Trying to find the best antenna..93003

[73PopTop]

I've looked at several antennas to see which ones might do the trick. The Clearstream 4 or 5 and, also, the AntennasDirect DB8. My neighbor has what looks to be a Clearstream 4 which picks up most stations. His setup didn't get Ch 9 (KCAL for Dodger/Laker games), but he says he has it set for picking up CBS Ch 2 instead. We've got cable TV, but at $53/month I'd like to find other options. We have one digital TV and one old analog TV. I tried installing a converter for the analog box with an indoor antenna, but I didn't get a lot of stations -- Fox and some international stations. I was impressed that I got a few HD stations with the indoor ant. on my Samsung digital TV. Obviously, I will need to get an outdoor antenna (or attic mount) to get the LA stations.

Anyway, I'd like to know what advice there is for antennas in the Ventura area for picking up LA stations. Thanks!

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapp ... e5de8a07ee

[tigerbangs]

You really need good VHF reception as well as UHF reception in your area if you want to see all of the LA stations. The Clearstream 4 does OK on UHF, but isn't a VHF antenna at all. If this was my installation, I would use my own deep-fringe prescription: A Winegard HD-1713 VHF high-band yagi plus an AntennasDirect XG-91 UHF antenna mounted on the same mast Separate the two antennas by 4', with the X-91 at the top of the mast. Combine the signals from the two antennas using a Channel Master Titan 7777 preamplifier, which has separate VHF and UHF antenna inputs. Wire the antennas using high-quality RG-6u coaxial cable, and feed the output of the preamp to it's power supply, which must me mounted indoors. Aim the antennas at 80 degrees, as measured by your compass, and you will see all of the LA area stations perfectly.

http://www.channelmaster.com/product-ov ... 4&catID=39
http://www.winegard.com/kbase/upload/ya-1713.pdf
http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc ... enna-(91XG)&c=TV%20Antennas&sku=853748001910
http://manuals.solidsignal.com/AntInstallGuide.pdf

[73PopTop]

Thanks tigerbang.

I'd like to get an antenna like the Clearstream 4 in terms of its compactness. I'm trying not to have the TV antenna take over the entire roof--we might do solar and/or wind power perhaps. Is there an antenna that does a decent job of picking up UHF and VHF in one antenna?

Also, what do you recommend as far as installers go? I've seen Zip Installation posted around satellite and antenna web sites. By the way, would satellite get any of these local stations--for example FTA?

Thanks!

[tigerbangs]

There is no compact antenna that does VHF well: some people claim that the clearstream 5 works well, but I am dubious. ZIP installations vary widely in terms of quality. I can't give a good overall recommendation about their installations. You are 65 miles from the transmitters, and blocked by mountains: you really need a fringe-area solution in order to have good TV reception

[ProjectSHO89]

some people claim that the clearstream 5 works well, but I am dubious.

Had to chuckle but can't resist pointing this out... Your own site (this one) has 23 reviews of the C5 and every one of them is a 5 out of 5 (http://www.hdtvantennalabs.com/reviews/ ... views.html). Who are you going to believe if not your own site? (Yeah, I know they're Amazon reviews, but you get the idea.)

Maybe it's time you got off the fence and actually take that antenna for a test drive (as I did) and see for yourself how it performs.

[tigerbangs]

I have nothing to do with the antenna reviews on this site: they are administered separately. I live in an area with only one VHF digital station available, and it is very strong, so my area is not one where I could judge the fringe capability of such an antenna. Based on it's gain ratings, however, I would be dubious about its deep-fringe capability: AntennasDirect makes good UHF antennas, but their record with VHF has been pretty dismal.

[ProjectSHO89]

I have nothing to do with the antenna reviews on this site: they are administered separately. I live in an area with only one VHF digital station available, and it is very strong, so my area is not one where I could judge the fringe capability of such an antenna. Based on it's gain ratings, however, I would be dubious about its deep-fringe capability: AntennasDirect makes good UHF antennas, but their record with VHF has been pretty dismal.

You may recall my post on another forum that demonstrated pretty conclusively with spectrum analyzer screen shots how well it did at that location.

Keep in mind that the C5 is essentially a C1 that has been rescaled for 174-216 MHz along with a balun that is very efficient in that range. With about a 6 dBd design band gain and very low VSWR, it will usually out-perform the 5 or 6 element High-VHF Yagis. It's not a 10-element Yagi and doesn't compete with those.

[tigerbangs]

If I thought that a 5 or 6 element yagi was sufficient for the OP's location, I would have spec'd it that way, but, considering the topography and distance from the transmitters, I believe that a 10 element yagi is called for in this specific application. The Clearsream line of antennas are NOT good multipath fighters, as their multi-directional claims would admit, and, in a mountainous area, the additional directionality of a good yagi design will aid reception.

[73PopTop]

One last question(s)..

Will this setup get any FM reception or improve what I have for my amplifier? Also, should I try a tripod or guy wire to mount--we get some good winds by the coast, but not gale-force type wind (unless Santa Ana winds are blowing then all bets are off.)

Thanks, in advance, for helping us out.

[tigerbangs]

No, the antenna system that I suggested won't be very good for FM, but you can easily and cheaply add an Antennacraft FM-6. which does wonders for FM reception.