antenna recommendation in NC

[SVTarHeel]

Originally Posted by SVTarHeel

So, the bottom line is: would you have any thoughts as to my best bet? The way I see it, my options in order of increasing cost would be:

• add an amplifier (before the splitter) to the existing rabbit ears setup
• go with a better antenna
• use a better antenna and an amp

(Or maybe bypass all that and use the existing mounted antenna somehow.)

My previous post, quoted above, is at the top of page 2. With dcp12345678 narrowing his ION solution, I was wondering if there were any more thoughts (in addition to Scott784's helpful antenna ideas) for what I am trying to do. I'm specifically wondering if an amplifier is needed or recommended or what else I might be able to do/try to feed both tuners.

[mtownsend]

Here's my 2 cents:

>> Indoor antennas are victim to a lot of multipath (signals bouncing around the room), interference, and random events (e.g., people walking around). Your signal breakup is most likely due to the sub-ideal environment that the antenna is in. Adding an amp will not help in this situation.

>> You have nice strong signals from most of the major networks. Depending on exactly which channels matter to you, I think you can do pretty well with a slightly better antenna mounted in the attic or on the roof. Any of the 2-bay bowtie antennas like the Channel Master 4220HD or similar antennas ought to do well.

>> If you're really into getting something for (almost) nothing and don't mind spending some time building something yourself, there are some DIY antenna designs out there that would probably also fit the bill. This might be best suited to an attic installation since DIY antennas tend to be less weather-resistant than commercial antennas.

[SVTarHeel]

Originally Posted by mtownsend

Here's my 2 cents

mtownsend, thanks so much for that. I guess I'm down to a decision between something in the crawlspace above the TV or on the mast that's lashed to the chimney. Then, I need to decide which direction to point it. I hope that'll be the easy part since the main broadcast stations I'm after are pretty much 180 degrees off from each other at my location.

Thanks again for all the feedback.

[GroundUrMast]

@SVTarHeel
Agreeing with mtownsend, I would like to suggest that an amplifier wouldn't be my choice. You have plenty of signal available... IF you place an antenna where it can intercept it. The attic is worth trying, but the roof should be a winning location for sure. An amplifier would be a source of trouble, as it adds noise and distorts strong signals, mixing them together.

The suggested CM4220 or similar Antennas Direct DB-2 are excellent options. Either antenna should have no trouble delivering plenty of signal power with no need of any sort of amplifier. Start by facing 138° per your compass, fine tune the aim, then lock it down. I would expect 31 & 32, WXII & WUNL to make it in through the back of the antenna.

[SVTarHeel]

Originally Posted by GroundUrMast

The suggested CM4220 or similar Antennas Direct DB-2 are excellent options. Either antenna should have no trouble delivering plenty of signal power with no need of any sort of amplifier. Start by facing 138° per your compass, fine tune the aim, then lock it down. I would expect 31 & 32, WXII & WUNL to make it in through the back of the antenna.

Thanks for the input. Last year, when we were first considering the DirecTV switchover, I did a chat with someone at Solid Signal. His suggestion was the DB4 but that seemed like it might be a bit of overkill.

We had some very strong storms move through today and lost the sat signal for awhile. WFMY-CBS is plenty strong with the rabbit ears, so we watched the golf playoff before we ate, but the storms (and any potential snow interruptions this winter) have me very interested in moving forward with a quality OTA backup plan.

[slowhike]

Another NC neighbor here. I live just south of Winston-Salem in Midway.
It's been interesting to read about what channels others are getting on their antennas & the antenna choices being discussed. Thanks.
Here is a thread I started... http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.p...4430#post14430

[dcp12345678]

Hi,

It's been awhile, and we are still limping along on our 1992 model analog TV and haven't done anything on the antenna/new TV purchase yet due to some other financial priorities. So we're still using the $10 per month broadcast cable service with our ancient TV. It's funny, now when you press the power buttons on the TV, it stops working, but I can get it working again by fiddling with the buttons using some needle nose pliers. The remote works ok, and we have to use it exclusively now. So I put a piece of duct tape across the buttons on the TV to keep people from pressing them. So far, it seems to work until somebody rips off the duct tape .

The original recommendations in this thread were to go with Antenna Craft U4000 or Clearstream 4 to get longer range stations. I do want to try to get longer range stations to get as many possible stations as I can, like from the Charlotte area, for example.

But I noticed a new antenna from Antenna's Direct, called the DB4E. When I talked to antenna's direct on the phone, they said it was better than the clearstream 4. I just wondered, would this be a good option in my situation?

As you can see by my report, we have transmitters all over the place, not in one general direction, which is why I think the U4000 was recommended initially. But the DB4E seems to have an even wider beam width (it's 60 degrees) than the U4000 (something like 54 degrees I think).

Since this is a long, long, thread, here's the tvfool analysis link again.
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...7fcf0f739c334c

The DB4E is a lot more expensive, but if it means getting a lot of extra stations from the Charlotte area it's definitely worth it in my opinion.

Thanks for any advice.

[Dave Loudin]

The DB4e is an excellent idea.