Mohu Sky
 

I am new to this forum and we are going to 'cut the cord'. I've read several different topics and nobody has mentioned the Mohu Sky (offered by Crutchfield)

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_792SKY/Mohu-Sky.html

Some of the models mentioned in other threads are discontinued.
Any help would be appreciated.

I am here:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...5b94f1a152443d

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--->Many<--->Digital Broadcast Tv Stations/Channels will be received.

Above the Peak of the Roof install a , www.antennacraft.net , HBU11K antenna aimed at about , 93 degree magnetic compass direction.

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

Use a Real and Actual magnetic compass to aim antenna.

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A antenna system amplifier is not required.

For 1 Tv connected use No splitter.

For , 2 , 3 , 4 , Tv's connected use simple common splitters.

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As to Mohu , I have been aware of Mohu since it first appeared.

I have researched Mohu.

I never recommend Mohu.

As to Crutchfield , I am aware of Crutchfield since Crutchfield appereared

Echoing televiews' assessment of the Mohu, I honestly believe the HBU-11 provides greater performance than the M-sky which appears to be nothing more than a dipole enclosed in a plastic housing. The addition of an amplifier adds nothing to the basic antenna performance. If you have a long cable run, an amplifier could be added, as a means to overcoming the loss in the long cable run, but again, an amplifier does not 'pull' signal from the antenna or air.

Given the presence of KJWP, real CH-2, I'd suggest you also consider using an Antennacraft C490 or HD1200.

Wow!! Thanks for the help!! I only recently found this website. Very cool!!

Just looked at the above suggestions. As you can tell I'm new at this. Going to take a little to digest the info. 93 degrees is toward Philly, but what about the stations west and south? I do have a tree north and south, so east/west is relatively clear.
Too far?
Do I get a motor to rotate?
Maybe 2nd antenna? If so how far apart do they need to be? or above/below each other?
What would be a 'long' cable run? to need an amp. There is a junction block in the basement currently used by cable. Once the cable is gone, could I use that?

Alot of questions...sorry. Thanks for all your help.

I would start out by following teleview's advise. Pointing it at 93 degrees.
You may wind up getting the western stations off the back of the antenna with sufficiant strength.

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Here are some Above The Peak Of The Roof antenna mounts for the larger antennas , C490 and HD1200.

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

www.ronard.com/ychim.html
Measure around the chimney and use a , ronard(2212) , ronard(2218) , ronard(2225) .

Buy the ronard antenna mounts at , www.ronard.com , or , www.amazon.com .

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Tv stations to the , East and West and other directions will be received.

No antenna rotator is required.

Tv antenna rotation is Real Close to Zero Fun , must wait for antenna to rotate and their Will Be Domestic Situations about the direction the antenna is aimed.

The coaxes that are that are in and on the building can be used for the antenna system.

If you will have any type or kind of of active cable delivers service , cable Tv service , cable deliverd Internet service , cable deliverd phone service , the cable delivered services Must Not be connected to the coaxes that are used for the antenna system.

Any type or kind of cable service Must Be on a Separate Coax.


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The Tv/s Must Channel Scan for the , OTA=Over The Air , ATSC-Digital Broadcat Tv Channels , often named the ~ Antenna Channels ~ DTV Channels ~ ATSC 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 Setup Menu and select ~ Antenna Channels ~ DTV Channels , ATSC Channels ~ Air Channels~.

Channel scan for the ~ ATSC Digital Broadcast Tv Channels.

Thanks. I probably will start with one. Access to my roof is a bit precarious, so it's something I only want to do once if I can help it.

Thanks for everyones input.
I like the Ronard 911 mount.
The cable guy is sucking me dry, so once I cut the cord it will all the way. Keeping internet only, and I got wifi and ethernet for that. So no worries about interference.

Teleview, I know you suggested the HBU11K, but the gear-head inside me says 'bigger is always better', so I am kinda liking the HD1200 or HD1850.

You'll find the larger antennas are more directional, which is how they produce gain. Given that most if not all the major networks are all in a common direction, that's not a problem.

The added gain means you'll not need any sort of amplifier to drive four or possibly more TV tuners.

That's something else I didn't know. So you're saying the the gain to the rear of the antenna may reach farther with a medium antenna?

Maybe, maybe not...

When perusing an antenna spec sheet, one would hope to find a specification for forward gain, front-to-back ratio, half-power beam-width, SWR and a polar plot. In a perfect world, you would get to see these specs for each of the channels that you're interested in... (In the consumer grade antenna world, not all of these specs are provided.)

How well an antenna receives from the rear can be estimated by subtracting the front-to-back ratio from the forward gain.

Example: An antenna with a forward gain of 10 dBd and a F/B of 15 dB would be expected to have a net gain of -5 dBd to the rear. In a case where there is a moderate to strong signal from the rear, this small amount of attenuation would not be enough to prevent reception by itself.

You'll find that most directional antennas will have some useful reception capability to the rear.

In your case, real CH-8 & CH-47 are certainly strong enough to expect good reception even when the antenna is pointed in the opposite direction.

So, that means a negative sum would 'inhibit' reception to the rear. yes?
HD1200 VHF low band gain is 5.1 and ratio is 16.5 so that is-11.4
HD1800 is 6.2 and 20.2 that nets -14

Therefore the HD1200 could have less 'resistance' to a signal from the rear.
Did I interpret that correctly? (I think I need to go back to physics class).

you've got it...

The next thing to consider is the signal strength in the air... Suppose you have a signal with a noise margin of +40 dB and an HD1200... Add the antenna gain and you would normally expect the net NM to increase (presuming the antenna provided some gain) however, from the rear it would work out like this, +40 dB + (-11.4 dBd) = 28.6 dB net NM ---- Which would still be plenty of signal power, presuming there are not sources of interference to contend with.

From what I see on your report, I expect you will have no problem receiving real CH-8 & CH-47 with an HD1200 or HD1800 pointed in the opposite direction. (Presuming there are no significant issues with interference.)

So, looking at the individual station's NM and adding the net dBd to the rear of the antenna, would give a reasonable idea of which ones I might be able to receive. In theory of course.

Yes. My preference when selecting an antenna is to achieve a net NM at the tuner of +10 dB... More is better, it gives you fade margin and tolerance against interference.

Thanks for all your help!! Now the spec sheet is a little less overwhelming.

I have a 12/12 pitch on my roof, but I think I can use a tripod style mount similar to the Ronard. I am also on the east side of a hill, but with a 6-7' mast, I should be able to clear most it (westbound). And I found an Antennacraft dealer in my area.

One more question, amp or no amp? We have 5 TV's in the house all are LCD, 4 are HDTV. Also where do I put the amp? I assume as close to the antenna as I can get.

Hopefully by the time I purchase all the equipment I need, the temperature will be out of the single digits.

I tell ya, there's nothing like good solid information vs some slick marketing!

What do you want to watch on TV? If you just want the Philadelphia stations, or just want the York/Harrisburg stations what you will want is different than if you are a massive football fan.

If you want to watch or have the option to watch as many football games as possible, you have the potential to get the Philadelphia, Baltimore and York/Harrisburg CBS/FOX stations. (Minimum of two or three antennas required with a selector switch)

If you just want to get a CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, CW, Ion, MyN, and PBS station, point an all band antenna at Philly; some of the York/Harrisburg stations would probably come in off the back. All the big 5 networks are affiliated in Philly, so what KJWP (VHF 2) will end up carrying is uncertain, but since ABC is on WPVI (VHF 6), a VHF low antenna is needed. If I lived where you are, I would look at an Antennacraft CCS1843. It offers enough gain that you would not need a preamp even to drive multiple TV’s.

Don't do sports. Got better things to do.
As was mentioned previously...and other threads as well. An Amplifier doesn't make for a better antenna, only pushes the signal down the coax further (as I understand it anyway).

Anyway, I need to understand how things work before I do them. Besides, if you saw my house, you would only want to go up there once too. I really needed to know if I had to put a rotor up there. And thanks to GroundUrMast, I think I got my answer.

MoHu Sky - brief review
 

I'm trying to be polite. Help me be a good boy and not use short words ;)
We cut the cable and starting to work with OTA. Being a newbie and waiting for my account to validate here I had already ordered the MoHo Sky. While waiting for that I thought "what the heck" and try connecting to the 40 year old rooftop antenna. Well, using that ancient antenna and equally ancient busied coax I was able to get between 88% and 99% signal meter strength for the stations I cared about most. Doh.
The MoHo arrive and like a good boy I tested it indoors...worked than move it to the rooftop and using new coax to the set it gave 33% to a max of 60% signal meter strength no matter how I aimed it (from same rooftop location as the old antenna which sits a good 10 feet above my roof peak).
Well this thing is going back to where it came from. Color me not impressed.
Now I'm going to purchase whatever you guys say such as the basic Radio Shack antennas, new coax and be happy. Sheesh.
I'll post my location analysis in the appropriate place soon.
Thanks.