I’m helping my Dad get rid of his too-expensive Verizon TV and Internet service, going to get him set up with a cheap $30 a month 100 Mbps Comcast cable internet service and also set him up with an OTA antenna to be able to watch local sports when they’re on.
I think this is going to end up being an indoor antenna and there is a known issue with one channel out of Philadelphia; 6ABC that broadcasts on a low-band VHF frequency which people have trouble getting on an antenna. The TV towers are like 18-20 miles away so otherwise it’s not an issue at all.
Any cord cutters here with experience with OTA antennas able to recommend something that would work here? Not sure what I need to start looking at, is this some sort of dual band antenna or something?
I’d just like to set him up with a rabbit ear type indoor antenna and not some huge roof mounted thing.
November 09, 2025, 11:26 PM
old rugged cross
My distances far exceed your dad's but the indoor antenna's have not worked at all for me. A smallish GE or RCA antenna. It looks like a small version of the big antenna's from yesteryear. You can get from Walmart and they work well. They are about $50. You can mount outside or in the attic. I have even mounted one, sort of near the TV and it worked. We can get fox, abc, nbc, cbs So some sports. Overall you can get somewhere in the neighbor hood of 25+- channels. Our local system is sketchy. Sometimes we get the fox channels sometimes not. Right now I am not getting nbc at all and cbs is iffy. Reception varies which sucks. If reception was more consistent having ota tv isn't too bad. Good luck.
"Practice like you want to play in the game"
November 10, 2025, 04:36 AM
sourdough44
That’s what I have, now faster internet speeds and an antenna. I get more than I could ever watch, Roku stick in the TV. There are a lot of the free streaming services, then I get Netflix with my phone plan, T-Mobile.
I used to have an antenna in the attic, went with a roof antenna 15+ years ago. The roof works better, smaller, fixed, power box in the basement. At the time it much to have it installed, you may not need to go that route.
November 10, 2025, 05:18 AM
xantom
From what I remember when I set mine up 12 years ago was that height of the antenna is the biggest factor in what kind of reception you’ll get. I mounted this one on my roof and we get ~20 channels with good reception and probably 10 more that depend on the weather. I run mine down my roof and into the house and then into a multimedia box that has a powered splitter branching off to the rest of my TV's.
"We've done four already, but now we're steady..."
November 10, 2025, 05:19 AM
Skins2881
quote:
Originally posted by old rugged cross: My distances far exceed your dad's but the indoor antenna's have not worked at all for me. A smallish GE or RCA antenna. It looks like a small version of the big antenna's from yesteryear. You can get from Walmart and they work well. They are about $50. You can mount outside or in the attic. I have even mounted one, sort of near the TV and it worked. We can get fox, abc, nbc, cbs So some sports. Overall you can get somewhere in the neighbor hood of 25+- channels. Our local system is sketchy. Sometimes we get the fox channels sometimes not. Right now I am not getting nbc at all and cbs is iffy. Reception varies which sucks. If reception was more consistent having ota tv isn't too bad. Good luck.
I put mine in the attic a cheap $50 one from Amazon recommended by the antenna guy on YouTube. Works great in the test spot I set in the attic, so I never even mounted it to anything. Just leaning against a roof truss.
I'm about the same distance to towers, slightly further. I get everything fine, sometimes it will periodically glitch if the atmosphere is just right, or on a crucial point in a sports broadcast if it does decide to pause or pixilate.
As the tech hasn’t changed much these older threads may offer some ideas.
My experience has been good withy the Mohu and another Mohu amplified antenna. I used the flat antenna on a wall but it looked horrible. I then put the amplified antenna in the closet and ran the cable through the TV coax jack.
I found this guy's y.t. channel to be very helpful
I get 36 o.t.a. stations with rabbit ears.This message has been edited. Last edited by: bendable,
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November 10, 2025, 08:51 AM
Glynn863
There are numerous TV stations in my area. I have five (5) digital TVs scattered around the house, all with Rokus and some sort of TV antenna. One has the flat antenna (looks like a sheet of plastic) mounted in a main floor window and it gets the most channels of all of them. I think that it is more on placement than construction. Another just has an old FM radio antenna (2 copper wires separated by plastic), pinned in a T-shape on the wall behind the TV. It does okay for just a jack-leg type of installation. My main floor den and my downstairs den have an amplified stubby antenna I bought from Amazon***. They work okay, better than some old rabbit ears I was previously using, but placement is important too. My garage TV has a pair of rabbit ears, which I will probably change in the near future.
He bought that after both rabbit ears style and flat failed to provide a solid signal.
I like the look of that one. Might be and improved version of what I have. Thanks Onegeek.
"Practice like you want to play in the game"
November 10, 2025, 09:23 PM
808
I have also dropped the cable tv because of cost.
I use a channel master antenna and receiver to receive Philly channels and have very good reception. I use a outdoor antenna with about twenty five feet of cable to receiver with built in DVR for recording our favorite shows.
Originally posted by xantom: From what I remember when I set mine up 12 years ago was that height of the antenna is the biggest factor in what kind of reception you’ll get. I mounted this one on my roof and we get ~20 channels with good reception and probably 10 more that depend on the weather. I run mine down my roof and into the house and then into a multimedia box that has a powered splitter branching off to the rest of my TV's.
I have this exact antenna and it is fantastic. Highly rated bt the Antenna Man on YouTube too, this kid knows a lot on this subject. FWIW, I still have cable and also some streaming but have this as a backup.
November 10, 2025, 10:15 PM
SigSAC
Check for any obstructions from the transmitter to your location - are there ANY houses or trees in the path? If there are, then altitude will help.
The ABC station there is an anomaly - it is at the highest of the LOW VHF band (old channel 6). There are very few antennas made now that will cover that band. If that station were on the old channel 7, you'd be OK. If he wants to get that station, you might have to search for an antenna that will cover the LOW VHF band - there might still be one that will fit into the attic if you don't need to turn it for other station locations.
I'm not sure how that station managed to stay on the LOW VHF band - makes it hard for many to receive. I have a family member south of Philadelphia that cannot get that station either.
November 11, 2025, 08:19 AM
trapper189
Years ago, I put a big yagi antenna in the attic to get the Fort Myers stations about 20 miles away. It turned out the Tampa stations’ transmission towers were 180 degrees in the opposite direction 70 miles away and I got those as well. I obviously didn’t need a big antenna.
You need line of sight to the towers and an antenna designed to pickup the appropriate frequencies at the appropriate signal strength for your receiver. There’s websites that will tell you where the towers in your area are in relation to the location you are installing an antenna. Take a compass in the attic with you and point the antenna in direction of the towers.
