Did I get the right antennas?

kawititnow · 21-Jun-2011, 1:28 PM

Hello everyone,

I'm completely new to OTA TV. In fact I haven't even canceled cable yet, since I'm still testing out the antenna.

Before I get started here is my signal analysis:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...001ba6faa070fd

I recently purchased 2 antennas (1 for each TV in the house).

In the living room we have a new LED-LCD TV, so I have to admit what the antenna "looks like" kinda matters. So I went with the Terk FDTV2A (Omni-Directional and amplified). I have done a little research, but went with what I thought was the best at Best Buy.

For our other TV I just went with a $10 "rabbit ears" RCA.

So far I'm pretty impressed. I watched the US Open all weekend and couldn't believe the quality of the HD.

The main channels I'm concerned about receiving are the "Big 3" NBC, ABC and CBS. In my area that's virtual channels 4.1, 5.1 and 9.1 respectively. Channel 4.1 (NBC) comes in pretty good, 9.1 (CBS) is somewhat consistent, but I'm having problems getting any sort of consistency out of 5.1.

I have the antenna facing north even slightly angled to the east to point more toward the towers.

Does weather play a factor in quality of reception? We never got any rain at our place, but there was a lot of high wind, rain and hail in the area of the towers, when I was having the most trouble with 5.1 (ABC).

Thanks

Tower Guy · 21-Jun-2011, 4:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kawititnow

I was having the most trouble with 5.1 (ABC).

Thanks

5.1 is on real channel 7. It's one of two VHF stations. KOCO is running 65 KW, KETA is running 50 KW, which is plenty of power for VHF.

EV, a well known tester of indoor antennas has this to say about the Terk:

Its like the RCA ANT1500 and others in that series. In other words, not that great on UHF, stinks on VHF.

I'd say you'd be better off with rabbit ears or the Terk HDTVi

GroundUrMast · 21-Jun-2011, 4:19 PM

Weather can affect your reception. In this case I suspect that the frequency (real channel) used by KOCO is significant. Most of the stations in your area use UHF frequencies (channels 14 and above). KOCO and KETA are the exceptions.

The $10 RCA rabbit ears may be adjustable... are there two telescoping rods on the sides of the unit? If so, try adjusting each rod so that they are about 12 to 15 inches in length and about parallel to the ground. The two rods should run about east to west (perpendicular to the line toward the stations). The goal is to tune the rods to receive channels 7 - 13, and aim at the stations.

The amplified TERK antenna does not appear to be adjustable... and based on it's size may not offer much reception capability below real channel 14.

Sometimes, less is more.

kawititnow · 21-Jun-2011, 6:00 PM

Thanks for the replies.

I emailed the engineering department at the station and they gave me a few tips that seemed to help. For one, I had the Terk antenna located behind the TV (between the towers and the antenna). I relocated it to a different area and it seems to be working great so far.

Thanks for the suggestion on the rabbit ears. I'll give that a try.

John Candle · 21-Jun-2011, 6:50 PM

Read and understand about , REAL Digital Broadcast Tv Channels , Virtual Digital Broadcast Tv Channels , Analog Broadcast Tv Channels , http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=695 , Here is information about indoor Tv antennas , http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=233. Here is information of how to aim a Tv antenna , http://www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html. Aim the antenna at about 18 degree magnetic compass.