Help with antenna selection

[bigvinnie]

Hi,
Totally new to OTA, appreciate everyone's knowledge and input.

Seems my location is not ideal for OTA, but my home sits on top of a hill with long unobstructed views to the north west, and decent views to the south west.

According to the report, NBC is outa the question in any direction, but ABC, CBS, and Fox might be the best bets. Looks like the L.A. stations at 90 miles are stronger than the san diego stations at 40 miles...?

Could I possibly also pick up the one strong PBS station when pointing my antenna at the L.A. stations....?? Here's the report... thanks very much.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d46aefbcd18a927

[teleview]

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Install a , Antenna Craft HBU55 or Winegard HD7698P antenna above the peak of the roof in such a manner that the roof and building are not , obstructing , impeding , blocking , reception in the directions of , North West and South South East.

Aim the antenna at about 310 magnetic compass direction.

Here is how to aim antenna , www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html

Use a Real and Actual magnetic compass to aim antenna.

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Install a Channel Master CM7778 preamp.

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For 1 Tv connected use No splitter.

For 2 Tv's connected use a , Holland Electronics , HFS-2D , 2 way splitter.

For 3 Tv's connected use a , Holland Electronics , HFS-3D , 3 way splitter.

Buy the HFS splitters at , www.solidsignal.com

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Here are some places to buy antennas and etc. .

www.solidsignal.com

www.amazon.com

www.antennacraft.net

www.channelmasterstore.com

www.winegarddirect.com

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[teleview]

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Here are some above the roof antenna mounts.

www.ronard.com/909911.html
Use the , ronard 911 , 5 foot tripod antenna mount.

www.ronard.com/Tripods%200703/4712.html
10 foot tripod antenna mount.

www.ronard.com/34424560.html
Use the ronard 4560 eave antenna mount.

www.ronard.com/ychim.html
Measure around the chimney and use a , ronard 2212 ronard 2218 , ronard 2224 .

Buy the ronard antenna mounts at , www.solidsignal.com , or buy from , www.ronard.com .

[teleview]

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The Tv/s Must Channel Scan for the , OTA=Over The Air , Digital Broadcast Tv stations/channels , often named the ~ DTV Channels ~ Antenna Channels ~ Air Channels ~ in the Tv Setup Menu because the Tv transmissions travel through the Air from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna.

Some digital tv's will Automatic channel scan for cable tv channels.

DO NOT channel scan for cable tv channels.

Go into the Tv Seup Menu and select ~ DTV Channels ~ Antenna Channels ~ Air Channels.

Scan for channels.

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As always , trees and tree leaves , plants and plant leaves , have a Negative Effect on Broadcast Tv Reception and so do buildings and other obstructions including your own roof and building.

Some and not all Negative Effects are

Absorbing , Blocking , Reception

Multi-Path Reflecting Tv signals bouncing all around.

The Best Pratice is to install the antenna at a location that has the least amount to no amount of obstructions of any type or kind in the directions of reception including your own roof and building.

[teleview]

1>2>3>4<3<2<1
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Can also Test reception of the , South South East group of Tv stations.

Aim the antenna at about 164 degree magnetic compass direction.

Scan for channels.

[GroundUrMast]

I'd opt for an Antennas Direct 91XG + Antennacraft Y10713 + RCA TVPRAMP1R preamplifier.

That gives you the freedom to optimize aim better than when both UHF and VHF functions are served by one antenna.

I'd try looking toward LA to see what is available and then test the reception from San Diego.

[bigvinnie]

Thanks very much for the help.... So far I have the Antennacraft Y10713 and necessary hardware and electronics to start testing both LA and SD for VHF reception. It's been quite cold and rainy lately, so I'll post an update once I've had a chance to set it up and do some testing.

If I decide to add the Antennas Direct 91XG for UHF, what's the recommended distance between the two if they're on the same mast...???

thanks again.

[GroundUrMast]

3' or more of separation is a good rule of thumb.

[bigvinnie]

Got the VHF antenna set up by first pointing to LA.... Did a channel scan hoping for the 2 strongest stations, and I actually got 10!... And the biggest surprise is that 2 of the stations are from the San Diego tower, which is more than 90 degrees off...

I'll be getting the 91XG and a mast extension so I can see about getting the San Diego UHF channels.... will post an update.

Thanks GroundUrMast for the input.

[bigvinnie]

I have had both antennas installed for a couple months now, and am happy to say that all is well with this setup. I get 41 channels....Next order of biz is to turn a laptop into a DVR so I can skip the commercials.

Have ordered a usb tuner stick and I already have Windows Media Center on a Win7 laptop with 2.2ghz dual core chip and 4gb of memory. Will see if that's enough machine to do the job.

I'll update with my results.

[teleview]

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Here are more ways to receive and record.

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Channel Master has receiver recorders , http://www.channelmasterstore.com

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And ePvision. http://www.epvision.com

[GroundUrMast]

I'm quite pleased with the performance of my SiliconDust tuners. http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=820

[bigvinnie]

Have been using my laptop with Media Center and an AverTV usb tuner stick, the DVR functionality works great and I've had no problems... was a breeze to set up and now I can skip past the commercials that were slowly sucking the life out of me...ha. Total hardware cost (antennas, mast, cable, amplifier, usb tuner stick, misc fasteners, etc.) was around $200...

Very pleased with the entire system and I want to thank everyone for their valuable assistance.

A friend who lives nearby was so impressed that he's gathering parts to duplicate my system at his place...