Digital antenna

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

The ex got me a McDuory digital antenna for Christmas.
Just now got it up and running.
Back to three channels. Sigh.
LOL, not really. I mean it really is 3 channels right now, but the antenna is lying on top of my lp's in front of the picture window, inside the house. And the picture is crystal clear. Thanks, dear!

 

[woowoo2]

I'll share an industry secret with ya, there is no "digital" in any antenna, they are just antennas.

 

[mike45]

So, I have been looking for a new antenna. I am about 40 miles from all the towers. Which one do I need? I can put it on a tower about 30 feet high.
Most of the towers are west of my location. I would hate to buy the wrong one and waste my time.

 

[awames76]

we have a 30 or more year old antenna on our house, we get the 5 from fort wayne and a few from south bend, which are the same as fort wayne. it works good

 

[woowoo2]

So, I have been looking for a new antenna. I am about 40 miles from all the towers. Which one do I need? I can put it on a tower about 30 feet high.
Most of the towers are west of my location. I would hate to buy the wrong one and waste my time.

I have had good luck with the Model 4228 from Channel master.
Their preamp has an LTE filter to get rid of neighboring Cell phone signals.

(My day job is babysitting TV transmitters)

 

[mike45]

I have had good luck with the Model 4228 from Channel master.
Their preamp has an LTE filter to get rid of neighboring Cell phone signals.

(My day job is babysitting TV transmitters)

How far are you from the station tower?

 

[HoughMade]

I have this one in my attic, so it’s about 20 feet off the ground.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/antenn...or-hdtv-antenna-black/5894080.p?skuId=5894080

We are about 45 miles from Chicago and 55 miles from South Bend. I have the antenna pointed between these cities, which is not optimal, but I get all the channels from both places. I also run an amplifier as the antenna is over 70 feet from the TVs.

About 70 channels in total, but there are Spanish channels and several repeats. I would guess that there are about 25-30 different channels that we would watch.

 

[Ski]

Type in your address at TV Fool to get an idea of what type of antenna you need. Antennaweb is another site but I have heard it's less reliable.

 

[woowoo2]

How far are you from the station tower?

I am about 20 miles out, the 4228 is a little bit of overkill for my application, but I have seven drops hooked up to it.

60 miles is about the best someone could hope for without throwing a lot of money at receiving a signal.

 

[Ziggidy]

I have this one in my attic, so it’s about 20 feet off the ground.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/antenn...or-hdtv-antenna-black/5894080.p?skuId=5894080

We are about 45 miles from Chicago and 55 miles from South Bend. I have the antenna pointed between these cities, which is not optimal, but I get all the channels from both places. I also run an amplifier as the antenna is over 70 feet from the TVs.

About 70 channels in total, but there are Spanish channels and several repeats. I would guess that there are about 25-30 different channels that we would watch.

That is an excellent antenna. I had the smaller version before moving to Indiana and it served me well; had it on my 2nd story balcony. Picture quality was much better than cable.

Since I moved I have one Channel Master Smartantenna+ on my balcony door and get about 40 or more channels, excellent quality. In my bedroom I have a cheap $17 flat antenna and picking up maybe 30 channels. I live in an apartment and these serve me very well.

FYI, I also have the Channel Master DVR+ that allows me to record, pause, rewind OTA television. I use Roku for internet streaming (Netflix and such).

 

[GTM]

I'm using a Winegard 7694P which has very good gain on both VHF and UHF without being a monstrosity. I'm using it to pick up Indy stations from about 50 miles away. It's mounted outside about 12 ft above ground and I'm using an RCA preamp at the antenna.

 

[mike45]

Thanks everyone. I now have some good info to go with.

 

[dnurk]

That is an excellent antenna. I had the smaller version before moving to Indiana and it served me well; had it on my 2nd story balcony. Picture quality was much better than cable.

Since I moved I have one Channel Master Smartantenna+ on my balcony door and get about 40 or more channels, excellent quality. In my bedroom I have a cheap $17 flat antenna and picking up maybe 30 channels. I live in an apartment and these serve me very well.

FYI, I also have the Channel Master DVR+ that allows me to record, pause, rewind OTA television. I use Roku for internet streaming (Netflix and such).

I had looked at Channel Master but wasn’t thrilled that it doesn’t support streaming for Netflix or Amazon Prime. So are you saying you just switch back and forth between the Roku and the Channel Master? Just grab the other remote, change the inout on your TV, etc?

I don’t like that Ux if that’s the case but not sure what other options there are. TiVo seems to do it all but is more expensive and requires a monthly fee for their service.

 

[Ziggidy]

TiVo is more money. The remote that comes with DVR+ also works the TV. The only switch is with the input, which is on the remote. Then yes, I need to use the Roku remote. It’s a simple set up. I have an external HD for the DVR+. All together for everything is still cheaper than TiVo. TiVo does have a couple advantages.... but negligent to me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[nra4ever]

I have had good luck with the Model 4228 from Channel master.
Their preamp has an LTE filter to get rid of neighboring Cell phone signals.

(My day job is babysitting TV transmitters)

I also have the channel master just hanging on my garage wall. I had planned to install in the attic but it works just fine on the wall.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I had looked at Channel Master but wasn’t thrilled that it doesn’t support streaming for Netflix or Amazon Prime. So are you saying you just switch back and forth between the Roku and the Channel Master? Just grab the other remote, change the inout on your TV, etc?

I don’t like that Ux if that’s the case but not sure what other options there are. TiVo seems to do it all but is more expensive and requires a monthly fee for their service.

Yep. Convenience has a cost.

These remotes help. You use your PC to program them. No more sitting there endlessly plugging in 25 different codes and testing each one. You tell the software exactly what model TV, DVR, DVD, etc you own (including things like Lutron wireless dimmers) and it sets it all perfectly.
And you can even set activities like "watch a movie" and it will turn on your TV, switch to the correct input, turn on the DVD, etc. Back in the day I had my home theater setup so it would also dim the lights too.

https://www.logitech.com/en-us/harmony-universal-remotes

 

[Vigilant]

I bought this 30 mini “tower” antenna. Plugged it in, oohed and ahhed at the pretty blue lights, no I get 48 OTA channels, albeit a lot of repeats, (who knew WfYI had 4 different channels?)but it works decent, and is about 7’ AGL. Wonder what I’d get with one on a tower outside?

 

[Cameramonkey]

I also added one of these to go with my Plex server running on my NAS box. So now I have an NVR to record the OTA programs.

Oh, and I can watch live TV now on my ipad.

https://www.silicondust.com/

 

[jinks]

I purchased a Winegard FlatWave Air FL6550A antenna and placed it in the attic. I live west of Plainfield and the antenna receives 59 channels.

https://www.menards.com/main/electr...nna-60-mile-range/fl6550a/p-1444450509543.htm

 

[Vigilant]

I also added one of these to go with my Plex server running on my NAS box. So now I have an NVR to record the OTA programs.

Oh, and I can watch live TV now on my ipad.

https://www.silicondust.com/

WTF did you just say?