You guys are extremely knowlegeable and helpful. I appreciate you taking the time to help a guy out. 
All my OTA locals are 73 miles away. Is there any antenna I can buy that will reach?
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So with ABC being 70+ miles away it is better that it is VHF? or would it have been better if it were UHF?
VHF travels further but as someone did point out, its 7 which is low band VHF which is harder to nail then the higher which I think starts at 9. So take the advice of high and big and go separated as Rick0725 suggested. I've only had to nail 20-30 miles. I use a separated scenario too. The VHF and UHF are at completely different spots so I have have 2 antennas at opposite ends of the house configured for each type.
OK, I'm wondering if I can improve my situation. Here's the scoop...
I live 30 miles west/southwest of downtown Chicago, from where all my OTA signals are beamed. I'm on the 2nd floor of a 3-story apt. building. My unit is on the west side of the building, and all my windows are on the west side of my unit. Consequently, I "face" west, in the opposite direction of Chicago and the signals. I do have an outside balcony, though; however, that, too, is on the west side--again, on the side opposite of the direction of Chicago.
I have a Terk indoor amplified antenna, kinda like the Silver Sensor, and have been able to pick up some of the OTA signals, but they fluctuate and get worse when it's cloudier or rainier. What I'm wondering is this: would it help if I relocated the antenna onto the balcony, bringing the antenna outdoors? This WOULD mean it would be behind yet another wall--my balcony's sliding glass door, essentially--and another 5 feet west. Or should I actually get a different antenna and put that outside (but where? can't install one on the roof)?
I guess what I'm wondering is if despite my limitations of being indoors and facing away from the city, I would still be better off having an outdoor antenna that is put on a semi-enclosed balcony (semi-enclosed meaning there's a building wall on one side and my balcony's doors on the other).
I live 30 miles west/southwest of downtown Chicago, from where all my OTA signals are beamed. I'm on the 2nd floor of a 3-story apt. building. My unit is on the west side of the building, and all my windows are on the west side of my unit. Consequently, I "face" west, in the opposite direction of Chicago and the signals. I do have an outside balcony, though; however, that, too, is on the west side--again, on the side opposite of the direction of Chicago.
I have a Terk indoor amplified antenna, kinda like the Silver Sensor, and have been able to pick up some of the OTA signals, but they fluctuate and get worse when it's cloudier or rainier. What I'm wondering is this: would it help if I relocated the antenna onto the balcony, bringing the antenna outdoors? This WOULD mean it would be behind yet another wall--my balcony's sliding glass door, essentially--and another 5 feet west. Or should I actually get a different antenna and put that outside (but where? can't install one on the roof)?
I guess what I'm wondering is if despite my limitations of being indoors and facing away from the city, I would still be better off having an outdoor antenna that is put on a semi-enclosed balcony (semi-enclosed meaning there's a building wall on one side and my balcony's doors on the other).
STEP 1: Destroy the TERK! They are overpriced junk. Get yourself a Silver Sensor or other non-TERK antenna. That right there will get you better reception.
Mounting an antenna 5 feet further west is not going to kill your signal all that much if at all. And being outside, it might actually do better with the signal "falling" or "cascading" over the building. Keep in mind that these signals are being beamed from the top of the Sears Tower (most likely) or Hancock Building. These buildings are quite tall and the signals are quite strong. With you being in a 3 story building, the eastern side of your building is not going to get in the way too much of a signal coming from 30 miles away and over a thousand feet up.
For the price, the Silver Sensor has a pretty solid track record. Worth getting one and trying it out for a few days and in a few locations.
Good luck and keep us posted...
This is the Channel Master 3020 and I can get channels 70 miles away on a good day. But the flatter the land is the harder it is to get good distance. the earth curves every 12 miles so you have to figure that too, It's better to have hills to bounce the signal off of. You can also get a waver for that distance as I did.
Amazon.com: PCT International #3020 Deep Fringe TV Antenna: Electronics
Amazon.com: PCT International #3020 Deep Fringe TV Antenna: Electronics
STEP 1: Destroy the TERK! They are overpriced junk. Get yourself a Silver Sensor or other non-TERK antenna. That right there will get you better reception.
Mounting an antenna 5 feet further west is not going to kill your signal all that much if at all. And being outside, it might actually do better with the signal "falling" or "cascading" over the building. Keep in mind that these signals are being beamed from the top of the Sears Tower (most likely) or Hancock Building. These buildings are quite tall and the signals are quite strong. With you being in a 3 story building, the eastern side of your building is not going to get in the way too much of a signal coming from 30 miles away and over a thousand feet up.
For the price, the Silver Sensor has a pretty solid track record. Worth getting one and trying it out for a few days and in a few locations.
Good luck and keep us posted...
Yeah, this is the one I've got:
Amazon.com: Terk HDTVa Indoor Amplified High-Definition Antenna for Off-Air HDTV Reception: Electronics
To be honest with ya, it doesn't look much different from the Philips Silver Sensor. I'll give the latter a try, but why is it reputed to me that much better?
Also, which Silver Sensor do you recommend? I'm looking at a couple different ones, it appears.
i live in los angeles and i want to get the channels from tijuana, mexico. i remember i was able to get the channels from tijuana, mex just with an indoor antenna in the hot summers but not anymore!im crazy i know! lol
can we say tropospheric ducting!!!
STEP 1: Destroy the TERK! They are overpriced junk. Get yourself a Silver Sensor or other non-TERK antenna. That right there will get you better reception.
Mounting an antenna 5 feet further west is not going to kill your signal all that much if at all. And being outside, it might actually do better with the signal "falling" or "cascading" over the building. Keep in mind that these signals are being beamed from the top of the Sears Tower (most likely) or Hancock Building. These buildings are quite tall and the signals are quite strong. With you being in a 3 story building, the eastern side of your building is not going to get in the way too much of a signal coming from 30 miles away and over a thousand feet up.
For the price, the Silver Sensor has a pretty solid track record. Worth getting one and trying it out for a few days and in a few locations.
Good luck and keep us posted...
cbs 2 is the only one on the handcock, all rest are on sears tower
Go to radio shack and ask for a 90 mile range antenna, a pole and a amp. and point towards OKC. im in 73624
STEP 1: Destroy the TERK! They are overpriced junk. Get yourself a Silver Sensor or other non-TERK antenna. That right there will get you better reception.
Mounting an antenna 5 feet further west is not going to kill your signal all that much if at all. And being outside, it might actually do better with the signal "falling" or "cascading" over the building. Keep in mind that these signals are being beamed from the top of the Sears Tower (most likely) or Hancock Building. These buildings are quite tall and the signals are quite strong. With you being in a 3 story building, the eastern side of your building is not going to get in the way too much of a signal coming from 30 miles away and over a thousand feet up.
For the price, the Silver Sensor has a pretty solid track record. Worth getting one and trying it out for a few days and in a few locations.
Good luck and keep us posted...
I did end up picking up the Silver Sensor. Works better than the Terk of the same look. I still can't get our CBS affiliate, WBBM Channel 2, mainly because that's the only major station not beamed from the Sears Tower; they're on the Hancock Bldg. I also have a bit of trouble pulling in one or two of what I call the secondary channels, the non-network digital ones.
I guess the trade-off is do I want all the network digital sub-channels without a few secondary channels, or do I want the secondary ones without some of the network ones?
To get a little better of a signal, BTW, I relocated my antenna to my bedroom, one room away, and placed it up high--a tad better positioning than in the living room--and much better aesthetically.
I kinda wish I was able to install one of the typical bowtie or other such antennas indoors to get a better signal. The look wouldn't be a problem because it would be hidden away in my bedroom.
Not exactly. You can't get WBBM because its digital channel is broadcast on channel 3 and the Silver Sensor is not suitable for low-vhf reception. You'll need a large-roof top antenna to receive it OTA.
Gee, THAT would look good in my bedroom, wouldn't it? 
Anywhooo...I wonder if there IS some type of "outdoor" antenna that's just small enough to get away with putting in my bedroom as my main OTA.
Anywhooo...I wonder if there IS some type of "outdoor" antenna that's just small enough to get away with putting in my bedroom as my main OTA.
It really has very little to do with sears vs. hancock, it is mainly because channel 2 digital is broadcast on ch 2 vhf which has been trouble getting since it was first introduced,,,, somewhere about 6 years ago... one of big issues wbbm has was the ch 3 assignment... why u ask? well, what are all the cable boxes output in chicago from our lovely friends comcast. i am not sure of their current power level but for a long time they had an agreement with comcast to operate at reduced output power so as not to saturate their cable boxes, in return comcast carried the HD signal at no charge on cable,,,, In addition the low end vhf channels are probably the most difficult to receive. To this day, 38 miles west of chicago with clear line of sight on my roof and a very deep fringe antenna, The D* feed is much miore stable then what i get OTA.
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