Help with indoor antenna selection and install

[hmjs]

I have a 522 Dish receiver at a second house out of my regular locals area. I'm tired of paying Brighthouse for locals in Tampa Bay area especially since they just raised my rate. I'm sure I just need an OTA indoor antenna since I'm only about 20 miles from the stations but don't know what company to buy. Best Buy has a Clearstream micron XG but I don't know if it's good or bad. Input would be appreciated.

Next question; can I hook the OTA antenna to my 522 and switch between locals and satellite like with cable and will it work with the second tv through the dual tuner?

Howard

 

[Mr Tony]

The 522 is a SD only receiver so the antenna input is just a passthrough. Are you sure its a 522 and not a 722 (or 622) which are HD receivers?

If you're in the TB area and want to go with an indoor antenna the rule of thumb is kinda trial and error. You could post your tvfool report
TV Fool

and that would give us some better info on how close you are to the towers

 

[boba]

Also what type of a building are you located in? Multistory apartment, single story concrete block house it all affects the reception. I know my sisters in Sarasota are in concrete block with rebar reinforced walls and need outside antennas for reception so they chose Verizon FIOS.

 

[ncted]

I have one of these:

Mohu Leaf Indoor HDTV Antenna

Works great. I am 24 miles from the transmitters. Their holiday special is still running. The reviews on Amazon are pretty good. That said, trial and error is the name of the game with indoor antennas.

 

[Joe Diamond]

OTA hints

I have a 522 Dish receiver at a second house out of my regular locals area. I'm tired of paying Brighthouse for locals in Tampa Bay area especially since they just raised my rate. I'm sure I just need an OTA indoor antenna since I'm only about 20 miles from the stations but don't know what company to buy. Best Buy has a Clearstream micron XG but I don't know if it's good or bad. Input would be appreciated.

Next question; can I hook the OTA antenna to my 522 and switch between locals and satellite like with cable and will it work with the second tv through the dual tuner?

Howard

You might also take a look at AntennaWeb.org By entering your zip code they will give you a line to all OTA stations and suggest an antenna size for your use. Know that even in an attic you figure a 25% loss from just being under the roof. Also there is a whole class of OTA antennae that are called "beam" antennae (because they are designed to be attached to roof beams in attics.)

Joe