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San Bernardino CA, new to antenna recomendations

post #1 of 7
1/8/13 at 9:26am
Thread Starter 
I have been lurking here for several days reading everything related to antennas and am lost.
Last year I took down a very large Winegard antenna, (16+ ft boom), that has been on the roof on a 40ft pole for the past 25 years. I removed the pole and guy wires. I never thought of first testing its reception for digital.
Now I want to put up a new antenna for the OTA HD to supplement or replace my paid dish. I am hoping to get away with a much smaller antenna design and lower mounting maybe a chimney mount. I have been looking at the DB8 style but see that the VHF is poor , I'm not sure though if I need VHF. The TV Fool report shows 47 miles to Mt Wilson but I don't know if it considers that it is a direct shot from my house. I can see directly to My Wilson standing in my back yard. I am open for all suggestions and advice.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3dc84facfd340ec3
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post #2 of 7
1/8/13 at 1:13pm
Based on your tvfool report, it doesn't look like you have a line of sight to Mt Wilson. If you did, it would show LOS in the path column, unless you are not using your exact address for the report. I suspect what you are seeing is Mt Baldy?

channels 7,9,11&13 are VHF. VHF channels are 2-13 in the real channel column on your tvfool report. 7-13 are high VHF. Little worth watching on low VHF 2-6.

many like the winegard 7698 antenna

http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=hd7698p&d=winegard-hd-7698p-high-definition-vhf%2Fuhf-hd769-series-tv-antenna-(hd7698p)

I use a channel master 4228HD to pick up some of the san diego stations, although the antenna above probably picks up the VHF stations better.
http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=4228-HD&d=Channel-Master-4228HD-8bay-HDTV-VHFUHF-TV-Antenna-(4228HD)&c=TV Antennas&sku=

If your old antenna previously picked up the analog stations without much snow, it would likely pick up the digital signals now. Your old one was probably a lot wider for the low VHF channels, but channels 2,4 & 5 from mt wilson don't broadcast their digital signals on VHF.

If you plan to intall the antenna yourself, you can use a telescoping pole to experiment with different heights.

Others on this site have more expertize on antenna selection than I do & can offer their recommendations.
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post #3 of 7
1/8/13 at 10:46pm
Thread Starter 
I am definately seeing Mt Wilson not Baldy, cant say I am seeing the spot where the transmitters are sitting.. Laying out the path on Google earth indicates that the transmitters are about 5600 - 5700 ft my house is at 1070 ft. It may be the hills north of Clairemont at 3000ft are in the way.

You said little worth watching on low VHF 2-6, isn't ch 2 (CBS) & 4 (NBC) there, both carry local news? Are they broadcast (digital) on another frequency?

The Winegard 7698 antenna. is a big (long) antenna like what I took down, I am trying to avoid putting another monster on the roof.

The Channel Master 4228HD, isn't that a UHF only, or will it get some VHF?

You are picking up San Diego from Irvine, somewhat across the water, 70 mi OK? Do the hills block your signals from Mt Wilson?
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post #4 of 7
1/9/13 at 1:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by OTA-newbe View Post

.
You said little worth watching on low VHF 2-6, isn't ch 2 (CBS) & 4 (NBC) there, both carry local news? Are they broadcast (digital) on another frequency?

If you look at your TVFool report, you'll see the first two columns next to the station call letters have headers "real" and "virtual". Real is the actual RF used by the station, so for instance KCBS is 43 RF and 2.1 virtual.
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post #5 of 7
1/9/13 at 1:42pm
Thread Starter 
OK, that makes more sense. So all I need to worry about is the high VHF, KABC (7), KTTV (11), and KCOP (13).

Channel Master claims the 4228HD will pick up high VHF, does anyone have actual experience with a recently produced model ?
I understand the old 4228 worked pretty good.
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post #6 of 7
1/9/13 at 11:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by OTA-newbe View Post

You are picking up San Diego from Irvine, somewhat across the water, 70 mi OK? Do the hills block your signals from Mt Wilson?
Channel 8 & 10 from San Diego are mostly over the water & the reception is intermittent. Fox 69 & KPBS are the only two SD stations that are consistently strong for me. All the Mt Wilson stations are easy for me. As you can see from my TVfool chart, they are all LOS & in Green. If the trees weren't in the way, I'd be able to see the towers on a clear day with a pair of binoculars.
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3dc84f6577bbda81
Edited by oc-rdx - 1/9/13 at 11:15pm
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post #7 of 7
1/10/13 at 9:40am
Thread Starter 
Ok, the TV Fool charts are now making more sense, it doesn't look too promising for me.
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