looking for an antenna for the 811?

[lime4x4]

What's a good antenna for ota and the 811?

 

[jdh62]

Avoid overpriced Terk antennas as a lot cheaper antennas work as well (if not better). I read a lot of good reviews on Zenith Silver Sensor. I think you can get it for $25 or so from Amazon. I brought one and it has worked well for me.

 

[jeffdan]

What's a good antenna for ota and the 811?

if your getting 60% without an out door antenna. then you might try the zennith as mentioned from above. however it will only boost a up signal 10 to 15%.
if you can't lock on anything then you should problably get an outdoor atenna of some kind.
if you are as close as 25 to 50 miles from you station you colud use the dish network antenna. it clamps on you dish. for about 50$. amplified version 70 to 90$. but these do not often work well enough. make sure what milage you are pulling signal from.

believe it or not. i got everyhting at home depot. here's what i purchased.

1. RCA ANT3036W . 65 mile radius $69.99
2. Channelmaster model 3042 amp $24.00
3. 15 ft of addtional mast (pole) $10.00
4. channe;mast. wireless remote rotater(rotor), model 9521a $90.00

that's what finally ended up with.

you can use the multidirectional atennas. but this crappy brand rca outperformed five different antennas including some of the higher dollar ones mentioned on this site including multi-directional. even with mult-dir i still had to turn them to get in certain channels and at only 65% tops. my nearest tv station is about 70miles away. most are 120 miles. this rca antenna is rated to pick up to a 65 mile radius on flat terrain. i don't live on a flat terrain but in fact live in the bottom of a valley between two mountains. without the amp i picked up every channel i do now, including,
FOX,ABC,CBS,NBC,PBS, and UPN. all digiatl and all in hd depending on programming. i pick up even more analog. all about 69 to 80%. with the 13db amp i picked them up about 80 to 90%. super crisp and clear. all with the anteena in one locked position. i opted for the rotator mainly for lining up signal for these channels. but am i glad i bought it. 80 to 90% sounds really good and it is but you can really fine tune these channels for optimun perfomance. i pick up about 5 opt channels which the kids love. i also found the wb channel which i didn't this area recieved. to pick the wb at 70% i have to use the rotater. i'm glad i got the wireless digital since i have to hit the same exact spot everytime. you can pick up everyhting i bought here at lowes. the prices are simalar except the antenna is ten bucks more.(79.99 instead of 69.99). wal-mart also carries the antenna but no poles and no quality amps and no rotators(rotors). stay away from radio shack i hit three differnt ones in a 60 mile radius and they are all the same. you'll spend about 20 to 30% more. if you shop around you'll find what works for you. check out the antenna pick up zones on the box. but ask around locally.what types work best. this is what worked for me. and i installed it at ther locations and people were pretty happy.

 

[toto]

How far are you from the stations broadcast towers? Are they UHF or VHF (both analog and digital)? Are you located on a hill, in a valley, or are there physical obstructions between you and the towers? CEA has developed a color mapping to help you select the right antenna. If you go to www.antennaweb.org you should find the type of antenna that will work best for you.