Another noob looking for advice

[High_Noonan]

I am just getting going with cutting Comcast out of my life.
We already have the most basic TV "package" available in order to keep the Internet cost from going up.

I found this site and have run the analysis with 25' added for elevation. This turns out to be pretty true for my situation. The previous owner of the house had started running the structured cabling to the attic, so I just finished the job he started. All rooms now have coax and Ethernet running back to the attic.

Here are my results:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...99008262bdc749

As you can see, I am between two cities. Any suggestions on an antenna? We currently have one aging LCD flat panel HDTV in the living room and an even older CRT in the bedroom. With a new baby in the house, we are watching lots and lots of PBS and love having access to the channels in both cities (Boston and Providence).

Finding a replacement for the Internet access is proving more difficult, but getting rid of Comcast TV is a great first step. They recently made us install new tuners (?) and it has just been a nightmare, especially with audio.

Thanks, folks. I look forward to researching your suggestions.

[GroundUrMast]

Mount an Antennas Direct Clear Stream 2 Complete (http://www.antennasdirect.com/store/...VHF-Combo.html) where it has a clear view north and south. You'll be able to see the signals from both directions.

I don't think you'll need any amplifier. But if the need is proven, an amplifier can be added later.

[High_Noonan]

Thanks for that.
I didn't think that an amp would be needed because of the distance, but was more concerned with the whole north-south situation.
I was kind of expecting a suggestion of an omni-directional pointed dead east!
I spent a good deal of time researching this stuff today. It is quite a bit to learn. And the market seems to be full of hucksters.
A forum like this is invaluable.
Thank you for the input.

A Simple reception situation.

Many , many , many , many , Strong Digital Tv stations/channels.

Above the roof install and aim a ANT751 antenna at about 23 degree magnetic compass direction.

Here is how to aim antennas , http://www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html.

For 1 Tv connected use no amplifier or splitter.

For 2 Tv's connected use a common simple 2 way splitter.

For 3 or 4 Tv's connected use a CM3414 distribution amplifier.

Here are some places to buy antennas and etc. , Solidsignal has a ANT751 and J mount antenna mount package , low dollars.

http://www.solidsignal.com , http://www.amazon.com , http://www.channelmasterstore.com.

_____________________

The ANT751 does have some forward gain so the antenna is aimed in the direction of the weakest Tv station/channel at about 23 degree magnetic compass .


The ANT751 is not a very directional antenna so will also receive those Tv transmissions to the , south , south east , south west , east , north west.

______________

As always , trees and tree leaves do a real good job of reducing or blocking Tv reception and so do buildings and other obstructions.

Mount the ANT751 antenna so that there is the least amount to no amount of obstructions to the , north east , north west , east , south east , south , south west.

The 2 main groups of Tv stations are , north east and south.

[GroundUrMast]

Omni directional antennas leave you open to multipath problems more than any other type. Most directional antennas tend to be least sensitive to the sides but quite often can receive fairly well from the rear... relative to the sides.

I should have mentioned, face the antenna to the north. The stronger signals from the south will be received with power to spare.

You may not see real CH-10 & 22 but NBC-Shopping and a network feed that's available from WLVI to the north makes me think it's not to bad a compromise.

The Tv/s Must Channel Scan for the Digital Broadcast Tv Stations/Channels , sometimes named the 'Air Channels' or 'Antenna Channels' in the Tv setup menu because the Tv transmissions travel through the air from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna.

DO NOT channel scan for cable tv channels.

[High_Noonan]

Originally Posted by teleview

A Simple reception situation.
Above the roof install and aim a ANT751 antenna at about 23 degree magnetic compass direction.
The 2 main groups of Tv stations are , north east and south.

Thank you, Teleview!
I received the ANT751r for Christmas and mounted in inside my attic, pointed at roughly 23 (compass) north. In last night's snow storm, I pulled in 35 channels, most of them in amazing HD! My wife was skeptical at first, but she is starting to see the difference between what we pay for on Comcast and what is available for free over the air. Now I just need to find a digital converter box for our old CRT in the bedroom, but that is a subject for a different thread.

I just wanted to come back and give this thread some closure and express my thanks for all of the input I've received.

Walmart has the RCA DTA800B1 Digital to Analog converter box.

Here are some Digital boxes that do a lot more.

http://www.epvision.com.

http://www.channelmasterstore.com.

Here are more Practical and Useful web sites.

http://columbiaisa.50webs.com/homepage.htm.

http://www.rabbitears.info.

http://www.ftalist.com.

http://www.slingbox.com.

http://www.ramelectronics.net.

http://www.sewelldirect.com.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=570.

http://www.starkelectronic.com.

http://www.tigerdirect.com.

http://www.winegarddirect.com.

http://www.digicircle.com.

http://wwitv.com.