OTA HD antenna noobie questions..where to start ?

[dreamer]

Hi everyone,

I live in California and I am in the market for an OTA HDTV antenna that will also be able to be used for receiving FM radio waves as well. (I wanted it to be able to recieve FM radio so I could hook a lead to my home theatre A/V reciever.)

I am hoping to find a smaller antenna that I can place in my attic and point towards the Los Angeles area where all these signals come from. I do have power sources in my attic that could be used for the amplifiers that help boost antenna reception.

I have no clue where to start, which models to look at or which brands, how the different amplifiers work and which antenna/amplifier combo would be best for my situation and was hoping you guys could help to lead me in the right direction.

I went to the antenna locator website and and typed in my location and it said that in order for me to receive my local digital broadcasts that I needed a red and light green compatible antenna and that I was about 53 - 54 miles from where these signals originate from and at a compass orientation of 269 degrees.

Can you guys please help an OTA noobie and make some recommendations to me so I at least know where to start ?


Thanks for your help !

[invaliduser88]

Antennaweb.org (http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx)is a great place to start.

[Mike500]

www.ardman.net

[Nick]

www.ardman.netC'mon Mike. That's a pretty useless site for an OTA noobie, don't you think? :nono2:

Dreamer, there is no such thing as an "HDTV" antenna, per se. Any "standard" TV antenna that delivers satisfactory signal strength to your set will serve your needs. Unless there is a terrain (line of sight) problem, the antenna category indicated by antennaweb.org should do the job. Easiest route: You can probably find it at your local Radio Shack, but ask for advice from a knowledgable salesperson, manager or the owner. They know your area best.

You can learn more about OTA antennae at the following sites:

www.channelmaster.com /products
www.winegard.com
www.terk.com
www.radioshack.com /TV/Antennas/Outdoor

Best wishes, and let us know how things work out for you.

[dreamer]

Thank you Nick !

And Mike..That website did nothing for me.. :nono:

[Mike500]

Thank you Nick !

And Mike..That website did nothing for me.. :nono:

Click on the moving banner at the top of the page. It takes you to the site, where you can enter your zip code and find out how far each station is from your location. Such information is not useless. The antenaweb.org site is missing some inportant information. It does not show signal strength. The ardman site is the NAB site for determine quality of reception or "grade" for the trade. They purchased the software rights from B.Sexton.

[Nick]

Sorry, Mike. I couldn't see it. My browser doesn't display a moving banner so I had no way of knowing there was relevant help there.

My bad. :shrug:

[JM Anthony]

Checking with a knowledgeable vendor or having an reputable installer come out and do a site check for you is a good place to start. The Winegard Square Shooter has been getting good buzz lately and you can snag one for about $100. It looks like it has some nice mounting options. The CM 4228 and 4248 have received a fair number of "thumbs up". I'm running a Blonder Tongue 4875 and one of the things I really liked about it was its compact size. You can get one of these for around $150. The installer who did my work had nothing but good things to say about this unit.

Good luck!! Just remember, with HDTV, the journey is at least half the fun!!

[Mike500]

The Squareshooter is basically the GS1000 Sensar, without the wings at twice the price. Unless you are really close to the stations, the amplified GS2000 is a much better deal than both. All have about a 50 degree beamwidth and a very high front/back ratio for elimination of multipaths, called ghost in analog ntsc reception and dropoffs for HD. If you do not mind poor vhf low channel reception, the Squareshooter is OK. But even with UHF, you may need an amplifier, since UHF signals do not travel as far as vhf for the same signal strength.

Th Squareshooter should have been available as the GS2000 with an amplifier, since the same amp should work with the Squareshooter.

http://www.winegard.com/other/presspdf/sqareshooterrev.pdf

http://www.starkelectronic.com/wgs2000.htm

Check out the gain patterns.

[dreamer]

Well after some serious communication between myself the the techs at Solidsignal.com this is the setup they recommended for my situation, location and mounting preferences (attic).

Channel Master 4228 8-Bay Bowtie UHF Antenna (CM4228)
Channel Master 7775 Titan2 UHF Preamplifier with Power Supply (CM7775)
Winegard Omnidirectional FM Antenna (PR6010) [for my A/V receiver]

And they also recommeded some diplexers but I told them that I would rather have straight runs in order to retain the best video/audio quality I could get.

What do you guys think about this setup ? Is there anything missing ?

[Mike500]

If you live in California, they are known for low attics. The 8 bay 4228 Channel Master will be too bulky, as well as the 7775.

Forget the omni. It has too much interference or multipaths, unless you live in the country. But, if you live in the country, you're too far away to get a good signal with an omni, anyway. I've opened them up and found them to be spiral strips of aluminum or wire cages. There is nothing special about them. I've installed them for people, who bought them elsewhere. None have been better than a yagi or standard dipole antenna. Most had terrible ghosting.

If your stations are in one direction 10-50 miles away, the GS2000 is your best bet. I mount quite a few of these on a dbs satellite "J" pole. The antenna is only 8 inches above the ridge of the roof, is small and is quite
unnoticable.

I do agree on forgetting about diplexors. I've never install them, since I do a lot of "in wall" fishes, having been an old work residential electrician for 45 years.

Attic mounting really degrades the signal. With UHF, the signal may be down by more than 60%.

[dreamer]

Well from the antenna.org website it says that most of my local "digital" channels are at 53-54 miles out from me and are located at 269 degrees orientation. And it indicates that I need a red and light green rated antenna.

The GS200 doesn't show that it can reach 54 miles out so that concerns me.

I know nothing about how the signal amplifiers work for good or for bad so I am at others mercy there and is why I am posting here to get some educated help on this matter.

[Mike500]

In your case, you must use a regular yagi antenna, like the Winegard HD7082P.

http://www.winegard.com/offair/pdf/hd7082p.pdf

This is not a small antenna and must be roof mounted. You must determine, if you have line of sight. Go out to the bookstore and buy the Garmin GPS atlas for about $20 for California. Study the contour map for the line of sight between your location and the station towers. If you have a high spot in between, you will have problems.

The UHF only antennas are much smaller. A very goo antenna is the Winegard ProStar PR-9022. But, you will not get vhf.

Stations today, generally have repeaters. Try a set of rabbit ears on a regular set. If you even get a snowy picture, your antenna on the roof will be fine.

I like Winegard antennas, but Channel Master makes better amplifiers, with leas interferance. Try the antenna witout an amplifier. You can always add an amplifier later. If you need only UHF, be sure to get a UHF only amplifier.

For a large antenna, I prefer a three foot self supporting tripod and a five foot mast made of 1" nominal schedule 40 aluminum pipe. The mast sold in stores is cheap and rust out in several years. The thin steel masts are always the first to go.

[dreamer]

Well my neighbor (whos house sits behind mine) told me he has been using some cheapy Radio Shack antenna in his attic for years now and was getting all the OTA channels (especially locals) just fine. HE did say that he had to plug it into an outlet however so I assume that meant he had an amplifier on it.

He also said that the TV the farthest from the antenna didnt have as good of reception as the TV closest to the antenna in his attic. I assume this was due to line losses or something.

At least by his account I know that an attic antenna WILL WORK, and I also know he is kinda cheap and probably didn't but the most advanced or high tech antenna that was available either. This also is probably a good indicator that a roof mounted antenna would likely KICK ASS...The problem is that I do not want a HUGE antenna mounted on my roof. Besides...my ol' lady would kill me.

I was looking that that Winegard Squareshooter...what do you guys think or know about that ?

[Mike500]

If he is using a Radio Shack amplified antenna in the attic, there must be repeaters for your local stations. I know that some of them in my area have as many as 16 repeaters. If he is using an attic antenna and getting the results that he claims, I do believe that the GS2000 will work well in your area. I'd try one in the attic first. If that doesn't work well, I'd then put it on the roof.

Antenna installation is mostly trial and error. Moving it one foot up or down or to either side may change the signal totally. There is no subsitute for size and the smallest consistant performer, I've used is the GS1000/2000 series. Anything smaller has been disappointing.