Afraid to spend the $$$ to see if I can get OTA HD

[kook]

I've been to antennaweb.org, and I'm not sure I want to spend a bunch of $$$ on an antenna and STB, only to find that I can not get a signal. My ZIP=21921. Rural wooded area.

Antennaweb.org says I need a medium (or large) directional antenna with pre-amp.

If I were to put any antenna up, it would be in the attic, not on my roof (unless it were small). Local OTA broadcasting (all major networks) comes from both Baltimore and Philly - I am about right in the middle of them, so not sure which would be stronger.

My concerns:

1) A directional antenna won't be able to move up in the attic (little headroom in the attic). So, I'd have to line it up for Philly or Baltimore, whichever I get better signal from.

2) I'm in a wooded setting. No major buildings, but trees in every direction. I have cleared out some land towards the southeast of my house, so maybe the Baltimore stations would come in better than the Philly stations?

3) A STB would not be of any value to me at this time, other than for OTA use... So, if OTA didn't "pan out", I would be holding onto a STB that I would not be using.


What are some ways that I can determine if I should even venture into OTA HD signal reception? I don't know of anyone around me that has tried this, so "asking my neighbors" is not really a choice.

thanks,

Mark

[jdozier]

My situation is similar to yours. I live on a 10 acre wooded lot. I live 60 to 65 miles from Memphis, TN. I get most of there stations with OTA (CM4228) with a CM 7777 Pre-Amp. The one thing that is different is that I do not have the antenna in the attic. If you put the antenna in the attic you will loose 50-75% of the signal and I would be surprised if you receive any signal at all if you put it in the attic.

The CM4228 8 Bowtie UHF Antenna is about 3 feet wide x 3 feet tall and 6 inch thick. I have it about 5 feet above my roofline (single story home).

I hope this helps.

[Ratman]

If I were in your situation, I would buy an antenna (CM4228 or a 4248). Put's you out about ~$60. Not a bad loss... unless you can find one at a store that will take returns. For a preamp use the CM7775.

Then buy an STB at BB or CC and try it out with temporary cabling to see how it works out. If you're SOL... you can return the STB (30 refund policy at those stores).

There is no 100% effective way to determine what your success could be without a practical test.

And... I would say that an attic will cut your signal approx. 30-50%.

[bill g]

Kook,

I am in the same boat as you are. I just got off the phone with the manager of Tweeter in The Woodlands, Texas , and he swore that I had to spend $725.00 for an ota antenna rig. He SWORE that I could not get a HD picture with anything less. He wanted to bet me a free antenna. I told him that I already had a HD receiver and that I didn't need another one, but he said that this was for the antenna alone !!!!! I know I was born at night ----but not last night !!

[kevinw]

Bill,
I did some research after the E mail you are no further than 30 air miles from the towers. Any of the recomendations above should work. You should be able to install it yourself for less than a 100 dollars. Roof mount will be best and as high as possible.

[djfuller]

I live in the Woodlands and we are 41 miles from the broadcast antennas that are located in Katy, Tx. I talked to the manager at the local CC and he had only heard of one success story with any OTA antennas. On a whim, I purchased the Samsung SIR-T351 (soon to be returned - thanks to CC for their liberal return policy!) and hooked it up to my 5 year old Terk TV55 in the attic. I am able to receive all the local HD channels except ABC. I'm guessing that if I play with the TV55 I could get ABC also.

This revelation is sending me back to DirecTV (who I left in March since the cable route was much more cost effective at the time). I'm tired of the poor quality analog channels below 100, and would like ESPN-HD. Now that I know I can get (all but one) local channels in HD, and D-TV has the $399 HD special going, I'm set.

PS: CC manager said that DirecTV is in the process of putting local channels on satellite.

[ghola]

I would recommend finding out where your locals are being transmitted from. Chances are, if you can receive those station's analog broadcasts, you SHOULD be able to pick up their digital counterparts. This way, you can use your existing TV tuner and a small rabbit ears to give you an idea if it would be worth it for you to upgrade.

[SephirothX]

How about finding a dealer with good return policy? If something doesn't work then simply return it back or exchange it for similar item.

[nuke61]

I would get just the antenna first and check to see if you can get regular UHF channels. If you can pick them up, it's likely that you'll pick up HD UHF as well.