[marshman442]

I will be dropping my Verizon service and will be using an OTA antenna for 3 TV's in my house. I have a Plasma & LCD's.


Can someone in the Baltimore / Annapolis area make some recommendations for an HDTV antenna for reaching both Baltimore and Washington stations from zip code 21108?


- What type of reception quality should I expect for this area? Is there going to be a big difference in the picture quality from cable service vs . OTA reception?


I live in a wooded area and can mount the antenna approx 15' above the ground. I have aluminum siding on the house so an attic mount is probably not a good idea.


also any input on a rotor set-up vs. two antenna(s) would be helpful Also, Is there any other equipment I will need? Splitters / boosters / etc?


Please help.


Thanks.

 

[Ken H]

Topic moved.

 

[jtbell]

To help people here help you:


1. Go to tvfool.com .


2. Click "See Which TV Stations You Can Get on a Map", then "Start MAPS".


3. Enter your address, or your exact latitude and longitude if you know them, and click the "Map this" button. You'll get a map showing your supposed location, and a list of stations.


4. If necessary, adjust your location by dragging the marker around on the map.


5. Underneath the map, enter the height of your antenna (current or planned).


6. Above the map, click the "Make Radar Plot" button. You'll get a table of detailed information about the signal levels at your location. You'll also get a Web address that links to that page. Paste the address here so people can advise you intelligently. (Note that the table does not display your exact location.)

 

[arxaw]



Quote:
Originally Posted by marshman442 /forum/post/18231531


... What type of reception quality should I expect for this area? Is there going to be a big difference in the picture quality from cable service vs . OTA reception?

Welcome to the forum!


Of the DTV channels you are able to successfully receive, OTA antenna picture quality will nearly always equal and often surpass that of a pay tv provider.

Quote:
I live in a wooded area and can mount the antenna approx 15' above the ground. I have aluminum siding on the house so an attic mount is probably not a good idea.

Exactly. Metal siding or foil-backed wall or attic insulation and metal roofs are signal killers. In all likelihood, an outdoor antenna will be necessary. Try to keep the antenna at least 4 ft away from any metal siding or roofs.


Follow jtbell's instructions and post a link to the TVFool results back here, for more specific antenna suggestions.


(note: For spam reasons, you may have to make a minimum of 5 posts before you can post a link in this forum)

 

[k_ross]

Hmm, just going by the ZIP code, it looks like the two cities are about 90 degrees apart. I wonder if the two antenna trick would work. Example 1 on that page uses Baltimore and Washington, D.C. as the example cities.