What does the dB rating mean on an antenna?

[HSherm23]

I am still shopping for a OTA. I have tried a few that work well but NBC is still alluding me. The antenna I have now says that it has an amplifier gain of 40 dB adjustable. What does the 40dB mean? Is the higher number the better, because I have seen some far more expensive antenna with less dBs. I was also wondering if it would make a big difference to have an antenna with a 45dB gain. Thanks again for all the advice.

[Ratman]

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/basics.html

Some reading to get started.

If you check www.antennaweb.org to get distance/direction info, cut and paste the info here, we can provide some recommendations.

[HSherm23]

I tried to pretty this up as much as possible and remove the channels I do not care about(there are a bunch of Spanish channels and I do not speak Spanish so they are not a concern. I am trying to stick with an indoor antenna, my community is a real pain about outdoor antennas. I have an antenna that is doing okay but I would really like to get NBC and right now I am not. Thanks a ton for any suggestions.

*yellow - uhf WOFL-DT 35.1 FOX ORLANDO FL 73° 21.3 22
*yellow - uhf WRBW-DT 65.1 UPN ORLANDO FL 73° 22.9 41
*yellow - uhf WOPX-DT 56.1 PAX MELBOURN FL 152° 32.3 48
*yellow - uhf WKCF-DT 18.1 WB CLERMONT FL 76° 21.1 17
*yellow - uhf WKMG-DT 6.1 CBS ORLANDO FL 73° 22.9 58
*yellow - uhf WMFE-DT 24.1 PBS ORLANDO FL 72° 20.8 23
*yellow - uhf WFTV-DT 9.1 ABC ORLANDO FL 80° 22.4 39
*yellow - uhf WCEU-DT 15.1 PBS SMYRNA BEACHFL 72° 21.6 33
*green - uhf WBCC-DT 30.1 PBS COCOA FL 73° 22.9 30
*green - vhf WESH-DT 2.1 NBC DAYTONA FL 73° 22.9 11
green - uhf WKCF 18 WB CLERMONT FL 77° 21.3 18
green - uhf WRBW 65 UPN ORLANDO FL 77° 21.3 65
green - uhf WOPX 56 PAX MELBOURNE FL 152° 32.3 56
lt green - uhf WOFL 35 FOX ORLANDO FL 73° 21.3 35
lt green - uhf WMFE 24 PBS ORLANDO FL 72° 20.8 24
lt green - uhf WPXG-LP 31 HSN ORLANDO FL 346° 8.6 31
blue - vhf WKMG 6 CBS ORLANDO FL 72° 20.8 6
blue - vhf WFTV 9 ABC ORLANDO FL 72° 20.8 9
blue - vhf WESH 2 NBC DAYTONA BEACH FL 15° 31.6 2
blue - uhf WBCC 68 PBS COCOA FL 117° 32.7 68
blue - uhf WOTF 43 TFA MELBOURNE FL 117° 32.8 43
violet - vhf WZXZ-CA 11 BOX ORLANDO, FL 30° 4.3 11
violet - uhf WTOG 44 UPN ST. PT FL 234° 69.1 44
violet - uhf WTTA 38 WB ST. PT FL 234° 68.4 38
violet - vhf WTVT 13 FOX TAMPA FL 233° 68.5 13
violet - uhf WUSF 16 PBS TAMPA FL 235° 68.2 16
violet - vhf WEDU 3 PBS TAMPA FL 234° 69.1 3
violet - vhf WFLA 8 NBC TAMPA FL 234° 68.4 8
violet - uhf WCEU 15 PBS SMYRNA BEACH FL 23° 49.8 15
violet - uhf WFTS 28 ABC TAMPA FL 234° 68.4 28

[Ratman]

Well... did you know that NBC is a VHF channel (11)?
Is your existing antenna UHF only?

That could be the problem.

Also, Have you tried lowering the adjustable gain on the amplifier... sometime TOO much amplification is a bad thing.

[HSherm23]

My current antenna is the TERK TV5. It is both Uhf/Vhf. I also tried an RCA ANT 1250, neither has any luck pulling in NBC.

[tigerbangs]

I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but all the amplification in the world, 45db or otherwise, will not pull a signal that your antenna is not getting on it's own. The problem for you is that you need an outdoor antenna to do the job: you don't need a huge one, buit you won't believe how much better and more reliable picture a simple outdoor antenna will give you. As for your Homeowner's Association, as long as you have exclusive use of your roof, as anyone with a single family house does, the HOA can't prevent you from installing an outdoor antenna:
Here is the FCC link that substantiates this:

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

The best small and cheap outdoor UHF-VHF antenna is the Winegard PR-7015, which costs about $55-60 dollars. Once you add in the mounting equipment and cable, you are still under $100.00, and that antenna will get you everything that you are looking for perfectly, as long as you take take the time to install it properly and aim it at the transmitters. When all is said and done, you can spend more than that for an indoor antenna that won't do nearly as well.

http://www.winegard.com/offair/pdf/pr-7015.pdf

[mjones73]

Might want to give the Radio Shack model 15-1880 a try. Got an attic you can mount a more traditional antenna in by chance?