no digital signal where I'm at...

[elsiemaude]

I live outside Rosebud, Missouri 63091, and I'm in an area they say will get no digital signal. I have 2 tv sets, a Toshiba and an old Sanyo with a digital converter box that we currently watch from a pole mounted antenna that sits about 25 feet off the ground. I'm surrounded by trees...will I ever get to watch TV again?

[tigerbangs]

Yes, you will, but we need to find out what kind of antenna you have, whether or not you use a rotator and preamplifier, and whether you are willing to invest in a new antenna system to get a decent picture..

[elsiemaude]

Thank you for your reply...our current antenna is a Wal-Mart Special from about 15 years ago...I know that's sad, but it suited our purpose, and we pulled all the analog St. Louis TV stations. We don't have an amplifier or rotator, and yes, we are willing to invest in a new antenna. Is there one that will give us a signal through the trees? We live in the middle of a heavily wooded area, and it would be almost impossible to get an antenna above the trees.

[tigerbangs]

OK, this is a tough situation,m because the ST.Louis stations are 60+ miles from you, but I would suggest a real deep-fringe solution: a Winegard YA-1713 VHF-high-band VHF yagi plus an AntenasDirect XG-91 UHF antenna mounted on a rotator like Channel Master 9521a automatic rotator. Use a Channel Master Titan 7777 preamplifier to connect the two TV antennas, which should be mounted 4' apart on the same mast above the rotator: mount the UHF antenna at the top of the mast, and the VHF antenna below it just above the rotator. Run new RG-6u coaxial cable down to where your TV set is, and place the power supply for the preamplifier behind the TV set, and run the output of the power supply to the antenna input on your digital converter. This setup is about as good as it gets for deep-fringe digital reception, and I expect that you should see most of the St Louis and Columbia-JeffersonCity stations. You are going to have to use the scan feature of your converter to find the stations in each direction, and it may be necessary to manually input the digital channels into the converter remote control to make sure that the converter can find the signals. Here are links to the equipment:

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

[elsiemaude]

Thank You very very much. Can't tell you how great it is to have someone spell this out for me like this. I have read alot of conflicting information about this change over to digital and truly appreciate your help with this matter. It will be a few weeks before we can order these and get up there and get this set up (mid Missouri winter!) You have my undying gratitude sir...
Thank you again,
elsiemaude

[tigerbangs]

The pleasure is all mine!

[tvreception]

Who said that you would never get reception? You mentioned that you had a converter box, did you hook connect it and try yet? How is your current antenna mounted to the pole? Is this a wooden pole?


Steve
http://tvreception.net

[elsiemaude]

As I indicated in my posts, we have a new Toshiba TV that has a digital tuner in it, and and old Sanyo that has a CONVERTER. Yes, I have hooked it up, (as is the Toshiba,) and we pull a very weak digital signal. Thus my dilemma. I might live in the woods, but I have my antenna on a steel pole just like any other person. We have scanned for channels and get a couple stations that are very fractured, and end up going to no signal within minutes. We have used our Wal-Mart antenna for years and years and have pretty good ANALOG reception. My goal is to achieve a digital signal that isn't fractured and pixelated. There are many many products on the market today and I am simply trying to find what I need to purchase to make our TV viewing possible. I am not good with technical information...and need some expert out there to help me.