may have to look into one of those. thanks

Some TVs will NOT allow for adding channels.
They will only allow for a complete scan.

Hence rendering rotors and A/B switches useless.

True. I am going to do a test this morning with my Insignia box and Insignia TV to find out if adding channels manually is a possibility. I had a 4 year old Sony that I gave to my brother and that TV would allow you to add channels with a rescan without eliminating the current channel lineup. The Samsung won't do that but you can add manually if you punch in the correct channel number for the channel you would like to add. Will see if Insignia has this feature and report back.

Forget the Insignia set top box. It won't allow you to add channels either by scanning or manually. Tried it with a channel 13 and 63 and it would not add either when I repositioned the antenna to the spot where they always come in when they have been scanned into the box.

Will now do a test with the Insignia TV.

No go with the Insignia TV. The only way you can add a channel is by using the existing Channel List. But when you do a rescan of channels it will lose that channel even if it has been saved as a Favorite if it is not scanned in when pointing the antenna in a direction where it cannot find that channel.

At this point CorvairBob you have two options. New TV such as a Sony which should have the rescan feature you need or LG which I have been told also has this feature. Or maybe a Samsung which will at least allow you to punch in the channel if you reposition the antenna to the right direction. But this has a fault as well. Example:

My real Ch. 23 is also a virtual channel for another channel. Thus, if I hit 23 on the Samsung it brings in the other channel and not 49 which is real Ch. 23. So, if you have a similar issue where ever you use this TV you will not get the real channel but the virtual channel.

At this point the low cost solution may be two antennas combined and pointed in different directions. But to be sure this is going to work, I NEED TO KNOW which is the weakest channel on your list that you wish to watch. If I do not get this information I can not provide any additional suggestions other than what has already been offered.

I should add that even though this did not work the first time it is likely due to the antennas you are using. Not right for the situation. One is UHF only and the other does seem to offer both UHF and VHF capability. But the reception area for each antenna may not be wide enough to pick up the channels you want or the antennas may not have enough gain either. If these antennas are highly directional then you need a different antenna such as something like a 4 bay antenna with a wider capture area or a something like the Antennacraft HBU 33 Yagi style. I have a HBU22 and that has a fairly wide capture area and will get signals not directly in front of the antenna.

This thread must have cursed me, cause I just lost 2 of my strongest stations this AM and had to do a double rescan =D

Anyway, my Sony Bravia offers both options and the wording is such.

"Auto program" and "Add digital channels"

My parents OTOH, have a TV that requires them to use a 4400 and an 8800 in opposite directions.

i will look up that antenna you mention here and see. i do have a coupler maybe that will allow me to combine 2 antennas. i don't know how to give you the information your asking other than give you my zipcode and the height i have them at. that is all i used from the site to get the channels available to me from the east. it seems the channels from the west over lake michigan are just to far away to be of use to me. if you have a website i can visit to get this information you require please send it along. other wise can you plug in my 49442 zipcode and 30 ft height and see the channels it says i should get. other wise i get 13 17 35 23 41 that is it with what i have now. the uhf antenna gets less because some of them are vhf signals.

the other antenna i may have burned out the amp when i used a splitter on 2 of the same antennas trying to couple them together to get all the channels, i got a bunch then all of a sudden nothing after using that splitter. so i got a coupler and got that uhf antenna and it worked worse, i did not see it was for uhf until the company tole me after i complained to them.

thanks bob p.

Which Sony model are you using? I am going to purchase another TV now that I know my Insignias will not be able to add channels in the desired manner. I checked two new models and they still offer this feature.

I need to know which is the weakest channel on your TV Fool report that you would like to get or already get. You are listing which channels you currently receive but that does not tell me if there is one or more others that you want.

There is little point in recommending antennas unless we know which channels you want and to see if they are gettable at all. This is a process of elimination if you will.

You probably shouldn't sweat the MKE stations too much, Bob.

I live S. of MKE and have picked up stations from Cadillac all the way down to S. Bend on a pretty consistent basis. Sometimes, I can even get Flint.

Most stations are just mirrors of stations I already receive, except for the time they broadcast certain shows.

I do like checking out the different news chicks, though ;)

so what antenna/s are you using? i got 2 from ebay that are the motorized ones and then i think i burned them out with the splitter on both of them so i got one from Israeli and it turned out to be uhf only and will not get but about 4 stations.

i can't get 8 at all and 3 is poor none from cadallac or flint i get 13 17 24 44 35 that is about it. real poor i get better with the antennas pointing backwards but they do fade or pixlulate thanks

3 and 8 appear to be VHF hi signals. You will need a antenna like the HBU 33 which also has UHF to pick up those signals. Or if you want a separate antenna for VHF something like the Y5-7-13 or Y10-7-13 both of which are made by Antennacraft.

Try pointing the antenna at one of the target stations and typing the real channel number into the remote. You may have to add a period or hyphen to tell the television or converter that you are trying to tune a digital channel. Don't be surprised if you see nothing on the screen at first, since many modern televisions don't show a picture unless a usable signal is present. If this doesn't work, see if you can find a signal strength utility in the menu. These sometimes allow you to select or step through the channels. Also, be advised that not all splitters will pass the DC voltage needed to power a preamp.

I have a fixed DIY cat whisker fixed on MKE on my N. tower and a 91XG on my S. tower w/ a rotor for "sniffing"

The reason for the two towers, is that I don't want to cut down our old maple.
Or, it may have just become an obsession =D

i have one i made myself also it did got for the real close stations i made it to see it the ones i got from ebay were junk but the ebay ones got a few more channels. i would like to make a gadget unless that coupler will do the job to have 2 antennas one to the n and one to the s areas. but so far the test are not doing any better that is why i searched out this place to try and fine out what others are using in my area. where di you get the factory antenna? and what do you use for connecting them.

The 91XG was an open box item from Solid Signal and had no missing parts. (I hate paying list) LOL!

I am using the remote control A/B switch from Rat Shack (15-1968)

i have a uhf only antenna it has only one set of elements that actual gather the signal the rest are just for looks i guess when i used that box alone i got the same amount of signal. how may elements on the 91xg are connected to the coax? plus the vhf signal it leaves out correct? i went to the solid signal site and asked them for help on picking out an antenna lets see how much money they want me to spend.

Only two elements are hooked to the coax, unless that's considered to be the odd one.

The ones in front, are directors and are actually isolated from anything else.
The rear screen is a reflector and is common to the mast/ boom.
Even the coax shield, is isolated from the mast/ boom.

I believe the 91 refers to the total number of elements.

the home made one i did had 48 elements and they were all connected together as per the you tube directions. and years ago the pold double stacked antennas had all the front elements connected to the wire. i wonder why today they only connect 1 set of elements tot he wire? it would seem to me that the more elements connected to the wire the better the signal or is the incorrect now?

Different ways of doing the same thing. It's up to the antenna designer to make those decisions as part of the design process.