Hi, I've been doing a lot of research online, trying to get some wonderfully FREE TV reception. Crazy to pay for cable, satellite when the best programming is on the Networks anyway.
So anyway, I live in a rural area, with lots of big mountains and tall trees...
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...b7c821758a155e
I found an old combo antenna behind the shed, left by the former owner, I'm pretty sure it's a Channelmaster 3018. So I put that on my roof with a 10' mast made from a rail from a chain link fence that was also left behind. It's very sturdy in the wind. That puts the antenna at about 30-35' off the ground. I have it pointed at approximately 29 degrees true. There's maybe about 50' of 75 ohm cable running to my TV in the basement.
So with that setup I'm getting KBDI, KMGH, and KWHD reliably. The other day (clear, calm weather) I picked up KUSA, KTVD, and KCNC but they were intermittant and pixilated. I am hoping to be able to get channels (virtual) 12, 7, 9, 20, 31, 4, 2, and KRMA 6 way down the list. That last one's a long shot though.
So through all my research I'm thinking I need to add a preamp, and then probably replace the antenna too with something bigger, or maybe add a second ant. I'm leaning toward the Winegard AP 8780 preamp to really boost those UHF channels. And the Winegard HD 7697P antenna. I'm trying to spend as little as possible and not go overboard with something like an HD8200U unless absolutely necessary.
This is my first experiment with OTA TV and I'm pretty excited about it. Any advise, thought, input, or help would be greatly appreciated.
~Jeremiah