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OTA | Douglassville, PA | What Antenna?

post #1 of 8
1/22/11 at 4:46pm
Thread Starter 
First, thanks for any help you can offer. I'm an admitted novice when it comes to OTA. My wife and I are looking to pick up an antenna for some of the local channels.

I'd like to mount it on the roof which is approximately 35 ft above the ground; there are several trees across the street which are about equally as tall but beyond that its relatively flat terrain. I'd like to get one that is adequate to pick up all these channels; but obviously don't want to go overkill either.

I've attached my tvfool report for your viewing pleasure.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...3cf4b7bd9dc7ea

Suggestions?
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post #2 of 8
1/22/11 at 7:10pm
To get Philadelphia stations from Douglassville you're likely need a large UHF/VHF-Hi/VHF-Lo antenna (or multiple antennas covering all three bands), no rotator. Put it on the roof, point it towards Roxborough, and barring local terrain obstacles, you're golden.

If you'd rather have Allentown, that's probably doable too. If you want them both it's a pain involving either a rotator or multiple antennas. Pointed towards Philadelphia you can probably pick up WTVE-Reading from the back of most antennas; I don't know about any of the other stations west and north.

Oh, yeah, and overkill on the antenna is unlikely to hurt, except for a few dollars of one-time cost.
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post #3 of 8
1/23/11 at 5:51am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for your input. Based on what you are saying and of course if I'm interpreting my results correctly then I'd need an antenna that could pick up 470-700mhz (appears to be the upper for channel 50); for Channel 6 out of Philadelphia I would need something that could pick up 54 -88?

The 3 of the remaining 4 channels in VHF Hi are in different directions so I wouldn't be upset if I lost out a single channel.

Do you have any suggestions on a single antenna, or a combination for this setup? From my little bit of research it seems that most UHF/VHF combo antennas are either:

1) Short range if they cover the entire spectrum
2) Only cover 174-216 & 470-700

I haven't seen a single antenna that fits my needs. Thanks again.
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post #4 of 8
1/23/11 at 6:24am
This antenna should get your channels of interest at 138° compass direction:
http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=CM-3016

If you have a long coax run or plan to split to multiple TVs, this low noise preamp will help overcome coax and splitter losses:
http://www.amazon.com/Channel-Master...OG8/ref=sr_1_1
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post #5 of 8
1/23/11 at 8:19am
Thread Starter 
The effective range is 30 miles for UHF -- I'm about 32 miles from the source -- doesn't that mean I would probably get poor(er) reception?
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post #6 of 8
1/23/11 at 8:42am
The minimum antenna I would personally go with would be a Winegard 7082, although I would probably go 1 step up to the 7084 to help ensure signal reliability in adverse weather conditions.
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post #7 of 8
1/23/11 at 9:15am
Ignore mileage ratings on antennas. I'm using a rabbit ear/loop antenna to reliably receive stations 71 miles away. Would it work for you - probably not.

I'm pretty sure the antenna I suggested would work, based on past experience and your TVFool report, but if you want more "insurance" get the next bigger size, or one that DR posted.
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post #8 of 8
1/23/11 at 11:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Digital Rules View Post

The minimum antenna I would personally go with would be a Winegard 7082,

I agree.
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