Help me shed DirecTV and go OTA

ddeluna · 25-Jan-2011, 6:15 AM

Been reading off and on the last 3 days since I found you guys. Addicting! You guys remind me when I used to live and breathe tech forums. I'm a recovering techno-geek (WAN designer) but this stuff is way over my head. Please help!

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...3cf435c37b4cab

I'm 25 or so miles east of Oakland, CA. I took a gander at the signal analysis and told me wife "we're pointing east!" But our life and work is west, toward the east bay and San Francisco. She has to watch local (SF Bay Area) news/programming as she gets ready for work. According to this analysis and her demands, I may need one antenna pointed west, the other antenna east.

How come no one seems to recommend that antenna advertised on this site - 150 mile range.....?

And if you recommend this, which ones? Should one of them be on a rotor to get access to the stations up northwest?

Another thing that puzzles me - the two SF/Oakland stations we are hoping to not lose is KRON(.com), which on their site says they are OTA digital channel 38?? and KPIX (CBS) in San Francisco. Why are these two stations not appearing on the signal analysis??

This is a whole new world opened up for me. No more tears when my DirecTV bill comes...cuz it won't come!

Thanks Guys. David

Tower Guy · 25-Jan-2011, 3:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddeluna

How come no one seems to recommend that antenna advertised on this site - 150 mile range.....?

That range assumes line of sight conditions, i.e., if you live on the top of a mountain that has no hills between you and the transmitter. Almost any medium gain antenna installed properly can do the same thing.

I don't see a good way for you to pick up all the SF stations. The easiest one will be KGO, and you'd need a VHF antenna such as Y10-7-13 or YA1713.

ADTech · 25-Jan-2011, 3:22 PM

Quote:

How come no one seems to recommend that antenna advertised on this site - 150 mile range.....?

Those ads are inserted by Google's advertising service based on web page content - this site really doesn't directly run those ads. Let's just say that the claims are so fantastic that the old adage of "If it sounds too good.." is the course most chosen by almost anyone with experience in antennas.

Based on your TVFool plot, SF's UHF stations are going to be extremely difficult to catch reliably, if at all. If you were to try anything, try our 91XG with a very low noise, high-input pre-amp mounted as high as possible in a location that offers an unobstructed path towards Sutro/San Bruno. TG's suggestion for the VHF side of the equation is the best available.

mtownsend · 25-Jan-2011, 4:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddeluna

the two SF/Oakland stations we are hoping to not lose is KRON(.com), which on their site says they are OTA digital channel 38?? and KPIX (CBS) in San Francisco. Why are these two stations not appearing on the signal analysis??

They do show up, but really far down on your report. Most of the SF channels (around 242º azimuth) are down in the "gray" zone of your report meaning that they will be very difficult to receive. There are just too many mountains in the way. All of the SF channels show "2Edge" (double edge diffraction) for the path between you and the transmitter.

Here's a "cross section" view of the terrain between KGO (Sutro tower, ch 7, on the left) and your location (right side of plot). Click on any transmitter on the table of your report to get a similar view for that station.

I'd recommend focusing your attention on the Sacto stations for clear, worry-free viewing.

Even if you could get the SF channels to work, it would probably be at much greater expense, and even then, probably would not be always reliable.

ddeluna · 25-Jan-2011, 7:38 PM

Thank you mtownsend, adtech and towerguy. I appreciate your counsel greatly. And thanks, mtownsend for pointing out the stations I missed.

Looking west, if the cost was a considerable amount of $$ I'd just let it go. As it is, you guys are recommending I try (and I hear the disclaimer to not expect much) for VHF the Y10-7-13 or YA1713 and for UHF, the 91XG. Those two total less than $100. I'm willing to throw down that much to roll the dice. Or am I missing something here?

Looking east, or elsewhere, what would you recommend? It's difficult to tell how much I'd want channels north and northwest. I don't know what programming I'm missing if I just point antennas east to the Sac transmitters. What's the best antenna for Sac (east) stations (the bulk) and possibly the few north and northwest? And am I about to build an antenna nest?

David

Dave Loudin · 25-Jan-2011, 8:16 PM

Dave, please take the time to look at your report, especially the Signal Analysis FAQ that's linked to near the top of your report. The answers to all your questions are there, really. What I write here assumes you've read that.

Remember that the quality factor is the NM, noise margin. Anything with NMs above 40 should easily be picked up by an indoor antenna. Note the stations at roughly 50 degrees - they all have TONS of signal strength and cover all the major and minor networks (see the netwk column?). You can easily get all of them with the M4 bowtie array design if you want to experiment. Something on the order of an RCA ANT-751 would also work well.

John Candle · 25-Jan-2011, 10:42 PM

There is no rolling of any dice here . The Tv reception at your location is clear clean and simple. If the building is not wrapped with any type or kind of metal such as but not limited to metal siding or stucko and stucko WIRE . If the building does not have a metal roof , if the walls are not made of poured concrete , and the house is not wrapped with brick from ground to roof, and if the building does not have metal backed insulation , then one of these SIMPLE indoor Tv antennas will receive real fine. http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=233 . This is Tv reception , this is not WAN and LAN. I do my best to provide people with real and useful information , not idiot jibber jabber. And reading the information provided by the other helpers here I know they are doing their best to provide real and useful information.

John Candle · 26-Jan-2011, 5:39 AM

While others have narrowly focused their lives on one modality of communications thinking that the whole world revolves around them. Their are those of us in broadcast television , radio , satellite , teleco , cable communications that have been and are integrating ALL forms of electronic communications. And their are those of us like my self that explain it to the end user , you know the end user , thats the every day person , the common people that will like to watch Tv or listen to the radio. THIS IS NOT A TECH FORUM. This forum is for the every day person that needs to know How it Hooks Up and a little of the technical with plain easy to understand information.

John Candle · 26-Jan-2011, 6:09 AM

So that You will FEEL the Sting of being Scammed I suggest that you buy one of those 150 + miles magic tv antennas with the built in rotor. With wide eyed wonder you can choose the one that has the most inflated claims the one that is loaded with tech no speak.

ddeluna · 26-Jan-2011, 7:26 PM

Dave Loudin, thank you for making me go back to read the report closer. I learned more once I applied myself more to understanding it. Thanks for that, and to so many of you for very useful information. I'm learning a lot from reading the posts on this forum. What a brain trust here! David

ddeluna · 26-Jan-2011, 9:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Candle

So that You will FEEL the Sting of being Scammed I suggest that you buy one of those 150 + miles magic tv antennas with the built in rotor. With wide eyed wonder you can choose the one that has the most inflated claims the one that is loaded with tech no speak.

I'll pass, thanks (why would you wish pain upon me?). It was simply an honest question asked by someone who is ignorant of things OTA. I asked cuz I had suspicions confirmed by you folks since the range was dramatically farther than all the many antennas I ever see recommended on the forum.

Thanks a lot for your recommendations on indoor antennas. Great info.
David