Antenna advise

[sharky]

Hello all,
Here is my location - http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...b7c8e81e25c829

Looking to use antenna without a rotor for use with two tvs

I am interested in getting as many as possible "clear" - so will be attaching it to my roof.

If you could advise me on an antenna model / type - and do you suggest any good places to purchase in the Mississauga area?

Thanks

Looking at the >>Start MAPS<< part of the tvfool web site. I see transmitters all around your location both on the Canada side and USA side all of these stations are close and are receivable so it depends. You have several choices here. You could try an outside rooftop omnidirectional antenna , sometimes called a UFO antenna because it looks like a UFO. Or if were to choose a directional antenna you can choose what stations you will leave the antenna pointed at. You could install 2 rooftop directional antennas with 2 separate antenna mounts and 2 separate antenna rotors. I would try a UFO omnidirectional antenna , you can get one at Radio Shack , if it does not work out that well for the Tv stations you will like to receive , you can take it back.

[kb2fzq]

Originally Posted by sharky

Hello all,
Here is my location - http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...b7c8e81e25c829

Looking to use antenna without a rotor for use with two tvs

I am interested in getting as many as possible "clear" - so will be attaching it to my roof.

If you could advise me on an antenna model / type - and do you suggest any good places to purchase in the Mississauga area?

Thanks

You have many analog and digital stations very strong to you, and as advised, the omni-directional antenna may work for you, but the digital stations may be problematic with the "UFO" type antenna, digital TV needs a decent signal strength to keep a stable picture, the UFO has very little gain.
You mentioned not using a rotor, but if it was me, I'd get an all band yagi style antenna (VHF-lo, VHF-hi and UHF) and put it on a rotor, this would very likely give you all the stations in your area. You will fnd that the ability to rotate the antenna to pinpoint the signals is quite satisfying. Additionally, the splitting of the signal to 2 TV's will reduce the signal at both TV's...the UFO antenna with it's low gain will cause the inability to receive many staions, therefore a yagi would be advised.

[sharky]

I know directional is always better, but the system is actually 2 tuners on a PVR - so a rotor is not an options (it has to record shows when I am not there). I would like to get a setup with some antenna recommendations that would join multiple antennas together if possible, based on my location...

Thanks

It is true that omnidirectional UFO antennas sometimes have problems with multipath , however you can try it and see if will receive all the channels you will like to watch. The Winegard amplified Metrostar is a industry standard.

[Tigerbangs]

You have stations scattered all over the compass from your location, but most of the major networks are received easily enough: the most troublesome network will be FOX, which is 40 miles away across some mountains, so we have to design an antenna system that will handle ALL of the issues.

I believe that the easiest way to deal with all these available stations will be to use a VHF-high-band plus UHF fringe-area antenna mounted on your roof and controlled by a rotator: this will enable you to see all the major networks, but will require rotating the antenna to tune some of the individual stations.

I would recommend using a Winegard HD-7696P antenna mounted on top of a Channel Master 9521a rotator. The Winegard has enough gain to pick up the FOX station as long as it is pointed at their transmitter, and is compact enough to not be too burdensome to install. The Channel Master 9521a rotator is a remote-controlled device that uses an infra-red remote control to actuate the controller, and it's functions can be easily macro'd into any good home-theater remote control. You should not need a preamplifier as long as you run only one TV set from the antenna, and your total cable lengths don't exceed 75' or so.

Here are some links to the equipment manufacturers and some good internet vendors:

http://www.winegard.com
http://www.channelmaster.com
http://manuals.solidsignal.com/AntInstallGuide.pdf
http://www.solidsignal.com
http://www.warrenelectronics.com
http://www.starkelectronic.com
http://www.summitsource.com