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.

 

[farmfun]

Here are a few tools that may help you locate local stations and antenna equipment.

Address

The Digital TV Transition: Reception Maps

An Ultimate TV Antenna Selector for US/Canadian States and Cities

 

[Pete Judd]

I have had the largest antenna I could buy on a tower with rotor as well, but when everything went digital, soon found that I could only get fox news, and a bunch of bible channels, and YES I have a digital ready TV.

No cable on our side of the valley, and the cost for the sat is just to high, but I have been able to get DSL, and now we watch over it. An older computer with a very upgraded vid card, HDMI straight to the big screen.

I set up a friends Android phone to act as a gateway between the 3G and his in home wireless, as he can get 3G at the home, but no cable or DSL. Unlimited 3G still costs him as much as the Sat. company, but has up and download and keeps him networked.

 

[sherpa]

As I stated, I have a new digital TV, the 3 educational channels are digital.
The antenna is fairly new and about 12 feet long mounted high above the roof.
I live in a mountain valley at 1800 feet with hills on both sides.
There is no cell service around here either.
Satellite may be our only option for TV?
sherpa

 

[MikeInEburg]

As I stated, I have a new digital TV, the 3 educational channels are digital.
The antenna is fairly new and about 12 feet long mounted high above the roof.
I live in a mountain valley at 1800 feet with hills on both sides.
There is no cell service around here either.
Satellite may be our only option for TV?
sherpa

Unless you can move the antenna to the top of the "hills on both sides", you're destined for satellite. There are some free satellite services - look up "free to air". Otherwise, give DirecTV a call and be happy.
Mike

 

[Larry Caldwell]

As I stated, I have a new digital TV, the 3 educational channels are digital.
The antenna is fairly new and about 12 feet long mounted high above the roof.
I live in a mountain valley at 1800 feet with hills on both sides.
There is no cell service around here either.
Satellite may be our only option for TV?
sherpa

UHF is pretty much line of sight, and thanks to the curvature of the Earth, 60 miles is about the limit even if the terrain is dead flat. VHF is slightly more forgiving, but even there 100 miles is about the limit. I once lived at Eola Crest in Oregon, and with Radio Shack's best antenna, mast mount amp and a rotator I could pick up VHF signals from Olympia to Medford, but that was from the top of the highest hill around. I also got an amazing number of FM stations. There are still a few digital stations broadcasting VHF, but half the VHF band was reassigned to emergency communication.

Where I live now is very similar to you. Not only do we not get television, we only get 3 radio stations and no cell service. The satellite is great, and Dish includes both Sirius radio and a bunch of CD channels. I have DSL, but it's too slow to stream video. Satellite is worth the money.

 

[dmccarty]

We subscribed to Amazon Prime and Netflicks a month or so back so we can stream to our TV. It has worked far better than I expected. We are at the end of the phone line and just at the limits of DSL service. We only get 1.5 MB and it can be problematic. Having said that the streaming is working and we have watched mostly streaming video instead of Directv.

I think we will pull the plug on Directv soon. My only concern at this point is the amount of content on Prime and Netflicks. We have been watching several different series but we have not figured out what we will do when we have watched the entire content. In the case of Cheers with a decade of shows it will take awhile I suppose.

If you have DSL, streaming could be a solution. We do not watch ANY network TV. We do watch PBS from time to time and for them we might have to put up an antennae.

Later,
Dan

 

[creekbend]

We rely on Direct TV because we live quite a distance from any TV towers. When severe weather occurs, we do lose our signal at times.

 

[JD 4520]

As I stated, I have a new digital TV, the 3 educational channels are digital.
The antenna is fairly new and about 12 feet long mounted high above the roof.
I live in a mountain valley at 1800 feet with hills on both sides.
There is no cell service around here either.
Satellite may be our only option for TV?
sherpa

I'm afraid that satellite is your best bet and probably only one. Check ou the options of both Directv and Dish.

 

[JD 4520]

We rely on Direct TV because we live quite a distance from any TV towers. When severe weather occurs, we do lose our signal at times.

You shouldn't loose Directv signal if you place your dish in a covered / shielded from the elements area or have access to it to sweep it off.

Merry Christmas.

 

[creekbend]

You shouldn't loose Directv signal if you place your dish in a covered / shielded from the elements area or have access to it to sweep it off.

Merry Christmas.

Thanks for the advice. The disk is located right next to our deck. When snow accumulation occurs, I do reach over with the broom and sweep it off. But when there is a heavy severe rain storm, we lose our signal quite often. The signal comes and goes at times and if the thunderstorm is really severe, we don't regain a signal or reception until the storm passes. Any possible suggestions would be appreciated. We have called the 1-800 number several times and they insist that this is the norm. Our Son has Downs and if the reception is delayed for extended periods, he gets despondent when he misses his shows.