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Old 3-Jul-2015, 12:19 AM   #1
chawni
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What is a Recommendation for Best Antenna for my Area?

I am about to cut the cord and I have a few questions for some of you "seasoned" cutters. I live in the country (north FL) surrounded by trees (not flat terrain) approximately 40 miles from TV stations transmitters. Could you give me recommendations on a good antenna, pre amp and an antenna amplifier? Unless I get a "good signal for OTA channels, it makes it very hard to cut that cord.
I did run an analysis but it looks Greek to me.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...8e03ffd464d49d

Any suggestion would be much appreciated!

Thanks!
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Old 5-Jul-2015, 1:46 PM   #2
Billiam
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Are you interested in receiving any channels in your report that are listed in Yellow or Red? If so, which channels?
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Old 5-Jul-2015, 2:02 PM   #3
chawni
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Not interested in any channels in red or yellow. Just green and a few blue. That's it.
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Old 5-Jul-2015, 2:36 PM   #4
Billiam
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chawni View Post
Not interested in any channels in red or yellow. Just green and a few blue. That's it.
In other words, any station below WABW TV 14 PBS does not interest you.

Do you plan to watch WBXT TV 4 which is a low power station?
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Old 5-Jul-2015, 4:46 PM   #5
chawni
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These are the channels that are important.

channels.JPG

I do get "getTV" "meTV" and "ThisTV" but the picture is very unstable.
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Old 5-Jul-2015, 8:32 PM   #6
Billiam
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Chawni. Can you install an outdoor antenna? And a rotor? You won't need a pre amp since all those signals are strong. Just a matter of recommending the right antenna and a rotor if you can install them outside. Attic installs are more of a problem and can cause issues with your signals, even if they are strong.
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Old 6-Jul-2015, 2:27 AM   #7
rabbit73
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Your trees worry me; I see a lot in your area. Can you get your antenna above the trees looking east, which is your most promising direction for the channels you want?

Maybe you could take a picture looking that way.

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/antennas/siting.html
scroll down to Trees and UHF

An Antennas Direct DB4E aimed at 95 degrees magnetic should get most of what you want.

http://www.rabbitears.info/market.ph...&callsign=wtxl
click on the callsigns for details; you will see that many are not on the air
http://www.rabbitears.info/market.ph...&callsign=wctv

You might not get PBS without a second antenna.
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File Type: jpg chawniTVFtrees (2).jpg (260.0 KB, 688 views)
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Last edited by rabbit73; 6-Jul-2015 at 2:45 AM.
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Old 7-Jul-2015, 12:00 AM   #8
Billiam
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In this case a rotor would be best. I too have a tree problem and while I can watch most of what I want if I point my antenna in the direction of most station's towers, I will not always get a reliable picture. Just last night while watching a station (real Ch. 25 with a NM of around 65) I had the antenna pointed right at the tower but it was also pointed right into a tree. By moving the antenna just five degrees more to the north I eliminated the picture break up. While the antenna was still pointed at the tree, at least I found the right spot where enough signal got through to prevent the multipath picture breakup.

The only real solution to the problem is to be able to rotate the antenna. Otherwise a fixed antenna will likely run into the same problem that I have and have had in the past with the trees impacting the signal. Rotating the antennas solved the problem.
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Old 7-Jul-2015, 2:22 AM   #9
StephanieS
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Interesting scenario.

The LP on real channel 4 makes things interesting. According to wikipedia, WBXT-LP carries MTV2 programming. Further, the other signals at 132/163/164 magnetic seem to be of off the beaten path programming with religion, music or foreign language. Chawni do you really want to invest in these little obscurities?

If you take those little obscurities out of the equation, you open up much easier scenarios. The most attractive one to me is a two antenna application:

UHF: Antennas Direct DB8e (Tallahassee)
Panel 1 magnetic 217 (PBS)
Panel 2 magnetic 96 (NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX)

(OPTIONAL -using antenna low and high VHF capabilities only)

VHF: Winegard HD8200U (Albany, GA)
Point to magnetic 35
Reception of Albany FOX and NBC along with Georgia PBS.

Combine antennas on mast with an Antennas Direct EU385CF combiner or test RCA TVPRAMP1R preamp to combine signals into one coax. The RCA preamp is neat that it allows you to combine a UHF and VHF antenna into a single lead.

The Trees are a serious consideration. To have any real chance at reliable reception, you must get above the trees.

I'd suggest blowing off the little obscure channels and focusing on full power broadcasters. With some smart choices you'll have all of Tallahassee and FOX, NBC and PBS from Albany.

Cheers.
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