old antenna vs new antenna

[franklee]

WE live approximately 80 miles north of the Twin Cities, MN. We currently have Directv and are considering cancelling it as it is getting too expensive. We are wondering if we can use our old Channel Master VHF and Channel Master UHF antennas to receive channels and will we receive them in HD or would we be better off with a new antenna to receive channels in HD?

[tigerbangs]

tips-for-getting-good-antenna-advice-read-before-posting-t52.html

[franklee]

Sorry, I'm new at this so let's try it again.

Our zip code is 55007 which is Brook Park, MN. We live in a wooded area with many trees however we have a tower that we were going to put up which will hopefully be high enough over the trees. We had these antennas hooked up at one time on our roof and received both VHF and UFH signals with no problems except the usual interference from analog. We now have 2 digital HD TVs hooked up to Directv. We were wondering if we can use these old Channel Master VHF and Channel Master UHF antennas to receive channels and to receive them in HD or would we be better off with a new antenna?

[tigerbangs]

You still didn't tell me what antennas that you have, how old they are, or how tall the tower that you plan to use will be.

[tigerbangs]

You still didn't tell me what antennas that you have, how old they are, or how tall the tower that you plan to use will be. My guess would be that you'll be fine, but please provide the information I need to help you..

[franklee]

The antennas are approximately 15-20 years old and we cannot find the model # on them. The paperwork for the VHF antenna is a Channel Master Quantum VHF/FM Models 1110-1115. I can't find the paperwork for the UHF antenna. The antennas are about 9 feet long. The tower we are going to put up will be 40 feet tall.

[franklee]

We probably need a new antenna so if you could recommend one for us, that would be great. Zip code 55007, we live in a wooded area, we are putting up a 40 foot tower, and we have 2 HD tvs a Sony Bravia 42" and a Panasonic 50" rear projection. Thank you for any help you can give us.

[tigerbangs]

I would look at a Winegard HD-7698P or an AntennaCraft HBU-55. I would also replace all of your existing cable with new, fresh RG-6u coax cable, and would replace the amplifier with a new Channel Master Titan 7777 or a Winegard AP-8275

[james5214]

IWhat kind of antenna would i need for my area? i live in cape coral fl 33991 thanks

[frankfrank]

Franklee, you didn't say what kind of UHF antenna you have. Is it one of the old 7-foot parabolic dishes? Certainly there are no VHF antennas I'm aware of that are as high-performance as the CM 1110, unless there's something made for cable companies, etc. There's certainly no equal to the 7-foot parabolic dish being made for consumers anymore (unless, again, for cable companies or such). If your old, formerly-used, antennas are in good working order, they'll probably perform better than what's around now, but I assume you'll be using entirely new cabling. A heavy-duty rotor is important, and I understand that the Channel Master 7777 preamp is possibly the best that's out there nowadays, but I have no experience with it.

Because digital TV's have far less power than the old analog TV's had, overload is no longer as much a worry. I used to often get overload from the Peoria market which is more than sixty miles away, but I've seen no trace of overload with digital.

The CM 1110 is probably more directional and more high gain than current VHF antennas, and with you looking for some signals from stations that currently use digital oh Channels 7 through 13, good performance is essential. Not only does an antenna need to pick up the target station well, but it also needs to avoid picking up other signals from the sides or back. Digital signals are far less forgiving of interference than analog ever was.