I'm looking for an HD OTA antenna. I'm 29 miles from the furthest tower and 10 miles from the closest. Unfortunately, they are all in different directions. I would like to find an indoor unit but realize that may not be possible, so I'm open to an outdoor unit. I read several reviews of the Terk HD TVS, and like almost every other antenna, some are good and some are bad. It makes it very difficult to get a line on the best one. Because of the location of the towers in my area, I would like to get a multi directional unit. Any ideas? Thanks for the help.
HD OTA Antennas
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Have you tried using a cheap rabbit-ears antenna? I'm 25 miles from my towers, and rabbit-ears work like a charm.
As always, providing your zip code would be a good start. Second, there is no such thing as an "HD" antenna. All digital TV broadcasts are on VHF channels 2 to 13, UHF 14 to 69, same as analog TV. By providing your zip code, we can look up your local digital stations and see whether they are all UHF or are some on VHF.
Plugging your zip code into antennaweb.org and entering an antenna height of 150' (under the options link) to get a more complete list of digital stations you might be able to get:
* yellow - vhf WOOD-DT 8.1 NBC GRAND RAPIDS MI 209° 10.8 7
* yellow - uhf WXMI-DT 17.1 FOX GRAND RAPIDS MI 215° 11.3 19
* yellow - uhf WLLA-DT 45 REL KALAMAZOO MI TBD 191° 18.4 45
* yellow - uhf WZPX-DT 43.1 i BATTLE CREEK MI 125° 20.8 44
* yellow - vhf WWMT-DT 3.1 CBS KALAMAZOO MI 208° 14.9 2
* yellow - uhf WOTV-DT 41.1 ABC BATTLE CREEK MI 192° 18.0 20
* yellow - uhf WTLJ-DT 54.1 IND MUSKEGON MI 295° 25.8 24
* yellow - vhf WGVU-DT 35.1 PBS GRAND RAPIDS MI 296° 25.6 11
* green - uhf WZZM-DT 13.1 ABC GRAND RAPIDS MI 328° 41.4 39
* green - vhf WGVK-DT 5.1 PBS KALAMAZO MI 203° 38.1 5
* blue - uhf WLAJ-DT 53.1 ABC LANSING MI 126° 53.7 51
* blue - uhf WLNS-DT 6.1 CBS LANSING MI 105° 53.9 59
* violet - uhf WILX-DT 10.1 NBC ONONDAGA MI 126° 50.8 57
* violet - uhf WKAR-DT 23.1 PBS EAST LANSING MI 104° 51.9 55
You are right that you need a VHF and UHF antenna. You have a digital station, WWMT-DT CBS 3 at VHF 2, other VHF stations and UHF stations scattered around in azimuth. The issue is whether you want to try to get the more distant network stations when you have another one closer in. For the stations at 30+ miles, you will need to get an rooftop or attic mounted VHF and UHF antenna. Look at a medium range Winegard or Channel Master conventional VHF/UHF antenna combined with a rotator. Check the Winegard and Channel Master websites for starting info. Another useful website for antenna basics is http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html .
Plugging your zip code into antennaweb.org and entering an antenna height of 150' (under the options link) to get a more complete list of digital stations you might be able to get:
* yellow - vhf WOOD-DT 8.1 NBC GRAND RAPIDS MI 209° 10.8 7
* yellow - uhf WXMI-DT 17.1 FOX GRAND RAPIDS MI 215° 11.3 19
* yellow - uhf WLLA-DT 45 REL KALAMAZOO MI TBD 191° 18.4 45
* yellow - uhf WZPX-DT 43.1 i BATTLE CREEK MI 125° 20.8 44
* yellow - vhf WWMT-DT 3.1 CBS KALAMAZOO MI 208° 14.9 2
* yellow - uhf WOTV-DT 41.1 ABC BATTLE CREEK MI 192° 18.0 20
* yellow - uhf WTLJ-DT 54.1 IND MUSKEGON MI 295° 25.8 24
* yellow - vhf WGVU-DT 35.1 PBS GRAND RAPIDS MI 296° 25.6 11
* green - uhf WZZM-DT 13.1 ABC GRAND RAPIDS MI 328° 41.4 39
* green - vhf WGVK-DT 5.1 PBS KALAMAZO MI 203° 38.1 5
* blue - uhf WLAJ-DT 53.1 ABC LANSING MI 126° 53.7 51
* blue - uhf WLNS-DT 6.1 CBS LANSING MI 105° 53.9 59
* violet - uhf WILX-DT 10.1 NBC ONONDAGA MI 126° 50.8 57
* violet - uhf WKAR-DT 23.1 PBS EAST LANSING MI 104° 51.9 55
You are right that you need a VHF and UHF antenna. You have a digital station, WWMT-DT CBS 3 at VHF 2, other VHF stations and UHF stations scattered around in azimuth. The issue is whether you want to try to get the more distant network stations when you have another one closer in. For the stations at 30+ miles, you will need to get an rooftop or attic mounted VHF and UHF antenna. Look at a medium range Winegard or Channel Master conventional VHF/UHF antenna combined with a rotator. Check the Winegard and Channel Master websites for starting info. Another useful website for antenna basics is http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html .
Thanks for the help. I'm just want to receive the major networks. There are two ABC affiliates. One is out of Battle Creek (40 miles from my house) but the antenna is only 18 miles away. So even though the other ABC affiliate is in Grand Rapids (9 miles from home), the tower is 39 miles away. I'll check out your recommendations. Thanks for the help.
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