HarryArcher

HTNut

How many miles are you from the VHF broadcast towers?

JER

If your current UHF antenna works great then you might be about as well off adding a dedicated VHF antenna with a VHF/UHF combiner (diplexer). This won't degrade what you already have and will give you the option of pointing the VHF antenna in a different direction. This is nice since the VHF stations might be in different direction than the UHF ones anyway and you won't likely want to bother with a rotator if you can avoid it.

Note that there are two VHF bands. The low VHF band covers 54 to 88 MHz. The high VHF band covers 174 to 216 MHz. About 20 to 25% of stations are on high VHF now. Only about 1% of stations are on low VHF. You should check to see what channels your stations are on and select the antenna accordingly. If you don't need low VHF you can get by with a much smaller antenna.

BTW: You may also want to check to be sure that your VHF stations are actually going to stay on VHF. Some are actually trying to move back to UHF as they have discovered UHF offers some advantages over VHF for DTV.

Good luck!

Tim58hsv

No one can say for sure what the future holds but one thing is for sure, your uhf antenna isn't obsolete unless you live in an area where there are no uhf channels.

If I were to make a prediction on the future of ota antennas I'd predict that vhf antennas will become obsolete.

Several of the stations that are vhf now have requested to move to the uhf spectrum because of reception issues. Two of the three stations broadcasting on vhf frequencies in this area have asked the FCC to let them move to uhf and many other vhf stations around the country have done the same.

Your vhf channels may have requested to move too so let us know what channels they are and maybe someone here will know if they have made a request to move to uhf.

Hello, Trip.

__________________
I Want My RETRO TV

ProjectSHO89

The short answer is "probably not" as far as a general assessment. Your local market may switch operating spectrum as mentioned, but since we have no idea where you are, we can't be specific.

SWHouston

Welcome to the Forum Harry !

First of all, you need to do a couple things, just to make sure that you know exactly what is available to you, after the Changeover.

Knowing exactly which Channels that are available in your specific location is very important.
If you do not presently have a Chart, for the Local Channels in your area, then follow these...
LookUp Instructions for finding your Free Local TV Channels.

Once having this information, we can then know what to tell you, and...
The only dumb question, is the one that goes unasked.

Have a good Day !
S.W.

Don_M

Let's put it this way: Analog TV was in widespread use for six decades before it was supplanted by digital broadcasting. Also, it took more than 15 years after adoption of a final DTV standard to complete the full-power transition in the United States. Most outdoor-mounted antennas are either nearly or completely worn out after about 20 years. So even if new broadcast standards or frequency assignments were to be developed next year -- and there's no such thing in the works at present, BTW -- chances are very, very good you'd need to replace your current antenna by the time another transition occurs, anyway.

HarryArcher

All very helpful. Thank you very much. I got a quote of $285 from an antenna installed who told me that it would be a good idea to extend the height of my current mount by 5'. Does this price sound ok? I wasn't planning on this expense so I want to be sure this antenna lasts for a little while with the current TV broadcasts.

Don_M

It's a fair price if the antenna he installs provides trouble-free reception for all the channels you want to watch. Has he specified the make and model number of the antenna he'll install for that price? How many rooms is he willing to wire? (That quote's not outrageous for one TV.) Does it include a pre-amp? The contract (or signed estimate, if that's the way he works) should include as many details as possible before the work starts.

The installer's recommendation of additional height suggests he may be one of the good guys who knows your area well. I'd take him up on it.

SWHouston

Harry,

You need to do this !!!

Go to TVFool and find out for YOURSELF what Channels are available to you, where when you see what is on the TV, that you know FOR SURE is reasonable.

Once someone here sees your Chart, they could play with the height and tell you if that 5' is really necessary. Also, 5' from where ??

Have a good Day !
S.W.