Antenna Decision Help

camou10 · 5-Oct-2011, 5:50 PM

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...60b5ed7b5af7c4

I live in rural Maryland on the Eastern Shore. I moved to this 40 year old house about a year ago. We bought an indoor "set-top" antenna as suggested by TV Fool. We got most of the channels we wanted except 13 and 45. However the service was always spotty and you never new if you would get to finish the show you were watching. Talk about frustrating. Eventually we hooked up to the existing antenna in the attic. It's giant and i thought we would get them all! I have no idea how old it is. We got 13 and lost 54 and 45 is more off than on. However, the channels we do get are always clear and stable. In the beginning we even had ION which was awesome but its gone now and won't come back with reprogramming.
So i am in search for a new antenna that will take in all the reasonably close channels and rarely lose programming. I hope its not too much to ask. I hate paying for satellite and we can't get cable, but I wouldn't pay for it anyway.
Please help me choose the best antenna!

GroundUrMast · 5-Oct-2011, 6:43 PM

It sounds like the large antenna in the attic may be a VHF only design.

The ION signal is one of the more challenging signals for you because WCAU is on the same channel, about 65 miles NE of you.

A Winegard HD7694P aimed at about 260° compass would offer reception of all the signals in the green and yellow section of your report. The 7694 has excellent rejection of signals from behind which will help with reception of WPXW in particular.

camou10 · 5-Oct-2011, 6:56 PM

Thank you for your advice. I don't understand this though: "The 7694 has excellent rejection of signals from behind which will help with reception of WPXW in particular. " What is WPXW?

camou10 · 5-Oct-2011, 6:57 PM

Also I just google the Winegard HD7694P and came up with many different price points. Is there a reason for this? Is one at amazon better than solidsignal?

GroundUrMast · 5-Oct-2011, 7:07 PM

Per you TV Fool report, WPXW is the ION affiliate on real channel 34 (VC 66.1) {also indicated by rabbitears.info http://www.rabbitears.info/market.ph...n=WPXW#station } To receive WPXW-ION from the west, the antenna needs to ignore or reject the signal from WCAU which is NE of your location. The HD7694P does a very good job of receiving signals that it's pointed toward and receives very little from stations it's pointed away from.

Go with the best price you can find from a retailer you trust. I shop at Amazon, but not exclusively.

I did not mention before but I expect outdoor mounting to be a superior solution for you... based in part on your experience up to this point, which suggests there is significant attenuation or interference caused by the building construction.

camou10 · 5-Oct-2011, 7:09 PM

Thanks a ton!

John Candle · 6-Oct-2011, 5:35 AM

I all so recommend the HD7694P antenna aimed at about 260 degree magnetic compass. All the networks will be received. Mount the antenna above the roof.

camou10 · 3-Nov-2011, 4:10 PM

I have a few more questions. What exactly is a rotar and amplifier? and what should I get them?

GroundUrMast · 3-Nov-2011, 4:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camou10

I have a few more questions. What exactly is a rotar and amplifier? and what should I get them?

First, I'm not convinced you need a rotator or an amplifier. I'd try the new antenna, mounted outside as suggested earlier.

A rotator is used to turn the antenna, to allow you to aim the antenna in the best direction for reception of each station. This works best when the antenna serves only one TV and the TV tuner design does not require that you perform a new scan each time you move the antenna.

An amplifier is used to increase the strength of the signals received by the antenna. This is needed when there are long runs of cable and when splitters reduce the signal strength.

If your goal is to receive every possible station, I would change my recommendation to a much larger antenna, a tower to mount it on, a rotator to aim with and an amplifier that would help 'push' the weaker signals down the line from the antenna.

Here are some examples of products that might be appropriate if you choose to go after more than the local signals;

Small to medium size antenna rotator, CM-9521A
Heavy duty rotator for larger TV antennas
Antennas Direct CPA-19 preamplifier

camou10 · 3-Nov-2011, 6:32 PM

Well I do want as many channels as possible. But it appears that the stations I would get, if I were to get all of them, would just be from other cities. Am I right? For example PBS Baltimore and PBS Virginia. I only need one channel that shows the same programs. From what i understand the only channels you can get through antennas ever are: PBS/MPT, PBS kids, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, CW, ION, ThisTV, and their sub channels. (As you know from earlier I only receive a few of these right now). I want TV that reflects my state and that's MD so any local news stations that cover Baltimore are relevant as opposed to Virgina. Am I making sense? So the question is, I guess, I want as many channels as possible as long as they are not repeats from other cities and if that's possible to get more TV then GREAT! Im just not sure there are actually other channels out there? Except for these which i just noticed from my report - I don't know what these stations are: MyN, qubo, univision and telemundo ...
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...4bbaef798c457d

So yes my goal is to receive ever possible station with no repeat programming.

I hope I am making sense and thanks so much for your continued help.

MisterMe · 4-Nov-2011, 4:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camou10

Well I do want as many channels as possible. But it appears that the stations I would get, if I were to get all of them, would just be from other cities. Am I right? For example PBS Baltimore and PBS Virginia. I only need one channel that shows the same programs. From what i understand the only channels you can get through antennas ever are: PBS/MPT, PBS kids, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, CW, ION, ThisTV, and their sub channels. (As you know from earlier I only receive a few of these right now). I want TV that reflects my state and that's MD so any local news stations that cover Baltimore are relevant as opposed to Virgina. Am I making sense? So the question is, I guess, I want as many channels as possible as long as they are not repeats from other cities and if that's possible to get more TV then GREAT! Im just not sure there are actually other channels out there? Except for these which i just noticed from my report - I don't know what these stations are: MyN, qubo, univision and telemundo ...
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...4bbaef798c457d

So yes my goal is to receive ever possible station with no repeat programming.

I hope I am making sense and thanks so much for your continued help.

You are laboring under a lot of misconceptions about how broadcast television works. Broadcast television provides news and public affairs programming for viewers wherever they are--with some restrictions. For example the Washington, DC stations cover news as fair away as the I-81 corridor in Virginia. They cover Maryland as far away as Ocean City and other locations on the Delmarva Peninsula. They provide little coverage for Baltimore and points north because Baltimore has an excellent compliment of television stations. Smaller Maryland cities like Hagerstown also have TV stations.

Public television is not like the commercial networks. Only public stations that are siblings on a state or regional network have duplicate schedules. In fact, many larger cities have multiple public stations--all PBS affiliates--with dramatically different programming schedules. You will also find that the compliment of subchannel networks offered by public stations vary from system to system.

You have the right to watch or not watch whatever is available. My advice to you is to setup your antenna to receive as many stations as possible. You will then have to choice to watch whatever you want. To see what is available on the air, check the listings for your city on the TV Guide website. Check also what is available on the Washington, DC and Lancaster, PA stations. You might be surprised by what you are missing.

Dave Loudin · 4-Nov-2011, 3:00 PM

I think we're blowing this out of porportion a little. I think what the OP is trying to tell us is that he wants to focus on his local markets that provide the most news relevant for him and does not want to complicate his system just to pick up network duplicates.

camou10, you've had two people recommend the same antenna to you. Now, make it three. The HD7694P aimed a little south of due west will get you the Baltimore market and a good chunk of the DC market. Some plusses: the CBS and FOX stations will show different football games, WETA and WHUT will show different programming (or the same prime time programs at different times) than the MPT stations, and you will get most of the major sub-channel networks like This, RTV, CoolTV, AntennaTV, etc. For a complete list of the sub-channels you will get, consult RabbitEars. Under the listings menu, select Web Listings, then click on the market to show the major channels and click "Expand All" to see the subchannels.

The networks you questioned: qubo is a children's channel, MyN is the Fox Network's answer to the CW, and came into being when UPN merged with the WB to create the CW network, and the other two are Spanish-language networks.

camou10 · 4-Nov-2011, 3:13 PM

Dave,
Great thanks a ton. Ill go ahead and get the antenna. Thank you.

No static at all · 4-Nov-2011, 3:49 PM

Make it 4 votes for the 7694. FWIW, Baltimore's PBS, ABC, CBS & MY 24 stations have better PQ than their DC counterparts as well.