise the antenna high enough you get a signal.

 

[Gary51]

Before we had satellite, we had a 60' tower with a rotating motor at the top. We could remotely turn the antenna in different directions and get stations from 60 to 90 miles away. They were pretty much in line of sight without any hills or trees in between. Signal wasn't great but it was watchable.

 

[JD 4520]

Almost all off-air programming has gone digital and therefore you will need a digital converter box for this purpose (unless you are certain that you have a digital reciever in your TV). You can pick one up from most any electronics store and cost $20-40. I have them and use them and they work great.

You may also need to make sure you have signal in the area so see if neighbors or anyone close can get the digital signal. Also you can call the networks in the city that you are referring to and ask to speak with their engineer. I am sure he will be happy to talk with you and help you get the right set up.

 

[PILOON]

Digital is always clear and sharp when you receive it but range is shorter than analog.
Analog gets snowier the further away you are but outreaches digital.

I have a 60 ft tower, good antenna and booster as well and new LCD TV.
When the US went digital I lost many channels due to distance.
Proof was there as during changeover while running analogue and digital in parallel
the differences were strongly apparent.

 

[Martian]

I've always had either cable or satellite at the house but when we first got our cabin we went about a year or two with a antenna that got one station and broadcasted infomercials 90% of the time - so we got satellite up there too. I've heard of some people getting just internet though and downloading everything through it - Hulu/Netflix and iTunes for all their tv, just an idea.

 

[two_bit_score]

Digital is always clear and sharp when you receive it but range is shorter than analog.
Analog gets snowier the further away you are but outreaches digital.

I have a 60 ft tower, good antenna and booster as well and new LCD TV.
When the US went digital I lost many channels due to distance.
Proof was there as during changeover while running analogue and digital in parallel
the differences were strongly apparent.

I do recall that when the digital switch took place we were told that the digital signal would be shorter in range than the previous analog signal.