tv antenna

[Happy Gilmore]

You have over 20dbm better signals than at my location.. that -22dbm one might light an LED if you put an antenna on it Just kidding, but that is a pretty strong signal. That is almost 1/100 of a milliwatt into a reference antenna.

James, out of that list, I get the top three in green and three others for a total of six. I'm wondering if a better antenna would do much. I was looking at the Antennas Direct - ClearStream 2V Long-Range HDTV Antenna at Best Buy for $100.

 

[buickanddeere]

A "Digital Antenna" usually refers to a compact but high gain Yagi tuned for channels 7 though 51. The old analog signals from 52 and above are gone which shortens the boom length. The very wide Ch 2 through 6 elements are eliminated to reduce interference from analog FM radio broadcast .

 

[Duwop]

Randy41, I live in the same area as you. I have never paid for cable I am currently get NBC,abc,cbs,fox,cw,ion and pbs about 16 channels because all of the networks have 2-3 sub-channels.

There is a website for the Roanoke area that tells where the towers are, Blacksburg, Smith Mtn point an antenna in that general direction
I have a home with a metal roof and my antenna is mounted to a chimney above roof. I also am located in a hollow but I get great reception. There really is more to life than sitting in front of the tv. My children gave me grief about the tv but I told them the money I save by not having cable paid for all the trips and vacations. Life is about having experiences cut the cable cord and get to living.

 

[caps]

A "Digital Antenna" usually refers to a compact but high gain Yagi tuned for channels 7 though 51. The old analog signals from 52 and above are gone which shortens the boom length. The very wide Ch 2 through 6 elements are eliminated to reduce interference from analog FM radio broadcast .

That may be the convention but when you go into a store, often the mis-informed clerks will try to convince people that they need a digital antenna to receive digital signals. This is 100% wrong. Most of the "Digital" antennas on the market are not yagi antennas and consist of one or two non-resonate elements with high gain amplifiers. The elements themselves, because they are compact often have little or no gain in and of themselves. The gain comes from the amplifier.

 

[k0ua]

That may be the convention but when you go into a store, often the mis-informed clerks will try to convince people that they need a digital antenna to receive digital signals. This is 100% wrong. Most of the "Digital" antennas on the market are not yagi antennas and consist of one or two non-resonate elements with high gain amplifiers. The elements themselves, because they are compact often have little or no gain in and of themselves. The gain comes from the amplifier.

Even better is "digital coax"

 

[buickanddeere]

Better be R6 coax or most of the signal is absorbed before reaching the TV.

 

[caps]

Even better is "digital coax"

Ha! That is a good one. Bet radio shack will sell you some. Bet it will even have gold connectors. Guy in RS insisted thàt gold was a better conductor than copper until I made him look it up.

 

[MikePA]

We got a Mohu Sky antenna, mounted outside on the eaves of a 2nd floor dormer. Works great, pulling in about 20 channels including all major networks, PBS, and a bunch of others (including MeTV with oldies). Couldn't be happier. I think the farthest station broadcasts from about 45 mile away.

We, too, have a Mohu Sky but in our attic and pull in 20 channels which includes all the major broadcast ones, two of them 54 miles away.

 

[txdon]

Randy 41, I tried all sorts of antennas. I live 60 miles from Austin and have a metal roof. The only way to get the most channels was to get an outside antenna as large as you can (mine is 12' long) and point it toward the area with the most towers. I have perfect HDTV now, no satellite TV needed. For movies and old tv shows I got netflix on an Apple TV box so for about $8.00 a month + internet connect I'm set.

 

[jimpen]

For watching TV shows I missed online I use Couch Tuner TV Videos FREE:. But be careful of downloading any app from them. Some of it has malware. But it's free.

 

[randy41]

i went ahead and built the wire hanger antenna. it works very well for 2 channels, nbc and cbs. no reception of fox. i think placing it outside and higher will help.

 

[boggen]

try and do a "full re-scan" of all channels after hooking up a new antenna. it might tune itself, in better. rg6 is cable i am using between antenna and tv.

 

[MacLawn]

Oh me... Just make an antenna. Easy. I made one from some #12 copper wiring and old black plastic pipe I had - cost - free. Search here:

startpage.com

And type in homemade antenna. You'll find some good instructions. Mine picks up 10 digital channels - we don't have a choice - ALL broadcast has been digital for a few years.

 

[txdon]

I also could pick up all the digital channels on a small indoor antenna, but to pick up fox I needed the outside antenna.

 

[randy41]

anyone know why i can get fox at night but not during the day?

 

[sseelhoff]

anyone know why i can get fox at night but not during the day?

Foxes are nocturnal?

 

[ultrarunner]

Maybe the signal is stronger at night?

We had a radio station that was allowed full strength only certain hours...

 

[randy41]

this is my antenna.

 

[Daver1963]

anyone know why i can get fox at night but not during the day?

Foxes are nocturnal?

If that were the case he would get reception during the day because the Fox would be out at night.
Actually, depending on the frequency of the station and geography you may be getting it on a skip which happens in the cool of the night when the ionosphere comes down and it bounces right on top of your house. When the sun comes up the ionosphere goes up and the skip goes away.

 

[sseelhoff]

View attachment 388421

this is my antenna.

What's the reception range on something like that? I would like to try OTA rather than dish. If the range was good, I could make that and try it without cancelling service or sinking an investment in an antenna.