antenna ideas
:welcome: Mike,
We need more information. Please go to TV Fool and enter your details including the maximum height where you can mount an antenna. Then, post the resulting URL of this free antenna survey here for us to study. Using that information we can make recommendations about the type of antenna/s you will need to buy or build.
Jim
We need more information. Please go to TV Fool and enter your details including the maximum height where you can mount an antenna. Then, post the resulting URL of this free antenna survey here for us to study. Using that information we can make recommendations about the type of antenna/s you will need to buy or build.
Jim
Mike,
It appears you used your Zip Code to locate your position on the TV survey, so it is likely to be very inaccurate. From the report: "Address was only resolved to street level and might not be that close to your actual location. For more accurate results, try entering a specific address or coordinates".
If I use my Zip Code for my home survey, it puts me about 3-4 miles away from where I actually live and at 200+ feet less altitude.
Based on your generic report, most of the stations to you south and west can probably be captured, but RF channel 5 (PBS 52.1) is likely to be a problem because it is a low-band VHF station.
First, I would try an 8-Bay antenna like a Channel Master 4228 or 4228HD because both of those UHF antennas have some ability to capture high-band VHF. You have real channels 7, 8, 10 and 9 which are all high-VHF and it might grab low-band channel 5 for you. You need to test it while pointed at the various antenna sites and if it captures what you want when pointed at different directions, an antenna rotator can be added. If the VHF channels don't come in, a high-band VHF Yagi can be combined with the UHF antenna above and it might receive RF-5.
Jim
It appears you used your Zip Code to locate your position on the TV survey, so it is likely to be very inaccurate. From the report: "Address was only resolved to street level and might not be that close to your actual location. For more accurate results, try entering a specific address or coordinates".
If I use my Zip Code for my home survey, it puts me about 3-4 miles away from where I actually live and at 200+ feet less altitude.
Based on your generic report, most of the stations to you south and west can probably be captured, but RF channel 5 (PBS 52.1) is likely to be a problem because it is a low-band VHF station.
First, I would try an 8-Bay antenna like a Channel Master 4228 or 4228HD because both of those UHF antennas have some ability to capture high-band VHF. You have real channels 7, 8, 10 and 9 which are all high-VHF and it might grab low-band channel 5 for you. You need to test it while pointed at the various antenna sites and if it captures what you want when pointed at different directions, an antenna rotator can be added. If the VHF channels don't come in, a high-band VHF Yagi can be combined with the UHF antenna above and it might receive RF-5.
Jim
Jim, thanks for a good starting point, couple more questions, when you say real channels what does that mean? I have a digital converter box which calls the channels as digital 8.1, 8.2, etc sorry I am trying to make it so I dont have to pay for my tv, so this is all new to me. Also do you think a Winegard 7084 would suit my needs. I will be researching the channel master antennas tonight, here is the tvfool report from an address.TV Fool
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Mike,
Real channels and Virtual channels are both listed because your antenna system needs to be designed to receive channels on the frequencies they actually transmit on. The first TV Station in the Pacific Northwest was KING-5 and it now appears on my TV sets as 5.1 (Virtual) but its real channel is 48.1. By using the original channel designation (the virtual channel) viewers still tune to "Channel 5" as they have since the late 1940s which minimizes some confusion.
The difference in the physical size of the required receiving antenna is night and day: to receive real channel 5 as in your case, the antenna needs to be about the size of a pickup truck's bed: to receive my channel 5 (which is really channel 48) I use an antenna that would fit in a backpack.
The Winegard you mentioned could be a very good choice. Winegard tends to undersell their products whereas other manufacturers make incredible long-distance promises, plus, they offer engineering charts showing signal strength gain (antenna behavior) at a variety of channels. Beware, it is a monster but that is likely what will be required to capture your PBS-5.
If you buy it and discover during testing you can receive stations from different antenna farms ... and if you decide to use an antenna rotator, I strongly suggest you do not buy a modern "home" unit because all of them use plastic gears and they will not handle that large an antenna without self-destructing. Older, American built rotors that have metal gears are still available here: Alliance and Genie antenna rotator and rotor control boxes
Jim
Real channels and Virtual channels are both listed because your antenna system needs to be designed to receive channels on the frequencies they actually transmit on. The first TV Station in the Pacific Northwest was KING-5 and it now appears on my TV sets as 5.1 (Virtual) but its real channel is 48.1. By using the original channel designation (the virtual channel) viewers still tune to "Channel 5" as they have since the late 1940s which minimizes some confusion.
The difference in the physical size of the required receiving antenna is night and day: to receive real channel 5 as in your case, the antenna needs to be about the size of a pickup truck's bed: to receive my channel 5 (which is really channel 48) I use an antenna that would fit in a backpack.
The Winegard you mentioned could be a very good choice. Winegard tends to undersell their products whereas other manufacturers make incredible long-distance promises, plus, they offer engineering charts showing signal strength gain (antenna behavior) at a variety of channels. Beware, it is a monster but that is likely what will be required to capture your PBS-5.
If you buy it and discover during testing you can receive stations from different antenna farms ... and if you decide to use an antenna rotator, I strongly suggest you do not buy a modern "home" unit because all of them use plastic gears and they will not handle that large an antenna without self-destructing. Older, American built rotors that have metal gears are still available here: Alliance and Genie antenna rotator and rotor control boxes
Jim
Jim, would I need a rotator for that antenna or could I set it and go, I would have to figure out exactly where each station is broadcast from set it in that general direction, correct? I am thinking that it would be about 25 ft from the ground, how do I protect my sets from lightning strikes, it is going on the roof, I know that much, other than that I have not decided on anything yet. Right now I am pulling in 16 stations with my rabbit ears, so I can only go up from there right? I was thinking ant, preamp, rotator, cable going to the existing cable distribution box in the basement,then maybe a distributrion amp if nessecary, does that sound like it would be doable? Thanks for putting up with all my newbie questions. When you say I could receive stations from different antenna farms what do you mean? Could I theoretically receive broadcasts from the Lansing area as I am only about 60 mikes from there. Just wondering. One more thing does being up on a hill help me? We are quite elevated.
G
DIY antenna
To make your own antenna first you need to decide if your have an up-to-date tv (one that doesn't need a converter box). Next, you need coaxil cable (allow enough slack in case need to move around), a wire hanger (straightened), electrical or black tape, tacky stuff (tacky that sticks to walls, etc., and doesn't hurt surface). Pack the inside of one end of coaxil with tacky stuff but leave the pin exposed. Touch wire hanger to same coaxil pin and adhere tacky to joint as much as possible to help stabilize while taping. Tape joint firmly to completely stabilize connection. Screw other end coaxil into tv. Once connected go into your menu and run channel program on 'Air'. The digital channel numbers will now appear in this format: 3.1, 3.2, 7.1, etc.Tips: Strip hanger of any paint if possible; might need to trim hanger length and/or adjust by bending if need be.
Storms: When a storm comes through you may experience fragmentation or lose a channel(s) but it depends on where the broadcast is coming from, so just move your antenna.
We got ged up with cable and went back to "old school" by making our own; we've used this for over a year now and DON'T MISS CABLE AT ALL; we also have a better quality picture than any HD cable box can provide. Downside: No MNF but that's all about ego anymore so we don't miss it!
Note: Currently one of our tv's antenna's doesn't use a hanger. In place of the hanger we have a tiny meatal chip clip with sleeves connected to the coaxil. Works GREAT!
To make your own antenna first you need to decide if your have an up-to-date tv (one that doesn't need a converter box). Next, you need coaxil cable (allow enough slack in case need to move around), a wire hanger (straightened), electrical or black tape, tacky stuff (tacky that sticks to walls, etc., and doesn't hurt surface). Pack the inside of one end of coaxil with tacky stuff but leave the pin exposed. Touch wire hanger to same coaxil pin and adhere tacky to joint as much as possible to help stabilize while taping. Tape joint firmly to completely stabilize connection. Screw other end coaxil into tv. Once connected go into your menu and run channel program on 'Air'. The digital channel numbers will now appear in this format: 3.1, 3.2, 7.1, etc.Tips: Strip hanger of any paint if possible; might need to trim hanger length and/or adjust by bending if need be.
Storms: When a storm comes through you may experience fragmentation or lose a channel(s) but it depends on where the broadcast is coming from, so just move your antenna.
We got ged up with cable and went back to "old school" by making our own; we've used this for over a year now and DON'T MISS CABLE AT ALL; we also have a better quality picture than any HD cable box can provide. Downside: No MNF but that's all about ego anymore so we don't miss it!
Note: Currently one of our tv's antenna's doesn't use a hanger. In place of the hanger we have a tiny meatal chip clip with sleeves connected to the coaxil. Works GREAT!
Mike,
Seems you got lost in the shuffle for the last two months. I'd try to go with a smaller antenna just to not have the issues with weight and wind loading one of those monsters has. Also, the more elements the smaller the beam angle, which means more chance of needing a rotor.
Answer for your second question is Cable TV and OTA TV use the same frequency range (54-800 MHz) so the cables and splitters will certainly work for OTA TV.
Dan
Seems you got lost in the shuffle for the last two months. I'd try to go with a smaller antenna just to not have the issues with weight and wind loading one of those monsters has. Also, the more elements the smaller the beam angle, which means more chance of needing a rotor.
Answer for your second question is Cable TV and OTA TV use the same frequency range (54-800 MHz) so the cables and splitters will certainly work for OTA TV.
Dan
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