Buy an antenna or am I just bored?

[drowe]

Right now I've got a working S3 with CCs and I'm trying to decide if I should buy an antenna or if I'm just bored and looking for something to do. Here are some facts:

- I think all the HD channels I could get OTA I already get via cable
- I live in the sticks and just about all channels fall into the "red" category
- Any antenna I buy would need to be an indoor model
- My cableco is Wave Broadband

So, is there a point or am I just bored?

[George Cifranci]

If you already get all the OTA channels via cable I don't see the point. Don't make things more complicated than they need be. Adding more channels would also mean that many more entries listed for when you are doing searches, so I wouldn't bother.

In my case my local cable company can't carry ABC HD and FOX HD channels because of a dispute with Sinclair Broadcasting. So I have no choice but to use an antenna to get those 2 channels. My cheap indoor antenna I got from Radio Shack works great at my location.

[drowe]

Thanks George. Your point about there not being a point points me in the right direction.
-dave

[matthewwhite]

PBS

with a set of rabbit ears I get 2 PBS stations and they each carry 5 channels. with cable I only get 1 of the PBS and only the 1st channel.

It can't hurt to try. I say it's worth the $.

[c-surfer]

Here in San Diego I can get more HD stations though the air, than Time Warner provides with the standard package and cable cards. The only station I can't get over the air is FOX since the transmitter is in Tijuana, Mexico. I should have saved myself the $30 service call since I don't care about FOX anyhow. Although I see Time Warner is offering 6 months of their HD package for free, which I'll probably take advantage of and then cancel.

I purchased a large 40 x 30 " antenna from Antennas Direct which I'm going to send back because the ATI HD Wonder free antenna I have (probably $13 at Radio Shack) does as good if not a better job. I tried putting the large antenna in the attic but the clay tile roof and stucco walls block the signal. I just put the little antenna next to a window and the Tivo gets great reception. See http://www.antennaweb.org for antenna aiming instructions.

[drowe]

PBS

with a set of rabbit ears I get 2 PBS stations and they each carry 5 channels. with cable I only get 1 of the PBS and only the 1st channel.

It can't hurt to try. I say it's worth the $.
Aw, man, now I'm conflicted. At least I'm not bored.

To get an indoor antenna with enough gain I suspect I'm going to have to spend some real money, don't you think? I live in 98232 which is ?60 miles from Seattle, and I'm cut into 50+ foot trees. It may be worth a try, but I'm a little concerned that it might work... if you take my meaning. Simplicity, cost, feasibility.

Can you smell the fire that makes my brain work?

[TydalForce]

I think I'm going through something similar... I keep playing with my antennas. I've already got all the local stations I'm gonna get.... but I keep trying. Why? Because I can....

A note about antennaweb: feed it your full address, and maybe experiment with some nearby addresses too. It tends to be a little conservative, BUT does factor in address-specific things like hills. (I can change the address to up the street from me and it shows slightly different results)

I punched in your ZIP code to see what would come up, and I'm only seeing 2 digital broadcasts...

KBCB-DT 24.1
KVOS-DT 12.1

Unless your specific address shows more, or your cable company isn't carrying one of those stations (or its .2 .3 etc) it probably isn't worth the antenna.

You could probably pick those up with a decent, well-positioned indoor antenna just to test it out and see what happens before you invest in a Good Antenna

[AbMagFab]

Also, if you can get the HD signal OTA, it's by definition more reliable than cable. So if your cable goes out, you'd still get OTA HD (which for most in like 60-90% of what you record and watch anyway).

[TydalForce]

I guess that depends on how good your reception is vs. how good your cable is

If your cable rarely goes out, it's probably not a big deal there

[drowe]

I think I'm going through something similar... I keep playing with my antennas. I've already got all the local stations I'm gonna get.... but I keep trying. Why? Because I can....

A note about antennaweb: feed it your full address, and maybe experiment with some nearby addresses too. It tends to be a little conservative, BUT does factor in address-specific things like hills. (I can change the address to up the street from me and it shows slightly different results)

I punched in your ZIP code to see what would come up, and I'm only seeing 2 digital broadcasts...

KBCB-DT 24.1
KVOS-DT 12.1

Unless your specific address shows more, or your cable company isn't carrying one of those stations (or its .2 .3 etc) it probably isn't worth the antenna.

You could probably pick those up with a decent, well-positioned indoor antenna just to test it out and see what happens before you invest in a Good Antenna
I get the same results with my full address. I don't appear to get any HDs and my cable company does provide the above referenced channels, but I think only in analog. That's okay because I don't watch them anyway.

At this point, I think I'll hold off unless someone hands me an antenna. It could happen. :)

Thanks guys. :up:

[Bigdogsbigdogs]

I have seen HD locals on 3 different D* receivers, 2 different E* receivers and several different cable boxes. I have yet to see anything better than HD with OTA. Cable HD looks the worst to me and Dish's VIP622 looks the best to me with Fios running at a close second. With both cable and Sat., you do not get the multi-cast / sub-cast & independent stations like you do with an OTA.

DirecTV offers me 6 locals while Dish offers me 7. My OTA brings in about 25!

Not to mention, you can di-plex more than 1 OTA together, aimed at different markets and pick up more stations.

Don't be worried about pulling in red-zone channels. In most areas, a good directional Yagi style OTA will do the trick. A comnination of a yagi & something like Channel masters hi gain DB-8 will bring in just about anything within 75 miles provided there is no major obstruction.

The cost of the OTA should be between $75 and $125 and your channels will be forever free!

Good luck!

[ChuckyBox]

If you're going to spend some money to improve your system, why not look at some other options? How are your speakers? How about your receiver or pre/pro and amp? Are you getting all you can out of the 5.1 sound that comes with digital and HDTV? How are the acoustics in your viewing room? Maybe you could improve things with some sound treatments. How many gizmos do you have? Maybe you could get a universal remote and spend some time programming it.

I'm all for spending time and money on the system, but pick something that will get you more than you have now. I don't see an antenna doing that for you in your current situation.

[Bigdogsbigdogs]

I would agree with just about everything you said except for the stated value of an OTA.

Consider the fact that without an OTA, you will pay 5-6 dollars a month for just a few (4-6) local channels that may or may not be HD come in with questionable quality.

Now consider that for just $75-$100, you could buy an OTA that offers more channels (25 in my case) that come in at perfect quality.

So..., in just 10-13 months, with an OTA, you will have saved enough ($75 - $100) to offset the purchase price of the OTA and then you will continue to receive the channels for free.

Also consider that with most receivers, the OTA is a separate input, essentially creating another tuner from which a DVR could record from.

To me, it's a no brainer, unless you simply cannot pickup a usable signal or cannot get the channels you want.

[Jerry_K]

I live in the "red" too with trees all round. I have two $25 Rat Shack Yagi antennas, in store only, and a Rat Shack $50 distribution amp. I get all the Washington DC and Baltimore channels.

[drowe]

ChuckyBox makes a good point, I think. I hadn't really considered the wider bang for the buck question. There are a number of places in my system that have been ignored for many years.

All these posts are very insightful and helpful. :)

[nipster00]

if you are going to buy an indoor antenna, what type would work the best?

[johnny99]

I agree about buying an antenna and dumping cable if at all possible. The average US cable bill is $1000/year. Is cable really worth that much to you?

[rainwater]

I agree about buying an antenna and dumping cable if at all possible. The average US cable bill is $1000/year. Is cable really worth that much to you?

Yes. Many of the channels I care about aren't available OTA.

[nipster00]

I agree about buying an antenna and dumping cable if at all possible. The average US cable bill is $1000/year. Is cable really worth that much to you?


Not $1000.

But definitely worth the $600 I pay a year...


Once again, if you are going to buy an indoor antenna, what type would work the best?

[rainwater]

Not $1000.

But definitely worth the $600 I pay a year...


Once again, if you are going to buy an indoor antenna, what type would work the best?

It depends on if the stations are all in the same general direction or if they are in different directions (directional vs omnidirectional).

[janry]

Once again, if you are going to buy an indoor antenna, what type would work the best?

If I were you, I'd buy the el cheapo set of rabbit ears that have a UHF loop. You can get the ones I'm talking about for less than $5.00. If you don't get anything, then you're probably not going to get a decent signal with something costing $100. If you get a halfway decent signal, then you can spend a little more an get another antenna that may or may not do any better, but you've only wasted $5.00. If you are in between stations, get two $5.00 antennas, and hook them to a splitter and in reverse order, hook the splitter to the TiVo.

Set the antenna as high as possible.

[Ben_Jamin75]

Slightly off topic, but does anyone know if your cable card paring gets messed up if you repeat guided set-up to change from cable only to cable & antenna?

[nipster00]

If I were you, I'd buy the el cheapo set of rabbit ears that have a UHF loop. You can get the ones I'm talking about for less than $5.00. If you don't get anything, then you're probably not going to get a decent signal with something costing $100. If you get a halfway decent signal, then you can spend a little more an get another antenna that may or may not do any better, but you've only wasted $5.00. If you are in between stations, get two $5.00 antennas, and hook them to a splitter and in reverse order, hook the splitter to the TiVo.

Set the antenna as high as possible.



Good idea, i will try this first....thanks

[markens]

Set the antenna as high as possible.
LOL, not always. I bought a small powered antenna from Radio Shack that works great. I spent a lot of time with it on a long cable, moving it around while monitoring signal strength of the various channels. Turns out my roof was the worst place for it. I got the best reception putting it next to my front porch about five feet off the ground. That's where I mounted it, and reception has been fine ever since. (I suspect there are line of sight issues on my roof with surrounding obstructions and terrain, but it shows that general rules aren't true in all cases.)

[nipster00]

LOL, not always. I bought a small powered antenna from Radio Shack that works great. I spent a lot of time with it on a long cable, moving it around while monitoring signal strength of the various channels. Turns out my roof was the worst place for it. I got the best reception putting it next to my front porch about five feet off the ground. That's where I mounted it, and reception has been fine ever since. (I suspect there are line of sight issues on my roof with surrounding obstructions and terrain, but it shows that general rules aren't true in all cases.)

what antenna did you buy?

[markens]

what antenna did you buy?
Radio Shack DA-5200, catalog 15-2186. Seemed to be very similar to (if not the same as) a GE model which was priced about the same. This antenna has performed flawlessly for almost two years. My experience has only been with DTV on UHF channels (15, 27, 38, 42, 47), transmitters between 7 and 44 miles away. I don't know how it will perform with VHF frequencies. I'll find out Feb 17 when local stations move their DTV signals to channels 5, 8, and 12.

If you are in between stations, get two $5.00 antennas, and hook them to a splitter and in reverse order, hook the splitter to the TiVo.
Be aware that the splitter will introduce a signal loss and may not give usable results in marginal signal areas.

[ciper]

I seriously doubt all the digital stations available over OTA are available through cable.

For example in a home I recently helped install cable and antenna on a THD there were well over 50 channels available from the antenna. Cable only rebroadcasts the main signal of the popular networks (around 10 channels).

[janry]

Be aware that the splitter will introduce a signal loss and may not give usable results in marginal signal areas.

Or, with dual antennas, you may make up for the signal loss. YMMV. It did improve things for me. I put it this, it'll cost less than $10 to give it a try if you do it the way I did.

[janry]

LOL, not always. I bought a small powered antenna from Radio Shack that works great. I spent a lot of time with it on a long cable, moving it around while monitoring signal strength of the various channels. Turns out my roof was the worst place for it. I got the best reception putting it next to my front porch about five feet off the ground. That's where I mounted it, and reception has been fine ever since. (I suspect there are line of sight issues on my roof with surrounding obstructions and terrain, but it shows that general rules aren't true in all cases.)

You just needed to go higher! :D

[Teeps]

You're board, so here's a project: http://uhfhdtvantenna.blogspot.com/
Double it to an 8 bay if necessary.