OTA antenna at home

Snowman9000 wrote:
I hope the moderator will allow me to ask this here, because of the knowledge available.

You're in the right forum. :)

RoyB wrote:

My best results was using one of those 8-BAY Solid Signal Xtreme Signal HDB8X VHF/UHF Outdoor TV Antenna (HDB8X) antennas from SOLID SIGNALS $69 which has a small separate panel position changes for the two 4-BOWTIE panels. This allows peaking up on both HDTV location in Washington DC some 15 degrees apart without losing any performance.

After reading your post, I decided to check out Solid Signal and ended up purchasing the above antenna for myself. It was on a daily deal today for $24.99 - Solid Signal Xtreme Signal HDB4X 4 Bay Outdoor TV Antenna (HDB4X)

I only live about 3 miles from DC, but do on occasion have weak signals from indoor antennas. Was looking for an external solution. Don't think my neighbors will say anything as the mounting area is masked by cherry trees.

When you get to the house, look around the neighborhood and see what's in the air at the neighbors, that will get you an idea of how much and how high you may need to go. With the exception on CBS, TBN, and Mundo Fox, everything out of Sears and Hancock are UHF, so you may get away with a simple bow tie on the TV.

Dodge Guy lives in the area, and even though he and I whine at each other about other antennas (and he's wrong...), he certainly has a better feel for what to expect in the burbs. Maybe he'll see this and comment. I just build the transmitters..

First check your local covenants and restrictions and ordinances. Some places outdoor antennas are banned thanks to the effort of cable/sat TV companies.

All is not lost.

IF not banned then I would go with a mid-range Channel master.. Something advertising say a 50 mile range.. ON a roof mounted tripod with rotor
(Or if all the stations are in the same direction you can point it manually with aid and skip the rotor.

True story: When my parents were alive and living in Union City, MI,, in an area where televison reception is not supposed to happen.. I put up a 100' Tower with Channel Master's Biggest or 2nd biggest signal plucker.

I watched Channel 2 out of Detroit (Southfield) and some UHF stations out of South Bend Indiana as well as Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo/Battle Creek (All transmitting from Gun Lake) and Lansing/Jackson (Onedega) With rock solid signal.

You can plot the map distances.


IF.. You have a CC&R or Ordiance issue...

I had a boss once who mounted an antenna in the attic.. Using a rotor,, the roof only caused a slight degradation in performance (though when snow covered it might be worse) nothing visible from outside the house at all.
Of course this was in the analog days.

Umm, why aren't you using your Tailgater and a longer cord? Is it lingering Cord Hesitancy and/or Shyness? Because I've frequently run 150-ft of coax on my Tailgater with very good results.

I also have a Winegard Freevision OTA antenna, which is basically 1/4 of the 4-panel bowtie reflector shown above. My results have been good but not great, and when I experiemented with longer coax for my Tailgater I left the OTA at home for good.

Go to Walmart and buy one of the new flat indoor antennas that is marked for a range of 40 miles or higher. You will need the appropriate input for the TV you have. You should be able to get great HD reception.

Walmarts in my area sell the above-mentioned Mohu leaf.

When we cut the cord ten years ago, I initially used an amplified Radio Shack indoor antenna. It was so-so. Then I found a firm here in NC who made antennas for military applications had added a subsidiary to manufacture TV antennas: Mohu products

I switched to a Mohu Leaf just laying atop a bookcase and the difference was very noticeable. A couple of years later they came out with the Mohu Sky which I mounted in the attic. It was even better. I've been very pleased with my Mohu products. And they are actually designed and manufactured in the USA.

My BATWING RV antenna will pickup the two greater Washington DC NATL BROADCAST CLEAR TV channel groups in perfect style. This is some 50-miles PLUS North of us here in Northern Neck Virginia.

I have experimented with this same setup mounted up a PVC POLE just clearing the eve of the house on the north side and it performs even better. I have also played with the KING antenna and get same results. I do however like the BATWING over the KING antenna as I can tune in the two groups of the Washington DC HDTV transmitting antennas at the same time position setting which are located on the East and West side of town. The KINGS antenna requires re-positioning to get both groups of transmitters.

My best results was using one of those 8-BAY Solid Signal Xtreme Signal HDB8X VHF/UHF Outdoor TV Antenna (HDB8X) antennas from SOLID SIGNALS $69 which has a small separate panel position changes for the two 4-BOWTIE panels. This allows peaking up on both HDTV location in Washington DC some 15 degrees apart without losing any performance.

The even bigger thing is this is ALL FREE TO THE PUBLIC - FULL BLOWN HIGH DEF TV... We watch CBS channels almost all the time here - got to have my fill of all of my NCIS type shows...


All of these antennas I played with require 12VDC going up the RG Cable feed to power up a PRE-AMPLFIEIR mounted inside the BATWING WING and KING antenna and just below the 8-BAY antenna mounted on the antenna frame.

I am currently working a permanent location on my antenna pole that goes up above the North side of my house with several VHF/UHF antennas mounted on it. I have the perfect spot of about 48-inches below a horizontal bar and the peak of my roof. Once installed and both 4-bay panels properly pointed I won't have to touch this antenna again...

I was very impressed with the HDB8X 8-BAY BOW TIE panel antennas.

Roy Ken

We just bought a OTA from Wally World this week. Picks up 33 channels here in the Louisville KY area.
Paid $98 for it, it's supposed to pick up channels within a 65 mile radius so we plan on taking it with us next week when we go on our next trip.

OTA

Should work OK. Personally I would string a coax from my dish, either a portable ground antenna or my roof top to the TV inside the house.