[kouch]

I live very near Cleveland Ohio and I get the following from Antennaweb:


* yellow WKYC-DT 2 NBC Cleveland OH Now Live 108°

* yellow WOIO-DT 10 CBS Shaker Heights OH Now Live 108°

* yellow WEWS-DT 15 ABC Cleveland OH Now Live 114°

* yellow WVIZ-DT 26 PBS Cleveland OH May 1 2003 128°

* yellow WUAB-DT 28 UPN Lorain OH Now Live 112°

* yellow WBNX-DT 30 WB Akron OH Awaiting FCC Permit 109°

* yellow WJW-DT 31 FOX Cleveland OH Now Live 117°

* yellow WQHS-DT 34 UNI Cleveland OH Under Review 110°

* yellow WDLI-DT 39 TBN Canton OH Jan 1 2003 154°

* yellow WEAO-DT 50 PBS Akron OH May 1 2003 155°

* yellow WVPX-DT 59 PAX Akron OH Under Review 152°



I figure I need a good multidirectional, vhf-uhf antenna? I dont want to go through the hassle of an outdoor one, can you guys suggest a good indoor solution that will get me all of these stations?


Thank You in Advance

 

[magic123]

I do not get involved in indoor antennas. But check out Channel Master and Winegard..in a search..will give you lots of information. They both have a variety of antennas.

 

[dynamohum1]

The Zenith silver sensor that can be had at Circuit City and elsewhere is considered to be a worthy indoor antenna.

 

[wward]

Ditto on the Zenith Silver Sensor I use mine with a Radio Shack high gain amp Catalog Number: 15-1109 I have great results with it. I have heard of people mounting antennas in their attics I can not mount one there so this setup has worked best for me.

 

[DonBerg]

Those two VHF channels 2,10 are going to be hard to pickup with the good UHF antennas (especially channel 2). The good combo VHF/UHF antennas are outdoor models and the indoor combo models usually only have a weak loop for UHF which is terrible. You might need to use 2 antennas to get all the channels.

 

[wward]

Donberg


You're right I have no issues from channels 10 and up. For the other VHF channels I have a Terk TV42 attached to my sat dish for channles 2-9 attached to my second antenna input.

 

[kouch]

Ok then what are my options for the best vhf/uhf reception since I read that many more channels are going to go to vhf now.


I am looking for an antenna that is either indoor, or if outdoor, hooks ont my dish-networks dish.


Thnak You for you help.

 

[DonBerg]

Untrue, no more are going VHF, most digitals are on UHF.

 

[greywolf]

Quote:

Originally posted by DonBerg Untrue, no more are going VHF, most digitals are on UHF.

Many may revert though after the analog channels are gone.

 

[dynamohum1]

If they were UHF to begin with then they will stay UHF, they only have the option to "revert" if they were a VHF analog station to begin with, is that correct? Also I seem to recall reading about a possible elimination of the channels below 7, anyone else read that?

 

[greywolf]

Quote:

Originally posted by dynamohum1 If they were UHF to begin with then they will stay UHF, they only have the option to "revert" if they were a VHF analog station to begin with, is that correct? Also I seem to recall reading about a possible elimination of the channels below 7, anyone else read that?

Right. Here that would include CBS, NBC, ABC, WB-WGN, and PBS. I remember reading about using only 7-51 for OTA but don't remember if it was a recommendation or wishful thinking or what. I don't think it is a done deal.

 

[jsalemi]

According to the FCC's DTV web site:


"As part of the DTV transition, each existing television licensee received a paired digital channel for digital transmission, in addition to its analog channel, used for regular television service. After the transition, broadcasters will have to surrender the analog channel to the FCC for auction."


It looks like the current intent is for the station to stay on whatever frequency they currently broadcast DTV, and not move back to their original frequency when analog goes away.

 

[UncD2000]

Kouch, if you are pretty close to the Ch. 2 & Ch. 10 transmitters, you might be able to receive them with a rabbit ears. Extend elements to the max and try up near the ceiling. If this succeeds you can couple the RE to a good UHF model like the Silver Sensor with a 75-Ohm VHF/UHF joiner.

 

[Nitewatchman]

Quote:

Originally posted by jsalemi According to the FCC's DTV web site: It looks like the current intent is for the station to stay on whatever frequency they currently broadcast DTV, and not move back to their original frequency when analog goes away.

No. Broadcasters get to choose whether to use their current analog or digital allocation after the analog shutoff occurs. It's reasonable to expect those with VHF allocations will use them for various reasons. See the info I've posted on this matter in my posts at the following thread, including detailed info from FCC:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=198094

 

[jsalemi]

Thanks, Jeff -- that certainly is more detailed than the simplified info I found. Though you would think they'd try to be consistent what they say.


No wait, this IS the government we're talking about here...

 

[Nitewatchman]

Joe,


Yeah .. it's almost like contemplating a stratergy to figure out what the meaning of "is" is ... ;-)


Sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

[AntAltMike]

Quote:

Originally posted by greywolf I remember reading about using only 7-51 for OTA but don't remember if it was a recommendation or wishful thinking or what. I don't think it is a done deal.

I'm one of the principal rumor-mongerers on that subject. I predict that 2-6 will ultimately be taken out of DTV use, but I want to make very clear that my only basis for that opinion is that lowband has too much electrical noise to be suitable for DTV, and the present commitment to using it during the transition is minuscule. I have seen nothing in print from the FCC saying that abandoning 2-6 is even being formally considered, but there is obviously going to be more than enough bandwidth available for the handful of stations with transition allocations in the lowband to move into the 7-51 core when the "second" licenses are returned, and I will be very surprised if 7-51 does not become the entire TV band.


Earlier today, I quickly scanned the original, Proposed Transition Allocation chart and counted 23 lowband allocations (not counting two for the Virgin Islands), and then I compared that list to the current 100,000Kw listings, but only six of those 23 had either been built or were under construction, and nearly all of the rest had been changed to a higher channel. Nevertheless, Kouch should keep his thinking and spending to a minimum. He probably doesn't need an amplifier. If he has an attic, he could put a 4-bay bowtie up there, along with a home-made channel 2 dipole (basically, a couple of four and a half foot pieces of wire attached to the leads of a 75 ohm to 300 ohm matching balun). He could combine that with his UHF antenna using either an HLSJ or a UVSJ. Many people have found that UHF bowties can furnish a serviceable VHF highband (7-13) signal, so he may get the channel 10 off that one, or he may get it off the home-made dipole. Only if that fails should he explore plans "B". "C", etc.

 

[Nitewatchman]

I suspect the main reason there aren't more low-band VHF DTV allocations at present is because in any given area, those frequencies are used by analog stations, and/or are more susceptable to CCI(increased noise) from analog stations operating on the same frequency 75-150 miles or so distant. I think this is basically the same reason why there are "relatively few" VHF hi-band DTV allocations when compared to the same number of UHF channels. Once the analogs are gone, this will change. Perhaps not on VHF-lo band, we will see.


For example, the only nearby area near my location that is truly "free" of VHF-lo band NTSC signals on Channel 4 is Central KY. Well, guess what, there is now a DTV station Operating on Channel 4 in that area, albeit with an extremely tight directional antenna pattern, and at low power. Currently, this station probably only serves it's community of license(Danville, KY), and others in the direction their antenna is aimed.


Yes, VHF lo band is more susceptable to interference from electrical noise and other forms of interference than higher frequencies are, but there are folks getting excellent reception of VHF lo band DTV stations presently, except perhaps when severe electrical storms are moving in or near the signal path. Yes, (especially if the signal from the DTV station is weak, the stronger the signal from the station, the better), impulse noise can and does create dropout problems which wouldn't be a factor for analog, but in general, this has been an issue for analog TV as well, and yet we've had plenty of analog TV stations broadcasting on channels 2-6 for over 50 years.


Concerning WOIO-DT 10 and WKYC-DT 2 in Cleveland, From my understanding WOIO-DT reception has been a problem for some in Cleveland area, which may be due to the fact they are running 3.5 KW ERP, which isn't a lot, even for VHF. Depending upon Kouch's distance from towers, I'm guessing it might be a good idea to use something other than a antenna designed for UHF for these stations, perhaps something that will provide more gain than a simple dipole. Certianly no harm in trying it out though. It might also be a good idea to look at some of the info from past Cleveland threads concerning this matter.


Concerning the removal of 2-6 from the TV bands after analog shut off, we really won't know until it occurs, or a decision is made to make 7-51 the core channels. The latter of which seems somewhat doubtful to me, since there has already been a decision made to include 2-6, after much consideration by the parties involved. That being said, it certianly could happen, I wouldn't place any bets on it at this point.


Personally, I plan on sticking with a VHF/UHF antenna, (which I use NOW for analog VHF on 2-13, a local digital on 10 and for FM reception), until such time there are no more analog or DTV signals on 2-6, if that is what indeed happens. I don't think it will happen, and I'll still want an outdoor VHF antenna for FM, but, you never know I suppose.

 

[gassdoc]

I have read & learned more than I ever thought about antenna and still am confused, please help!

I live in Vero Beach, FL and want to get OTA digital stations from Orlando. One is Channel 11, all the others are UHF. I have a 2 story tower and am about 50? miles from Orlando. Should I get a UHF or a VHF/UHF antenna. If a UHF,should I get a Yagi or 8 bowtie? If UHF/VHF should I go with a medium directional or large multidirectional? It seems a directional will give me better signal strength, but I could pick up West Palm stations with a multi directional.


P.S. I don't mind putting up a rotor...it may not be a bad idea witha ll the wind on the beach here.

 

[dynamohum1]

I would get a high end (Televes, Blake or Triax) UHF only antenna, and then on the same mast I would mount a VHF High band only antenna, the reasoning behind this is size, the low band 2-6 vhf channels require a big long antenna, the hi band vhf 7-13 channels can be recieved with an antenna that is lighter shorter and less wide, with the higher UHF channels you would benefit from the better antenna that will outperform the UHF section of the best combo type rigs.