Dropping cable

[marklmo]

Hi everyone,
I'm looking to drop cable and need some advice on a few things.
1.) My zip is 04038 and with so many antenna choices, I'm not sure which antenna would be ideal. I have a little Radio Shack amplified indoor antenna that appears to pick most channels up but I'd like to get Fox and PBS which are 37.5 miles away. I was looking at the UB4 and UB8 but are those appear to be UHF and would they pull in channel 8 and 10? Even though it's ideal, I'm not sure if I can put an antenna on the roof but I do have a large attic area. I might also be able to do a mast off the deck if it isnt too large. I'll have to check with my HOA to see what's allowed.
2.) The "antenna in" coax on the back of my hdtv broke off and I'm not sure if I can repair it. I know the digital converter boxes have analog (red, yellow, white) connectors and I can probably get a converter box but doesn't that convert to analog and degrade my picture? Would the best bet be to get a vcr or dvd player with an ATSC tuner built in?
3.) My pc is right next to the hdtv and I currently have a dvi to hdmi cable going to the hdtv for watching netflix and hulu, do you think an atsc tuner card for the pc would be a better idea so I could record shows onto my hard drive?
Thanks in advance for your help.

[tigerbangs]

I've run into this issue before in the Portland area: lots of TV stations, but the transmitters are scattered all around you. FOX is your weakest station, but is still available if you choose wisely. We can do this fairly cheaply if you are willing to mount the whole business on your roof.

Let's talk about the antenna conector on the TV set first: you mentioned that it is broken off, and that's a minor pain to fix. Buying a digital converter won't bring the digital stations in in HDTV, however, and I have a feeling that you can get the connector replaced for about what you'd pay for a new HDTV tuner, so, as long as the TV set has an ATSC tuner in it, I would tend to lean towards fixing the antenna conector. I do know that lots of people use their PC as a Media Center, and put an ATSC tuner card in their PC to get HDTV. While that may work, I still don't believe that it is as convenient or as efficient as using a built-in tuner on your TV set. Of course, this is YOUR choice, and your mileage may vary.

As for how to engineer this antenna system: here is what I would do. I would use a 4-bay UHF antenna: the Winegard HD-4400 is cheap and well made. I would mount this antenna on a mast with enough room so that you can add 2 small VHF yagi's. Aim the antenna due north ( 0 degrees by your compas). Buy 2 small VHF high-band Yagis: I would suggest either Winegard YA-6713s or AntennaCraft Y-5-7-13s. Aim one antenna at channel 8 (320 degrees) and one at channel 10 (50 degrees). Combine the three antennas using a Channel Master JoinTenna for channel 8 and one for Channel 10. Go to Amazon.com. and search for JoinTennas ( they are only about $6.00 each) Once this system is all put together, you sill get a clear picture on everything that you have available locally.

http://www.winegard.com
http://www.antennacraft.com
http://www.amazon.com
http://manuals.solidsignal.com/AntInstallGuide.pdf

[marklmo]

Thank you for the advice. Would you recommend an amplifier if I decide to use a splitter for multiple tv's?

[tigerbangs]

Use a preamplifier if you are splitting to multiple TV sets: I would use a Winegard HDP-269 high-input preamplifier, which won't overload on the strong signals that you have in your area.

[marklmo]

The YA-6713 has a range of 25 miles, at least based on the specs. The HD 4400 also shows a range of 25 - 30. Are they both enough antenna to get channels 10 and 23 which are 37.5 miles away?

[tigerbangs]

Those mileage ratings are absolutely bogus: they are intended to make you buy larger-than-necessary antennas: just follow my advice: if you look back in the forum, you'll see that I have encountered this same situation elsewhere in your area, and made the same suggestions with excellent results.

[marklmo]

Thanks again! I ordered everything last night and will hopefully have everything set up by next week. I'll update with results.

[marklmo]

I received the HD-4400 yesterday and tested it inside onthe TV in the bedroom and it pulled in all of the channels we wanted. It even pulled in the high vhf channels, 8 and 10, if I pointed the antenna in the right direction. I was surprised it picked up 10 because the tower is 37 miles away and the antenna is UHF and also inside the house. It also picked up 23 which is also 37 miles away. What a great little antenna for $30(including shipping)! Unfortunately it doesnt get all channels pointing in one direction so the yagis I ordered specifically for 8 and 10 should complete the system. I'm going to mount in the attic as the signal strength in the back bedroom was 80+ on most channels indoors. I'll try to split the signal to run to multiple tv's and see what that does to signal strength and if it suffers, I'll get the pre-amp. So far, I've spend $108.
HD 4400 $30
2 yagis $60
2 jointennas $18
I still need to get a mast (probably pvc) and cables and the cost to get set up will be less than 2 months of cable!
Thanks Tigerbangs, I'll keep the thread updated!

[tigerbangs]

If you are going to split to 3 TV sets, consider adding a splitter-amp like a Channel Master CM-3414, which will compensate for cable length losses and splitting losses: it will insure that you get consistant reception at each TV set.

[marklmo]

You had mentioned in an earlier post that I might try the Winegard HDP-269 pre amp if splitting but in the last post you mentioned a Channel Master CM-3414. Which one do you prefer?
By the way, I received the yagis yesterday so I set up the HD-4400 and one of the Winegard yagis YA-6713 underneath it. I used a jointenna for channel 10 you recommended for the yagi and I'm getting PBS 37.5 miles away with 90+ on the signal meter with the antennas in the attic! All other channels come in with excellent signals also.
Now I'm feeling a little cocky so I may try taking the extra yagi which I got for channel 8 (but don't seem to need now since 8 comes in fine), and point it south to the NH PBS station that is 55 miles away. This might be a little bit of a stretch but we'll see if it works. On my digital converter box, when it was scanning for stations, it paused for about 10 seconds on channel 11 like it wanted to pick it up. Since it is in the opposite direction of everything else, a yagi pointing right at it might do the trick.