Is it possible to get ota stations from milwaukee?

[pickone4me]

Looking to get ota tv stations from milwaukee http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id=46ae3b21b58dca

Is it possible? What kind of tv antenna do I need to buy or make, making one would be more preferable.

 

[jayn_j]

Almost impossible. Very weak signals, mostly tropo with some 2 edge.

Your best bet would be to get DISH and "move". I think Manitowoc is in the footprint.

 

[pickone4me]

Almost impossible. Very weak signals, mostly tropo with some 2 edge.

Your best bet would be to get DISH and "move". I think Manitowoc is in the footprint.

Thanks. However I dropped DISH for a reason, because of cost. I won't pay for pay tv. I suppose I could get the FTA system up again, but it would need to be upgraded.

 

[jayn_j]

When I suggested DISH, it was mostly for their lifeline package with locals. There used to be a package which was just the locals and a few core ones for around $10/mo. They kept it pretty well hidden.

Reason I suggested that is you would need a tall tower (at least 40'), a deep fringe UHF/VHF HI antenna and a darned good amp to have any chance. We are talking thousands of dollars here, which is a whole lot of months of a low end package.

I understand the cost issue, and dropped all pay services myself, but I live 9 miles from the Milwaukee towers.

 

[pickone4me]

Oh I see, I didn't know about those. I might still give it a try. we don't have tall buildings here. And I am only a couple miles from the lake.

 

[boba]

When I suggested DISH, it was mostly for their lifeline package with locals. There used to be a package which was just the locals and a few core ones for around $10/mo. They kept it pretty well hidden.

Reason I suggested that is you would need a tall tower (at least 40'), a deep fringe UHF/VHF HI antenna and a darned good amp to have any chance. We are talking thousands of dollars here, which is a whole lot of months of a low end package.

I understand the cost issue, and dropped all pay services myself, but I live 9 miles from the Milwaukee towers.

DISH has no $10 packages, Welcome Pak I believe is the lowest at $19.95

 

[pamajestic]

This Tvfool report is zip code only. Try running a report specific to your location. You may get better results.

 

[Bob2011]

It looks like the further away from the river you get the better the signal is from Milwaukee. You could build a 4bay or 8bay bowtie style antenna that should give you a good shot at the mid to upper UHF channels.

Some good designs here:

http://m4antenna.eastmasonvilleweather.com/index.html

Worst case you may have to buy a quality low noise signal amplifier.

 

[jayn_j]

Don't want to be a pain, but the Milwaukee stations tend to beam their signals to the south / southwest. OP lives 90 miles north and slightly east of the towers. I spend a fair amount of time up that way in Chilton area and don't see any antennas pointed at Milwaukee, just Green Bay or Appleton. I stand by my earlier statement that this is going to be a difficult install.

 

[Bob2011]

Don't want to be a pain, but the Milwaukee stations tend to beam their signals to the south / southwest. OP lives 90 miles north and slightly east of the towers. I spend a fair amount of time up that way in Chilton area and don't see any antennas pointed at Milwaukee, just Green Bay or Appleton. I stand by my earlier statement that this is going to be a difficult install.

Well if you use the interactive mapping tool on tvfool it paints a different picture than you are saying. Most of the Milwaukee stations have a omni directional pattern and seem to favor an eastern direction because of lake Michigan. There are several locations around the zip code that the OP used that have positive Noise Margin estimates on some of the Milwaukee stations. So if one were to use a high gain antenna in one of these favorable locations I see no problem with getting most of the stations. Most likely a low noise amp will be needed to have a cushion for poor weather and atmospheric issues.