Hi Everyone,
Like so many others, below the line fees on my cable bill put me over the top and I have decided to pull the plug on Cable TV. I don’t watch any sports, and WOW my Cable Provider added a $2/month Sports Fee to my bill that is below the line that hit my bill immediately in addition to a $12 bundle price increase and a $5.75 broadcast fee. The sports one really gets me because I don’t watch any sports and there is no way to get rid of the sports. I know the fees and price increases are not going away. I analyzed my family’s TV habits and 60% of what we watch is on broadcast. Most of what is remaining we can do without and I think we will try a Netflix plan.
I have spent quite a bit of time researching Antennas and how to ask for help. I think I have a good plan; I just want to run it past others to make sure it sounds good and I am not missing anything or making any mistakes in my planning.
TV Fool Report:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...d243717c69c99f
Antenna / Wiring / Amp Plan:- Antennas Direct DB8e – To go in my attic, mostly for aesthetic reasons (wife) and I really don’t like being up high outside on a ladder
- 1 Bay will be pointed at 14 Degrees to get everything due North and include WADL at 34 Degrees
- 1 Bay will be pointed at 89 Degrees to get 2 Stations out of Canada, CBET and CICO
- I have a big spool of RG6-Quad that I will use to run from attic to my basement, I estimate that it will be about 45’ of length from attic to basement. I will put Compression connectors on each end of the cable. I also already have the compression tool as well as the correct connectors.
- Once it gets to the basement, I will split it using a 4 port Drop Amp I already have, Electroline EDA-2400 that adds 7dB per line.
- From the Drop Amp, it will go to 1 Plasma TV, 1 HD HomeRun on the network, 1 PCI-e WinTV-HVR-2250 and 1 Digital Converter Box.
Other Concerns / Thoughts:- WJBK (Fox) is on real channel 7 VHF and CBET (CBC) is on real channel 9 VHF, I know that DB8e is a UHV antenna but I am hoping since the signal is strong for both channels, I will be able to pull it in. I also thought about getting a VHF add on Antennas Direct VHF-1 VHF Retrofit Kit and add 1 to each Bay.
- My neighbor’s house is directly beside me to the North with probably 18 feet between us. My house sits closer to the road than his so I am going to install in reasonably high spot in the attic, towards the road so I avoid going through his house as much as possible
- I know the DB8e is probably overkill but I would rather spend more up front and have a very solid setup in the attic rather than saving some money and putting it outside. I’ve got $200 budgeted for this setup so that definitely covers me with some leftover
- Anyone think I have a chance of getting CIII-DT channel 22 out of Canada? I think it would be cool to be the only person in my neighborhood watching the nightly news from Toronto
My wife is skeptical so I want to get it right from the beginning. Any additional thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.