TV Fool  

Go Back   TV Fool > Over The Air Services > Help With Reception

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 9-Jan-2013, 6:59 PM   #1
jaebihn
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 2
Lots of questions about OTA

I wanted to say thanks in advance for your help. This site is wonderful. I have never done OTA and I want to begin getting free TV. My wife and I cut the cable because we were paying over $180 per month for the FIOS Triple Package. After we cut TV and phone our bill is $60 per month for internet only.

My TVFool report is below:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...c84fdd0423ac49

Background: I intend on setting it up in the attic which is on the 3rd floor of our 5 year old home. The wife says the roof is off limits. She doesn't watch TV so she doesn't care if the antenna works. I have an all brick house and the roof is made up of asphalt. The house was wired with coaxial cable and cat5e when it was built and all terminations end in the attic. The coaxial cables are fed from an 8-way splitter which powered our TVs when we had Verizon FIOS TV without any issues. I want this to work on 2 TVs in my home the first is in the living room and the second in my theater room with a projector. I have an ATSC tuner in the Sony 1080p TV (living room) and I will be using a ATSC to USB tuner which is plugged into an older laptop (serves as my HTPC) which feeds the receiver via HDMI.

I plan on using a Clearstream 2V I bought from Amazon (link to antenna at the bottom.) I have several questions based on the TVFool report and my location. My first question is: what direction should I face the antenna to pick up the most signals? If I assume the antenna will work 30 degrees (+/- 15 deg on both sides) then I would want to aim it at 305 deg True (315 magnetic) right? Or is my assumtion wrong to assume I can get 30 degree reception?

My last question is the 8-way slplitter. Is it still ok to use the splitter with an amplifier? I was looking at the Winegard ANWI8700 amp which gives you a gain of 17 dB VHF, 19 dB UHF. Or should I just disconnect the other connections to the 8 way splitter and only connect the 2 cables to the 2 TVs (leaving 6 spots empty). I guess what I'm asking is can I still send signal to the un-used coaxial terminals in the house or will I see a significant signal loss. I was thinking about using the amp because people on the forum say you lose 15 dB of signal if you mount in an attic. I guess I could connect the antenna without the amp to see what I get and add the amp if I don't get enough strength. I don't want to damage my tuners if the signal is too strong. I read somewhere that you can get signals that can fry a tuner if you aren't careful.

My end goal is to get ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and PBS all in HD. Again I want to say thanks to all of those who devote their time helping people like me.

Link to the Antenna I will be using:
http://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direc...pr_product_top
jaebihn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-Jan-2013, 2:36 AM   #2
phone man
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 121
Antenna choice is good, everything you're trying to receive is UHF. Antenna aim info is good. You'll have to experiment with antenna location in the attic for best signal. For only two TV's, replace the eight way splitter with a two way. Much less signal loss that way. Pre amps are for overcoming signal loss due to long coax runs or splitters ( like an eight way splitter that's actually dividing the signal eight ways) You have a real nice TV fool report with lots of signal strength and most broadcast towers in the same general direction. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how good OTA high def looks!
phone man is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-Jan-2013, 4:43 AM   #3
teleview
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Not all are UHF channels.

WSKY-TV is REAL VHF channel 09. http://www.sky4tv.com.

WTPC-TV is REAL VHF channel 07. TBN.

WVEC-DT is REAL VHF channel 13. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WVEC.

WGBS-LD is REAL VHF channel 11. http://www.MyRetroTv.com.

WTTD-LD is REAL VHF channel 10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAVY-TV

Last edited by teleview; 12-Jan-2013 at 3:58 AM.
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-Jan-2013, 1:12 AM   #4
phone man
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 121
The major network stations he said he would like to receive are all UHF. You are correct, there are some VHF channels out there.
phone man is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-Jan-2013, 4:11 AM   #5
teleview
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
For reception of the -->UHF Tv channels<-- and -->VHF Tv channels<-- install a Winegard HD7696P antenna above the roof in such a manner that the roof and house are not blocking reception to the , north west , north east and , south west.

Aim the HD7696P antenna at about , 340 degree magnetic compass direction.

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

Use no preamplifier.

For 1 Tv connected use No splitter.

For 2 Tv's connected use a simple common 2 way splitter.

___________________________________

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

________________

Here are some above the roof antenna mounts , http://www.ronard.com/909911.html , http://www.ronard.com/ychim.html , http://www.ronard.com , http://www.ronard.com/34424560.html if using the eave mount use the #4560.

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

As always , trees and tree leaves do a good job of , reflecting , reducing , blocking , Tv reception and so do buildings and other obstructions including your own roof and house.

It is best to install the HD7696P 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 house.

The Tv/s Must Channel Scan for the Broadcast Tv Channels , often named the 'Air Channels' or 'Antenna Channels' in the Tv setup menu because the Tv transmissions travel through the air from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna.

Some Tv's automatic channel scan for cable tv channels.

Go into the Tv setup menu and select , 'Air Channels' / 'Antenna Channels'.

DO NOT channel scan for cable Tv channels.

Last edited by teleview; 12-Jan-2013 at 5:19 AM.
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-Jan-2013, 4:47 AM   #6
GroundUrMast
Moderator
 
GroundUrMast's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Greater Seattle Area
Posts: 4,773
I agree, the larger Winegard HD7696P is a better option in this case. The extra gain and directivity may be helpful combating attenuation and reflections caused by the attic construction.

If the attic is a reasonably good reception site, you may be able to run with no amplifier. Resist the temptation to be sold on gain figures alone. If you prove the need for an amplifier, you'll want one that is not easily overloaded by strong signals.

(You need to have reliable reception with the antenna connected to one TV... no amp or splitter. If you then have trouble after adding a splitter, consider the Antennas Direct CPA-19 preamp or the Channel Master CM-3410 distribution amplifier.)
GroundUrMast is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Go Back   TV Fool > Over The Air Services > Help With Reception


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off




All times are GMT. The time now is 11:00 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright © TV Fool, LLC