Antenna Choice

[tman701]

Hey guys,

I am about to move to my new house and i have questions on antenna type.
I have read the FAQ and know to stay away from Terk. However,
I am having problems making up my mind as to what type to choose.
Most of my stations are between 155-175 degrees and within 15miles of the transmitter.

From the FAQ I obviously dont need a huge antenna. I was looking at the Square Shooter, DB4, SR15 and the XG42. That is where im stuck, i dont want to choose the wrong one.
I will be using these antennas with a Sony SAT-HD300.
There are no huge trees, bldgs or any other type of structure that will block the signal.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Tman

[kevinw]

All will work the Silver Sensor indoor should work as well. A 20 degree spread and that close may mean a moveabel antenna for best pointing.
http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/product_Display.asp?cat=49&id=131

http://www.antennasdirect.com/

[TheDreamer]

Most of my stations are within 15 miles of me.....and mostly within a narrow angle...

ABC/FOX - 152 degrees 11.7 miles
CBS/NBC - 146 degrees 9.6 miles

UPN is 183 degrees and 33.9 miles and PBS is 70 degrees and 12.9 miles.

But, I just have a plain (cheap/free) rabbit ear antenna...I can get all the near stations without any problems....UPN kind of varies depending on atmospheric conditions.

I tried the Terk directional HDTV antenna....point it at UPN...lose NBC/FOX....point it at FOX, lose UPN. FOX is a problem being at lower power than the rest. Not sure why I lose NBC....could be it made the multipath situation worse...

The Dreamer.

[tman701]

Thanks for the replies guys,


I narrowed it down to the DB-4, due to its supposed Multidirectonal feature.
But all the ones i looked at say they start receiving from channel 14.
I have two channels that are on 8 and 9, FOX and ABC.
That means i will need a separate antenna or an antenna that also catches VHF right?

Thanks,

Tman

[kevinw]

Thanks for the replies guys,


I narrowed it down to the DB-4, due to its supposed Multidirectonal feature.
But all the ones i looked at say they start receiving from channel 14.
I have two channels that are on 8 and 9, FOX and ABC.
That means i will need a separate antenna or an antenna that also catches VHF right?

Thanks,

Tman
Possibly- You need to see what channels they actually broadcast from. 8 and 9 may be analog and they broadcast digital from a UHF but map to the anaologs Station number
Go to anteannweb.org and check waht the actual brodcast frequency is.

[tman701]

Hey Kevin,

Antenna web says "Frequency Assignment" and it has 8 and 9 listed for both. Then under channel they have 7.1 and 10.1, 7 and 10 being the analog channels.

Thanks,

Tman701

[kevinw]

Hey Kevin,

Antenna web says "Frequency Assignment" and it has 8 and 9 listed for both. Then under channel they have 7.1 and 10.1, 7 and 10 being the analog channels.

Thanks,

Tman701
That would be VHF, rare that 2 channels in one city are VHF...

[tman701]

Oh well, had to be Fox.

Now antennasdirect says that their antennas can pick up high VHF (9-13).
If i need to pick up VHF(8) Do i use a totally separate antenna?
I tried looking in the FAQ and i found links to VHF antennas but havent found a two-in-one combination. Dont mean to be a pest, i have searched but sometimes the answer is right under our nose and we cant see it.

Thanks again,

Tman701

[kevinw]

http://www.antennasdirect.com/VHF%20channel%20listings.htm
Try this one

[floxy]

The Winegard 4400 is great. I prevously posted some problems with it, but the installer came back out and disconnected the line amp and it works perfectly. Apparently I was getting too strong of signal (he said 40 db) and the line amp was causing the signal to spike. Now, without the amp, I get strong consistent signal in multiple directions and no digitizing.

[tman701]

Hey Floxy,

How far away are you from the transmitters?

Thanks,
Tman

[floxy]

My farthest away is about 34 miles and I get 75-80%. All of my other channels are closer (between 15 and 25 miles) and I'm pulling 85-90%.

[tman701]

Nice, i guess i will skip getting an AMP then.

Thanks for the info!


Tman