Antenna recommendation request
 

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...3e471d1b8e67bf

Like many people here, I'm planning to drop my cable and go OTA only. I'll be sending a signal to two televisions. I'm only interested in 10 channels at the top of the results list linked above - from the "real channel" column, they're 19, 32, 29, 12, 34, 44, 10, 7, 42 and 13. All of those except 10 are located in an antenna farm about 24-25 miles to the E/NE, and 10 is in the process of moving their transmitter to the farm (it's already been approved).

I decided to test my signal with an old Radio Shack indoor unamplified bowtie and rabbit ears combo. Without even aiming them, I was able to get all of the channels on my list (plus a bunch more that I don't care about), though 7, 19 and 44 had artifacting and freezing. The 3 sketchy stations had signal strength in the low 60s according to my Panasonic Plasma TV, while the stations with better signals were in the low 70s to high 80s. My neighborhood is a mix of 1-2 story homes with lots of tall oak trees. I have a couple of oaks in my back yard, one of which will have branches in the path of any outdoor antenna.

Based on all of this, can anyone recommend a good outdoor antenna? I was hoping that with my decent signals I'd be able to use something compact like a Winegard FV-HD30/HD-1080/GS-2200/GS-1100, but I'll go with something larger like an HD7694P if necessary. I've only looked at Winegard so far, but I'm open to other manufacturers, of course. I'd like to keep it small if possible because we sometimes get tropical storms with high winds around here, And I assume that wouldn't be good for a large, spindly antenna way up on a pole.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

An RCA ANT-751 or the HD1080 would be appropriate in your situation. Both can easily wall mount if desired. In either case, the aim is broad but Channel 10 arriving from the side may give you some trouble. I would try one antenna to begin with... if you find it necessary, there are a few ways to add a second antenna, lest's cross that bridge if you find the need.

Thanks, the RCA antenna looks pretty interesting. I'm not worried about channel 10, since it'll be moving to the antenna farm where the rest of the stations are located very soon. I can live without it for a couple of months. I assume I won't need anything like an amplifier? The cable from the antenna to the farthest of the two televisions will be about 30 feet long.

Many amplifiers on the market would be overloaded by all those powerful signals. I have to look down the list quite a bit to find Noise Margin figures lower than 40 dB... You have plenty of signal power to work with.

Wow! That's a lot of available channels. If only my tvfool report looked that good! Good luck with your project and enjoy all that free tv.

Okay, thanks. I'm new to this, and don't yet know much of anything - I just figured I should ask, since I've seen a lot of talk about amplifiers.

Thanks, I can't believe it took me this long to try. I had no idea there was so much out there!

Tv Antennas and Reception
 

Here is more , http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=265

Thanks for that, I had never heard of FTA satellite. I'll definitely do some research when I get the antenna project settled.

In the meantime, I'm about to order my parts; I think I'm settled on the ANT-751. I have a question about lightning protecting, though. I'm going to use the antenna's included j-mount and mount it to an eave. I plan to use a grounding block, ground wire and 8 foot ground rod for lightning protection. However, on some sites related to antenna installation, I've seen mention of using a lightning arrester in addition to the ground wire - is this necessary? I did some browsing and found a wide variety of arrester types and prices, but couldn't find any definitive information about whether I need one or what kind to buy if I do.

Tv Antennas and Reception
 

Yes use a common ordinary coax grounding block for coax grounding. With a common ordinary coax ground block , the outer shield and shield wires of the coax is grounded , this diverts signals that are received by the coax shield/shield wires to ground and leaves a cleaner signal on the center conductor - the signal carrying wire - of the coax. The house electric service ground wire can be used for grounding. As a phone man you know that all manner of grounding hard ware is available at Home Depot and Lowes. Ground wire , split bolts and etc..

Tv Antennas and Reception
 

A ground wire is run from the J mount to a ground rod or a ground wire such as but not limited to , house electric service ground.

http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=901

If you add a ground rod, it should be bonded to your existing electrical service ground with a #6 copper conductor.