OTA antennas and set up for digital tv

Swamp Donkey

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They are just radio signals. All same rules for receiving CB or ham apply to tv. Get it as high as you can. Attic is better than inside. Outside is better than attic but some HOAs and renters don't have the option. Higher is always better but with TV you just need to go high enough to get your tv stations (they won't be moving).

I'd move the antenna higher before trying an amplifier. Also realize that the side of your house is important. If your stations are to the east, put the antenna on the east side of the house, usually even if you have to run some coax to your antenna. You might want an amp on a long run of coax though.
 

grengadgy

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They are just radio signals. All same rules for receiving CB or ham apply to tv. Get it as high as you can. Attic is better than inside. Outside is better than attic but some HOAs and renters don't have the option. Higher is always better but with TV you just need to go high enough to get your tv stations (they won't be moving).

I'd move the antenna higher before trying an amplifier. Also realize that the side of your house is important. If your stations are to the east, put the antenna on the east side of the house, usually even if you have to run some coax to your antenna. You might want an amp on a long run of coax though.
What antenna are you using?
 

jeeping8r

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My mother in law uses direct tv now through internet and the quality sucks. Has netflix too and picture quality is good so her internet signal is OK.
 

URGatorBait

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My mother in law uses direct tv now through internet and the quality sucks. Has netflix too and picture quality is good so her internet signal is OK.
Direct TV Now is probably going to fail.
Might want to look at some other options.
That one was never a very good one anyhow
 

Swamp Donkey

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I admire you for using a satellite for OTA. Post a picture of your rig.
No dude. Im still on satellite tv. Im not proud of it.

It's just.... on the list to be done someday still.
 
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grengadgy

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Amazon product

Assembled size is about 18 x 13 x 4.. Should easily fit in attic or outside...


Is this what you are talking about? Your picture doesn't show for me because of Amazon's policy .
3d27192c-84f1-4d8d-bae8-c1977acd4b0e._CR0,0,300,400_PT0_SX300__.jpg
 

Jack o' Diamonds

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Is this what you are talking about? Your picture doesn't show for me because of Amazon's policy .
3d27192c-84f1-4d8d-bae8-c1977acd4b0e._CR0,0,300,400_PT0_SX300__.jpg
Looks like the same thing, although the thing is not nearly as large as that picture seems.

Will fit in an attic.
 

grengadgy

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Looks like the same thing, although the thing is not nearly as large as that picture seems.

Will fit in an attic.
It's size 10 x 6 x 1.6 inches which seems too small, maybe collapsed size. Does it has an amplifier , rotor and outputs for 2 tvs. Is it any good? It's range of 150 miles seems exaggerated.
 

Jack o' Diamonds

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Those dimensions are the dimensions of the package before assembly. I don't have one, but from what i have read, it has two outputs from the control box. Output one carries the rotor signal obviously only one position can control the rotor. Just came across this when I was considering cord cutting. If you don't need the rotor, there are options without it.
 

Swamp Donkey

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It's size 10 x 6 x 1.6 inches which seems too small, maybe collapsed size. Does it has an amplifier , rotor and outputs for 2 tvs. Is it any good? It's range of 150 miles seems exaggerated.
That is just a yagi antenna. No doubt it receives VERY well, about as well as possible, but it is going to be VERY directional. .Mil and .gov use those antennas to for microwaves and low power UHF transmitters. Ham radio geeks use them for using a few watts of power to talk to the space shuttles/stations or satellites as the pass overhead, or direction finding (or to see who is illegally broadcasting).

If I didn't need something superdirectional like that, I'd avoid it. You might well have to rotate the antenna often to switch channels. A more omnidirectional setup would likely be better for applications that didn't require that extreme range.

Like I said, I had one of those little box antennas (it is probably one or two loops) one of the $20 deals from Cheapomart. Once I raised it to near the ceiling, it got dozens of channels some which were 100 ish miles away, over relatively flat ground.

How far do you have to cover? What is your terrain like.

Understand that radios signals (in that frequency) are basically line of sight. And no amount of antenna is going to fix it if you have terrain like hills between you and the transmitter.
 
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Swamp Donkey

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Swamp Donkey

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Looks like the same thing, although the thing is not nearly as large as that picture seems..
it doesn't need to be big for digital television. I'm just learning that they're all UHF or VHf high channels now. The old vhf low freqs would require a much bigger antenna due to a longer wave length.
 
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Jack o' Diamonds

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it doesn't need to be big for digital television. I'm just learning that they're all UHF or VHf high channels now. The old vhf low freqs would require a much bigger antenna due to a longer wave length.
Even the old antennas work fine for digital tv. any antenna that's cut to the proper wavelengths will work.
The only difference is the receiver connected has to function for the received signal. The antenna just needs a 75 ohm coax output instead of 300 ohm twinlead..
 

Swamp Donkey

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Even the old antennas work fine for digital tv. any antenna that's cut to the proper wavelengths will work.
The only difference is the receiver connected has to function for the received signal. The antenna just needs a 75 ohm coax output instead of 300 ohm twinlead..
Most of the old antennas are extremely wideband though, which almost always means not particularly good at anything. They had to cover down into like 50mhz, up to 174, then way up to 500 mhz. And the harmonics aren't great on some of those frequencies.

If it were me, I'd buy a new antenna. They cost almost nothing.
 

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