How to dertermine the right antenna for my area

[Unregistered]

I need a antenna for Reliance, TN 37369 How do you find the right one and how far it is to the tower?

 

[Tim58hsv]

I tried your zip code on TVFool and honestly, that's the worst TVFool report I've ever seen. Try going to TVFOOL yourself and put in your exact address then post the results here because there may still be hope but right off hand it doesn't look good.

 

[MrPogi]

I tried your zip code on TVFool and honestly, that's the worst TVFool report I've ever seen. Try going to TVFOOL yourself and put in your exact address then post the results here because there may still be hope but right off hand it doesn't look good.

Zip code only results from TVfool can be really off. If I enter my zip code it places me in the mountains where there is a dead zone. At my house, there are 60 channels available, although 26 are duplicate channels.

But just looking at Reliance TN on Google Maps doesn't give me a lot of hope. I don't see any major city nearby, and there's probably few if any translators. Chattanooga may be your best hope at about 50 miles to the West.

We really need that TVfool report!

 

[Fringe Reception]

Guest,

Please try a NEW antenna survey with the maximum height above ground where you are willing to install an antenna. Telescopic masts and antenna towers can help .,..

 

[Guest]

Here is the report. My neighbor says he can get a good signal on the Chattanooga channel. He is about 20 feet higher up the mountain ridge.
TV Fool
I want to buy a good antenna for the area.

 

[Tim58hsv]

That's a better TVFool report, not great but there's hope. The first three channels should come in with a good high band VHF antenna like this one Antennacraft Y10713 120 Cut-to-Band HDTV Antenna : HDTV Antennas | RadioShack.com. Call your local Radio Shack to make sure they have one in stock or so they can order it. It may be a good idea to add a preamp to the set up too but I'd wait to see how the antenna alone works first.

The channels below the first three are mostly UHF and would require a different antenna but I'm not sure you're going to pick any of those up since they're in the -NM range.

 

[Guest]

Would you recommend using a combination antenna (uhf/vhf) if UHF is a possibility?

 

[Fringe Reception]

Guest,

You might be able to capture UHF stations to your west with an extreme range UHF antenna such as a Winegard HD-9095P. It has a built-in combiner so you can connect your VHF antenna to it and share the same coaxial downlead. Additional antenna height may help you as well. Good luck and please keep us posted on your results.

Jim

 

[dkreichen1968]

In mountainous areas like Tennessee (and Colorado) the TVfool reports can be a bit deceptive. I can get stations easily in my location that TVfool places well into the negative range. I'm about 48 miles and second edge from the main Denver broadcast location, and all the full powers from there come in just fine. One advantange to using seperate VHF and UHF antennas is that you can aim each seperately for maximum reception.

 

[MrPogi]

Given your situation, I would not recommend a combination antenna, for the reasons Dan noted. Separate antennas do give you more flexibility. I'd first get the VHF channels nailed down, that will give you the "Big 3" networks. The Antennacraft Y10-7-13 is out of stock at Radio Shack, but is available at Solid Signal and Amazon.

Then, I'd get a UHF antenna like the Antennas Direct 91xg or Winegard HD-9095P for PBS, CW, and Fox (although Fox is pretty weak, it may still come in).

You will probably also need a good pre-amp to get a stable signal.

 

[Tim58hsv]

Would you recommend using a combination antenna (uhf/vhf) if UHF is a possibility?

It looks like you need antenna's with a lot of gain and I'm not sure there's a combo model with adequate gain on VHF high and UHF to do the job for you. Then again as MrPogi and dkreichen implied, "sometimes TVFool results aren't the gospel" (quotes are mine) so you may get by with a combo model. Then again a good combo model will probably cost more than if you buy the antennas separately.

If you want to give UHF a shot too (and you obviously do ), the HD-9095P Fringe Reception mentioned sounds like a great idea. Personally, I had no idea there was a UHF antenna made with a VHF input. When it comes to antenna designs, Fringe is the man.

 

[Guest]

Well I ordered the high gain VHF antenna and cable. It will be toward the end of august before I can install it. Am wondering when I try adding the UHF antenna how do you wire them together and which one should go on the top?

 

[Jim5506]

Put the UHF on top. Combine them with a UVSJ (UHF/VHF signal Joiner, cost less that $10 and looks like a splitter, but more complex).

Your best friend is elevation, like your neighbor, he has 20 ft of elevation advantage on you, so your antenna(s) may have to be 20 ft higher to get into the same signal soup where his antenna sits.

We had an old analog station (channel 8) for our NBC that was 82 miles away, so everybody in town had a 40 ft telescoping mast mounted in the center of their roof, guy wired to each corner of the house, and everybody got a good clear signal (back in B&W days).

Another thing is, get a preamp and install it up near the antenna with the power injector in the house (no splitters between the injector and the pre-amp), that should help too.

Winegard has just come out with a couple of new low noise (~1dB on UHF) pre-amps, the LNA-200 might be what you need, but it's $70 - I have no experience with them - just a suggestion.

Hey, fringe reception ain't cheap.

You might even start filling the cookie jar to get you a 60 ft tower to mount your antennas on (put it on th e up-hill side of the house).

 

[dkreichen1968]

Winegard has just come out with a couple of new low noise (~1dB on UHF) pre-amps, the LNA-200 might be what you need, but it's $70 - I have no experience with them - just a suggestion.

Okay, Gary Shapiro and his CEA gang keep telling us that OTA viewership is going down while the OTA equipment manufactures keep coming out with more and better equipment. Those equipment manufactures must be crazy to keep supplying a dwindling market!!!

 

[Guest]

My brother just called from Georgia. He said they stopped carrying local channels on Dish today. He wants help picking a new antenna. Here is his tvfool report. TV Fool
I don't understand the report but it looks a lot better than mine.

 

[Guest]

By the way he has a antenna pole but he may be ok with a inside antenna. I don't know. I have never had any luck with the old analog rabbit ears.

 

[dkreichen1968]

My brother just called from Georgia. He said they stopped carrying local channels on Dish today. He wants help picking a new antenna. Here is his tvfool report. TV Fool
I don't understand the report but it looks a lot better than mine.

WALB seems to be the station in contention and it is the local affiliate for both NBC and ABC. It is broadcast on channel 10, so a pair of rabbitears (like a RCA ANT111 or ANT112) may work (it's in the green). The CBS affiliate (WRBL) would need an outdoor UHF antenna.

Both PBS stations appear to carry the same programming.

 

[Jim5506]

Okay, Gary Shapiro and his CEA gang keep telling us that OTA viewership is going down while the OTA equipment manufactures keep coming out with more and better equipment. Those equipment manufactures must be crazy to keep supplying a dwindling market!!!

I don't know what Mr. Shapiro has been smoking, but with cable and Satellite prices skyrocketing, lots of people are dumping pay TV, for all the new digital OTA channels and subchannels.

BTY, I just bought a Winegard LNA200 off Amazon for $50. I don't really need it , but I 'd like to play with it.

 

[Fringe Reception]

Original guest,

If you choose to buy a Winegard 9095, it has a built-in VHF combiner so you do not need a UVSJ.

Its a Loooong fringe-reception antenna and I suggest you try different heights at different locations above your roof before you decide where to mount it. Two feet lower than you 'expect' ... may work better than 6 feet higher. Walk it around, rescan your tuner every time you move your antenna and please report back to us.

Jim

Put the UHF on top. Combine them with a UVSJ (UHF/VHF signal Joiner, cost less that $10 and looks like a splitter, but more complex).

Your best friend is elevation, like your neighbor, he has 20 ft of elevation advantage on you, so your antenna(s) may have to be 20 ft higher to get into the same signal soup where his antenna sits.

We had an old analog station (channel 8) for our NBC that was 82 miles away, so everybody in town had a 40 ft telescoping mast mounted in the center of their roof, guy wired to each corner of the house, and everybody got a good clear signal (back in B&W days).

Another thing is, get a preamp and install it up near the antenna with the power injector in the house (no splitters between the injector and the pre-amp), that should help too.

Winegard has just come out with a couple of new low noise (~1dB on UHF) pre-amps, the LNA-200 might be what you need, but it's $70 - I have no experience with them - just a suggestion.

Hey, fringe reception ain't cheap.

You might even start filling the cookie jar to get you a 60 ft tower to mount your antennas on (put it on th e up-hill side of the house).

 

[Guest]

antenna help

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