Any Radio Shack 15-624 antennas around?

[jbreaker]

I've been looking for a Radio Shack 15-624 "bowtie" antenna (seemingly forever) but none have turned up in any stores I've checked, or anywhere online... Does anyone have any ideas where I might find one, or know a store that may have one, or have one they'd like to be rid of in exchange for fabulous wealth or prizes?

[Ratman]

Only sold "in-store".

If none of your local RS have them in stock, they can order one for you.

Just curious... why "this" particular antenna? It does have good recommendations, but reception is not a "given". Are you sure that this antenna will work for you?

Seems a shame to go to all the trouble and waiting only to find that it doesn't work out for you.

Why not try another model antenna from RS to see what you're up against?

[jbreaker]

This antenna had the best reviews for the price. The other antennas I've tried I've had pretty poor results with, ranging from nothing to 2 or 3 channels of low quality reception. I'm not expecting a miracle, but I also don't want to pay $50 or more for something if a $15 antenna will give me equal or better reception. If there's anything that anyone else recommends in th elo price range that will work as well, I'd love to hear about it - this was just the only one I've seen that's gotten pretty much uniformly good reviews ...
Also, the local RS's seem to pretty much have gotten rid of all their antenna stock except basic rabbit ears, bow tie UHFs, and some $75 "HD" models which look kind of like a toadstool...

[Ratman]

Yeah... at $15 and a great location, it would get good reviews.

But... everyone's situation is different. Unfortunately, there's no magic bullet.

Check www.antennaweb.org and cut and paste your results here so we have an idea what to suggest.

[jbreaker]

Hey, that'd be great. Here goes:

* yellow - uhf WPGH-DT 53.1 FOX PITTSBURGH PA 300° 8.6 43
* yellow - uhf KDKA-DT 2.1 CBS PITTSBURGH PA 298° 9.3 25
* yellow - uhf WPXI-DT 11.1 NBC PITTSBURGH PA 285° 8.1 48
* yellow - uhf WPMY-DT 42.1 MNT PITTSBURGH PA 300° 8.6 42
* yellow - uhf WQED-DT 13.1 PBS PITTSBURGH PA 276° 6.0 38
* yellow - uhf WQEX-DT 16.1 HSN PITTSBURGH PA 276° 6.0 26
* yellow - uhf WPCW-DT 49.1 CW JEANNETTE PA TBD 276° 6.0 49
* yellow - uhf WPCB-DT 50.1 FMN GREENSBURG PA 146° 5.4 50
* red - uhf WJAC-DT 6.1 NBC JOHNSTOWN PA 105° 46.0 34
* red - uhf WTAE-DT 4.1 ABC PITTSBURGH PA 176° 12.0 51
* blue - uhf WWCP-DT 8.1 FOX JOHNSTOWN PA 125° 41.3 29

I have never actually heard of a few of those, so wouldn't really expect/care to get them...

[Ratman]

Looks good!

You're close to all of the towers. All of the "yellow" should be okay. ABC... may be a problem (showing "red").

Anyway... have you considered this antenna?
http://www.amazon.com/Zenith-ZHDTV1-HDTV-UHF-Digital-Antenna/dp/B00006FXR9

[jbreaker]

If you recommend that one, I'll check it out. I had read some reviews of similar antennas, which said that they weren't very effective, though the ones on Amazon are generally pretty good!
I had thought ABC might be a problem, though, oddly, it's one of only 2 stations I can pick up directly with "rabbit ears"...
I'l look for that antenna. I may look for it in an actual retail outlet (unless the price is prohibitively more) so I can try it with less worries about shipping...
Thanks!

[Ratman]

You may find the Philips clone of the Zenith at Circuit City. Do not get fooled by the Terk lookalikes! They are overpriced and do not perform as well as the Zenith.

[kevinw]

http://www.antennasdirect.com/SR8_indoor_yagi.html
You could try this also

[jbreaker]

Any advantages to one over the other (Zenith over SR8, or vice versa)?

[tigerbangs]

If you haev to choose between the RS 15-624 and the Silver Sensor, I would go with the RS 15-624, based on my personal experience: any RS store should be able to order one for you.

[jbreaker]

Okay, following the recommendations of others on this forum, I recently got a Silver Sensor and have been using it for a short while.

At first, I had no problems picking up all the stations that I wanted (and some I didn't like the digital home shopping channel & religious channels), so my first worry proved unfounded. BUT... I found that while I get very good reception sometimes, othertimes (like during a football game) I get nothing but glitches and freezing.

It seems like in nice weather, the signal is okay, but clouds, or rain seem to cause a lot of problems for me? That's the only factor I can see which would differentiate one day's good reception from the lousy reception the next.

I've tried relocating the antenna, pointing it in different directions, pointing it towards the towers, away from the towers, at the ceiling, at the window, at the cat, nothing seems to help. In any event, is there anything anyone can suggest that I can try to boost or improve the reception I'm getting?

[Ratman]

Pittsburg seems to be a "problem" area for consistent/stable reception (from reading other posts on various forums).

Your best bet is to consider an outdoor antenna.

Edit:
I merged this with your existing thread.

You can try moving the Silver Sensor to the attic as a test to see if that helps.

[jbreaker]

Sorry about the double threads - I wasn't sure whether this was best posted as part of the original thread or not. So thanks for the merge...

I can try in the attic (though i'll need a long cable...) and could also try sticking the Silver Sensor outside with a cable through the window and seeing if the reception is improved at all, just to test if the outdoor antenna would work better.

When the signal comes in and everything works, it's GREAT, which makes it all the more frustrating that 15 minutes later it's all freezes...

I'll try your suggestions and post the results.

[Ratman]

No problem...

Start small and work "up". Home building materials have a lot to do with consistent/stable reception. Stucco, foil backed insulation, aluminum siding etc. all play a part. Elevation is usually always in you favor.

If you can get 100' of terminated coax, temporarily run wherever you can to test. Depending on the results, you can make a permanent run after the fact.

[jbreaker]

Okay, after trying the attic and outside, I still get pretty much nothing... In the attic, when I can pick up a station, it's a bit more stable - it doesn't freeze or break up when the cat walks by or something, but mostly I get the same glitchy results up there... If anyone can suggest any other options I'd love to hear them - I've gotten a bit frustrated with it, so the HD box has mostly been sitting there being expensively useless....

[Ratman]

I don't know what antennas you've tried, buy you probably should try a Channel Master 4221.

[jbreaker]

Can it be mounted inside, in an attic? The outdoor option won't work very well, because our property drops down off a little wall on the side and runs down a hillside, and the roof is too steep to climb around on easily, so unless I stuck it in the front lawn, there's not really a place for it.

[Ratman]

Yes it can...

[yazehu]

Hi,

I'm looking for one of the antennas mentioned in the original post. Any one have one? Please, no advice on other antennas, I'm looking for this specific one.

[kevinw]

Hi,

I'm looking for one of the antennas mentioned in the original post. Any one have one? Please, no advice on other antennas, I'm looking for this specific one.
Did you try Radio-Shack? Or are you looking for a used one?
http://www.radioshack.com/sm-uhf-dual-hdtv-indoor-antenna--pi-2103058.html
Type in your zip.

[yazehu]

Radio shack has discontinued them and they do not have one in any of their stores (I contacted their customer service that searched every US store). Buying directly from them is no longer an option.