need advice on getting started

[bennyb820]

Hello, I am thinking of ditching my high-priced directv service in favor of a combination of free OTA channels, and some online streaming services like Hulu, Netflix etc. I am located in Naugatuck CT. 06770. There are no large buildings near my house, but there is an embankment on the north and west sides of my house which elevate to maybe 10 feet above roof level. There are numerous trees on these embankments, although nothing extremely large. Here's what I'm looking to get for my situation:


Ideally, I would like to receive all of the major networks. WTNH-ABC, WFSB-CBS, WTIC-FOX, WVIT-NBC, as well as PBS.

I have an in-law apartment attached to my house where (go figure) my in-laws live. They have one TV, and we have one TV, but we may expand to an additional TV as our daughter gets older. Both of the televisions currently in the house are HD ready Sony Bravias.

According to AntennaWeb, WTNH and PBS, as well as 2 other stations should be easily attainable as they are within about 15 miles. Although I am really hoping for the NBC, CBS, and FOX stations to come in as well.


Any help you can provide for me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

[tigerbangs]

I know Naugatuck well enough to know that it is hilly, and your location means everything when it comes to seeing the Hartford stations: some places will see them, many places have a very hard time seeing the Hartford stations New Haven is a little easier, because the valley runs up your way, and the New Haven and Bridgeport stations are an easier catch. If you can Private Message me with your street address, I can check your location using TVFool.com, and get an idea of what your chances are of see NBC, CBS FOX, CW and PBS.

[bennyb820]

I PMed you my home address. After taking a look for myself on TVFool.com, it appears I may be able to get all the channels I want with an attic mounted setup. I will wait for your reply however as you know way more than I do about this subject.

[tigerbangs]

Thanks for sending your information: yes, you CAN get the Hartford stations where you are, the issue is which way to go. I ALWAYS recommend a roof-mounted antenna when dealing with fringe-area signals. In this situation, I need to know whether you plan to run your in-law apartment TV from the antenna, or can we use a rotator for just your TV set?

I would assume that we can use a 2-antenna system that will allow you to feed multiple TV sets from the antenna without rotating the anntenna. If we go that route, I would use an AntennasDirect XG-91 UHF antenna and a Winegard YA-6713 VHF high band yagi mounted on the same mast, separated by 4'. Aim the XG-91 at 50 degrees by your compass, and mount that antenna 4' above the YA-6713, which shouild be aimed at the WTNH transmitter, which is located at 155 degrees from your location. I would join the 2 antennas together using a Pico-Macom UVSJ antenna joiner, then run the output of the joiner into a Winegard HDP-269 preamplifier. Run the coax cable down to where you will mount the power supply for the preamplifier, then add a high-quality coax splitter (2-4 outputs, depending on your needs) then run the cables to your TV tuners. This systen will get you all of the Hartford-New Haven major channels, with the possible exception of WCTX< the MyTV station, which is blocked from your location by hills.

http://www.antennasdirect.com
http://www.winegard.com
http://www.solidsignal.com
http://manuals.solidsignal.com/AntInstallGuide.pdf

[bennyb820]

thanks alot. I'll check out your recommendations and post an update if/when I decide to go through with this project.

[tigerbangs]

Thanks, keep us informed!

[bholebaba]

I tried a few antennas from best buy and radioshack. But for some reason they never worked that well. I found this link on of the blogs and tried making this antenna and its amazing that I get more than 30 channels.
That also in suburbs. If was in center of a big city, I bet the reception even better.

The best part is that a lot of the these channels are HD Channels.

http://desibabbans.blogspot.com/2010/01 ... tenna.html