I want to invest in TV antenna that's better than my unpowered bunny ears. I'm just starting my research, but I'd ideally like to keep the investment <$70. For concealment, I'd like to keep it an indoor unit. I have room in the attic for a decent sized antenna...

Per http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/

The only channels I care about are :

Callsign     Network     Virtual Channel     Band
  WLFL        CW               22-1          UHF 
  WRDC        MYTV             28-1          UHF 
  WRAZ        FOX              50-1          UHF 
  WRAL        CBS              5-1           UHF 
  WTVD        ABC              11-1          Hi-V 
  WNCN        NBC              17-1          UHF 
  WUNC        PBS              4-1           UHF 

5/17/2012 10:45:56 PM

/message_search.aspx?section=3&searchstring=antenna
/message_search.aspx?section=3&searchstring=ota

5/17/2012 10:48:12 PM

I didn't realize that any local stations were still broadcasting VHF. I knew it was an option though.

PBS is the only station worth having, so I face my aerial at it. The other stations broadcast strong enough to be picked up on the ass end anyway.

[Edited on May 18, 2012 at 12:20 AM. Reason : .]

5/18/2012 12:19:06 AM

I have a Terk HDTVa and it works outstandingly well. I am less than 10 minutes from the airport, and I can get away with aiming at the stations in Raleigh, and the antenna butt picks up UNC-TV perfectly fine.

I've heard great things about the Mohu antennas also, and maybe I should also mention that Mohu is local to Raleigh!

Terk HDTVa ~$40:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007MXZB2

Mohu ~$35:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QK7HI8

I also finally picked up an HDHomeRun, which provides 2 tuners (using the same antenna) to my Windows 7 Media Center via my home network. More brilliant, is that since it's over the network, any computer in my house can view the live TV signal, and it works fine over WiFi.

HDHomeRun ~$100:
http://www.silicondust.com/products/hdhomerun/atsc/

But I'm guessing you may not be needing that.


[Edited on May 18, 2012 at 12:33 AM. Reason : .]

5/18/2012 12:31:07 AM

^ I've got 2 computers with Windows 7, one being a laptop that has as 1080p monitor which would be great for those "lazy days" when my wife wants to watch TV in bed. So that HDHomeRun is pretty sweet, maybe a nifty gift idea. I appreciate you taking the time to post that.

I am particularly interested in that Terk HDTVa...

[Edited on May 18, 2012 at 2:01 AM. Reason : .]

5/18/2012 2:01:05 AM

Quote :

"Terk HDTVa ~$40: "

seconded

5/18/2012 7:40:32 AM

You guys probably know this (and may not apply if you want an antenna) but if you pay for Time Warner Cable internet you get all these stations free just by hooking up to the wall. In fact i'm getting free basic cable just from having internet.

5/18/2012 9:23:13 AM

i was going to make this thread (or bump an existing one) today

remember when WRAL was giving away free antennas when the initial HD switch was going on? i have two of their "big" (indoor/outdoor) antennas covering (roughly) 180° to get all channels...but WRAL (from which i am only a couple miles) still drops in and out randomly (doesn't appear to have anything to do with weather as it was happening this morning quite a bit)

i have the two antennas in the attic and use a splitter to run them into one cable that then plugs in directly to the TV...could that be a problem? would an amplifier help or are they just gimmicks?

^ i had that in my last apartment (several years ago), but i think they put a block on my house line since i canceled their basic HD service...does your "free" cable include the local channels in HD?

5/18/2012 10:50:37 AM

Yeah all the local HD channels come through. I asked TWC over the phone and they said that's how it works.

5/18/2012 10:57:26 AM

I have the Mohu antenna linked above and it works great.

5/18/2012 11:31:23 AM

^^ well, it sort of worked for me...sure enough, i got a fair number of DTV channels, but PBS (4) and ABC (11) don't show up...honestly, i could pass on 4 (though it'd be nice), but i'd kind of like 11

5/18/2012 12:03:13 PM

Hm weird. They're in weird places (3 digit channels) but I was able to find them all.

Although I think the quality of OTA HD is better than cable.

5/18/2012 12:05:39 PM

Yeah, I get quite a few channels OTA as well, but I do NOT get ABC. I'm in the RTP area.

5/18/2012 12:28:36 PM

^^ ah, in that case i'll go back and double-check...CBS (5) and FOX (50) were the same, so i just assumed that if it didn't come in on 11, it was busted

5/18/2012 12:47:19 PM

Yeah check the 100+ numbers. That's where I found some (at least in Charlotte).

5/18/2012 12:51:09 PM

When I used an OTA I got everything perfectly except ABC. It would show up one week and then disappear the next.

Ask Quinn about making an awesome antenna with 2x4s and coat hangers. He might be able to dig up the instructions.

5/18/2012 6:36:00 PM

^ This does not surprise me.

5/19/2012 1:49:18 AM

double-checked and definitely no ABC

but hey, i get BET perfectly

5/19/2012 8:35:13 AM

friend's got a moku he's not using, so i'm going to try it out before investing in anything

though i have a question y'all might be able to answer...as noted before, i've got two antennas in the attic connected to a coax cable via 2-way splitter...i don't know how long the cable is, exactly, but it DOES run from my TV up through the ceiling into the attic (with plenty to spare)...when it comes to the TV, there's ANOTHER 2-way splitter, one to the TV and one to my receiver to act as an FM tuner antenna

so with (2) 2-way splitters and a long-running coax cable, could it be that i'm just spreading my signal too thin? would an amp be useful and if so, where would be best to put it?

[Edited on May 19, 2012 at 10:12 AM. Reason : .]

5/19/2012 10:10:29 AM

You'll have to be careful how you're splicing them together because if they are out of phase, then you'll end up with a much weaker signal overall than if you just had 1 antenna feeding signal. To make sure, they should be stacked on top of each other, separated by 2-3 feet, and the cable length from antenna to splitter should be the exact same length.

Assuming you have accounted for that, then an amplifier would definitely be of help to improve the signal over a long run. You should install it just past the splitter and before the long run, or somewhere along the long run to your receiver.

5/20/2012 2:07:02 PM

I have one of the free WRAL antennas in our attic and I can't pick up ABC either. There is a hill between our house and the tower, but all of the other major networks are fairly reliable.

5/20/2012 7:07:05 PM

I made the coat hangar and 2 x 4 antenna and it can pick up all of the channels great. This was after i tried at least 4 other antennas and could only pick up Fox. They are very easy to make and work great. If you have access to your attic, you could probably just build it on one of the rafters or joists.

5/21/2012 8:41:38 AM

^^^ thanks for the heads up on that...i currently have them side-by-side, touching, and facing slightly different directions (thinking that would give me more coverage and therefore a better signal)...they're connected to the splitter using cables of the same length, so i'm good there

because of the slope of my roof and the size of these antennas, i don't think that i can "stack" them with 2-3 feet in between, but i'll try...i wouldn't be surprised if it's the configuration that's causing my intermittent signal dropout

i DO have electrical sockets available in the attic, so i could plug in an amplifier up there if that would be better...i'm still unclear exactly how this all works, but would i need a preamp or "regular" amplifier (or are they the same thing)? and since i CAN plug in an amp up where the antennas are, would i do it like this:

ant   ant
  \   /
    Y
  [amp]
    |
    |
[coax to TV]
    |
    |
  [TV]

5/21/2012 8:58:55 AM

I got the Terk. It works pretty darn well. From time to time, the display would distort, but it's no where near as bad as before. Where previously we would get an interruption every 3-5 minutes or so and the signal would drop completely for a second or two, it's improved to maybe 1 glitch every hour or two and usually it's just a small half second glitch.

I also get about 7 more stations than before. Not a bad deal for a one time investment.


[Edited on July 29, 2012 at 11:52 PM. Reason : .]

7/29/2012 11:37:13 PM

I ended up getting one of these a few weeks ago:
http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Thin-Leaf-Indoor-Antenna/dp/B004QK7HI8
Made here in Raleigh by some guys from NCSU.

Works great indoors for me in Cary. And it was fairly cheap.

7/29/2012 11:49:54 PM

^ tempted to buy one - I need an OTA antenna BADLY, I don't give a shit how ugly it is or how big it is...I have an empty room I can stash it in

7/30/2012 3:55:42 PM

As long as you're "in range" for an indoor antenna to pick up, The Leaf seems to be the way to go. No need to worry about where to hide it, just affix it to the wall behind the TV; it will prob be just fine.

7/31/2012 1:02:56 AM

I might have to get me a new antenna. Channels 22 and 28 have gone to absolute crap lately. Those channels will cliff out every other second. Truly annoying.

I guess the leaves on the trees have screwed up our reception? We could get those channels fine in the past, even last summer. Now the channels are unwatchable.

7/31/2012 8:19:52 AM

^^ My prob is only about 4 channels are in a 30 mile range

7/31/2012 2:30:59 PM

I bought a radioshack antenna for HDTV but found out it performed even worse than a much cheaper one. Can't find ABC or NBC in Cary. Do you have any recommendation? Say the price below 40.

8/19/2012 7:45:48 PM

^Check out the two posts I made above in this thread.

8/19/2012 8:21:46 PM

How many channels are seen after using it?

8/19/2012 8:39:51 PM

I'm not sure of the exact number, but I get everything around here that I expect to see. WRAL, WRAZ, ABC 11, NBC 17, PBS, etc. I'll check the count later if you want.

8/19/2012 8:45:35 PM

I want to try.

8/19/2012 8:58:52 PM

Quote :

"I got the Terk. It works pretty darn well.Not a bad deal for a one time investment. "

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007MXZB2
$45 shipped

I get all these stations, and a couple more (that I don't care about), and I live in the Crossroads shopping center area:

Callsign     Network     Virtual Channel     Band
  WLFL        CW               22-1          UHF 
  WRDC        MYTV             28-1          UHF 
  WRAZ        FOX              50-1          UHF 
  WRAL        CBS              5-1           UHF 
  WTVD        ABC              11-1          Hi-V 
  WNCN        NBC              17-1          UHF 
  WUNC        PBS              4-1           UHF 

8/19/2012 10:57:06 PM

I have this:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10901&cs_id=1090102&p_id=4730

Works great for my signal which you can research here:
http://antennaweb.org/Address.aspx

Can't believe neither of these websites have been posted yet when discussing HDTV antennas.

8/20/2012 12:06:45 PM

Yeah, I find the cheaper ones sometimes perform better.

8/20/2012 12:33:09 PM

Damn. I didn't know monoprice had them too. I wouldn't hesitate to give that monoprice one a shot.

8/20/2012 12:49:09 PM

^^^seriously, that one.

i've had the previously-mentioned terk antenna, and i built my own for a while... but this monoprice one is small and works better than anything i've used.

[Edited on August 21, 2012 at 7:39 PM. Reason : ]

8/21/2012 7:38:56 PM

Getting 10 channels with the Mohu. I've got it directly behind my tv (no wires to see) on the side closest to the window (about 7 feet from the window). Satisfied with the 10 channels, but was expecting a few more. Should I try and move it to the other side of the tv (further from the window but closer to an exterior wall)??

7/15/2013 4:34:31 PM

It's easy enough to move (usually). Try it and see.

7/15/2013 5:30:29 PM

I've got a TV in my kitchen that currently mirrors my TV in the living room. I'd like to add an antenna to that TV so we have the option to watch something different in there while cooking if we want. I know nothing about HD Antennas, but I assume that distance from the location of the station plays a big part in how well they work. Here are the distances from my house to the stations I would be trying to pick up (As the crow flies, not travel distance):

CBS: ~10 mi. NW
FOX: ~16 mi. SW
NBC: ~28 mi. NW
ABC: ~24 mi. NW

According to http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/, I should be able to get all of the above plus CW, MYTV, PBS, ION, and IND. But again, I assume a lot of that depends on the quality of the antenna. Can anyone recommend an antenna that gives me the best chance of getting all these stations? I would not be opposed to an outdoor mounted antenna as long as it's fairly inconspicuous.

7/16/2013 9:49:32 AM

Try using a paper clip first, and then try a nice antenna. The tuners in some TVs can be really good, you'd be surprised at what you can pick up just by jamming a wire into your tv.

7/21/2013 12:20:19 PM

^ I put regular rabbit ears on it and was only able to get 2 channels.

I'm just weighing my options between buying an antenna or just adding another DirecTV Box to my subscription. I think adding a box would be around $8 more per month. If I can get a good antenna for $50 or less, then I'll go that route. If it's going to run me $80+, then I'll just add another box.

[Edited on July 23, 2013 at 9:33 AM. Reason : a]

7/23/2013 9:33:38 AM

You guys should try a real antenna.



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882125370

7/29/2013 9:16:17 PM

Question...thinking about getting an antenna that says it can go inside the attic. My noob question is, how does that signal get to the coax outlets in the wall? We haven't closed yet so I can't check out the attic right now, but in the past I've used antenna's like the ones in this thread that have a coax directly connected to it that just goes to the tv.

11/4/2013 5:26:50 PM

the coax network in your house is "hubbed" so you can run it into an outlet and if all your runs are home runs, you take that run back and feed it into the main input (or a switch you put in the main input)

11/4/2013 5:30:51 PM

Interesting, thanks for the quick answer. Hopefully that is also situated somewhere in the attic that will be easily accessible. The antenna I found comes with a 30 ft. coax, so hopefully that will allow for good placement.

11/4/2013 5:41:08 PM

You may need to fish a new line in the wall or down a chase from the attic depending on which floor you want it to go.

11/5/2013 6:22:13 AM

http://www.cleartv.com/

11/5/2013 4:49:29 PM