I want to hook up OTA TV.Can I use my old Direct TV dish for an antenna?

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Thank you for the welcome :)

I don't have satellite TV now, it's just the dishes are still attached on the roof from the previous owners of the house. The problem is that there are 3 coax cables coming directly off of one dish and one off of a second dish that all run directly to different rooms (all running to the upper level of the house that don't have any TV's, but would like to put a couple TV's in the rooms upstairs in the future). I'm thinking I can use an amp on the roof to connect them all to an antenna. The internet I have is on it's own coax line through charter cable and also our current TV is also from Charter cable that is all on a different set of coax lines in the home. I seriously believe there is more coax running through our house than electrical wiring! LOL. Previous owners seemed to go a little over board with that.

As for height we can just install a new pole on the roof to get to any height needed. We also thought about just buying a coax tester, figure out where all these coax lines actually run to and if we need to do a new main run from the antenna, that's fine and probably less headache.

Thanks again for everyone's help! We really appreciate it!
Before you do anything, make certain that the dish receivers are properly grounded. A lot of dish installers are bad about skipping this step. Your antenna is designed to collect electromagnetic energy, and so it attracts lightning bolts. There are some tutorials on the site that show what proper grounding looks like and detail how to install your own.

I've been told by others not to add the amp until you've actually tested what you get, and just be prepared to add a pre-amp if you need it. A lot of us here get good signal, even from a distance, without an amp.

It seems like your existing dish setup is one of the multi-receiver dishes. I's fairly still common, and there may be reasons to do it with more modern setups. You can most likely use those cables as-is, again as long as there's no other dish equipment on them. Or you can stuff them back into the house and add a signal splitter from your antenna's cable. I'd recommend this instead of using an outdoor splitter, which can get expensive, unless the cables are already properly grounded. Even then, you can use the existing ground with new cable and stuff those old cables back into the attic.

Since you can set the antenna at any height you want, try your TV Fool at 30 feet and see what it does. For most houses, this means adding a 10-15 foot pole, depending on your roof and where your dish was placed. For that matter, try it at a couple of different heights. You may be surprised at how much the estimate of your signal strength increases with just a few feet difference one way or the other. Remember that it's theoretical on TVFool. You'll probably find out when you install the antenna that you need to play around with the height to get the signal you want; I'm betting that the higher it is, the better.

Also, Fringe is right: You can't have other technologies sharing the lines, so make sure it's a completely separate system.
 

hma95

DTVUSA Rookie
Thank you for the info. It will be a little bit before we order anything, just want to make sure we only get what we need. I will try different heights on FoolTV, thanks for that idea.

Yes one of the dish's are multi-receiver and that's what's making it more complicated. Another reason I think to just not do anything with them.
 
G

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Need help with TV

I need to find someone knowledgeable enough to connect analog converter box to two tvs previously had direct tv but want to save money because direct keeps playing same stuff over and and over.
 
G

Guest

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When DIRECTV first came out in the 90s. They did not have a contract with ABC, CBS, and NBC, they were not on their channel listing. I used a clip on in Virginia Beach, Va. area and work just fine. My dish was mounted on top of roof.
 

Fringe Reception

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Guest,

You have a good location and its possible old-fashioned Rabbit Ears will work for you. What have your tried for antennas so far?

Jim
 

Fringe Reception

Super Moderator, Chief Content Editor
Staff member
Guest,

You have a good location and its possible old-fashioned Rabbit Ears will work for you. What have your tried for antennas so far?

Jim
 
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id=e6a42a016ca9f2

I am currently using an RCA ant751. For some odd reason I can't get a signal for Ch 11 WTVI(PBS) that is 35 miles away, but I do get a signal for Ch 7 WSPA(CBS), that is in the opposite direction and 54 miles away. I can pick up channel 11 with an indoor antenna, but it breaks up. Many of my channels split between 54 degrees and 90 degrees and I am having trouble picking all of them up with a strong signal. Would another antenna such as a 8 bay bowtie that can be aimed in two directions be a better choice?

Thanks, William
 
Hello. It has been a while since I have dealt with OTA. Like over 30 years ago. My mom has a how with 2 different dish mounts. She is wanting to cut the cord and get rid of cable. Can anyone give some advise on antennas. Here is a link to her TV Fool results. TV Fool . I purchased from Amazon a Vansky VS-OTX03 antenna that is supposed to be good for 150 miles. We got it installed and it works for the most part but does not get all the stations that have been advertised. I would like to get a setup where she does not have to rotate the antenna to get the signals. I was thinking of pointing one to the South toward Louisville and one to the North toward Indianapolis. I am looking for advise on the antenna brands and models as well as any other components you feel are needed.

Thanks in advance.
 
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