hdtv antenna in new york

[jeremyherron]

i live in manhattan, top floor of a 5-story bldg that is one of two sandwiched between two 15-story bldgs. i have rooftop access, and from there i have a direct los to the empire state bldg about three miles away. my apt faces north.

i want to get rid of cable and go for an antenna, have an hdtv with tuner. i presume i cannot go with an indoor one. what models should i consider for outdoor? will i need an amplifier or any rotational devices (both suggested when i plugged in my address - 126 W86th St, 10024)

any help is greatly appreciated.

jeremy

[tigerbangs]

Even if you are wedged in between 2 taller buildings, if you can stand on the roof of your building and can see the ESB, you will be able to get all the major TV stations with the right antenna. We will need to select a very directional antenna that can reject the inevitable multipath interference that will come from having signals bouncing off other buildings, so I would recommend using larger-than-necessary antenna to help solve that problem. My best suggestion would be to use a Winegard HD-7696P VHF-high-band plus UHF antenna mounted on the roof aimed at the ESB (207 degrees by your compass). Use high-quality RG-6 quad-shield coaxial cable from the antenna to the TV set. You should not need an amplifier or preamplifier unless you plan to run multiple TV sets from the same antenna. If you want to add good FM reception to your TV viewing, you can substitute a Winegard HD-7082P antenna, and use a splitter inside your apartment to run the signal to the FM tuner and TV tuner: I believe that you'll be very pleased with the results.