Hard to sit still - 942 On The Way - Little Help Please

[Greg Haynes]

Hi Guys,

I need a little help with what the best option for me to do. The good news is that I just ordered a new 942 (WooHoo ) from vanns and it should arrive next week. I currently own a 721 (Family Room) and a 508 (Bedroom) hooked to a single Dish 500.

What sparked my decision for the 942 was the start of football and upcoming fall lineup of new shows that are going to be in HD! Plus, I'm tired of waiting for MPEG-4 when I can get HD now.

So now for my questions,

I will signup for the HD Pak (holding off on VOOM for now) and living in Delaware on the east coast, will I be able to receive CBS HD thru the satellite?

I'm looking to add an OTA, but after putting in my info at antennaweb I get the following data:

ABC (Lt Green-UHF) Phildelphia, PA - 47.3 Miles
CBS (Lt Green-UHF) Phildelphia, PA - 47.3 Miles
NBC (Blue-VHF) Phildelphia, PA - 47.5 Miles
FOX (Blue-UFH) Balitmore, MD - 53.4 Miles

With this data which model OTA would work best in the attic of my home, if any. Am I too far to pick up a good signal? Should I even bother with OTA?

I have a homerun RG-6 line in the attic down to my basement that I then can send up to the family room since I ran 3 RG-6 lines into that room.

Will I need to any additional hardware to hook up the 942 if I already have 3 RG6 (only using 2 for 721) lines ran to the family room?

Just looking to get the maximium amount of HD since my current receivers are giving me nothing in HD. So basically I want to get as much locals in HD, and as much football in HD as possible.

What do you recommend that I do?

 

[mwgiii]

CBS HD is on the 61.5 satellite (along with VOOM). You can only get it if your local CBS station is owned by CBS. You will need a 2nd dish if you qualify.

Only way to know about local HD is to try. Buy from Radio Shack or http://www.antennasdirect.com so you can get your money back if it doesn't work. Also find your local thread here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=45 for more good info.

The 942 needs 2 lines from the sat or switch. Since you already have the 721 in place you will just need to swap the receivers.

If you add the 2nd dish for CBS HD then I would add the Voom channels to "get the maximium amount of HD".

You will qualify for a FREE 2nd dish if you have any locals on the 61.5 sat. You can check here: http://ekb.dbstalk.com/143

 

[Minsk1]

I can get Chicago stations from 70 miles with ChannelMaster 4228 in the attic. Most likely you will need ChannelMaster Titan 7777 pre-amp too.

 

[Greg Haynes]

CBS HD is on the 61.5 satellite (along with VOOM). You can only get it if your local CBS station is owned by CBS. You will need a 2nd dish if you qualify.

I just called Dish and they told me that in my area I would not be able to receive CBS HD using the 61.5 satellite

So it looks like OTA is my only solution to get locals in HD.

 

[bobhaze]

Hi Greg,

Although I'm in MA, I'm about the same distance from the broadcast towers as you are. From my experience, you can't completely trust antennaweb. I found that I needed more antenna than they recommend, possibly due to terrian and surrounding trees. I started with their recommendations but found that I needed to kick it up a notch or two. Of course your terrian may be different but since the distance is equivalent maybe my experience will be somewhat valid in your situation. It's a shame that you have the VHF requirement for NBC, because otherwise UHF requires a smaller antenna. All my HD is on UHF but I used a VHF/UHF combo so I can use the VHF portion for some other TV's in the house. After trying and failing with a number of antennae, I ended up with a Channel Master 3678 antenna and 7777 mast mounted preamplifier. If you can give up on NBC in HD then you can use a UHF-only antenna, which will be a lot smaller. The 4228 8-bay with 7775 preamplifier is a good way to go.
You will lose some signal using the attic, but it may still work depending on your construction and roofing materials. It didn't work for me and I had to mount the antenna outdoors. Fortunately I could mount it below the top of the roofline so you can't see it from the street, which avoided the spousal veto.
Make note of the direction of the various signals. If they are separated by more than a few degrees you might need a rotor.

Good luck,
Bob

 

[Greg Haynes]

Hi Greg,

Although I'm in MA, I'm about the same distance from the broadcast towers as you are. From my experience, you can't completely trust antennaweb. I found that I needed more antenna than they recommend, possibly due to terrian and surrounding trees. I started with their recommendations but found that I needed to kick it up a notch or two. Of course your terrian may be different but since the distance is equivalent maybe my experience will be somewhat valid in your situation. It's a shame that you have the VHF requirement for NBC, because otherwise UHF requires a smaller antenna. All my HD is on UHF but I used a VHF/UHF combo so I can use the VHF portion for some other TV's in the house. After trying and failing with a number of antennae, I ended up with a Channel Master 3678 antenna and 7777 mast mounted preamplifier. If you can give up on NBC in HD then you can use a UHF-only antenna, which will be a lot smaller. The 4228 8-bay with 7775 preamplifier is a good way to go.
You will lose some signal using the attic, but it may still work depending on your construction and roofing materials. It didn't work for me and I had to mount the antenna outdoors. Fortunately I could mount it below the top of the roofline so you can't see it from the street, which avoided the spousal veto.
Make note of the direction of the various signals. If they are separated by more than a few degrees you might need a rotor.

Good luck,
Bob

Thanks Bob, I'm going to use your advice and research on getting that antenna.

Can you help clarify the differences in analog and digital stations when using antennaweb? Is the digital stations full HDTV and analog not HD? Is this correct?

If so, that's not good because when I filter for only digital stations I only can get ABC & CBS. NBC & FOX are not listed.

Also, Bob where did you end up buying your antenna?

 

[SimpleSimon]

Digital OTA is NOT always HD, but analog OTA is NEVER HD.

You might try contacting your local NBC & FOX stations directly to see where they're going with digital - they WILL have to do it soon.