[Joe Siegler]

Originally Posted by GroundUrMast

You are correct, amplifiers are intended to increase the amplitude (strength) of signals. However all amplifiers, even the best, add noise to the signals. Amplifiers also have a limit to how strong a signal (or combination of signals) can be at the input. If the input signals are too strong for a given amplifier design, the output will be a distorted mess.

Fair enough. I get that.

You are in a location were OTA reception is very easy. The Winegard HD7694P JC has suggested will provide more than enough signal strength to deliver strong signals through a 4-way passive splitter and 100 feet of coax.

But that is to me, a "roof" antenna. That's not the kind of thing I can sit on top of my bookshelf in the room. If I was going with an attic antenna, I might as well go on the roof. The reason I wanted to do indoor is to avoid the expense of hiring someone to do all this work. It's beyond my capabilities, so if someone had to go into the attic to put an antenna up there, they might as well do it on the roof, since they'd have to do drilling to run wires and all that. This is all stuff I'm incapable (or unwilling) to do myself.

If your old rabbit ears fail to receive well, it raises a question about the construction of your home. Walls with foil faced insulation, metal siding, metal studs, stucco wire or similar materials will make indoor reception difficult. In such conditions, amplifiers will not correct the underlying problem.

That's a valid point too, but we're the fifth owners of a 25 year old house. I have no idea what's on the inside of the walls, and no way to know how to find out short of cutting into the wall.

The rabbit ears work for the channels they do pick up, but the old rabbit ears have a dial which let you go back and forth between VHF & UHF, but as I said earlier, it's so old and worn, I have no idea what turning the dial is actually DOING as such. On top of that, I want an option that doesn't require me to turn a knob to get different channels.

You have made it clear that you want to avoid an outdoor antenna if possible. The Terk HDTVi is one option. But I would recommend you re-try your rabbit ears near a window with a view to the SW. You may find you don't need to spend a dime.

Terk HDTVi is amplified, isn't it? What's the difference between that one and the one I suggested myself earlier in the thread, a Winegard SS-3000, then? Unless you're suggesting using them without their amplifiers plugged in, which I think is possible, isn't it?

The problem with the room that I'm putting this in is that there's no window save on the total opposite side of the room. Rearranging to get to a window is not an option, so unless I wanted to run a cable along the inside of the room over to that window and mount the antenna upside down in the window area, I don't see how I'll be able to get it near a window at all.

That's the main reason I wanted to not do an outdoor antenna. Cost. I'd have to pay someone to do all that, and I just do not have the $ for that being unemployed at the moment.

Here's a visual look at the room in question. The first picture was taken right before my HDTV got delivered. The intended place for the antenna is on top of the DVD rack you see in this picture.



If you turn around 180 degrees, you see the only window in the room, which is in this second shot. I took the first shot standing inbetween the window and the sofa in this second shot. The second shot was taken the night before we had new blinds installed, which is why there's nothing in the window in this picture.



There's no easy way to get an antenna for this TV near a window, save for running line through the room over there, and that won't look too pretty, IMO.