Ok, so I am beginning to think my satellite bill is too high and am thinking of going all OTA. Even if I do keep it, I still need an antenna because Dish does not offer local HDs here yet (even though they told me they were coming by the end of the year when I was signing up and now they have no idea). So, I would prefer indoor, but outdoor would be doable, and of course budget is always a concern. Here is my antenna web info:

* yellow
uhf KGMC-DT 43.1 IND CLOVIS, CA 75° 22.6 44

* yellow
uhf KMPH-DT 26.1 FOX VISALIA, CA 82° 45.3 28

* yellow
uhf KGPE-DT 47.1 CBS FRESNO, CA 19° 27.2 34

* yellow
vhf KAIL-DT 7.1 MNT FRESNO, CA 18° 27.2 7

* yellow
uhf KFSN-DT 30.1 ABC FRESNO, CA Feb 17, 2009 (post-transition) 18° 27.4 30

* yellow
vhf KNSO-DT 5.1 TEL MERCED, CA Feb 17, 2009 (post-transition) 18° 27.1 11

* yellow
uhf KFTV-DT 21.1 UNI HANFORD, CA 18° 27.2 20

* yellow
uhf KVPT-DT 18.1 PBS FRESNO, CA 75° 22.7 40

* yellow
uhf KSEE-DT 24.1 NBC FRESNO, CA 18° 27.1 38

* green
uhf KTFF-DT 61.1 TFA PORTERVILLE, CA 109° 56.7 48

* green
vhf KNSO-DT 5.1 TEL MERCED, CA 18° 27.1 5

* lt green
uhf KFRE-DT 59.1 CW SANGER, CA 18° 27.3 36

* red
uhf KGMC-DT 43.1 IND CLOVIS, CA Feb 17, 2009 (post-transition) 18° 27.2 43

* red
uhf KNXT-DT 49.1 REL VISALIA, CA 109° 56.7 50

* red
vhf KFSN-DT 30.1 ABC FRESNO, CA 18° 27.3 9

Only really want the yellow stations, all of the others are spanish or small indies I'm not interested in. The only exception is 30.1, but as you can see it will be moving in Feb making it a yellow.

Indoor antennas have lots of variables. One should work OK in the Yellow zone as long as your house is wood frame and siding with no aluminum, brick, stucco or stone veneers or walls in the direction of the signals you'd be attempting to capture.

By all means try a set-top antenna first, but be sure you can return it if it doesn't work reliably. Get one capable of receiving both VHF and UHF, avoid anything with an amplifier in it (amps in indoor antennas can make DTV reception worse, not better), and don't spend more than about $30 on what is essentially a pair of rabbit ears. More cash won't mean better performance.

If you end up having to put up an antenna outdoors, look into these compact models online:

* Inexpensive: AntennaCraft HBU-22.

* Better: Winegard HD-7694. It's a better signal-grabber and more durable than the HBU-22. I'd definitely go with this one if you get lots of wind where you live.

You'd also need to get a wall/eve mount, antenna mast, longer coax cable, etc., for installing the antenna above the roof.

If you have rabbit ears or a UHF loop hook them it to a digital TV receiver, do a scan and see what you get. Or get the lowest priced antenna you can, and do the same thing.
John

Ok, so I had an old cheap set of basic rabbit ears lying around, and I plugged them in. The majors (Fox, CBS, NBC, PBS, ABC) all come in at 75-90+ strength except for ABC 30.1, which I expected. Looking at the AntennaWeb info, it says after the transition, ABC will be yellow, so can I expect good reception similar to the other channels after the transition for 30.1?