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-   -   Recommendations for antenna and placement (http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=12971)

rackit7 18-Jan-2013 9:52 AM

Recommendations for antenna and placement
 
I am looking for an antenna and placement recommendations. My primary goal is to get CBS, ABC, FOX, NBC, PBS from New York. If possible WPIX and WOR would be desirable. If I can getting any of the CT CBS, ABC, NBC, or FOX would also be desirable.

I would have 2 TV's - one plasma with HDMI input and no tuner; one HDTV w(not sure if it supports a digital tuner - Sony 40" HD Wega with Component Video inputs).

I ran the scan at 25ft but could probably get to 35ft with a gable end or roof mount. I would like to be able to try an antenna to see what the reception looks like without mounting it on the roof which is why I put in 25ft.

I received a preliminary recommendation of a Clearstream C4 and a C5 mounted on the roof but I wasn't sure if this was overkill?

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...1dda49a6807af0

Thanks for your help!

Dinesh 18-Jan-2013 11:22 AM

If you want both CT & NY channels, you want antenna which can get both front as well as back or have 2 antenna. In that case, Winegard 7698P on the roof pointed at 90 degrees magnetic might be a better option.

However, if you are content with just NY channels, C4 & C5 might be an overkill. Get a C2V pointed at 180 degrees magnetic. I personally am in CT and use C2V to get CT ABC, NBC, CBS & FOX channels.

Dinesh.

rackit7 18-Jan-2013 1:54 PM

Dinesh

Thanks for your comments. I looked at your thread. Are you getting both CT and NY stations with the CV2?
Thanks.

Dinesh 18-Jan-2013 2:20 PM

Unfortunately (in my case), I was getting WCBS which interfered with WFSB (cochannel warning). And I am in Middlebury which is well north of Westport. You should easily get NY channels as you are only 40 miles away and CV2 has a range of 50+ miles. I was even surprised that it was able to pick up 70 miles away.

As I mentioned before, if you want both CT & NY, CV2 may not be a good option.

Regards,
Dinesh.

Dinesh 18-Jan-2013 2:39 PM

Another inconvenient option would be to have a rotor. You will get both CT & NY, getting both at the same time would be your challenge with CV2.

Stereocraig 18-Jan-2013 4:41 PM

A rotor will only work, if your tuner allows you to ADD channels.

Some tuners will only allow a complete scan, which can erase the channels detected on the first scan.

Same thing if you use an A/B switch.

You would need to combine two antennae, pointed accordingly, if a complete scan is the only scan option.

ADTech 18-Jan-2013 5:00 PM

Quote:

C4 & C5 might be an overkill
Not at all. That pair is roughly equivalent in performance to a traditional U/V 7-51 combo antenna around 8-10 feet in length (7.5 dBi on VHF, 12 dBi on UHF).

Quote:

Winegard 7698P on the roof pointed at 90 degrees magnetic might be a better option.
The 7698 is king of the hill when it comes to 7-51 combo antennas. It's 14' long and is very, very directional. Pointing it due east won't get much in the way of reception since not much is in that direction.

Selecting a combo versus separates is a lot like picking between a two story house and a ranch house. Each can be 2000 square feet, but one takes twice the amount of ground. With separates, you can also customize reception for each band should it be needed.

Quote:

A rotor will only work, if your tuner allows you to ADD channels.
That's absolutely correct. Same thing if using a two-antenna system with an A-B switch. The set manufacturers that use tuners that force a rescan should be avoided by rotor users. Unfortunately, you really don't know what you have until you get the set home and start exploring the menus.

Your tuner-less set is going to need an external tuner of some kind. For the Sony Wega, you'll need to check to see if has the ATSC/8VSB digital tuner. If you bought it after early 2007, it should be so equipped.

rackit7 18-Jan-2013 7:10 PM

Thanks. Very good information. A few questions:

Quote:

Pointing it due east won't get much in the way of reception since not much is in that direction
I am not sure why this would be pointed east, but I am new at this. Why wouldn't the antenna be pointed SW directly at the stations in NYC?

If I wanted to get the station to the NE (CT) AND SW (NY) would I be able to do it with the Winegard 7698P? I am thinking no; I would have to go with either a rotor or 2 antennas? Is that correct?

Quote:

from Teleview on other posts - Remove the Reflector Screen from the CS2V antenna so the antenna will receive 2 directions , at the front of the antenna and the back of the antenna.
Would this be viable for me since my 2 primary areas are 180 degrees apart?

Thanks for the info.

ADTech 18-Jan-2013 7:30 PM

Quote:

Why wouldn't the antenna be pointed SW directly at the stations in NYC?
Yeah, that was the point I was making.


Quote:

would I be able to do it with the Winegard 7698P?
Absolutely, but either a rotor or a two-antenna system would be needed for reception of both markets' stations.

Quote:

Would this be viable for me since my 2 primary areas are 180 degrees apart?
Your forecasted signals strengths are below what I would consider acceptable for a low-gain, bidirectional configuration. You could give it a try with a pre-amp and it would work somewhat, but my confidence level is low it would work out.

rackit7 18-Jan-2013 7:38 PM

Adtech, thanks for the insights.

On the last point regarding a bi-directional antenna, perhaps another option would be to to go higher? I ran the TVFool tool at 35 ft and the NM (db) values increased. What tends to be the signal strength forecast that is starts to be considered low?

ADTech 18-Jan-2013 8:02 PM

For the reflector-less C2V, I'd look for TVFool's calculations to put them in the "yellow" area of the chart. Any less, there isn't much margin for those times when the signal fades during atmospheric events.

Keep in mind that "TANSTAAFL" as our engineer likes to remind us. Compromises may have consequences that we don't like.

teleview 18-Jan-2013 11:16 PM

Your location has 5 receivable Tv stations in the Hartford direction. North east.

WEDW REAL Digital UHF channel 21 , virtual number (21.1-2-3) PBS.

WTNH-DT REAL Digital UHF channel 10 , virtual number (8.1-2) ABC and Bounce.

WZME REAL Digital UHF channel 42 , virtual number (x.1) Me-Tv.

WCTX-DT REAL Digital UHF channel 39 , virtual number (59.1-2) MyNetwork snd Cool Tv.

WEDY REAL UHF Digital channel 41 , virtual number (x.1-2-3) PBS , this is the same PBS as WEDW. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connect...lic_Television.

For reception of the Tv stations in the Hartford direction , above the roof in such a manner that the roof and house does not block reception to the , north east.
Install a Winegard HD7698P antenna with a Antennas Direct CPA-19 preamp aimed at about 60 degree magnetic compass direction.

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New York to the , south west , has , many , many , many , many , more receivable Digital Tv stations/channels.

Above the roof in such a manner that the roof and house are not blocking reception to the , south west.

Install a Winegard HD7698P antenna with a Antennas Direct CPA-19 preamp aimed at about 240 degree magnetic compass direction.

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

Here are some Strong and Sturdy antenna mounts , http://www.ronard.com/909911.html if using a tripod antenna mount use the 5 foot tripod mount.
http://www.ronard.com/34424560.html , if using a eave mount use the #4560.
http://www.ronard.com/ychim.html.
http://www.ronard.com.

Buy the ronard antenna mounts at solidsignal by typing the word ronard in the solidsignal search box or buy from ronard.

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Yes you can install 1 HD7698P antenna and Antennas Direct CPA-19 preamp and turn it buy hand to TEST reception both directions.

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For reception of Tv stations both directions install 2 Separate antenna systems that Will Not be connected together on to one coax.

The 2 Separate antenna systems Will Be Separate all the way to the location/s of the Tv/s. Separate antennas , Separate preamplifiers , Separate coax , the key word is --> Separate.

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Remember<--> it is Separate antenna SYSTEMS and as such is 2 of everything.

For 1 tv connected use no splitter.

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

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

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Here are some places to buy antennas and etc. , http://www.solidsignal.com , http://www.amazon.com , http://www.winegarddirect.com.

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At each Tv location a Remote Control A/B antenna coax switch will be installed to switch the 2 Separate antenna systems.
http://www.mcmelectronics.com , #32-4425.

A/B antenna switching is Channel Surfing Friendly , press the button on the hand held remote control - change antennas and keep on channel surfing.

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If installing 2 Separate antennas , separate the 2 antennas buy about 3 feet on the same antenna mast.

________________________________

Putting 1 antenna on a antenna rotator and not using a second antenna , Is Not channel surfing friendly.

Must wait for the antenna to rotate and there Will Be Domestic Issues about the direction the antenna is aimed.

__________________________________________________________

Concerning 2 antenna setups.

Or rotating 1 antenna.

Most digital Tv's will add channels into the Tuner Memory with additional channel scans.

Some digital Tv's will not.

Some Digital Tv's have the ability to add channels 'manually' one at a time.
If adding channels 'manually' one at a time , The REAL and Actual Tv channel is added , not the virtual number.

Tvfool lists the the Real channel and virtual number in the tvfool channel list.

GroundUrMast 19-Jan-2013 2:54 AM

A thought re. A/B switches
 
I agree, rotators pose problems for households with two or more TV's connected to the same antenna.

The A/B switch solution has the benefit of being inexpensive, easy to install, easy to use and by being protected from the elements... long lasting. The only circumstance I can think of that would cause me to advise against the A/B switch solution is when you have a TV that does not provide for manual channel addition or automatic 'add-scan'. One of the TVs in our home is of such design. Every time one scans for new channels, the TV forgets all learned channels, then scans afresh.. it has no provision for manual tuning of real channels either.

If you face this situation, you may want to consider this idea: http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=2882

tuffones 19-Jan-2013 8:28 PM

I,m living in Stratford CT and I getting New York channels, the HD7698P is doing fine ( a few homes use this antenna in my area) but NBC 4 from NY is weak and will needs a preamp. Westport, Fairfield gets a lot of FM radios so think about a FM trap in your Preamp if you have a overload in the VHF channels. Another friend use the combo, 91gx & Ya-1713 with a Winegard AP-2780preamp. aiming NY. Good luck and enjoy your DIY. My two cents...

teleview 20-Jan-2013 4:48 AM

Yes it is Ok to install only 1 antenna system , aimed at New York.

teleview 20-Jan-2013 6:18 PM

The same information that GroundUrMast gave about A/B antenna switching and Tv tuner adding channels.

-->Is Also True with 1 antenna on a antenna rotator , Rotating the antenna around and then scanning for more channels.

From the Tv tuners point of view , this is the same as 2 antennas.

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Some , ->not all<- notice the words not all , Older Digital Tv's have tuners that do not add channels during - rescans/scan add - and have no provision to add new channels manually one at a time.

If you have a digital tv that does not add new channels without deleting the previous scan , here is a way to deal with the situation.

Add a external tuner , second tuner , a easy way with out complicated adding a tuner to a computer and the computer programs that operate it is,

A stand alone tuner , such as , ePvision Digital tuner http://www.epvision.com , or , a Channel Master Digital tuner http://www.channelmasterstore.com.

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If the the Tv reception is in one direction Only then there are no problems.

________________________________________________

YES most Digital Tv's will - add channels - scan add channels - and most of the Better Digital Tv's will also Manual add Tv channels.


Please note that when adding channels one at a time , it is the Real and Actual channel that is add , not the virtual number.

Tv fool lists the Real channel and the virtual number , and can also contact the Tv station for the Real channel and virtual number information.

Most likely you will need to contact the engineering department at the Tv station because every one else in the building will not know.


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