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OK, I have been getting poor reception the last few days on my TV. Today I discovered why! It seems that the last storm broke off parts of my TV antenna! Well, now I'm in the market for a new one. My current antenna is hooked up to three TVs. I have another TV I like to hook up, but my current one before it broke couldn't handle it, if I did I had little to no reception. So. I'm looking for an outdoor TV antenna that can do at least four TVs. I live in a very rural area, in a deep valley. I'm at least 30 miles from a major city. So, what should I be looking at? Thank you SIG forum. ARman | ||
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Only the strong survive |
You can get an amplifier that isolates and amplifies the signal for multiple TVs. You need to go to the antenna website and plug in your address to see what direction/s are required to the TV Tower. http://antennaweb.org/Address 41 | |||
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Delusions of Adequacy |
any amp you use needs to be placed as close to the antenna as possible, so you're boosting the cleanest signal. Best location, assuming power is available, is right on the mast. Some of these units will send power over your coax. Splitting your feed four ways previously dropped the signal strength below what the tuners required to drive a signal. An amp is one solution, the other is to make sure the new antenna is larger and higher. And aimed correctly, of course. I have my own style of humor. I call it Snarkasm. | |||
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Yeah, my current/old antenna has an amplifier on it, the antenna is old, I know that it is older than 10 years, probably like 15-20 years old. The last storm broke off parts of it and the picture quality has went to shit for sure. I know that I need a larger size one then I have now. I believe that it would give me a better chance of getting some marginal channels. For those that live in the sticks, and have OTA antenna, what are you using? ARman | |||
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Member |
My quick google fu came up with this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...9503d6780b5c71120INT Seems solid at first glance. Cheers~ | |||
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| I can't tell if I'm tired, or just lazy  |
There are several sites on the internet that can help you select the best antenna for your situation. You might also want to consider an antenna rotor to help you fine-tune the your reception. I've had one for several years and it has made a world of difference in what channels I can receive. _____________________________ "The problems we face today exist because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living." "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety" Benjamin Franklin | |||
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| Only the strong survive |
First you have to determine the locations of the Station Antenna Towers if there are more than one. Lets say the two towers are 60 degrees apart. You could use one antenna and point it between the two towers. If the antenna has too much gain, the 3 db points of the antenna pattern will fall inside the angle between the two towers. The ideal antenna would have its 3 db points fall on the tower locations. You always need a low noise preamp at the antenna output. If you have many TVs, it is best to use an amplifier for isolation and amplification of the signal to the multiple TVs. This is a typical antenna pattern showing what happens when you increase the antenna pattern.  So when you select your antenna, you want to check the gain pattern to make sure it falls within the view of your TV towers. You also want to use low loss cable like RG-6 which you can find at WalMart. The ideal situation is to mount your antenna in the attic if possible and shoot through the roof and not the end wall where there may be foil covered insulation which will block the signal. When I bought this house, the attic antenna was pointed towards the end wall.  I moved it so it pointed in the correct direction and shot through the roof instead of the end wall. My location is in direct alignment with the Washington TV Towers and the Baltimore TV Towers. I get 62 channels.  41 | |||
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It is solid, but it is overkill in size. It receives Low VHF, and nothing is broadcast on Low VHF any more, ever since we went all digital. Everything is High VHF and UHF. Low VHF uses extra boom length to support those really wide elements at the rear of the antenna, so it creates an extra size, weight, and wind load. This long range Winegard model is optimized for digital, in that it does not receive Low VHF. The OP probably needs all the receiving strength he can get because he is in a valley. 30 miles is nothing, if you have line of sight. I use the next smaller Winegard model (which Winegard rates at a 45 mile range) to receive the Phoenix stations which are 68 miles distant from our house. But I have a clear line of sight, and all of the stations are on a single compass point. I get excellent reception with no amplification, but then I only have one TV. | |||
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| Only the strong survive |
Here is an antenna specialized for pointing at two different antenna towers. It is also smaller and reasonably priced. https://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=HDB8X There are other smaller antennas like this one sold at Micro Center which are good for sheltered areas like the attic. It has some plastic parts and may not last as long in outdoor conditions exposed to sunlight. http://www.microcenter.com/pro...zed_Rotating_Antenna 41 | |||
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I have a medal roof, so attic is probably not going to work. My current antenna is on a pole about 20' off the ground. Most of the broadcast towers are in the same direction, I have a station booster tower about 3 miles from me, off at about 60° angle from the others. I would like for something that also had radio antenna built in, as I have a hard time receiving FM/AM radio stations also. The indoor antenna for them get blocked by said medal roof! ARman | |||
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| Only the strong survive |
Do you have a landline? Try connecting the phone ground as an antenna for the radios. An antenna mounted on the ground needs to be clear of foliage and have a clear view to the antenna towers. 41 | |||
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quarter MOA visionary |
Years ago I met the owner (Niel Terk) at a CES who started this company which I think was eventually sold to Audiovox. The antennas were always great and worked extremely well. Terk Website Link | |||
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| Delusions of Adequacy |
FM radio is sandwiched in between between VHF television Channels 6 and 7, so you really don't need a separate antenna. However, in the installations I used to do we put a band blocker on them, as FM could cause issues on the adjacent VHF channels. I have my own style of humor. I call it Snarkasm. | |||
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Ammoholic |
When I was in college I stripped the end of a piece of RG6, screwed one end into Ant In on TV and took stripped end and wedged it into baseboard heat, got perfect picture, better than the local cable company. I was using all the grounding in the apartment building as my antenna. I was amazed that it not only worked, but worked great. Jesse Sic Semper Tyrannis | |||
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On the amplification, there are pre-amps that help boost the antenna power and then there is a powered booster that splits the signal without any loss of signal to each split off. NRA Life Endowment member Tri-State Gun collectors Life Member | |||
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 maybe consider some elevation of the currant antenna. btw : if your currant signal is crap, an amp will only amplify a crappy signal Safety, Situational Awareness and proficiency. Neck Ties, Hats and ammo brass, Never ,ever touch'em w/o asking first | |||
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This is the Winegard antenna I use for 68 mile reception, with no amplification, for a singe TV. It is rated by Winegard for 45 miles, but I have a pure line of sight to the broadcast towers 68 miles distant.  | |||
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