[beauseph2006]

Hello. I have been on antennaweb.org and most of my locals come out of Madison, about 60 miles from our home. I was wondering if a Terk outdoor $80 HDTV antenna would pick these channels up. Our Dish Network installer said he has had people in this area pick them up crystal clear with a indoor box top antenna..looking for some guidance here.. Thank

 

[FTA Michael]

Well, it's pretty easy to try out a $10 pair of rabbit ears indoors. If it works, you've saved the expense and work of buying and erecting a rooftop antenna. If it doesn't work, you're only out $10, and you can feel confident that you really need to get on the roof.

 

[BobS]

E* can provide your local stations. Why bother with an OTA antenna? Based upon what you said, there is no way an interior antenna and doubtful that a modest exterior antenna is going to give satisfactory service. What did antennaweb say?

Hello. I have been on antennaweb.org and most of my locals come out of Madison, about 60 miles from our home. I was wondering if a Terk outdoor $80 HDTV antenna would pick these channels up. Our Dish Network installer said he has had people in this area pick them up crystal clear with a indoor box top antenna..looking for some guidance here.. Thank

 

[beauseph2006]

I am not able to get my locals in HD through Dish. I dont know what to do. I would rather not have to get a huge antenna and have to put it out on my house. Any idea on when Dish might get my locals in HD? I know DirectTv has our locals in HD

 

[Hall]

...about 60 miles from our home. I was wondering if a Terk outdoor $80 HDTV antenna would pick these channels up. Our Dish Network installer said he has had people in this area pick them up crystal clear with a indoor box top antenna..

I'd think twice about taking any "guidance" from this installer if he's telling you an indoor antenna picks up stations 60 miles away....

 

[colavsfaninnwia]

I'd think twice about taking any "guidance" from this installer if he's telling you an indoor antenna picks up stations 60 miles away....

I dont install anything, but with a set of rabbit ears I can get OTA Digital from about 60 miles. And not to mention, this is in the basement of the house too.

 

[jci-joe]

I used the antennaweb site to determine locations for all my local HD channels. I then installed 2 UHF and 1 VHF (yes, I do have 1 HD channel, WHP 21 DT 4) that uses VHF and combined them using a 3 - 1 splitter. I get 9 local digital channels in local with over 80% on each.

You don't need any fancy HD antennas, just old fashion technology. As far as 60 miles in a basement comment, I would highly doubt that is true. The higher I went in my attic, the better.

 

[garys]

The new HD antenna's are not new technology, manufacturers have added HD as a marketing tool. I hooked up the old antenna up and got all my local HD channels from about 30 miles away. My local Dish retailer tells his customers this.

 

[DougRuss]

I dont install anything, but with a set of rabbit ears I can get OTA Digital from about 60 miles. And not to mention, this is in the basement of the house too.

The only thing that gets in the way ,between the Antenna and towers,are Corn Stalks !! :hurah:

60 miles is a great stretch for Rabbit Ears in other parts of the country. We all don't live in Iowa !:lol:

 

[smackman]

Hello. I have been on antennaweb.org and most of my locals come out of Madison, about 60 miles from our home. I was wondering if a Terk outdoor $80 HDTV antenna would pick these channels up. Our Dish Network installer said he has had people in this area pick them up crystal clear with a indoor box top antenna..looking for some guidance here.. Thank

If all stations are UHF or VHF above channel 7 this antenna is hard to beat. It is heavy 15 lbs. and big 40" square but could be put in attic if their is room. A channel master pre-amp such as the 7777 might be needed also. To receive reception 24/7 from 60 miles away with rabbit ears is a hard sell for me. Putting antenna in attic causes some db loss but the 4228 is I think the best antenna overall for UHF and upper VHF reception. 150 dollars max and you should be set. You can try without pre-amp to start with; That is 60 dollars; the antenna is around 65-75 ordering off internet including shipping.

 

[bderouen]

I am not able to get my locals in HD through Dish. I dont know what to do. I would rather not have to get a huge antenna and have to put it out on my house. Any idea on when Dish might get my locals in HD? I know DirectTv has our locals in HD

I can tell you what I just did in my area. I wanted to get an OTA installed for HD locals and wasn't sure what I needed. Plus I knew i didn't want to do it myself, as I wanted someone that knew what they were doing. Even though I already have Dish, I called one of the local retailers that were listed on the Dish website. I did NOT call a Radio Shack or Sears, but there was a local computer store that was listed. I jsut asked if they or their installer did OTA installs. They let me talk to him and he is coming out with several antennas next week to try out in my house.

I told him ideally I'd like to get an antenna installed in my attic, if at all possible, but if he thought a roof mount would be better, I'd not mind that either. I was just glad I found someone that could do it, and at a decent price, as I was not finding anyone in this area that could do it for me.

so that's a place you may could start, check with a local Dish retailer/installer and ask for guidance there.

Good luck!
Bruce

 

[Hall]

I dont install anything, but with a set of rabbit ears I can get OTA Digital from about 60 miles. And not to mention, this is in the basement of the house too.

I'll bet you there are "repeaters" close to you that relay the signals from those towers 60 miles away.

 

[gintzj]

I have the Terk 80 sitting is my window. the HD signals come from 32 miles away but they sit on top on the Sandias (mountains) 7000 feet high The signals are crisp and get the six locals from here Albuqerque also I get ABc FOX and NBC in HD on Dish CBS it not broadcasting to dish yet but come in very clear on the OTA . Hope this helps you..

also the roof is better then the Attic because of Electic lines in the attic

 

[colavsfaninnwia]

The only thing that gets in the way ,between the Antenna and towers,are Corn Stalks !! :hurah:

60 miles is a great stretch for Rabbit Ears in other parts of the country. We all don't live in Iowa !:lol:

I am glad someone in this thread will believe me. If you look up my zip 51241, you will see that I am 60 miles from Sioux City broadcast towers of KMEG, KPTH, and KTIV. To the comment about "repeaters" nearby. No there are none. Sioux Falls broadcast towers are only 7 miles away. No way a CBS station from a different DMA is gonna put a repeater where another CBS station will easily serve. Some pics to show my setup in my bedroom in the basement. At the left of my tv (see the rabbit ears on top?) you can kinda see the steps.

 

[hoobafrank]

Hello. I have been on antennaweb.org and most of my locals come out of Madison, about 60 miles from our home. I was wondering if a Terk outdoor $80 HDTV antenna would pick these channels up. Our Dish Network installer said he has had people in this area pick them up crystal clear with a indoor box top antenna..looking for some guidance here.. Thank

I have a Winegard GS2200 antenna that works pretty good for my hd locals. I'm picking up the same locals as you and i'm only 30 mi away from Madison. My buddy sells and installs dish and did this install and thought this would be a good antenna for my situation. I will attach some pics.

Oh, and this has an winegard amplifier with it as well.

And with the DVR 622, the receiver takes care of integrating the local off-air channels into the guide and dvr.

 

[beauseph2006]

Ok, so would it be smarter too go with an OTA rather than wait for the HD locals through Dish..because it sounds like it could be awhile..and i guess i am unsure of what sort of antenna to go with..keep in mind i am 60 miles away, i would prefer an indoor one, but i am guessing that wont be possible.

 

[hoobafrank]

Ok, so would it be smarter too go with an OTA rather than wait for the HD locals through Dish..because it sounds like it could be awhile..and i guess i am unsure of what sort of antenna to go with..keep in mind i am 60 miles away, i would prefer an indoor one, but i am guessing that wont be possible.

honestly, I don't think its possible to go with an indoor one. If you look at my antenna, its not too hard to install and it doesn't cost a lot. If you have your dish on your roof, you should get really good signal. Mine is on the ground and I get alright signal. I just wish my landlord would let me mount it on the roof. DOH

 

[JohnMI]

A channel master pre-amp such as the 7777 might be needed also. To receive reception 24/7 from 60 miles away with rabbit ears is a hard sell for me. Putting antenna in attic causes some db loss but the 4228 is I think the best antenna overall for UHF and upper VHF reception.

I agree with smackman that the 4228 8-bay with something like a CM7777 is one of the best setups out there for deep-fringe reception. It is what I use.

However, I did want to note that the 4228 is advertised as pretty much JUST a UHF antenna. smackman mentioned "upper VHF". It does appear to do that for channels 9-13. So, if you happen to need a single VHF or something in that range, this is still a great way to go. (Note that, if you do VHF with the 4228, you should be sure to secure the two "halves" together fairly tightly (the 4228 8-bay is really two 4-bays connected together). Something like nylon cable-ties, for example, would work fine. Just a side note for 4228 fans and would-be buyers.

- John...

 

[HuggieBear]

I believe any antenna ya get will be worth it to some extent. The one dish install is not the best but I am able to get a station that is 45 miles away in the evenings on a regular basis. I was able to watch my Cowboys lose their game this past weekend with very few glitches. And last week during a rainy night I was bored and did a scan and was able to pick up 5 very distant stations(70+ miles). Have not gotten them again since though. Guess I need to buy a bigger and better one and hire some on to install it for me as I can not due to disability.

 

[Michael P]

Indoor antennas are tricky to use, especially if your house has aluminium siding. I live around 1 mile from most of the transmittes and had problems with any indoor antenna until I discovered the trick. You have to aim an indoor antenna out a window - whith no screen - directly at the transmitter's location. Going through walls and screens distorts the signal. You may still get a lock but you will also get dropouts.

As for a station 60 miles away, a rooftop antenna is the ONLY WAY to go! At 60 miles you are right at the edge of the horizion for line-of-sight recption.

I use a Radio Shack 2160 UHF corner reflector aimed at Youngstown Ohio and get only the strongest of the 3 digital stations 24/7. The others are too weak to make it my way on a daily basis (except I do get an analog version on one of the others, usually snowy) - and I'm on high ground. Others, closer to Youngstown, have trouble if they are on lower ground. The rooftop makes all the difference!

As for the 70+ mile stations the atmosppheric conditions have to be just right to pick them up. A larger antenna will not help you (but a taller tower might).