I looked upyour zip on Yahoo map. You have a very clear signal across they Bay. The TV towers are on that hill / mountain (forgot the name) in SF right? You are in very good shape. I have CM4228 w CM7777 pre-amp and I am about 23 miles due east of Empire State Bldg and there are rolling hills in between. And dont worry about VHF. I can get a decent picture from WABC-7 (VHF) w this antenna. I've gone even as low as Channel 5.
Newbie question... need suggestion for OTA HD antenna
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I looked upyour zip on Yahoo map. You have a very clear signal across they Bay. The TV towers are on that hill / mountain (forgot the name) in SF right? You are in very good shape. I have CM4228 w CM7777 pre-amp and I am about 23 miles due east of Empire State Bldg and there are rolling hills in between. And dont worry about VHF. I can get a decent picture from WABC-7 (VHF) w this antenna. I've gone even as low as Channel 5.
Here's some more reading for you. http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/siting.html I would try the 4221. It's inexpensive has good gain and wide beam width. When using the indoor antenna what's the relationship to the outside obstructions you describe. You could try taking the silver sensor outside, temporary mount it, where you want to mount your antenna and see what you get. If the neighbors tree gets any bigger it might be a problem in the future.
Yes... there are a lot of the networks here in the Bay Area that broadcast their signals from Sutro Tower on a hill in SF. With that in mind, do you think I'd get good results with a 4221 instead of the 4228....?
My house is a two story and I currently have the indoor antenna on the second floor in the room I have my new 40" HDTV in. The antenna sits a couple of feet higher than what I have planned for the outside antenna. I could probably get a longer pole to mount the OTA antenna to get it higher in the air. The broadcast towers are high up on a hill though so I would think that would help in my situation.
I think I will go ahead and try the 4221. Like you said... it's inexpensive with good gain and a wide beam width. If it doesn't work, I'll try the 4228.
Well... my OTA antenna will be mounted on a post that'll be cemented in the ground. It'll be a little bit higher than the first story of the house. The attic is very small so it's not an option for me. I'll be ordering my 4221 first thing in the morning. :up
I think that the 4221 will not get NBC. The 4221 is a UHF only antenna. That is why I suggested the Square Shooter.
Well.... I ordered my 4221 this morning and I should have it by Thursday and I'll be installing it along with my sat dish on Friday. The 4228 is also only UHF but it does get some of the higher channels in VHF. I'm hoping the 4221 will do the same. I only need channel 11(12) in VHF for NBC.
Look at the bottom graph on the following web page.
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html
Channel 12 reception on the 4221 extends from -2 db to -7 db. The comments about VHF reception on the 4228 are often from those who are receiving channel 10. You can't extrapolate success on channel 10 to the entire high band VHF.
That's true. However, here in CT, I get channel 10 on the backside of my 4228 and 12 on the front with virtually no issues.
So after looking at that graph in your link above, are you still recommending the Square Shooter for my particular channel and location needs...? If not, what would you suggest...?
Well, if you would have put the silver sensor in the attic, it would have done the job at $25.....
I still have the Silver Sensor.... I get the UHF channels, but not the 1 NBC VHF channel. I have the Silver Sensor in one of the rooms on the second story. Our attic is only on the first story and wouldn't get as good as reception as the location it's in now.
How about a Channel Master 3016....? Looks like it would do the job....
The 3016 will outperform the Square Shooter on VHF. If you have room for it, it's a better deal. The beamwidth is wide enough to ignore for the 12 degree difference.
Sounds good... thanks for all the info Tower Guy and everyone else. I wish I would've gotten the 3016 to begin with.
If anyone needs a 4221... I'll have one for sale... brand new, never used.
If you have the 4221 give it a try, you might be surprised. You say you only need to get vhf ch 12 at 17 miles distance, clear shot. The 3016 is overkill if this is all you want. Unless there are other lower channel vhf analog stations you may want than go with the 3016.
The 4221 will be delivered on Friday. And yes, VHF channel 12 is all I want.... all the rest of the channels I want are UHF. I'll go ahead and try the 4221... might as well, I've got nothing to lose at this point.
So I was messing around with my Philips Silver Sensor indoor antenna last night. Wanted to see if I could get a signal for the one VHF (NBC) station in my area even though the antenna is only UHF. I tuned my tv to 11.1 (12) and then went into the tv menus to go to the tv's signal meter for OTA. After moving the antenna around, to my surprise I was actually able to get about 2 signal bars. They wouldn't completely lock in and I kinda had to keep my hand near the antenna but it did get a very weak signal. I'm thinking if the indoor Silver Sensor can do that, then the 4221 outdoor antenna would have slightly better luck in possibly getting that same channel.... what do you guys think...? If not, I'll just end up getting the 3016.
It will likely pick it up just fine. When you get the 4221 hook it up and let us know.
Will do... The 4221 is due to arrive on Friday via UPS Ground. That's when I'll be doing my install, setting up my sat dish, running cable, etc... Unfortunately the UPS guy in my area usually delivers late in the day, usually around 5pm and sometimes even later. I'll report back here either late Friday night or Saturday and let you guys know how it all works out.
Thanks for all the replies guys, I really appreciate it.
