Driving myself nuts!!!

jdon79 · 5-Jan-2011, 9:58 PM

I have been driving myself nuts trying to read on which antenna would be a good fit for my location. I have spent over 8 hours reading and am not any closer...

I am sick of only getting a few channels with my RadioShack bunny ears and the ones I do get chopping out on a regular basis. I am on a tight budget and don't want to spend a fortune. However, if I need the more costly equipment I guess I will have to break down and buy it!

I am currently using something similar to this:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=3611256

I get in 32 very well and 7 fairly well. I am very spotty on channel 11 and 5. I have never gotten in channel 2I used to get chanel 9 ok but don't anymore since I switched to this ( I tried this from costco) :

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...204000000&Mo=0

I live in a 1 story house with asphalt shingles and vinyl siding. I would prefer to mount an antenna in my attic but am not dead set on this. There are a number of large trees in the area but I may be able to get a fairly clear shot towards the 159 degree location through my attic

I plan on mounting about a 20 ft run of wire to the primary television and would like to run a ~100ft cable to another television in the basement

If running the extra cable is going to bump up the price significantly I can pass on this for now . But the ability to run this in the future might be nice.

Here is my tvfool log:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...da320c5f2dc5bd

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

John Candle · 5-Jan-2011, 11:32 PM

The Tv Stations you will like to receive are at 162/159 magnetic compass and are LOS = Line Of Sight and are Strong. Here is information about indoor antennas http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=233 . Here is information about Real and Virtual Digital Tv Channels http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=695 . The nonamplified Free Vision should be receiving very well. Here is information about aiming antennas http://www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html . Yes you can try the Free View in the attic. However as you know , the best place is on the Roof. . Connect the 2 Tv's with a passive 2 way splitter.

John Candle · 5-Jan-2011, 11:56 PM

If you will like to receive these VHF low band channels of WOCK-CD 4 the programing is MegaTV ?? , Arirang Korea Tv , LATV young people jumping around. , MC-Tv ??. . WLFM-LP Analog 6 transmitting as a FM radio station. . and W25DW 2 ?? unknown. . Then you will need a All Channel Antenna the Winegard HD7084P mounted on the roof.

John Candle · 6-Jan-2011, 1:34 AM

WWME-LD 39 is the 'The U Too' network , WDCI-LP 30 is Religion , W46EB 46 is Religion , WOCH-CA49 is KBC Korean American Broadcasting Company

jdon79 · 6-Jan-2011, 2:12 AM

I am not worried about the low band channels you mentioned.

My biggest question is antennaweb.org says I need a medium/large preamp unidirectional antenna (blue or purple)...

I am going to try aligning as the article says and will keep you posted.

Thanks for the help

John Candle · 6-Jan-2011, 6:10 AM

Your biggest question is the smallest question. This issue has been settled a long time ago. Read the comparisons of , tvfool , antennaweb , dtv.gov you will easly find them on the internet. You will find that antennaweb is very conservative to the point of being pessimistic , with pessimistic you don't know whats out there because it's not listed. . Tvfool is optimistic , with optimistic you know whats out there and what needs to be done to receive or not receive it. I choose optimistic. . 0dB(NM) is the reference point for reliable digital tv reception , +10 dB(NM) gives some elbow room , and more then +10 is better and better.

John Candle · 6-Jan-2011, 6:28 AM

You say that money is tight , so I am doing my best to get you as many channels as possible with the antenna you have for the least amount of money. Will you receive every last one of the line of sight channels?? The answer is No. . The channels marked as co-channel warning and adjacent channel warning will likley not be received with out sharply directive antennas and that means more money. . Always look inside the connectors on the ends of the coax , if the foil shield or shield wires are pushed in toward the center wire , push the foil shied and wires away from the center coax wire.

John Candle · 6-Jan-2011, 6:45 AM

Make sure that the Tv is Scanning for -->Digital Broadcast Television Channels<-- , and not cable tv channels. . If you choose to go with a larger antenna then go with the Winegard HD7084P , might as well go for the low band channels also. If you choose to continue to drive your self nut's , and not accept the facts. I will stop answering questions.

jdon79 · 6-Jan-2011, 5:07 PM

I greatly appreciate your help and thank you for clarifying the differences between the websites. I have found the information on tvfool.com to be much more detailed than other sites which is always helpful.

I am going to play with the antenna I have for now and see how far I can take it! I am not sure when I will have time to mount it properly and make the correct adjustments but I will keep you posted on the results.

Tigerbangs · 6-Jan-2011, 9:33 PM

Have you ever noticed how some people can obfuscate when answering simple questions?

The solution here is a Winegard HD-7694P or an AntennaCraft HBU-33 mounted on the roof aimed at 160 degrees: Use a 2-way splitter for your 2 TV sets; easy enough!