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

[rmk9785e]

Mounting antenna on a stucco chimney

The HBU 33 is probably a bit of overkill considering the strength of the signals. However, it should work just fine - pointed to about 338 degrees.

I wouldn't use the J mount because it is poorly mounted, the antenna is so large. I think a chimney mount may be a better bet.

Thank you all for your valuable ideas. Here is my situation - We have only one TV (and that is plenty for our viewing needs). The only way for me to go over 20 ft would be to mount on the chimney. Our chimney is in good shape and i had been thinking of buying Ronard 1218 18 ft Chimney Mount (my chimney is about 5'x3') but I've read horror stories about chimneys falling off. Our chimney is stucco finish and I'm not sure how strong it may be compared to a brick chimney. Has anyone had experience mounting antenna on a stucco chimney?
I probably have some stations in high VHF but I have a friend living not too far from me who is using ClearStream™ 4 with excellent reception.
Which antenna would you recommend for my situation?

 

[rmk9785e]

Either I have run out of my quota for questions or the kind people who replied earlier are busy. I'll appreciate further advice to help me choose the right antenna/installation location.

 

[RF Steve]

For your local signals the ones in green there are several smaller antennas that would probably work Antennacraft HBU 11, HBU 22, RCA ANT751, Antennas Direct C2-V, Stellar Labs 30-2240. If it were me I'd probably go with the Stellar Labs, or HBU 22. All of the antennas I mentioned have their advantages, and disadvantages. I would not recommend the ClearStream4 for your location. I can't offer much advice on mounting. I do tend to over look this thread because it has gone on for so long.
MCM Link if you need it.
Stellar Labs VHF/UHF HDTV 60 Mile Fringe Yagi Antenna | 30-2440 (302440) | Stellar Labs

Steve

 

[rmk9785e]

For your local signals the ones in green there are several smaller antennas that would probably work Antennacraft HBU 11, HBU 22, RCA ANT751, Antennas Direct C2-V, Stellar Labs 30-2240. If it were me I'd probably go with the Stellar Labs, or HBU 22. All of the antennas I mentioned have their advantages, and disadvantages. I would not recommend the ClearStream4 for your location. I can't offer much advice on mounting. I do tend to over look this thread because it has gone on for so long.
MCM Link if you need it.
Stellar Labs VHF/UHF HDTV 60 Mile Fringe Yagi Antenna | 30-2440 (302440) | Stellar Labs

Steve

Thank you Steve,
If I had to choose between HBU33 and this Stellar Labs 30-2440, which one would be better for my location?

 

[RF Steve]

You will have to make that choice. There are so many variables to look at I can't make that decision for you. If you've gotten a good deal on a HBU 33 as you stated in an earlier post put it to use. I know I would.

 

[MrPogi]

If you have the HBU33 already, I would go with that.

As for the stucco chimney, I would suggest using some fat angle brackets (like this ) on all the corners for reinforcement, since the corners will be where any stress occurs when tightening the mounting straps.

 

[Lance]

Hi,
I am in the process of getting rid of directv and mounted my RCA ANT751antenna to the roof today. All of the channels we want are at 162*, 169* or 182*. I am pulling all of them in no issue except for 1. ABC comes in but it's choppy. None of the other channels are like that: CBS, NBC, or FOX. Is there some reason why this would be? Here is my TV fool report: TV Fool.

Thanks for helping a newbie!

 

[MrPogi]

ABC is your strongest channel. All I can think of is that it may be too strong a signal and is overloading the tuner. But it really doesn't seem all that strong... Hmmm.

If you have another TV, see how that works. I would also play with where your antenna is aimed, and perhaps its location. Moving a few feet or changing the aim slightly can sometimes can make a big difference.

 

[dkreichen1968]

I have to recommend trying to move the antenna, up, down, right, left. A few inches can make all the difference.

 

[blustanger66]

Thanks for the quick replies. For that I have decided to join the forum.

I have moved the position of the antenna multiple times without success. I will try again soon to see if I can't fix the choppiness that way. Also worth noting is that I'm using a fairly long coaxial cable that's running into the whole house splitter (I think that's what you'd call it). I just unscrewed the dish cable and screwed in the antenna's cable. My father in-law made the cable and he said it's good quality. I have not tried running the cable straight to the TV yet to see if that helps. Think it would?

Also I have the antenna mounted on the same pole as the dish is on if that matters. Once I get this issue figured out I would take off the dish and leave just the antenna.

 

[RF Steve]

By all means run the coax directly to one TV and see what happens. That splitter left over from the satellite install could be the cause of all of your problems. It may not be a splitter at all, but could be a multi-switch that will not pass OTA signal.

 

[MrPogi]

The ANT751 is a decent antenna, but it doesn't have enough gain to run a whole house, that's a lot of loss to overcome.

Make a direct connection to your TV with the shortest length of coax possible and see what you get. You may need an amp to overcome the signal loss from the splitters and cable length. And check to see that any multiswitch that was part of the satellite wiring is removed. A multiswitch looks like this:

 

[blustanger66]

So here is the mess of wires in the laundry room. Don't even know where to start! There are directv components for sure along with a splitter that's hooked up to nothing. Also a green ground wire coming from outside that's not hooked up to anything. Where do I start? Oh I think we have 6 spots in the house wired with cable, but only need 3 or 4 active.

 

[blustanger66]

I just think it's odd that I'm even getting the OTA signals right now as I have the antenna cable hooked up to the directv splitter. Do I really need a new splitter or is this more likely a different issue?

 

[RF Steve]

I am not familiar enough with left over Direct TV equipment to offer much advice on which parts must be removed. I do see some real serious problems in the photos provided. The first step should be to by pass everything. Use simple barrel connectors where needed.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71floFxUS3L._SL1500_.jpg
Once you have established good signal to one TV it will then be time to start thinking about splits and distribution. The eight way left over splitter may indeed be usable, but do you really need an eight way splitter with a loss of about 10.5 dB per line. That is about like adding 150 feet of extra coax to each line. The loss is still there even if you are not using unneeded ports on the splitter. Any unused ports on the splitter should have 75 ohm terminators put on them. Don't use an eight way splitter if you only need a two, or four way. An amplifier may be needed if you really need to have an eight way distribution system.
Simplify! Extra coax in line is lost signal.

 

[blustanger66]

Thanks for the suggestions! I just hooked up a tv to the connection that runs thru the wall right behind the splitter in the basement. All channels come in perfect. So I would say you all are correct in saying I'm experiencing a lot of signal loss by the time it reaches upstairs. Think I could get away with switching to a three way splitter to decrease signal loss?

 

[blustanger66]

I got it! Took the living room cable and downstairs family room cable and hooked up to the two way splitter that wasn't being used. Both tvs get all channels perfect now!

Now I need to get a three way splitter so I can add our bedroom. Also need another two way splitter to add before home theatre pc so we can use two tuners, one to watch live TV while the other records a different show. Hopefully I don't lose too much signal going this route. Guess I'll find out once I get the parts.

 

[RF Steve]

From what I've read there are two types of three way splitters. One type has 3.5 dB loss on one port, and 7 dB loss on the other two. The other type has 5.5 db loss on all three ports. It does sound like you are on the right track toward solving your problems. You might need to think about a distribution amplifier. Now if I just didn't have to go out and run that snow blower today.

 

[MrPogi]

Thats a big mess o' cable there, lots of splitters and a lot of loss.

Cable and satellite generally deals with pretty strong signals so loss is not a big concern for installers. Installers think nothing of running an extra 100 feet of cable to avoid extra work.

 

[Guest]

Does the dish increase/decrease signal strength?

If I mount a RCA medium antenna to my old directv dish's arm, will the round dish itself increase/decrease signal strength? I can easily remove the dish itself if it interferes with my signal, but if it focuses the signal then I would hate to remove it then have to put it back on.