Thread: Antenna advice
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Old 19-Oct-2018, 12:47 AM   #3
Statmanmi
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 8
Fellow West Michigander

Hello Fellow West Michigander Gregg!

I'm 60 miles almost straight north from you, and receive the Gun Lake area towers that are to your NNW direction. JoeAZ's advice regarding the CM-3018 would do you fine. But it might be a bit more than you need.

Is this for the same location that you had posted about in 2014? From reading that information, I think you'd be served successfully with a single antenna on the reused short dish mast. But even if you've moved to where your new TVFool report notes, you should be fine with a single outdoor antenna pointing generally north. Your location now must also be on a rather high spot to have LOS (line of sight) to most of the towers--congratulations!

As JoeAZ noted, if you might occasionally want PBS, it's your one low-VHF (real channel 6 & below...often referred to as RF 2 through 6...RF being real or radio frequency) signal at your location. PBS is on RF5, which needs an antenna with at least 75 inches of width. Be aware that most TV outdoor antennas sold now are either UHF only, or are a combination of high-VHF/all UHF...which is why they can be only 36 inches or less wide. It's only very few that cover RF channels 2 and up, and to be all-purpose, have elements with over 100 inches maximum width. You'll want one of these to be assured of having PBS come in.


JoeAZ suggested the Channel Master 3018. I think you could also consider it's smaller brother, the CM-3016. That would shorten the boom length from 10 feet to 6 1/2 feet. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Channel-...3016/203763042


Do you have trees or other obstructions in any northern direction? If not, then an even smaller option that you could order that should be fine for you is the Winegard HD7000R:
https://manuals.solidsignal.com/HD7000R.pdf

Notice that it has the couple of wide elements needed for the PBS station, but the boom is less than a yard long.


Are you wanting to buy something locally? Menards and some other stores have an RCA antenna with model numbers that start with ANT3036 or ANT3037 that include wide enough elements to serve you well:

https://www.menards.com/main/electri...801444&ipos=18


From looking at your TVFool listing, perhaps the estimated weakest signal that your household may want is WZPX at 38 degrees (true)--it's the ION affiliate for our market (and includes some shopping subchannels). For that reason, you might start by pointing the narrow end of the antenna in that direction, and evaluate if all other desired channels are also coming in. If not, incrementally adjust by pointing more northerly.


Please post back to let us know what you decide upon, because we end up with piqued curiosity often.

Cheers!
Statmanmi

Last edited by Statmanmi; 19-Oct-2018 at 12:49 AM. Reason: fixed typo
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