Antenna for 30114

[PatGmac]

Hello,

I'm considering getting an antenna in Canton, GA 30114. According to antennaweb, available stations are in blue and violet. But the stations in violet appear to be mostly duplicated compared to the blue. I was hoping I would get away with the HDTVo antenna because of HOA restrictions and the fact that it appears I could just mount it in place of the dish mast (?).

I was also wondering if I would be able to use the existing cable for the house? I will be ditching cable all together so it wouldn't need to share and there would be up to 3 TV's in use.

The HDTVo comes with an amplifier, is that the same as a preamp? If not, which one should I get (remember, 3 TV's)? Two of the TV's are analog and will possibly have PC's attached to them running Linux and MythTV so I'm hoping the capture card would handle the digital conversion but that's probably a question for another forum?

Thanks for your help.

Patrick

[tigerbangs]

The Atlanta stations are about 30 miles from you, and all in roughly the same direction. Your area would be considered a near-fringe-far-suburban area. Frankly, the Terk HDTVo is a miserable antenna, overpriced, and very much an underperforming piece of junk. While you may see some of your UHF stations with that antenna, WGTV-DT (PBS channel 8), and WXIA-DT (NBC), which is on channel 10 are not likely to come in well using such an antenna. An amplified antenna is only as good as the quality of the antenna that it amplifies, and digital reception does not depend so much on sheer signal strength as it does signal-to-noise ratio. If you look at the overall reviews of the HDTVo, which are posted elsewhere on this site, you will see a high level of customer dissatisfaction with that antenna.

You will be much better served by using a more conventional VHF-high-band + UHF antenna and a separate high-input preamplifier. A good antenna will provide enough signal to give you reliable signals on it's own, and the preamplifier will give you enough signal quantity to power up to 4 TV sets. I suggest a Winegard HD-7694P with a Winegard HDP-269 preamplifier mounted on your roof, aimed at 163 degrees by your compass. This antenna system will give you all of your available Atlanta TV stations clearly and reliably in digital form, and will maintain it's quality in good weather and bad.

Your HOA cannot deny you the right to mount an antenna on your house to receive local TV or radio signals. The FCC has made this ruling many years ago, and, because this is considered an issue of public safety, local and state laws cannot countermand this ruling. If you have sole control of your roof, as would the owner of any single-family house, you may mount an antenna on your property.

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

Your local HOA can be made responsible for damages if they persist in trying to prevent you from installing an antenna to receive local TV and radio.

If you choose the right antenna, your digital TV picture will equal or exceed the quality of what you receive on cable or on satellite. It behooves you to do the job properly, as TV antenna installations are not difficult or unsightly when properly installed.

Yes, you can use your existing cable TV wiring once it is disconnected from the cable TV service, but, when using a preamplifier, be sure that you mount the power supply for the preamplifier BEFORE the splitter in the cable line. Here are some links to help you:


http://www.winegard.com
http://www.pctinternational.com/channel ... lation.pdf

[PatGmac]

Thanks for the reply tigerbangs.

The Atlanta stations are about 30 miles from you, and all in roughly the same direction. Your area would be considered a near-fringe-far-suburban area. Frankly, the Terk HDTVo is a miserable antenna, overpriced, and very much an underperforming piece of junk. While you may see some of your UHF stations with that antenna, WGTV-DT (PBS channel 8), and WXIA-DT (NBC), which is on channel 10 are not likely to come in well using such an antenna. An amplified antenna is only as good as the quality of the antenna that it amplifies, and digital reception does not depend so much on sheer signal strength as it does signal-to-noise ratio. If you look at the overall reviews of the HDTVo, which are posted elsewhere on this site, you will see a high level of customer dissatisfaction with that antenna.

I actually learned about this antenna here and thought it was good based on the reviews on this site. It has an avg rating of 4 and the first few reviews I read were glowing. I guess I'll have to read past page 1.

You will be much better served by using a more conventional VHF-high-band + UHF antenna and a separate high-input preamplifier. A good antenna will provide enough signal to give you reliable signals on it's own, and the preamplifier will give you enough signal quantity to power up to 4 TV sets. I suggest a Winegard HD-7694P with a Winegard HDP-269 preamplifier mounted on your roof, aimed at 163 degrees by your compass. This antenna system will give you all of your available Atlanta TV stations clearly and reliably in digital form, and will maintain it's quality in good weather and bad.

I'll take a closer look at that one. Not a lot to go on, there's only 1 review and the description on this site says it's for a red color area, is that correct?

Your HOA cannot deny you the right to mount an antenna on your house to receive local TV or radio signals. The FCC has made this ruling many years ago, and, because this is considered an issue of public safety, local and state laws cannot countermand this ruling. If you have sole control of your roof, as would the owner of any single-family house, you may mount an antenna on your property.

Thanks for that. I was actually making an assumption about the HOA being a problem. They mention something in the rules about satellite dishes (supposed to ask for permission first but no one does) and I assumed that would carry over to antennas.

[tigerbangs]

Well, you can think about it, or you can follow the advice that I have given HUNDREDS of successful TV viewers in this forum...