Antenna Help in California

[ravendragonwing]

My current antenna is not working very well :( So I am looking at getting better one, currently I have a $10 one from Wal-Mart.
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d5b94ad3d7e437e I hope the link works.
Some details:
I live on the second floor of my apartment building.
Cannot put antenna on porch or roof.
TV is not near a window.
Would really like to plug in the antenna and not have to move it when I watch another channel or it rains/windy.
Thanks!!
Jennifer

[stvcmty]

How many walls of your apartment are outside walls? What directions do they face?
What is the building made of?
What channels do you want?
Does your apartment provide a community antenna (connect a TV to any jacks that look like cable jacks and do an OTA channel scan; you might get lucky.)

[ravendragonwing]

I face the street, so 1 wall faces the street (north), the wall where my tv is faces the stairwell (west).
No idea what the building is made of, built in the 70s, drywall on the inside.
Channels I want....CBS, FOX, ABC, NBC, PBS...basics are fine with me.
No, my apartment does not provide a community antenna (wonderful idea though).
I get FOX intermittently, it digitizes frequently.
ABC is good
CBS I sometimes have problems
PBS I can rarely get.
NBC I don't watch regularly, but seems to have no problems when I do

[tomfoolery]

Cannot put antenna on porch . . .

You sure about that?

[ravendragonwing]

You sure about that?

no way to then connect to TV

[stvcmty]

no way to then connect to TV

I have used "flat" coax to go in sliding doors. They are white jumpers 6 to 8" long with female F connectors at each end. If the door is not opened much, they work good enough.

If your porch has good signal, putting and antenna out there and running coax to the TV will be much more rewarding than playing with an indoor antenna.

That being said, an indoor antenna could work if you get the right combination of signal, lack of multi path, luck, and location.

What indoor antenna did you try? Does it have an amplifier?

[ravendragonwing]

an outdoor antenna would be ideal, but not doable due to distance from door opening and TV.
I am currently using RCA ANT1050. No amplifier.

[GroundUrMast]

Consider the Terk HDTVi (not the HDTVa).

[ravendragonwing]

The Terk is huge and falls over a lot. Do you have any other suggestions? Preferably something that can be hung on a wall or has a small footprint?

[stvcmty]

Consider the Terk HDTVi (not the HDTVa).

GroundUrMast's recommendation is the about as close to the best you will get indoors without putting an outdoor antenna inside your apartment. The Terk is similar to the Silver Sensor. http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/silver.html For its size it has very good gain.


The Terk is huge and falls over a lot. Do you have any other suggestions? Preferably something that can be hung on a wall or has a small footprint?

Where do you have the Terk HDTVi that it falls over?

Do you want to watch ABC and NBC? They are both VHF stations. Few of the TV antennas designed to be hung on a wall will work well for VHF stations.

[dmfdmf]

GroundUrMast's recommendation is the about as close to the best you will get indoors without putting an outdoor antenna inside your apartment.

The old aesthetic cost/benefit ratio, also called the wife factor :-)

Assuming the wall behind the TV is facing West (enough) and ugly is not too much of a factor relative to the desire to watch TV, you hang a two bay with VHF on the wall behind the TV, high up near the ceiling and probably get good signals that don't drop out when people move about.

http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=hd-1080&d=winegard-hd-1080-2-bay-bowtie-uhf-and-high-band-vhf-tv-antenna-(hd-1080)

You'd probably even get some of the signals from the East towers off the back of that antenna. If OP put this up and got great reception then after about a week or two you wouldn't even notice it.

[ravendragonwing]

My TV is on the west wall, so that means the Terk must face the west wall. The Terk is over 2' long in that direction. Which means I need a a shelf that has a ledge of over 2'.
I have the Terk on a shelf above the TV, it keeps falling over because the cord to the TV does not sit into the groove underneath the Terk.

[tomfoolery]

Did you try turning it 180 degrees (facing away from the wall) to receive off the back? I don't think they have much gain, so rejection off the back may not be very much, and you may get good enough signal strength off the back. The VHF dipole won't care either way.

You could also use a panel type UHF antenna, and make a stand. Something like the ClearStream 2V, which has a high-VHF dipole included. Big like a picture on the wall, but lots of gain if you aim it at the wall. Or hang it on the wall.

Just a thought.

[ravendragonwing]

Anyone have thoughts on Mohu Leaf?

[GroundUrMast]

KGO, real CH-7 & KNTV, real CH-12 are likely to suffer more reception problems with the Leaf due to the lack of an element designed for VHF reception.

[dmfdmf]

KGO, real CH-7 & KNTV, real CH-12 are likely to suffer more reception problems with the Leaf due to the lack of an element designed for VHF reception.

KGO rebroadcasts out of Allison Mt in Fremont at RCH35 so it is possible OP could go with a flat UHF antenna and get everything but KNTV/RCH12. I am not sure what the signal is like in Alameda but on the West side of the bay I pickup both sources for KGO at RCH7 and RCH35.

Here is my recommendation if the OP can't go without NBC
http://www.winegard.com/freevision/

Its small and thin and it has holes in the main boom for nailing to a wall and does both UHF and VHF. I'd find a stud and nail it to the wall right behind the TV as high as you can go. Re-zero and rescan channels and see what you get. If you didn't want to look at it you could hang a drape on the wall behind the TV and hide this behind it, only 6" deep.

[ravendragonwing]

Ok, the Terk is not working out. First rain storm and every channel is digitalizing. Very annoying. Looking for a nicer looking indoor antenna. There is no OP, just me, thank you very much.
I need something smaller than 2 feet in any direction, and NO outside antennas.....any recommendations?

[GroundUrMast]

They're not indoor designs... But take a look at the RCA ANT-751R and Antennacraft HBU-11.

Your description makes it clear that you have no outdoor mounting options. That may make it impossible to achieve reliable reception at you location. :(

[ravendragonwing]

Bought and installed a Mohu Leaf, it is awesome!!! No digitalizing, clear, crisp picture.
I do not know why you all are against it.

[GroundUrMast]

It sounds like I was wrong in this case. :o

Still, there's plenty of reported experience with the Leaf that leaves me very skeptical of it's capability globally.

I'm delighted you've got a working solution and also appreciate that you took the time to share it.

Cheers

[ravendragonwing]

I think, in my situation, the Mohu leaf is better suited. This is probably because it has a longer cord and the ability to place it high on the wall and over to the west wall, where I have almost direct line of site.
Thanks for everyone's help!