Outdoor Antenna's

oldrocker

Wanting to dump the satellite. Curious what you folks "if any" are using and how satisfied you are with what you are using.

Thanks
David

Msabot1

Heck yea...the only useI have for cable is for Internet....TV is great with antenna..I get about 40 stations here...some are duplicate from other areas...but have all the PBS station programming...that is all I care about anyway...and a number of retro stations that run all the old shows...little issue when heavy weather rolls through...but for free viewing..I'll put up with it...some broadcast 5.1....

jeremymarcinko

I use this one and I am very satisfied. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0026SSAOM/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=47135419008&hvpos=1t2&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3002763792483522658&hvpone=32.48&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_qdqh2fei1_b I also have used the RCA indoor antenna but the signal has had more dropouts. I would recommend finding the line of sight to your local tower, it helps when determining placement. Also I have found that the shorter the cable from the antenna to the TV the better off you are and splitters for other sets greatly diminish the signal as well. This may not be an issue with more expensive antennas though.

oldrocker

Thanks for the info. Appreciated!!

mhardy6647

For OTA TV? You cannot beat a Yagi. Since most TV now is on the legacy UHF channel frequencies, next best as far as I am concerned is a stacked (1 x 4 or phased 2 x 4) "bowtie" array with reflector.

Both, of course, are directional (the Yagi particularly so), so a rotor is an essential unless all of your local stations are in one direction from your reception site.

This looks like a pretty good choice to me:

source: http://www.starkelectronic.com/hdtv.htm

(I have no affiliation with Stark, but I've bought antennae and accessories from 'em and found them very good to deal with)

... and, of course, for an antenna, there's no substitute for altitude.

In the old days, there were some amazing UHF parabolic reflectors -- I think this would be the sine qua non, but I haven't seen any for sale in the modern era... heck, they were expensive even in the 1960s!

GospelTruth

Hey David -

First, if you haven't already, you should go to antennaweb.org and put in your address. There is a lot of great information on that site. You will be able to see where stations have their antennas and what direction you may have to point your antenna to get those stations. They also show what type of antenna you may require to get given stations.

Using that, I ended up doing a lot of research and settled on the RCA ANT751 Durable Compact Outdoor Antenna. I also purchased the RCA TVPRAMP1R Preamplifier for Outdoor Antenna Performance Enhancment. As background, I live in the outer suburbs in the greater Reno area. We have a lot of rolling foothills and valleys that block signals and cause all kinds of issues trying to get Over The Air (OTA) television signals. Together I get all the stations here in the greater Reno area with no issues using the combination mentioned. I did use AntennaWeb.org to find the right direction to point the antenna for best results though. I've made many recommendations for that antenna and everyone I've given this info to has been satisfied with the results. I get signals even though I'm behind foothills and can't see the station antennas directly. If you are in a more urban area, or city you may not need something like this. This antenna from RCA isn't that big either compared to some of the other antennas out there you can buy.

Mine is mounted on the edge of the roof where the Direct TV dish used to be.

Hope that helps.

Michael

Dabutcher

I would also go to Antenna web. I live 15 miles from the satellite tower. I got everything from my local Radio shack. Pole is attached to chimney with a band kit they sell and the actual antenna I do not have the part number but it was $25.00. RG6 RCA cable is what you need as the RG59 is half the thickness copper. If you need to aim at two towers? Get two of the $25.00 antennas. Good luck. D

oldrocker

Excellent advise all. Always appreciated..