Dropped satellite, need advice on antenna (newbie)
 

Hey guys, had to drop satellite due to the expense of it and need a little advice. First of all, I live in Davenport, Ia, have an HDTV with a tuner built in with no buildings besides houses anywhere near me. I have a cheap Philips amplified indoor antenna sitting in the West window with which I can get pretty good reception of the local 4 channels and spotty reception from the various PBS stations from Iowa and illinois. based on the information from this link, what do you recommend as far as a roof top antenna?
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...60b5d6f6a38511 I read good reviews of the RCA ANT751R and would use my existing satellite mount and wires.
Any help would be appreciated

Thanx, Kent

An outdoor antenna will certainly offer better reception. I think well of the ANT-751 and expect that others may recommend it in your case. But I think a 4-bay panel antenna (U4000, DB-4, CS4, CM4221, HD4400) would be a better choice in you situation because it offers more gain. My hope would be that you would find a single aim point that offers reliable reception of all the stations you're interested in. I'd start with the antenna facing about 145° but try panning left and right, even trying the opposite direction, about 285°.

The challenge you might face is that the stations are scattered around the compass. If you can't find a single aim point that gives you the stations you want, you would need to consider adding a rotator or a multi-antenna solution.

The 4-bay UHF only antennas I mentioned will not provide the best reception of KIIN-PBS, real channel 12. However, with WQPT and WQIN available, I am in favor of trying a simple one antenna solution.

Thank you GroundUrMast for the information. Question; the antennas you recommend
Are UHF; I think 4.1,4.2,6.1,6.2,8.1,8.2,8.3 (aka 4,6 and 8) are VHF; if they are, do
I need a combo VHF/UHF antenna to pick up the most stations?. I know the RCA antenna
I mentioned is both but its not multi directional.
Please excuse my ignorance on this subject, and all help is very appreciated and well
Learned

Kent

You only need a UHF antenna for local reception unless you absolutely have to have KIIN.

Everything else in the QC is available on UHF stations. WHBF simulcasts on VHF-4 and UHF 47. Local channels 6 & 8 are UHF regardless of their analog channel numbers.

Take a close look at your TVFR, the column 'channel, real' indicates if the station is using a UHF or VHF channel. Real channel 14 and up are UHF.

Thank you AdTech and GroundUrMast, I'm understanding much better now,
I looked at the the real channels and I understand that..thank you.
Now I hope I can use my existing satellite mount; I'm assuming I can,
And if Its not easy I'm sure there's a way. I'll let you know how this goes.
Thanks guys!!

Kent

I just ordered the DB4, there were no stores locally that had any of the ones that were recommended.
Do I need an amplifier for this or is that something I'll know after I install it?

Kent

Did you try Warren Electronics in Moline, IL?

http://www.warrenelectronics.com/

If you have only one TV connected, try running with no amplifier.

If you prove the need, use a high-input design such as Antennas Direct CPA-19 or Winegard HDP-269. You'll be facing several strong signals that will overload many other amplifiers. If you anticipate adding one or two high-VHF antennas, the Antennacraft 10G221 is another amplifier to consider.

Ok, just received my DB4 and going to install to satellite mast on roof
Tomorrow, question: I was studying the existing RG6 cable in the basement
And I noticed that it comes in to the house with the ground wire riding along
Side the wire then at one point it attatches to the ground then enters a little
Box; it goes in to "pwr to SWM" and the cable that comes out to the TV is
Labeled "Signal to IRD" and is plugged in to an outlet. Do I need to bypass
This box and go directly to the TV?

Thanx, Kent

Ok, installed the new antenna today and it was very easy and quick.as far as the SWM box in the
Basement, I just unplugged it because I still don't know what it is and didn't want to damage
Anything. Well, I'm getting good reception and getting 24.1 and 24.2 PBS, I didn't receive them before.
I didn't do an exact pointing of the antenna but it seems just fine where its at. I'm not getting any
Additional staitions with it except the ones mentioned but the ones I get are more consistant
As far as always getting reception. Anyway, all seems well and thank you guys for all your help; if I
Decide to experiment with trying to get even more stations I'll be posting

Thanks, Kent