OTA TV antennas, suggestions that work?

[Qqmike]

OTA TV antennas, suggestions that work?

Anyone have suggestions for over-the-air antennas (for digital TV) that work? Of course, I'm beginning to look at things like
http://www.amazon.com/s/186-3380416-...wcanoniccom-20

I'm very close (geographically) to TV-transmitter station antennas, which helps. In fact, using just a standard $20 RCA (Wal-Mart) rabbit ear, I get 40+ stations. The problem is keeping them tuned in, having to adjust the antenna too often. Need something more robust; doesn't have to be perfect, though.

Criteria:
-- Indoors antenna, either wall-mounted or free standing.
-- Not too expensive (say up to, what, $50 max, maybe?)
-- Something I can buy conveniently at Amazon, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target, NewEgg, etc.

If you have any ideas, I would try one unit, test it on my four TVs, and go from there deciding to equip all my TVs with such.

[Simon]

I live in Canada, but lucky for you I know people here who leech HD TV off Detroit across the river. LOL

Try this;
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/electron...at243200050000

They have a pretty cool DIY page. I hope it helps. Personally I watch Netflix on my PS3, there is not much on the US TV anyways and even less on the CBC.

[oshunluvr]

When I lived in L.A. I "cut the cord" for the last 8 years or so that I lived there. Start here for info : AntennaWeb . They have info on the antenna size and type, the correct cabling, the best angle for each channel, etc. TONS of info. Click the "Click Here to Start" button and enter your zip code, address, and antenna height to get a list of available channels. Each channel will have the color code for the best antenna type and a google map with lines showing the direction to point the antenna. It also has two major antenna manufacturers (Channel Master and Spectrum) and will list their models numbers that match the antenna color code you select.

Using their info, I was able to purchase the correct antenna (best bang-for-the-buck) and aim it correctly for the channels most important to me. I think I spent less than $50 total and received over 90 channels. Of course, being L.A. a large number of them were in Spanish or one of three Asian languages, but I got the main ones I wanted (in English, LOL). I even bought an OTA (over the air) DVR to record shows.

Likely, your biggest issue is that you're restricted to indoors, but they do have indoor antennas listed.

[GreyGeek]

About 6 or 7 years ago I dropped cable and use the method shown in the video:

https://youtu.be/EWQhlmJTMzw

to create an HDTV DIY antenna. Instead of coat hangers I used some 10 gauge Copper wire.
On the North side of Lincoln I picked up 21 signals. Nice thing about digital, it is all or nothing. After we sold our house and moved 12 miles to South Lincoln that same antenna could pick only 12 stations.

When the Leaf HDTV antennas came out I bought a pair from Amazon for $40. Up North I got 15 stations. When we moved down South I got 12. I could match the Leaf by just stripping 5 foot of the braiding off of a 75 ohm coax cable.and attaching it to the back of the TV. In fact, I stuck a small piece of copper wire into the center of the TV feamle coax connector and got 12 channels using my body as an antenna.

In your situation I'd get an omini-directional antenna from the one of the sources listed by Oshunluver or Simon.

[woodsmoke]

In my humble opinion there are actually two parts to this question.

a) the "hardware"
b) the software to interpret what is received by the hardware.

Back in the Navy, which is EXACTLY the same now............ a "ship" has "many" "antennas".

All of them are "different lengths" that are "sub trahends" of the "common multiple" of "a signal" that was/is produced by "other hardware".

What this PHYSICALLY MEANT..........was..............that

a) there was a "receiving antenna"
b) there was " thing" between the antenna and "another thing"
c) there was "another thing" that received the incomming signal

No relation to somebody in Da Nang hollering "INCOMING!!!" lol

To "tune" the "devices" one LITERALLY had a " vernier" thing with a "gear wheel" that was IN THE PHYSICAL TUBE.

There was............... believe me on this, POLLEN in a "standardized storage jar" that was placed in the "waveguide" and one literally used a "wheel/gear" to PHYSICALLY SHORTEN OR ELONGATE the tube between the "incoming" antenna" and "the electronics".

When "the wave" was correct for the PARTICULAR LENGTH of the tube then one would...........

ACTUALLY SEE...........as in PHYSICALLY SEE WITH ONE's freaking EYES............the "WAVES" that corresponded to the desired signal................IN.......IN......IN THE FREAKING POLLEN!!

ALL of this stuff has a "physical reality" that is NEVER TAUGHT IN OUR SUPPOSED ELITE SCHOOLS.......................

But, guess what, the Viet Cong......learned it VERY QUICKLY and used GRAPEFRUITS to power the radios what were THROWN AWAY by our troops because the "battery had ran out"........

SCIENCE IS SCIENCE and it does not matter who "does it"......

YOU CAN DO THIS.................

What we have "in common society" is a "one size fits all" situation where the "device" has been manufactured to "try to get as many signals as possible"

kind of like "one size fits all" and alternatively "one size fits none".

No matter what anyone says, and no matter how "cool" the "flat plate" receivers are on "a frigate" there is still the PHYSICAL REALITY of the signal going from "the thing that captures" to "you sitting and watching or hearing".

So.............to the point.........................

Go to a junk place or a hardware place and get some "copper tubing" of varying DIAMETERS but I would say, maybe three quarter of an inch.

Get several pieces that are maybe four or eight feet long, four and eight are "common" sub-multiples of "many" wavelengths.

not all but many, this is a kind of "playing around with stuff" thing.

"bend" the copper tube into an "L". So that you have several pieces of varying diameter and varying lengths of "the L"...

DO NOT "PINCH" THE TUBE!!! DO NOT "PINCH" the tube!!!

this is a PHYSICAL PROCESS NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF "electronics" are on the transmitting end or the receiving end.....

DO NOT PINCH THE TUBE!!!

THE CRITICAL PART is "the length of the tube that is "crosswise" of the transmitting antenna"

In other words if the "antenna" of the "station" is at "zero" then the tube should be "pointing from 90 to 270"

lol

BELIEVE ME ON THIS.........

get some electrician's tape.........

"TAPE" a number sixteen gauge wire to the "L" and run it to "the receiver" it really does not matter what "the receiver" is as long as it is "not digital".............

It has to be "an analogue" receiver that will then "convert to digital"

Place the copper tubing ACROSS the incoming signal, in other words if the "station" is at "zero degrees" from you then turn the "L" to where it "crosswise" of ""90 and 270"

"play with it"

When you have "a signal" by TAPING the wire to the tube then you can SOLDER the wire to the tube...

My former wife.........detested this.........she thought it was stoopid......... guess what, I purchased the "best" antenna available.........it LOOKED great........

but to receive stations of varying strengths and PLACES ON THE MAP..........

the "kids" had to go out and "twist" the antenna.........

You are probably not old enough to remember the "antenna tuning kits" that had motors that would rotate the antenna from inside the house........

No matter what we ballyhoo about our "vaunted" electronic signals............

they are PHYSICAL phenomena that can be "interpreted" at the transmitting and receiving ends "digitally" but it is all ....

physical..........

And playing with it will......produce...........a mother lovin' beautiful signal.........



woodsmoke

[Qqmike]

Well, I WAS processing all this and now with Woody's post, I am REALLY processing it!

You are probably not old enough to remember the "antenna tuning kits" that had motors that would rotate the antenna from inside the house........

Yeah, I am (66). And I remember my dad making a big deal out of setting up and adjusting just the right antenna(s) in just the right way(s). Howdy Doody and the Lone Ranger, here we come! GreyGeek has me snipping old coat hangers and you have me doing the above. Of course, yours is for analog, right? So yours would work if one has a digital converter box (which I actually still have three of them).

Now come on guys. For my speed, I'm on this wavelength:
http://www.amazon.com/1byone-Amplifi...vision+antenna
See, study, research somewhat, click, buy, and be shipped to. 80% of 7000 customers are happy with it; and I happen to be in a strong signal area for a sh&t-load of stations.

I did study the above links and now remember already having done that about a year ago when I got distracted from my antenna quest.

Thanks, so far, for the ideas. I haven't yet ordered anything, got distracted from this by the deaths of two friends this past week (in unrelated, separate incidents).

btw, Woody, that exceeds 2.54 cm in ALL dimensions!

[GreyGeek]

While I was in grad school I took up amateur radio as a stress relief. WN5VSX I built a short wave DC60 HeathKit transmitter with a Drake reciever and a whittle bug key. I could send MorseCode at 20 wpm but could receive at only 5. I built a 15' cubical quad antenna out of Bamboo and put it on a 30' Bamboo pole that I could turn by reaching out the window and twisting it with my hand. It gave my 60W CW transmitter a 9 by 5 in Japan (From Abilene TX). The guy next door was an art major. He thought it was a thing of beauty!

[Qqmike]

Still playing with this. I bought and tried this:

AmazonBasics Ultra Thin Indoor HDTV Antenna, 50 Mile Range
http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-U...dp_ob_title_ce

It works nicely for 3 of the 4 TVs where there isn't too much interference (metal, electrical boxes, etc.).

For the 4th TV (where there is a lot of interference), I found that my basic Phillips $20 UHF/VHF digital OTA antenna works very well IF YOU READ THE DIRECTIONS and set it up correctly! It also helps to elevate it as much as possible (which I did for now by stacking up some small cardboard boxes). And to point the antenna in the direction of the transmitting towers (which you can locate on the Internet). In fact, if I do all this, the basic $20 indoor antenna works for all the TVs. It helps if you have a clear window (no metal security bars over it, no electrical boxes near it) that points directly at the transmitting tower(s) of the station(s).

Amazingly, these methods work to get an excellent, sharp picture. On a couple TVs, I got up to 54 channels, including 4 PBS channels, several old movie, a couple retro, Spanish (entertainment: pretty gals dancing all the time; also Spanish news), QVC, HSN, and many more genre (oh, yes, too many religious channels with weird-looking hustlers soliciting donations to rock music background or administering psycho-social advice to the unsuspecting). On any of the TVs, I get at least approx 30 channels that come in very well, mostly very sharp and clear with good color.

[logan01]

A friend of mine recently had a bunch of friends over for the Alabama v Auburn game. Bought a 60" flat screen and set it up in his barn which has power and water. Believe he went to Walmart? and came back with an indoor RCA flat style HDTV antenna. He never got the TV to receive. He called me to come take a look. He just had it hanging by a barn window (Auburn graduate). I finally looked in the box and there was a small inline amplifier (signal booster). I slapped it in and the tv ran its course of picking up "local" channels. We live about 60 road miles north of Birmingham. The game station antenna (CBS affiliate) down there is probably a good 40 miles straight line distance. That little antenna picked up all of Birmingham channels and then some. I was very impressed.

[Qqmike]

Yeah, I believe that.