OTA Antenna Question

[mysgaccount]

Can someone please give me a suggestion for a good indoor OTA HD antenna? I have looked antennaweb. It says that the farthest tower from my location is 9.5 miles.

Also, is it possible to connect an indoor antenna to two tvs? Or will i have to buy two indoor antennas?

thanks in advance.

 

[Super Dave]

Can you put one in your attic, that is if you have one.

 

[mysgaccount]

yes... I have an attic. I've looked on the web and can't find a good site that has installation instructions.

 

[Voyager6]

You need to check out the OTA forum for some help. HD Over the Air (OTA) - SatelliteGuys.US

 

[Super Dave]

I put one these: Channel Master CM 4228 8-Bay Bowtie UHF Antenna (CM4228) | CM4228 [Channel Master] | CM-4228 4228 CM 4228 bow tie bow-tie channel master 4228 channel master CM4228 channel master CM-4228
in my attic mounted to a 2X4, aimed through my siding at the towers. I am 15 miles from the tower and get 100% signal strength. This will work if your towers are all in the same area, this antenna is directional. Depends on what antennaweb recommended for you.

 

[cparker]

If his farthest tower is 9.5 miles he might be fine with a CM4221 instead of a CM4228. I have the CM4228 hitting towers 42 miles away and getting 90-100% signal strength. He also doesn't say if the towers are all in the same direction. If they're scattered about he may want to look at an omnidirectional rather than a directional antenna. At 9.5 miles he shouldn't need much of an antenna and getting TOO much antenna could be as bad as not enough.

just my 2 cents.

 

[Super Dave]

The reason I went with the 4228 over the 4221 was because it is in my attic, figured there might be some signal loss through the wall.

 

[cparker]

true... mine is outside.

 

[mysgaccount]

how can i find out if the towers are in the same direction? do i have to look at compass orientation?

antennaweb shows 7 digital channels, and here is the compass orientation:

280
280
216
233
280
227
226

 

[KAB]

how can i find out if the towers are in the same direction? do i have to look at compass orientation?

antennaweb shows 7 digital channels, and here is the compass orientation:

280
280
216
233
280
227
226

If you entered your address on Antennaweb, you should get a street view map that will show you the antenna directions. If by chance you are using Firefox, use IE. A little quirky with the fox.

 

[steve4810]

how can i find out if the towers are in the same direction? do i have to look at compass orientation?

antennaweb shows 7 digital channels, and here is the compass orientation:

280
280
216
233
280
227
226

.

"Orientation" and "direction" mean the same thing
​

.

 

[cparker]

If his farthest is 9.5 miles he could probably easily get his OTA stuff.

My very first attempt at getting HD OTA was by using an old FM dipole from a stereo I had out in the garage, stuck to a 75-300ohm transformer using alligator clips and scotch tape. I was getting watchable OTA at 42 miles. And the ones that are 7 miles from me were perfect. The ones from 42 miles have a couple of weaker ones so while watchable, they had occasional stutters and pixelation.

That TV has a Silver Sensor on it now and it performs marvelously.

 

[Super Dave]

At 15 miles I used the TERK HD-TVi with a few drop outs, since it was on the first floor and there is a tree in the path, but it worked. The attic works better, but the Terk can be picked up at CC or Amazon to try it out.

Amazon.com: Terk Technology HDTVi VHF/UHF HDTV Indoor Antenna: Electronics

 

[rgregl]

I mounted a Wineguard GS2200 on top of the pole for my DISH and am receiving over 30 Chicago locals, and I'm about 35 miles west of downtown. It looks like a wing, and it has an amplifier. THe only channel it misses is Channel 2, which hardly anyone can pickup.

 

[Evan70]

Make sure you use good quality cable from the ant to the receiver. I had been having issues with my antenna in my attic only getting about 60-70% signal, with lots of drops. Turns out I was loosing a bunch of signal because I had a coupler and two cables, changed it out to a single cable of the proper length and I'm now at 99% on every channel.