[rakosnik]

I want to get an OTA antenna and install it. I live near Athens, Georgia which is part of the Atlanta TV market.


Should I have the antenna installed professionally or is this something that is so easy I should do it myself?


If I should have it done professionally how do I go about finding an installer in my area?


What kind of antenna should I get?

 

[nycdigital09]



Quote:
Originally Posted by rakosnik /forum/post/20891619


I want to get an OTA antenna and install it. I live near Athens, Georgia which is part of the Atlanta TV market.


Should I have the antenna installed professionally or is this something that is so easy I should do it myself?


If I should have it done professionally how do I go about finding an installer in my area?


What kind of antenna should I get?

it depends, yes maybe, first thing is do you know for sure if a signal is attainable from you home ? how far are you from tv towers? goto tvfool.com enter your address and it give you a read out of your location, then post it here again, from there we can get a idea what antenna you need.

 

[Steve_Weggus]

There is probably no reason that you can't do it yourself. I think that the first thing that you need to do is go to TVFool.com and put in your address. Then look at the radar plot and decide what stations are must haves and what are 'would be nice to have'. If you want every thing that is available, then you will want a rotator. On the other hand, for you most of the major broadcasters are all in the appx 270 degree (due west) direction. ABC and PBS have good signals (Noise Margin NM is above 20). Getting Fox, CBS and NBC is definiteley doable put your equipment will need to need of higher quality - for these you will be at a 45 mile distance and that is not easy to get dependable (few drops) reception. Don't be surprised if you need a good preamp (minmum $60 to $80 to more $) plus antenna etc.

 

[rakosnik]

 http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...9e740b08d372ea

Must Have Channels

ABC (WSB)

CBS (WGCL)

FOX (WAGA)

PBS (WGTV)

NBC (WXIA)

CW (WUPA)

Peachtree TV (WPCH-TV)

MyTV (WATL) – owned by 11 Alive

Nice to Have

PBS (WNGE – which is really WUGA)


Are there any other major channels in my area that I'm over looking?


Again if I am going to have an antenna professional installed, how do I go about finding an installer in my area?

 

[mikepier]



Quote:
Originally Posted by rakosnik /forum/post/20895853

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...9e740b08d372ea

Must Have Channels

ABC (WSB)

CBS (WGCL)

FOX (WAGA)

PBS (WGTV)

NBC (WXIA)

CW (WUPA)

Peachtree TV (WPCH-TV)

MyTV (WATL) - owned by 11 Alive

Nice to Have

PBS (WNGE - which is really WUGA)


Are there any other major channels in my area that I'm over looking?


Again if I am going to have an antenna professional installed, how do I go about finding an installer in my area?

Good news is most of your stations are in the same general direction, to the west (ABC is a liitle more NW, but perhaps you can split the difference).


Bad news is, you have very low signal strenth where you are. You are going to need a nice size VHf/UHF antenna, and definately an amplifier. The higher you mount the antenna, the better.

Even if you get all that, reception is not guaranteed. Perhaps you can get you equipment from Radio Shack and try it out. If it does not work, you could always return it.

 

[rakosnik]

This is starting to sound complicated enough that I'd feel more comfortable if I had it professionally installed. Does anyone have any recommendation for how I can find someone to professional install an OTA antenna and any other necessary equipment?

 

[Steve_Weggus]

For an installer:

#1) Call your nearby Radio Shack. Our Radio Shack had been offering a OTA Antenna install for like $400.

#2) Call a few satellite installers. This may be hit and miss . I would recommend that you talk the whole installation and process over with them. I am trying to warn you to be an intelligent consumer.

 

[mikepier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rakosnik This is starting to sound complicated enough that I'd feel more comfortable if I had it professionally installed. Does anyone have any recommendation for how I can find someone to professional install an OTA antenna and any other necessary equipment?

The problem is that even if you paid a qualified installer, the antenna might not pick up all the channels you want.


If you can somehow rig up the antenna temporarily to see how reception is, then you can decide if its worth it to hire someone to install an antenna.