New house, new to OTA, Cross Junction, VA

[Jferg021]

Hello, I have been reading up on this site about making the jump from Dish to OTA and cutting the cable. I just bought a new home in Cross Junction, VA and I am looking at cutting costs down. So for most of my entertainment, I am going to be streaming, but the main downfall would be sports, football in particular. So I am looking at OTA so I can pick up the three major networks, Fox, CBS, and NBC.

Here is the link to my map:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...1dda14d1885117

The main channels I am looking at all seem to be in red. The issue I am running into is choosing the right equipment. The house I bought in in a HOA and does have restrictions on the size of equipment on the top of the house, I would have to look up the exact limits if needed, but The house does have a dish from dish network on the roof still, so I know it can at least be similar in size. While an attic based antenna would be more preferable, I understand the limitations on the reception based off of my area. So I am looking for advise on what I should be looking for in a similar size to the dish on the house, and can anything from the existing dish set up be used in the instillation (ie. Existing coax cable, dish pole, etc.) I am only looking to have one TV in the house for now, as we do not have TV's in bedrooms, but may look to expand to another TV or two in the future.

Thank you all in advance for the help and advise, and if you need any more info please let me know!

[Stereocraig]

The government is actually on the side of us common schmoes on this one.

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/over-air-r...n-devices-rule


HOAs know about this, they're hoping the people are too dumb to know about it.

If they harass you, report them to the FCC.


Your setup will be based on how many TVs you're feeding, which channels you want and how many people will be sharing the TV(s).

[Jferg021]

Thanks for the info!
I don't think their regulations are extremely strict, they just don't want massive dishes or antennas all over the place. Like I said, the house already has a dish from Dish Network left from the previous owner, so I am hoping I wouldn't need a drastically bigger antenna.

As far as your questions, I just have the one TV for now (but would like an easy option to upgrade to more in the future) and I am only looking for the big 3 or 4 for football season. (Fox, CBS, NBC, and ABC wouldn't be bad, but also wouldn't be a deal breaker as they don't carry any NFL games)

The tvfool radar plot and channel list is showing no antenna height above ground.

Please provide a tvfool radar plot and channel list with a 25 foot antenna height.

25 feet is a reference antenna height.

[Jferg021]

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...1dda1dd49bdadb

Sorry about that!

To reach out for the long distance reception of , NBC , CBS , PBS , FOX , MyNetwork , The CW , LWN Live Well Network , This Tv , Me-Tv , Antenna Tv , Cozi Tv , Multi-World Networks , Independent Networks , Mundo Fox , Univision , to the South East.

Install above the Peak of the Roof in such a manner that reception is not blocked by the roof and house , a Winegard HD7698P antenna aimed at about 127 degree magnetic compass direction.

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

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Here are some Strong and Sturdy antenna mounts.

http://www.ronard.com/909911.html. Use the 5 foot tripod antenna mount.

http://www.ronard.com/34424560.html. Use the #4560 eave antenna mount.

http://www.ronard.com/ychim.html.

http://www.ronard.com.

Buy the ronard antenna mounts at solidsignal by typing the word ronard in the solidsignal search box or buy from ronard.

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Here are some places to buy antennas and etc. .

http://www.solidsignal.com.

http://www.amazon.com.

http://www.winegarddirect.com.

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Install a Winegard AP8700 preamp.

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For 1 Tv connected use No splitter.

For 2 Tv's connected use a , HFS-2D , 2 way splitter.

For 3 Tv's connected use a , HFS-3D , 3 way splitter.

Buy the HFS splitters at , http://www.solidsignal.com , or , http://www.hollandelectronics.com.
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3 Local Digital Tv stations/channels will most likely be received also.
WWPX , ION.
W07DN , PBS.
WVPY , PBS.

And possibly WHAG , NBC.

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The ABC Tv station WJLA-Tv channel 07 , ABC will not be received. The signal is too weak.

The strong signal strength , local W07DN-D channel 07 PBS will be received.

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The Local ABC Tv station WHSV , ABC will most likely not be received. The problem is your location , terrain blockage = hills and mountains

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Terrain blockage of All Tv Stations except 1 - W07DN-D channel 07 PBS.

Is the number 1 issue/problem at your location.

I reverse engineered to a location close to your location and entered in higher antenna heights to see if higher antenna heights would help reception.

Not enough to go any higher then 25 feet.

Reception does improve , a little , by having the antenna lower then 25 feet.

About 10 to 15 feet above ground is Ok.

However installing the antenna at about 10 to 15 feet might be to low , because if there are trees blocking reception at the lower antenna height.

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As always, trees and tree leaves , plants and plant leaves , have a negative effect on reception , multi-path/reflections , absorbing , blocking , reception and so do buildings and other obstructions including your own roof and house.

The best practice is to install the antenna at a location that has the least amount to no amount of obstructions of any type or kind in the directions of reception including your own roof and house.

At your location that is , south east , north east , south-south west.

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As a Test of reception of WHSV , ABC , aim the HD7698P antenna at about 192 degree magnetic compass direction , and scan for channels.

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The Tv's Must Scan for the OTA=Over The Air , Digital Broadcast Tv stations/channels , often 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.

Some Digital Tv's will Automatic channel scan for cable tv channels.

DO NOT channel scan for cable tv channels.

Go into the Tv Setup Menu and select 'Air Channels ~ 'Antenna Channels'.

Scan for channels.