TV Antenna ??

chopped · Mar 12, 2013

Hi there. I live in what I would call a fringe area for tv channels some come from the south and some from the southeat,In the past (before digital) I used a seperater antenna for UHF and also VHF (largest radio Shack had to offer, ) and also had a rotor.The weather made a difference as we all know.
We have gone to cable for the last 12 years and now dont watch as much TV so I plan to go without of whatever I can receive with this antenna.
150MILES Outdoor TV Antenna Motorized Amplified HDTV High Gain 36nu llU HFV | eBay
I have a few questions maybe someone can elaborate on for me or personal opinions oxperiences.
1.Am I wrong with thinking in this case bigger is better? These are quite a bit smaller but Im wondering with digital signal if its not an issue.?
2. Am I right in thinking that it will no longer be able to be a weak signal and somewhat snowy?Like it has to lock onto the signal and would either be a signal or not.?
3. These dont say how they would work with a dist. amp to run more than one tv.Although I did find one that said for 2 tvs. It apperently has two outlets to it.Im not sure if its just slitter internally or not.
4. My plan is if it gets a signal then i would split the signal to 4 tvs if possible.
5. For 28 to 50 dollars it might be worth a shot just to see..
Thanks for looking ..:thumbsup:

DKCDKC · Mar 12, 2013

An unusual antenna. I have a big flat HD UHF antenna I got from Crutchfield. It cost about $75 and is supposed to be the best for long range reception. I am 20 to 50 hilly miles from the stations I want to receive. I have it on a rotor to fine tune, and it does work pretty well. Static or weak signals on HD is not like the old snow. It's a pattern of small squares or a freezing of the image altogether. However the signals carry pretty well. During the recent heavy snow, my HD antenna gave me a weaker signal, but continued to work. My satellite dish shut down completely.

I have a digital amp on the signal and do split it to two TVs. Splitting does weaken the signal no matter what you do. The only way to find out if your ideas work is to try them. Putting 4 TVs on the antenna may be too much - depending on the length of line from the antenna to your TVs.

I'd check out online comments on the antenna before investing, just in case it's a no-go or genned up to just look weird.

One thing I like about Crutchfield is that I ordered my equipment, found the first antenna didn't do enough and they easily exchanged it for something more powerful. They will take anything back if it doesn't do what you want. They also have a lot of advice to offer.

KTurner · Mar 12, 2013

chopped said:
1.Am I wrong with thinking in this case bigger is better? These are quite a bit smaller but Im wondering with digital signal if its not an issue.?
2. Am I right in thinking that it will no longer be able to be a weak signal and somewhat snowy?Like it has to lock onto the signal and would either be a signal or not.?
3. These dont say how they would work with a dist. amp to run more than one tv.Although I did find one that said for 2 tvs. It apperently has two outlets to it.Im not sure if its just slitter internally or not.
4. My plan is if it gets a signal then i would split the signal to 4 tvs if possible.
5. For 28 to 50 dollars it might be worth a shot just to see..

With antennas, bigger is generally better, as long as the bigger one is designed as well as the smaller one. With digital, you get no snow. You either get a lock, or no signal, with occasionally a few messed up frames that make the video look like a bad youtube video. The transmissions are UHF. Any tricks you used for improving UHF reception before will apply here as well. Just use your old UHF antenna if you still have it.

Keith

dmccarty · Mar 12, 2013

I just went through this last year when I canceled Directv.

What directions are your stations and how far away are they?

In my case, the channels we most watch is 10-15 miles away. Other channels are in different directions and much farther away. We ended up buying a power(amplified) MS Winegard 2002., Amazon.com: Winegard MS-2002 HDTV Antenna without Cable: Electronics which is unidirectional.

The signal we get can be spotty and I swear the wind has something to do with it. The antenna is in the attic which is not the best location. Even with the spotty signal it is better than paying $100 for Directv.

Later,
Dan

Dr Dave · Mar 12, 2013

Good luck, Digital sucks, I tried 3 outdoor antennas and a rotor, and 2 indoor, the one that worked the best was a RCA indoor, that is flat, like a book.I even tried the outdoor antennas inside. Every time the wind blew, signal would decrease, and signal was good at night and up to mid morning, even with no wind. I think the sun decreases the signal also. At work we have a large outdor antenna, 50' high, works ok, no trees in the area. But train tracks 2 blocks away, loose all signal when a train comes by. I fought this for 1 year and gave up and went with Dish Network.
If you have no wind, no trees, no sun and no trees it works good.

Dave

buickanddeere · Mar 12, 2013

New antennas no longer have to be as long or as wide since channels 52-83 are gone. Also eliminating the widest elements for channels 2-6 reduces antenna size to 1/2 to 2/3 . Elements for 2-6 are not required for 2-6 reception. Removing 2-6 elements also reduce broadcast FM radio overload.
Purchase the highest gain channel 7-51 antenna you can find. Antenna mounted amp. Low loss rg-6 cable and silicon connections to keep the water out. Use a rotor.
You will pickup more tv signals than what you can watch.

KTurner · Mar 12, 2013

Looks like we have stories from... both ends of the SPECTRUM! Hah! I crack me up.

Keith

murphy1244 · Mar 12, 2013

KTurner said:
Looks like we have stories from... both ends of the SPECTRUM! Hah! I crack me up.

Keith

Me too.:laughing:

murphy1244 · Mar 12, 2013

buickanddeere said:
New antennas no longer have to be as long or as wide since channels 52-83 are gone. Also eliminating the widest elements for channels 2-6 reduces antenna size to 1/2 to 2/3 . Elements for 2-6 are not required for 2-6 reception. Removing 2-6 elements also reduce broadcast FM radio overload.
Purchase the highest gain channel 7-51 antenna you can find. Antenna mounted amp. Low loss rg-6 cable and silicon connections to keep the water out. Use a rotor.
You will pickup more tv signals than what you can watch.

What one should we get?

Alan L. · Mar 12, 2013

I paid to have a TV/antenna service to install my tower, rotor, antenna, and amplifier with guaranteed results, and it works great. The buzzards destroyed the first one after 5 years and it cost > $300 to have them climb up there and install a $200 antenna. They install alot, and know which antennas they won't have to come back and change out. The antenna I have is a channel master, the elements are not long at all and my TV stations are about 60-70 miles away on the other side if Dallas and I get every local channel just fine. Rarely I need to tweak with the rotor.