I hope this isn't too long, but I'm new here and I figure I'm better off providing more details than leaving out something that could make a difference.
Here's my report from TV FOOL. I'm in a new house and surrounded mostly by woodlands. From maps and the interactive TV FOOL map, even though the house is about 25' from the top of a small rise, we don't seem to be in any valley or low area.
Here's a breakdown on possible channels from the nearby city that I'd prefer:
Basically, I want to get the top 6 channels listed in the report. (Note that real channels 44 and 42 (virtual 23 & 57) come from the same transmitter - if that matters.) (I think 25 transmits from the same tower, but I'm not sure.) Most of these real channels, 22, 25, 25, 42, & 44, all come from due north of my location. Real channel 12 is (azimuth 22°) and is the main channel I want to receive. After that would be the 5 stations from due north. If I can also get real channel 47 (azimuth 32°), that would be nice, but it's not necessary. All these stations, except 47 (36 miles away), are 15-16 miles from me.
I started out using a
typical flat indoor antenna inside my house on the first floor. It's amplified with power from a USB connector. I could get the 5 channels from due north, but could not get 12, the one I most wanted. I moved up to the 2nd floor and had the same results. Then I moved the antenna outside on the 2nd floor porch (about 15' from where it was inside on the 2nd floor) and was able to get the channels from due north. At this point I could not get 12, the one I really want.
I figured at this point I was probably far enough above ground, the house wasn't in the way, with nothing but trees for about half a mile from me, and maybe I should try a new antenna. I bought an
RCA Indoor/Outdoor Amplified Flat Antenna. First I tried it from my porch and could not get channel 12, even trying different directions, including pointing the large flat part of the antenna 22° from North, toward that station's transmitter (I was using a compass for directional reference).
I mounted the RCA antenna to a 2x4 and took it out front, higher up, and used an extension cord so I could power the booster and a TV set for testing and walked partway of the small hill near our house. After several tries, I found I could get the 5 channels from due north and the one I wanted. Once I noted the direction, I want to a spot at the north end of the house, near a good place to mount the antenna, and tested a number of spots. I decided I could mount it there, since I could get all the channels I wanted.
It was late, so I went back in, and, just for grins, tested the simpler and cheaper antenna from the porch again and found, after playing with it, I could get the station I wanted. (At this point I feel if I can get the station I want, the other stations will come in too.) I was able to get all my channels. I'd have stopped there, but that was a poor place to mount an antenna permanently. (There are details to that, but they're not really important.)
The next day I went out to mount the better antenna. In short I found that the coax cable I used to connect it made all the difference and even moving the coax cable 2" could kill reception. I tried it in different positions, pointed in different directions, and rotating the antenna in different directions. It looked like the connection to the F Connector on that cable was iffy. I replaced that cable with a good one and suddenly it was impossible to get channel 12 with that antenna, no matter what I did. The other stations would come in fine, but 12 wouldn't come in at all.
I took the cheap antenna, experimented with it, and found if I put it on my wife's sewing cabinet, just inside the north wall of the house, I got far better reception than I was getting from the more expensive antenna. This is working, but it's a temporary fix. Sometimes reception is good, but it often starts cutting in and out.
I want to be able to mount an antenna permanently for the best reception I can get. The problem is I see a lot of different reviews of antennas. Customers basically give an antenna the highest rating if they get what they want and low ratings if they don't, so those reviews are worthless since we don't know the conditions for testing. When I look over websites that test different models, it's still hard to tell which ones are the best. At this point my guess is that my best bet is a yagi style antenna, since I see a lot of good comments about them or something like what's offered by
Clearstream (or Antennas Direct?).
I am hoping to skip over a lot of possible antennas and just go for a good one. If I could be sure a yagi or the Clearstream one above would work, or if another model would work, I'd just spend the money and get it. I'm not sure how much directionality is an issue when I'm dealing with a span of 22° (especially when all the due north stations seem to come in clearly with eas) - or a span of 32° if I try to get the CW station, channel 47.
I've been researching on the web, but I just don't feel like I know enough to know what kind of antenna I can get for the best reception for my situation.