EV's Recommended & Top Rated DTV Indoor UHF/VHF Set Top Antenna Review Round-Up Guide - Page 49

Many TVs will save one set of QAM channel assignments and another set of ATSC channel assignments, and you will not have to rescan every time you switch between them.

You'll still have to reconnect your cables and go through the TV's menus to change its mode, but you won't have to rescan.

is the DB2 good for first floor with no line of sight?

Hi all,

I'm thinking about getting an indor antenna to use with my computer TV tuner (an Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1800). According to tvfool.com (see results), I can get many channels which is a good thing. I live near Quebec City.

Problem is I don't know much about antennas. I may consider this one from The Source because it's already been reviewed in this thread.

Did someone try a Rosewill RMS-DA8300 or a Rosewill RMS-HDA5000 ? First one looks good and it fits well near a window. Last one can be placed indoor or outdoor. Both are sold at Newegg at a good price.

What you guys think ?

Thank you !

EscapeVelocity here's another antenna you might want to try in your labs. It's quite flashy!

Artec Digital HDTV Flat Antenna

So far all the indoor antennas I've tried have failed. My "temp" RCA ant111 barely get 3 stations at best. Sucks being blocked with no line of sight.

Stupid hills!!!! Surrounded by high hills, trees, and crammed in between several houses

Ok, I've been testing the RS 1874, and it just isn't picking up
channel 7 very well. I even have it placed in front of the window
that faces the tower. The VHF is so stop and go, it is unwatchable.

I'm thinking an amplified indoor antenna would help, preferably
one with good VHF and UHF reception.

I'm not afraid to spend some money on a good indoor antenna,
but I'm still not able to drill holes and do it proper with an outdoor
antenna. This has to be a temporary install.

I've spent several hours trying to figure out what my best candidate
is, and I've narrowed it down to these 6 (in no specific order):

1. Terk HDTVi and HDTVa

2. Winegard Sharp Shooter SS-3000

3. Radio Shack 15-1862

4. Petra/Cornet

5. Terk TV-3

6. Channel Master CM-4030

The big problem is that I would like to pull in KWKB on UHF, but unfortunately
it's on the other side of the state from all the main broadcasters. Does this mean an omni is the way to go? The best would be a directional VHF with an omni UHF amplified indoor, do they even make those?

Thanks for looking, I'm attaching the TVFool map of my location again for reference.

~jay

You could also purchase a standalone pre-amp. The advantage to that is you're more flexible should you want to change antennas later.

How close are you to the antennas? Are they all in one direction?

is there absolutely no indoor solution to 1edge and 2edge stations? There's a rash of signals being blocked by the hills around here.

none of my channels are yellow, all red and blue. TVfools has all mmy stations in 1edge 2edge and tropo, I have an indoor RCA ANT111 and I get WZMY, and WHDH (+THIS sub ch) in fine.

Nothing else.

Maybe I should try one of these hideous things

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2103088

i was gonna use it indoors, but probably wouldnt do any better.

In the antenna height option on TV fool i put it at 25 feet and a few channels were LOS. The rest were 1edge.

So I think my elevation really has something to do with it.

Well, the RS 1892 didn't cut it for channel 7. Turning the amp on
made the signal quality worse. The dipoles just don't pull in channel
7 at all, or it's too flaky. I spent about 2 hours tweaking it changing the
height, position and length of the dipoles (rabbit ears) with poor results.
It also stinks that the saucer blocks a good deal of rotation on the rabbit
ears.

All the UHF stations come in great without the amp on, so I'm thinking
I might return it. The sound of the UHF antenna moving sounds cheap
like it might break over extended use, and the direction indicator doesn't
tell you which way it is pointing, only the number. I'm also thinking there
is signal loss through that TV/AUX switch, and on how the rotator is connected since if you watch analog stations, there is breakup as the
antennna rotates.

As far as VHF, are there more directional arrays for indoor?

It looks like I will have to order one online, since nobody seems to carry the Terk or Petra/Cornet around here.

At VHF wavelengths, the only practical indoor antenna is a rabbit ears or other type of dipole. More powerful directional VHF antennas, like an LPDA, are just too large for practical indoor use.

People have reported a 4-bay bow-tie with a large (36"x40") reflector shows modest gain on VHF-HI. I'd consider that a reasonable compromise - large, but not too large, and a fair amount of gain, but limited to VHF-HI.

Hey, thanks everyone for putting up with me here. I'm kinda
crazy when it comes to finding solutions.

I think I'll return the UFO, since the UHF portion of it is overkill for me.

I've ordered the Cornet to see if that is any better as far as VHF is concerned. If not, I might just resort to a homebrew setup with a good UHF indoor and then custom cut a VHF specifically tuned to channel 7.

Things might change here too because channel 7 (KWWL NBC) is getting a new
transmitter in May (hopefully) and they will also be increasing power in June. And, in June we will be seeing the ABC affiliate drop from channel 55 back to VHF 9, so VHF will be important around here.

Just so you know, I do have two large UHF and VHF antennas in my attic right now fed into a combiner and preamp with a coaxial run to the basement and my primary TV, and it works great!

This indoor antenna is for the guest room, and with this old house and all the insulation and 100 years of dust in the walls, I really don't want to take on a project like snaking coax through the walls, especially when we will be moving soon.

Oh, and I did look at the Winegard SS-3000, but I haven't been able
to find any data regarding VHF-HI performance over a dipole. I'm guessing
it isn't much better.



Anyway, thanks for listening and you suggestions, I'll let you know how things work.

~j

I was on a similar quest a few months ago and came to realize that rabbit ears are pretty much it for indoor VHF reception. However, if you're a do-it-yourself kind of guy, you might check out the following thread. It didn't help me much since I'm not one for building my own stuff, but it's there if you're interested.

How to build an indoor VHF antenna

When I was comparing various antennas, I found the Terk HDTVa to be superior to most others I've tried. The VHF dipoles are thicker and longer than most other antennas. However, the UHF reception is a little too directional for most people's taste.


The following page at HDTV Primer is a great resource for comparing various antennas including the Sharp Shooter.

Comparing some commercially available antennas

The Sharp Shooter was one of the many antennas I've tried, and I wasn't particularly impressed with it. In my opinion, it doesn't perform any better than many other antennas that cost less than half as much.

Hi,

I pretty new to the world of HD TV and have some very basic questions on how accomplish my next goal, which is to get as many Los Angeles-area OTA HD feeds as possible. I am currently a Dish Network subscriber and have two VIP612 receivers/DVR's.

I subscribed to the Dish "local" HD package, but discovered that meant only 4 HD feeds from the Los Angeles "big four" networks: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. I didn't even realize what I was missing until I noticed that all the LA Lakers games that are broadcast over KCAL, Channel 9 here are in standard definition, and I KNOW KCAL broacasts them in HD. Also no HD programming from the local PBS outlets. So I'm going to try to add an antenna and get these (and probably a lot more) channels in HD. According to Dish I won't be able to cancel their local channels and still run the antenna into the VIP612 for integration into the program guide and DVR functions, but I guess that's another thing I can't do anything about. I'll actually be happy enough if I can get the Lakers and the PBS stations in HD...that's not too much to ask right?

With the research I've done so far, I think I might be able to pull this off with an indoor antenna, but would be willing to go to an outdoor if that doesn't work out. I think I'm going to be in a good geographical situation since I live at the top of a hill (750 ft elevation) just east of downtown. From the roof of my house I have a clear line-of-sight view of all the broadcast antennae on Mt. Wilson--probably about 15-20 miles (?) as the crow flies.

I'm planning on ordering a Winegard SS-3000 because I kind of like the looks and it seems to get stellar reviews just about everywhere I Google it.

The questions I have before I go forward and order this are:

1. Am I on the right general path as far as what I'm trying to accomplish? Or am I missing something important, either about Dish or this antenna?

2. Are there any real strong recommendations about a better antenna to go with for a first try?

3. The little "user manual" for the SS-3000 is available here:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon..../251232910.pdf

The illustration of the components for the SS-3000 indicate that there are 2-ft. and 6-ft. coax cables included in the set. I doubt that I'll be able to get the antenna situated within a 2-ft. cable run of the VIP612 and may need to run an extension cord on the cable/plug for the amplifier unit. Is there any problem with purchasing the proper kind of cable and/or adding an extension cord to what they send you.

I hope I'm not over-complicating what should be a simple task! Any advice/suggestions welcomed.

TIA.

Thanks, Rick.

I did see those gain charts, but notice the Sharp Shooter isn't
on the VHF charts, only on some of the UHF charts, and the one
I was interested in that had the SS on it, he didn't plot a dipole.

Thanks for the link to the VHF DIY antenna, I just might do that
since it's only 1 VHF channel I need.

~j

That SS-3000 is an amplified antenna if it is the same as the one pictured on page 1 of this thread. You probably do not need amplification for the Mount Wilson channels and an amp may hurt reception instead of help it. I'd try something without an amp first. If you can place an antenna where it can see the broadcast towers without obstruction, which is true line of sight, you should be in great shape. The budget VHF/UHF combo from Radio Shack might work for you and you could return it if it fails to do so. Check out the TVFool site to see just how many channels you can try for at your location and the Los Angeles OTA thread here for insider advice. Good Luck.

Nicoge21,

I would recommend that you try an amplified directional indoor antenna such as a Terk HDTVa that would filter out some of the multi-paths that you are probably experiencing. From your tvfools printout, you are getting ample signal for your area but the 2-edge reception just mean that your signal is being received after being diffracted twice.

Again, the tvfool printout shows most of your channels are either in the green or yellow. So the culprit is probably the basic antenna that you are using. So a amplified antenna should help with the reception. As you have mentioned, Lawrence is a somewhat hilly in some areas and if you happen to be surrounded by hills due to being in a valley, I suspect that you are contending with multi-path issues as well.

Someone specifically mentions here that the Terk HDTVa was unable to receive the station I am having problems with:

http://www.hdtvantennalabs.com/revie...a-reviews.html

Best buy has a SMART antenna now

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218067406680

If you have a smart antenna jack, try it!

I'm skeptical whether the Apex SM550 is even a true Smart Antenna.....
It only has one set of rabbit ears and a (too small) UHF loop around the clock,
so where are the multiple antennas?????

From Best Buy's description, I would conclude it's a typical amplified antenna
that can plug into the CEA-909 Smart Antenna I/F...but ONLY to pick up DC power....
although perhaps they're adjusting the amplifier gain????

BIG tip-off is the price is the same as a generic amplified rabbit ears
(so nothing left in the budget for a Smart Antenna electronics module).

PS: Here's SM-550 on the Apex website:
http://www.shop-apex.shoppingcartspl...87/6860063.htm

That's what she said.

Any idea how the indoor or the outdoor Monoprice antennas work? I live in CT and my cable signal is terrible, was going to give one of these a shot since they are quite affordable and I was going to order some cables from them anyways. When I tried to scan with my Panasonic TH58PZ800U it came back with 0 channels, I was looking at the outdoor style. Thanks for the help!