Antenna Advice for 43326 Please

[N8tron]

Could someone please make some recommendations for antennas for my location.

N. Leighton St.
Kenton, OH 43326

I have 2 HDTV televisions
I live in a single story house with some trees and duplexes nearby
Nothing structure wise above 4 stories around (except possibly trees)

Here is a link to the GeoSelector site: http://www.hdtvantennalabs.com/location/OH/Kenton/?add1=n+leighton+st


If at all possible I would like to have a small antenna, I really do not want a huge pole and roof mounts/cables etc. I will probably use the existing Dish network brackets for mounting outside. It looks like I will need a UHF and VHF antenna, with a span of 70 miles?

Is there a multi-directional antenna capable of what I need so I do not have to get a rotator etc.? I would like to get the stations to the west and south east (Columbus)

Will I be need any amplifiers or boosters etc.?

Anything else I should know?

Thank you

[tigerbangs]

You have Lima, Columbus and Toledo available to you, but most of the stations are 60 miles from your location, and are going to require a deep-fringe antenna mounted on your roof, a preamplifier and a rotator to get everything that you are looking for: there are no small alternatives for you, unfortunately. You will need a large roof-mounted VHF high-band plus UHF antenna to see everything. If you can content yourself with just the Columbus stations, then you can go with a deep-fringe antenna like an AntennasDirect XG-91 aimed at Columbus, since all the Columbus stations are on UHF. If oyu want to see Lima and Toledo, then you'll need an antenna like a Winegard HD-7698P or an AntennaCraft HBU-55, a preamplifier like a Winegard HDP-269 and a rotator like a Channel master 9521a.

[N8tron]

Wow, lucky me.

Guess "free tv" just got expensive, really expensive.

Thank you very much for the help, I appreciate it.

[tigerbangs]

it's not really all that expensive: you will invest about $175.00 to get the Columbus stations, which will pay itself back in less than a year's time. The antenna system should last 7-8 years, do, once you have amortized the cost of the antenna installation, you will be getting free TV for at least 5-6 years.

[N8tron]

OK so I checked the antennas. They look huge. So in reality these will mount on a roof or separate pole. How big and how high are we talking here? I would hate to roof mount it and have it devalue home property prices. Is it a huge set-up to get one of these mounted? I guess I am asking will this require a professional install if I have not done one before? I am guessing the rotator will need power run from an electrical box to work?

Also in reality, what kind of stations could I expect to pull. I bought the cheapie indoor antenna just out of curiosity and got 4 church channels. Yes, I was pretty excited, I would hate to go into this and get unexpected results. And yes I know the cheapie is just that, it was just for curiosity.

Will the smaller, outdoor, round ones pull anything, like the outdoor lantern or ufo shaped ones? Also will satellite cable wiring that is already run from a mount point outside work or will I need to run all new cable? Thanks again for the help and answers I appreciate the advice.

[dullgeek]

FWIW, I live in 28075 and I have a ClearStream2. One set of broadcasters is about 60 miles away from me. If I point my antenna directly at those broadcasters, I get all of them with consistent signal strength. That said, I don't point my antenna at those broadcasters. Doing that causes me to lose my local Charlotte NBC affiliate which is in a different direction altogether.

My point is that I use a ClearStream2 pointed at broadcasters at roughly the same distance and transmitting at roughly the same power level and it works fine for me. There are, of course, a gazillion different variables that may make that not work for you. If small is your priority, you might give it a try.

[tigerbangs]

Yes, you can repurpose your satellite-dish coax cable for terrestrial reception, however, you must be sure that there are no power injectors,amplifiers, satellite diplexers or other passive devices hidden on the coax line that can potentially interfere with reception. be aware, however, that if you are running long cable lines, and are distributing to more than one Tv set that you will probably want to use a preamplifier.

There are many bogus TV antennas on the market. Some of them will work for close-in reception, but will be worthless for fringe areas. My rule of thumb is this: if it doesn't LOOK like a real TV antenna, then it won't work well more than 20 miles or so from the transmitters: Disk-shaped antennas, oblong antennas and devices that look like chiropractic devices are usually not good antennas.

Many people like the Clearstream antennas: I don't have enough experience with them to wholeheartedly recommend them, however. The Clearstream 4 is sold as a fringe-area antenna, and many people like it, although it is clearly not as powerful as the XG-91 that I recommended: even the manufacturer says that. Will it be adequate in your area: I can't say for certain, but, since they offer a money-back guarantee, all you have to lose is your time and the labor to install it.

As for the relative size of the antennas, even the XG-91 is small when compared to the full-sized VHF antennas of bygone eras: it has a relatively low profile, and is quite light. I also believe that the argument about depressing the value of your house to be specious. 25 years ago, almost EVERYONE had some sort of antenna on their roof, and, given where you live, I am sure that they were large antennas, as the desirable TV stations are quite far away, and large antennas were a necessity to see ANY TV reception.

[N8tron]

Tigerbangs,

Your rule of thumb makes a lot of sense.

I am new to this and just discussing some options, trying to educate myself on the subject. It seems there is so much bogus information out there it is difficult to find out the real characteristics and expectations. Along with the terminology twisting it seems like companies are imploring. Seems ever answer makes for another question.

Questions with the preamps:
I see one goes on the outside (near the antenna) and one goes inside, correct? So antenna --> preamp --> cable runs into the house. There I will need to split for 2 TV's. Where is the best place to split. Currently the wire runs from mounting pole to living room TV (maybe 30 feet of coax). From there it has a cable (splitter) runs into the bedroom (maybe another 20 feet of coax). Will I need a inside preamp for both TV's or just before/after the split point?

Question with mounting the antenna:
How high does an antenna need mounted? I know higher the better but in reality, currently the mounting bracket (from dish) is on the side of house where the roofline starts. So another 7 foot of roof above that. If I used a 5' to 7' extension pole from the mount spot to get near top or above roof level, will that be good. (I learned roof structures can cut 50% transmission - see I am starting to get it.) Total height will be what 18' or so to the top and above roof line by like a foot or two. Or will I need to get another mount and start it from the top of the roof?

Trying to figure out all the set-up details and then go for an antenna choice. Oh decisions, decision.

[tigerbangs]

Yes, you are getting it...LOL! As for the preamp, you only need one preamp. A preamp is a two-piece device: the preamplifier itself mounts as near to the antenna as possible: the idea is to lose as little signal in the cable as possible before the preamplifier actually amplifies it. The other piece, the power supply, or power injector, mounts indoors, near an AC outlet, and sends DC electric current back up the coaxial cable to power the preamplifier. If you have a setup where you are using a splitter in the living room to sent signals to to another room, then my advice would be to mount the power supply in the coax line between the splitter and the preamplifier: you want the splitter AFTER the power supply in the line. The preamplifier will give you enough signal to power up to 4 TV sets from one antenna without losing signal when you use the correct splitter.

Yes, mounting the antenna higher is always better, but there are practical limits, especially if you are repurposing a dish-type mount. You want as clear a line-of-sight as you can get to the transmitters: free from close-in obstructions like roofing and other building structure. Ideally, you'd like 30' from the ground: practically speaking, that's not always possible, so do what you can using those guidelines. if you use an AntennasDirect XG-91, it's possible to tilt the entire antenna up 20 degrees or more from the horizon. I find that tilting that antenna is very useful when looking for signals from beyond your horizon; ie; more than 50 miles from the transmitters. You may have to experiment with the amount of tilt that you use for best results.