Advice on better reception
 

Hi all:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...2c15adfc3c842e

I am located in North Bergen NJ on a hill facing west, we are located on the first floor of a condo and we are using a homeworx $8 indoor antennas, we are only able to have reliable signals on channel 13 and various channel 64. I had tried several types of indoor antennas (Amazon versions) and placed them all over the place in house and once even outside, the reception does not seem to improve at all so we returned it all and kept the $8 antenna.

What i looking for is good reception to CBS, NBC and FOX. Am i missing something, Is it location or am i just buying wrong kind of antenna?

It seems like you should be getting something based on your TV Fool reports.

Have you tried a small 2 bay antenna, outside, pointed south east?

You have a lot of signal in the air. I would conclude that the building is shielding your antenna.

The makeup of the building and its surrounding buildings and trees makes a big difference to how much signal is available. The TVFool report assumes a clear-air installation; its a simulation that does not account for obstructions like buildings or trees.

Any chance you can mount an antenna outdoors on your roof? That's the best response to your situation. If you have a balcony or window that faces the direction of the signals that you want, you could try locating the antenna there. You could install a modest antenna on your roof, unobstructed by trees and buildings, that would receive many stations.

I don't think much will change by trying different antennas indoors. Whatever your building is made of, or the surrounding buildings, is likely shielding you from the signal. Get a long cable and take the antenna outdoors as high as possible, and see what changes.

Here's a page with some basics about siting an antenna - http://www.hdtvprimer.com/antennas/siting.html - regard the section about trees.

Agreed. My house is 2x6 construction and has 2 layers of siding. In theory I should get all the channels in my locale with rabbit ears, but the rabbit ears were a no go. Instead, I needed an outdoor install.

Thank you all for the help.
My apt only has a balcony facing west and there are houses and trees in the way; and i doubt i can access the attic/roof and connect a line down to my unit. Once the weather turns nice, i will try a outdoor antenna.