OTA question for a clueless person (me!)

[sktrus]

Thanks Crod; it is just like getting better fm radio reception after dark then. I will try that one day. What is the farthest reception u got as ota? Some antennas r claiming 150 miles. I am afraid that’s exaggerated. Some wise guy said “ pay attention to Gain, not miles when purchase antenna”.

 

[pattykay]

Thanks Crod; it is just like getting better fm radio reception after dark then. I will try that one day. What is the farthest reception u got as ota? Some antennas r claiming 150 miles. I am afraid that’s exaggerated. Some wise guy said “ pay attention to Gain, not miles when purchase antenna”.

From here in North Central Ohio, I have been able to pick up stations from as far away as Flint, Michigan and even some Canadian stations. From the back side of the antenna, I have also picked up stations from Newark, Ohio and Zanesville. To the East, I have picked up some stations from Erie, PA and Pittsburgh. None of those stations came in very often, but it was always a kick to be able to watch them when they did come in. In the analog days, I could occasionally pick up stations from farther away than that, and from a different direction. I was able to receive stations from West Virginia here at that time.

 

[Bobby]

I used to receive our local NBC station, OTA, when the tower was 156 miles away as the crow flies. That was continual not just once or twice. Then they moved the transmitter much closer and now I have difficulty with it because I have a mountain in the way.

 

[navychop]

Generally, good antennas get stations up to 60ish miles away. Certain conditions may get more. More likely, certain conditions will mean less.

 

[Phil T]

In the old analog days (60's & 70's) We had friends In Frankfort who got WLW-T Cincinnati on a cable system. It was the first time I ever saw cable TV. I remember the picture was very snowy.

I lived in Cincy and we had a VHF antenna cut for Channel 4 and a rotator. We could get all Cincy and Dayton stations fine without rotating the antenna. It was pointed towards Dayton and we got Cincy off the back.We lived in the Mt. Healthy/Finneytown area. We could always get WTTV channel 4 in Indy and WAVE channel 3 in Louisville by rotating the antenna. Never did get anything from Lexington because I believe all the stations were UHF.

It is a different ballgame now but I still enjoy seeing what channels are available OTA. I understand next week all the major Denver channels (where I live now) are switching frequencies again for the beginning of 4K broadcasting in our area.

 

[sktrus]

Ok Crodrules; Either you r very lucky to have found your current location for ota reception from every direction or you have one of those $200 antennas on the top of 200' high pole!! Which one is it?

 

[sam_gordon]

WAVE channel 3 in Louisville by rotating the antenna.

WAVE used to be on a 1000' (maybe it was 1500') tower in Shelby County, KY (to the east of Louisville), and I believe on top of a hill. That probably helped.

I'm pretty sure their current transmitter is at Floyd's Knob in Indiana along with all of the other Louisville stations.

 

[the mack]

Some antennas r claiming 150 miles. I am afraid that’s exaggerated.

Unless your antenna is super high the curvature of the earth will prevent reception over 80-100 miles.

 

[sam_gordon]

Thanks Crod; it is just like getting better fm radio reception after dark then. I will try that one day. What is the farthest reception u got as ota? Some antennas r claiming 150 miles. I am afraid that’s exaggerated. Some wise guy said “ pay attention to Gain, not miles when purchase antenna”.

Antenna range claims are probably legitimate, but don't take in topography. Picture nice flat area with no hills or mountains.

 

[charlesrshell]

Antenna range claims are probably legitimate, but don't take in topography. Picture nice flat area with no hills or mountains.

Could there be a repeater antenna someplace?

 

[joegr]

Unless your antenna is super high the curvature of the earth will prevent reception over 80-100 miles.

Except when it is cloudy.

 

[Bobby]

Unless your antenna is super high the curvature of the earth will prevent reception over 80-100 miles.

or the transmitting antenna is much higher than your property. I received KNTV, channel 11, San Jose, when it was on Loma Prieta from my house in Rohnert Park, CA continuously until they moved the tower. That is 150 miles as the crow flies. I received it with my Channel Master 4228 along with a CM preamp.

 

[Jim5506]

My observation has been that these 150 mile antennas are really crappy little 30 mile antennas with a cheap amplifier added to claim 150 mile reception.

 

[pattykay]

Ok Crodrules; Either you r very lucky to have found your current location for ota reception from every direction or you have one of those $200 antennas on the top of 200' high pole!! Which one is it?

I don't know how much my antenna would have cost if I had bought it, but it is the one that Dish provided to me for free in December 2006, after I lost my distant networks due to the court-imposed injunction against Dish providing distants. It is on my roof, and not even all the way at the top of the roof. I wanted it on the back side of my house where it would be hidden from the street view, to avoid having an eyesore on my roof. Ironically, I later had my Western Arc dish moved to the roof on the front side of my house, because that was the only practical place where I could get reception from Western Arc. Also, my neighbor's house (which had been blocking the view of my OTA antenna from the street) has since been torn down. So now I have two eyesores on my roof, and my OTA antenna is probably not nearly as high as it needs to be for reliable reception.

So, I would not say that I am very lucky, since most of my OTA stations do not come in most of the time. However, I am stubborn, scanning repeatedly at the right times of the day (or rather, night) and I take advantage of tropospheric bounce to occasionally (usually briefly) pick up some distant OTA stations. My results are not bad for a roof-mounted antenna with no amplifier and no rotor.

I also hooked up the antenna through a four-way splitter to get the signal to as many TV's in my house as possible, which I am sure cuts the available signal considerably. I could have gotten even better results if I had left the antenna connected directly to my ViP211, which is the way Dish installed it. However, I mostly wanted the antenna so I could get my in-town independent station, WMFD, on every TV without needing to use indoor antennas at every TV. Dish did not carry this channel at the time. Even when Dish finally added it, I then had to wait several more years before Dish finally added the HD feed. So, my rooftop antenna has served its intended purpose well, and gotten me some additional bonus stations too.

 

[pattykay]

Unless your antenna is super high the curvature of the earth will prevent reception over 80-100 miles.

If conditions are right, the signal can bounce off the troposphere, then back down to the ground, then back up to the troposphere, back down again, etc. This can make reception at greater distances possible, while those atmospheric conditions remain intact. Reliable reception may be limited to range of 100 miles or less in most places, though. The quality of the antenna being used will limit that range even further of course, if it is poor quality.

 

[sktrus]

Crodrules; have you tried a distribution amplifier to keep the signal strength going to 4 different TVs? I never used it. A lot of people here r recommending it. Just curious.

 

[pattykay]

Crodrules; have you tried a distribution amplifier to keep the signal strength going to 4 different TVs? I never used it. A lot of people here r recommending it. Just curious.

I probably should have done that, but I am a cheapskate. I got the antenna and installation for free, and I certainly was not about to sink any more money into antenna reception, with no guarantee of any improved results.

 

[Altitudinous]

a distribution amplifier to keep the signal strength going to 4 different TVs

sktrus, just curious...you originally said you had a Hopper and 3 wired Joeys. So 3 Joeys should now get OTA channels via their MoCA connection to the Hopper. Why would you need an amp? This is where I wonder how they wired the coax from your Terk to the basement. Is it split four ways before even arriving at the Terk preamp power supply?

 

[sktrus]

Hello Altitudinous;
When the professionals wired my house, they ran the RG6 coax from attic to the basement. Same type cables (actually 6 of them! We wanted to be ready just in case we needed them in the future) came from 2nd story deck (for satellite dish) and ended up at the same spot in the basement. No splits anywhere. Then, they ran 2 sets of RG6 cables from basement to 4 different rooms. One for attic antenna, the other satellite. Neither Dish nor Directv offered the local stations back then. They somehow connected those cables (perhaps a two-way splitter) and only one cable was attached to each tv. It's been a while. I can't remember the details. Anyway, I changed the input on tv when I watched locals. As soon as Dish offered locals, I jumped from Directv to Dish. The old Terk antenna was preamped in the basement (power plug is in there, not in the attic), then connected to 4 way splitter. The Dish technician just unattached the antenna coax in the basement, but left it there in case I needed it.
Wired Joeys are connected to Hopper 3 with RG6 cables. They all work fine.

I wanted to know about Distribution amplifier because I was not aware of such gadget to eliminate weak signal (from antenna) going to tvs. I thought a simple 4 way splitter would be fine. Obviously, not. If I ever cancel Dish service, I rather spend $30-50 for that dist. amp. and have the same signal strength on several tvs. Don't need it now. just getting familiar with it.

 

[Altitudinous]

I changed the input on tv when I watched locals.

Got it. So you've got plenty of OTA options, including scanning for channels at various TVs and comparing the results to the Hopper's OTA adapter.