Yet another newbie in need of help

fishtv · 6-Jan-2013, 8:42 PM

Tried the RCA ANT111 and only received four channels: two versions of NBC (17-1 and 17-2) and four versions of Ion (40-1, 40-2, 40-3, 40-4). They all came in clearly with no fiddling around with the antenna but nothing else came through. I'd like to get at least the basic channels NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, and Fox. I rent and can't install an attic or roof mount antenna. Other indoor antennas (besides the RCA ANT111) have crappy reviews on just about every site I checked on the internet. Can anyone recommend a different indoor antenna to try? Thanks!

TV Fool analysis: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...c84f5ea25b426b

6-Jan-2013, 8:59 PM

Is this a , house , town home , condo , apartment , mobile home , motor home , or etc.??

What directions do the , windows , patios , balconies , face.

What floor??

How many floors??

What is the top floor??

ADTech · 7-Jan-2013, 2:44 PM

Indoor reception probably deserve the poor reviews regardless of the antenna used. Because of the inherent limitations of indoor antennas, reception with them will be hit or miss unless you happen to get the right combination of location, signals, and equipment.

Most of Raleigh's stations transmit from a location about 20 miles southeast of you. However, several broadcast from a location near Dallas, about 30 miles west of you. Still others transmit from the mountain ridge about 60 miles northwest of you but place a decent signal into Raleigh due to their very favorable transmitting location.

You'll have to experiment with the antenna's location and orientation to see what might work the best for you. In general, placing the antenna in front of a window that faces the broadcast towers is usually the best bet. Anything else is going to be potluck.

fishtv · 7-Jan-2013, 6:26 PM

Thanks for the insight! I tried the window with no improvement. Will try another model of indoor antenna (any suggestions?) but like you say, they will probably all work about the same.

ADTech · 7-Jan-2013, 9:49 PM

On the UHF side, using an antenna that has a reflector usually helps by making the antenna more directional while reducing some of the reflections.

For VHF, since an equivalent performance antenna would be about 4 times larger than its UHF counterpart, it usually isn't practical to use anything other than a dipole or an adaptation of one.

You're probably going to need to look out your windows that face the direction of the signals and see what might be blocking the signal path - trees, buildings, a hill, etc...