I'm in western NY, right smack between Rochester and Buffalo. Switched from Dish Network to OTA only about 12 months ago when I lost my job. Given our budget I went with a fairly inexpensive setup. I purchased an Antennacraft U4000 from Radio Shack. It is installed on a mast on the side of a single story addition on the southeast corner of our house about 15-18' in the air. We are in a neighborhood of 2 and 3 story homes and large, old trees. Neighbor on the south side of us is a 3 story home about 20' from the mast location. We have a fairly narrow line of sight window to the south west. Neighbors east of us are also 2 and 3 story homes about 125' away. Antenna is aimed southwest towards Buffalo broadcast locations. I removed the reflectors from the rear of the U4000 to help reception from Rochester.
Currently we are getting NBC, CBS out of Buffalo and WXXI, FOX, out of Rochester fairly consistently although the signals from each of these are scrambled/digitized from time to time. ABC out of Buffalo and CBS out of Rochester is hit or miss. ABC out of Rochester isn't happening at all. We also get WNYO and ION fairly reliably.
Ideally, I'd like to get the full slate of Rochester and Buffalo stations. Are stations out of Toronto not likely? CBC would be a nice addition.
I guess my big question is, would a good pre-amp be enough to get me most or all of Buffalo/Rochester? If not, antenna suggestions? My home is a 3 story building with a very steep roof pitch. I am not getting up there myself to install on the roof. If needed, I guess I'd have to consider paying an installer to get up there, but if I can do it from my 18' mast on the 1st floor addition that is what I would prefer as that fits our budget a whole lot better.
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...5b94b135a15388
Any help is appreciated.