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Old 14-Dec-2013, 5:21 PM   #1
voyager
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 2
Help - Antenna Recommendation for Los Angeles area

I would appreciate a recommendation for an antenna for my area in southern California, 30 miles east of Los Angeles.

tvfool report:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...46aeecca70858f

The main stations I am interested in receiving (along with their real channel #) are: KVCR(26), KABC(7), KTTV(11), KCOP(13), KCAL(9), KTLA(31), KNBC(36), KOCE(48), KCBS(43), KCET(28). (There are stations on both UHF and VHF).

I am unfortunately situated at the bottom of a hill that is between my house and the TV broadcast antennas. Even though the stations I want are only 20-30 miles away, I have a really hard time picking up any stations at all.

I am currently using Philips MANT940 indoor antenna (UHF only - I didn't realize at the time that I needed VHF reception also). It gives marginal at best reception for KCBS(43), KNBC(36), KTLA(31), KVCR(26), and KCET(28). Sometimes I get reception, and sometimes I don't. To give you an example of how marginal the reception is, all it takes is a neighbor mowing his lawn (I kid you not), or the sprinklers turning on outside, or an airplane flying nearby, and there goes my reception.

I plan on mounting the mast on the eave. Between the height of the eave and the length of the mast, I figure the antenna will be around 20 - 22 feet above ground. I have 2 TVs, so hope to be feeding the TV signal to both TVs. On the positive side, it appears like all the stations I'm interested in are in the same direction. (FYI, I have a steel roof. I don't know if that might make a difference in your recommedation.)

My preference, if appropriate for my situation, is for one of the "flat" antenna types similar to the Antennas Direct DB8e (vs. the larger traditional yagi style). From reading reviews, I gather that the elements on many of the yagi antennas are made from very thin wall tubes, and birds like to land on them, bending/breaking the elements. (I know the DB8e is UHF only, I'm just using that as an example of the antenna "shape"). Another reason is I would prefer not to have a massive antenna if possible.

Thanks in advance for your advice and recommendations.

Last edited by voyager; 15-Dec-2013 at 4:29 PM.
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