Ota Hd, How Do You Get Yours??

[howie85]

I am in an area where I can not get HD Local CBS through Dish they said I needed a waiver. I applied and was denied. I have a powered indoor antenna which gets one OTA HD channel that will fade in and out. At least I got the superbowl locked for about 95% of the time. The antenna is not specifically rated for the reception of HD. I would like to get one that might get me another station but am not sure which ones are really all they say or just sales hype. My current one is powered with rabbit ears and center circle that is adjustable front back tilt and rotation. Normally i get about 70% signal on a good day it might get 75% but floats and is not steady usually loosing sound or pixelating every few min or so but watchable most of the time. Duffinator, i saw in your pics of your system what looked like one of the "V" shaped types is that a upgrade from a different type any comparison? Any input would be appreciated. Curt

 

[Duffinator]

Curt,
What you saw in the picture is a Zenith Silver Sensor that worked pretty well. Many have had good results with it but some haven't. For an indoor antenna it's a good place to start. (Send me a PM if you want to buy mine for $20 plus shipping) I'm no longer using it as I mounted a UHF antenna in my attic.

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog_name=CTLG&category_name=CTLG_003_001_002_000&product_id=15-2160

You can purchase it at Radio Shack for $24.95, it's part Catalog # 15-2160. I have helped two friends install the same antenna in the Sacramento area with great success. In Sacramento all the main stations are broadcasting in HD including a couple of the Spanish stations. One friend has Dish and it works well with his HD receiver and HD DVR. I have mine connected to my DirecTV HD receiver and will have it connected to an HD TiVo DVR this weekend. Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Check www.terk.com for a lot of good info and antenna products. Attic mounting is a clean way to install an antenna, but roof mounting is still best.

 

[Lincoln]

There is no such thing an HD antenna. Any appropriate sized VHF antenna should work if all your locals are on the VHF band (most should be, at least for the near future). Terk is overpriced garbage, so you'd be much better off going to antennaweb.org and putting in your address to see what directions and how far you are from the broadcast towers...it will also recommend an antenna type that suitable for your location. Many people have good luck with the Silver Sensor, I didn't. A Philips 45db amplified rabbit ear antenna did work for me for most of the local stations but I didn't get great and consistent reception until I put a "real" antenna in my attic (I was 22 miles from the towers).

 

[BMXTRIX]

I never really went through Terk pricing, but they are hardly 'garbage'. They make a full line of different antennas with range guidelines that match up nicely with antennaweb.org

I have been very happy with my Terk, and have seen them in use dozens of places where people are happy... Is the price high? Maybe - but garbage is a flat out inaccurate statement. They make about anything you could look for in an antenna and know their business.

Imagine if Monster Cable didn't sell snake oil and had decent business practices, but were still a little high on pricing... then you would have Terk.

 

[Lincoln]

Yes, you are correct. Saying that Terk is garbage is not right. Terk is overpriced snake-oil...is that better??? Really, I've had many different types of Terk antennas in the past and they all sucked and were easily outdone with alternatives costing as little as 1/10th as much.

 

[aarond]

There is no such thing an HD antenna. Any appropriate sized VHF antenna should work if all your locals are on the VHF band (most should be, at least for the near future). Terk is overpriced garbage, so you'd be much better off going to antennaweb.org and putting in your address to see what directions and how far you are from the broadcast towers...it will also recommend an antenna type that suitable for your location. Many people have good luck with the Silver Sensor, I didn't. A Philips 45db amplified rabbit ear antenna did work for me for most of the local stations but I didn't get great and consistent reception until I put a "real" antenna in my attic (I was 22 miles from the towers).

Not true! Even if local ntsc channels are vhf the atsc signal is almost always a uhf signal. here in LA cbs ntsc is ch 2 the atsc signal is ch 60, nbc ntsc ch 4 atsc ch 36, abc ntsc ch 7 atsc ch 53
you will need a uhf antenna to pick up the atsc signal

 

[Mark Duncan]

I don't do OTA, but a lot of guys I know are just using Bowtie antennas from Radio Shack, and having good success with them.

Mark

 

[Lincoln]

Yes, that is my bad for mistyping while trying to work on "work". UHF is the correct antenna bad for 95%+ of the digital stations currently broadcasting. The $3 bowtie can be an effective solution for many people and it's one of the antennas I had in mind when I stated 1/10th the cost of a terk. I always keep an extra bowtie in my spare parts bin for testing and backup (since I now share the roof antenna with 20 other people at my new place). The old double bowtie (the gold bowties) from radio shack was really one of the greatest UHF indoor antennas I've ever tried, it was discontinued a while back, back I heard it's back again but haven't verified. It was $10 when I purchased it originally and now my sister has it for her ATSC tuner and it gets all the locals at her location.

 

[howie85]

I am about 40 miles from the stations and there is a few hills between us but I was thinking if im getting something with the little one I have now I should get more with a bigger one....Ok that didn't sound right...

 

[Duffinator]

Yes, you are correct. Saying that Terk is garbage is not right. Terk is overpriced snake-oil...is that better???

Well said.

 

[Duffinator]

Check Attic mounting is a clean way to install an antenna, but roof mounting is still best.[/QUOTE]If I receive ALL local OTA channels with the antenna mounted in my attic is it still better to have it mounted on my roof? :rolleyes:

 

[howie85]

Is your antenna directional? Did you just set it for the best possible and go with some better than others? Or does that antenna you mentioned really do that much better of a job? What kinda signal increase did you see?
Thanks, Curt

 

[BMXTRIX]

If I receive ALL local OTA channels with the antenna mounted in my attic is it still better to have it mounted on my roof?

Of course you get a better signal the higher you mount an antenna and the less obstructions you have. It is misleading of anyone to insist that everyone will get a good signal in their attic just because you do.

In the Washington, DC area, the company I used to work for stopped doing attic installs because customers were consistently upset with the quality of broadcasts received with attic mounted antennas and roof mounting consistently produced better results. About 75% of attic installs were removed and relocated to the roof to improve reception.

That left 1 out of 4 people with attic mounted antennas happy. A 25% satisfaction rating puts most companies out of business and everyone looking at OTA antennas should be prepared for the concept that they may need to mount the antenna on their roof to get the reception they are hoping for.

So, yes, you will get better reception with a higher, less obstructed, roof mounted antenna. It may have absolutely no impact on your image though.

 

[MBauer]

Ota

You can check out antenna web http://www.antennaweb.org to get a good idea of the appropriate antenna to use and how many digital stations you can receive.

You may find a rotor is a good investment if you live in a location where you can receive signals from different markets, although you might find a lot of duplication.


I live way out in the country and use a roof top antenna, a ChannelMaster, and get excellent reception. There is a point of diminishing returns where additional signal strength will not produce any value to you

 

[zipper]

The info at Antennaweb seems to be a bit obsolete. It shows numerous channels & directions in my area (Seattle) but when I change to "show digital chans only", it doesn't include the major networks which, coincidentally, happen to be the closest to me (about 31 miles). It only refers me some off the wall stations(4) about 40 or so miles away. I know all the local affiliates & some indy's are in HD already...............

........perhaps they mean the chans that broadcast in "digital only" & not analog as well?

 

[MBauer]

Ota

The info at Antennaweb seems to be a bit obsolete. It shows numerous channels & directions in my area (Seattle) but when I change to "show digital chans only", it doesn't include the major networks which, coincidentally, happen to be the closest to me (about 31 miles). It only refers me some off the wall stations(4) about 40 or so miles away. I know all the local affiliates & some indy's are in HD already...............

........perhaps they mean the chans that broadcast in "digital only" & not analog as well?

Sorry it didn't help you out it is pretty current in my area (Michigan). New stations don't come along too often though. But I have a rooftop antenna and if you live 30 miles or so from the tower it seems like a really good attic antenna or a rooftop would be best for OTA.

 

[Duffinator]

Is your antenna directional? Did you just set it for the best possible and go with some better than others? Or does that antenna you mentioned really do that much better of a job? What kinda signal increase did you see?
Thanks, Curt

Yes the antenna is directional. One of my friends first tried my Silver Sensor and it worked fine. He then mounted an "omni directional" antenna in his attic and it didn't pick up any signals. Several people told him to use a directional antenna which is what I told him as well. He took the antenna back and purchased the one I mentioned below. He now gets all local OTA channels. He live many miles further away from the broadcast antennas than I do. Your mileage may vary.

And if you worried about placing an antenna on the outside of your house try it in the attic first. It's either going to work or it's not.

 

[bpape]

Terk is overpriced snake oil? Hmmmm.

I guess I better send back my Terk that sits in my BR closet and brings in all 11 OTA HD channels at 85% or better no matter what. I guess that $49 I paid for it was too much.

I borrowed a Silver Sensor and for me, it didn't work as well as the Terk. Everyone's requirements are different. No antenna is always going to be the best for every situation.

 

[Duffinator]

I guess I better send back my Terk that sits in my BR closet and brings in all 11 OTA HD channels at 85% or better no matter what. I guess that $49 I paid for it was too much.

Probably. The Radio Shack antenna link below is half that price.