As always , the inside of buildings and attics Are Not a reception friendly environment and Never Will Be a reception friendly environment.
Multi-path/reflections signals bouncing all around , absorbing , blocking , Broadcast Tv reception.
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The Philadelphia Area Digital Broadcast Tv stations/channels to the west are the strongest signal strength to receive.
In the west facing window , put a , TERK HDTVa , antenna aimed about 271 degree magnetic compass direction - West.
Here is how to aim indoor and outdoor antennas ,
http://www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html.
Put the HDTVa antenna Up High in the window , not down low close to the floor.
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Recommend Do Not use cable system coax , Unless , you know what you are doing to connect/route the antenna signals reception through the coaxes to route the signal from point A's to point B's.
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Recommend run Separate Coax in the apartment to get the antenna signal reception from point A's to point B's.
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A simple common 2 way splitter can be used to split the signal to the son's bedroom from the living room.
The Tv's Must Channel Scan for the , OTA=Over The Air , Digital Broadcast Tv stations/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 Digital Tv's will Automatic channels scan for cable tv channels.
DO NOT channel scan for cable tv channels.
Go into the Digital Tv Setup Menu and select 'Air Channels' ~ 'Antenna Channels'.
Scan for channels.
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The converter box that was bought in 2009 ->Is Not A Antenna<-.
The converter box connects to a antenna such as the TERK HDTVa antenna.
The converter box - Converts the Digital Broadcast Tv signals - to Analog signal for - Analog Tv's - that Do Not have a built in Digital Broadcast Tv Tuner.
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Cartoon Netwok and NicToons and other cable and satellite channels ->Are Not<- available on Digital Broadcast Tv reception.
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For reception of many of what is on the cable/satellite channels and more for a Lot Less Money per month.
Go with with the Streaming Internet Services , such as , Netflix , Hulu+ , and etc. .
The ROKU Box has the most services and the most flexibility of use.
http://www.roku.com.
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Here are some places to buy antennas and etc. .
http://www.solidsignal.com.
http://www.amazon.com.