Please help with ZIP 01056

[LudlowDTV]

Hi,

Just received my new converter and would appreciate recs for a new antenna.

State WHERE you are: ZIP 01056 (lat 42.18007,lon -72.411221) Big difference where you are because of a small mountain in town.

State HOW MANY television sets you plan to run from the antenna system: 1

State whether you are looking for ANALOG or DiGITAL stations : Digital

It's also very helpful to tell us what kind of TV set you are using if you have a digital TV, since they all program digital reception differently: conventional analog TV

Thanks

[tigerbangs]

He-He-He! I live in Springfield, and am currently doing work in Ludlow, so I know your area well. When I run a TVfool.com scan of your coordinates, it would appear that you are in a valley, and reception is usually tough where you are. WWLP, WGGB and WGBY won't be an issue for you, but digital CBS comes from WFSB-DT from Hartford, and the hills are working against you, You are going to need a fringe-area antenna if you want reliable reception from Hartford. How far are you willing to go to get reception? Are you willing to put an antenna with a rotator on your roof? If you are, I will detail what you need.

[LudlowDTV]

I've heard that evil laugh before. I like to refer to it as living in a Hollow:) I subscribe to basic Charter cable now so take away the shopping channels and you've listed what I'm getting now.

I'm willing to go pretty far but I'd prefer an attic installation. The attic is probably 30 ft above the ground with lots of open space on the side facing Swingfield. If I was only on the other side of the hill...

Thanks,
John

[tigerbangs]

Honestly, an attic installation is going to cut your signals in half, and you don't have enough signal available to afford to do that. I would suggest my deep-fringe prescription mounted on your roof. A Winegard YA-1713 VHF high-band yagi plus an AntennasDirect XG-91 UHF antenna connected to a Pico-Macom UFSJ and a Wnegard HDP-269 preamplifier. Use a Channel Mster 9521a automatic rotator to turn the array. And mount it ON YOUR ROOF! LOL

[LudlowDTV]

I hear you. Just hate my tall and steep roof. Mount them 4 ft apart pointing towards Hartford with UHF on top?

Thanks again!

[tigerbangs]

Get yourself a rotator: that way you can see the Springfield stations clearly, too.

[LudlowDTV]

I realized right after I replied you had recommended the rotator. Can I use this antenna for my FM receiver too?

John

[tigerbangs]

Actually, if you want FM, this antenna works at higher frequencies than the FM band and won't do much for you. If you want FM, you'll need to replace the YA-1713 with a Winegard HD-5030, which will do FM and low-band VHF reception.