VHF(Ch2-11)/UHF 55-mi from Los Angeles

[CamBoy]

I live in a 2-story home and have neighbors very close by who also live in 2-story homes. I'm about 55-miles northwest from the Los Angeles TV market. CBS (CH2) & NBC (CH4) will likely remain there after the 2009 transition. I'm considering the Channel Master CM-3020, CM-3671 or Winegard HD8200U, however, they're all very large. Is there another HD antenna you could recommend that would transmit the 2-69 channels and handle the long distance? Would it be better to get a dedicated Lo VHF antenna and add a ClearStream8 antenna or something similar?

[tigerbangs]

You have several mistaken assumptions about your LA channels. Your best bet would be to give us your address or zip code so we can determine your situation a bit more precisely. Channels 2,4, and 5 will remain in UHF in digital, so you really need to have a better handle on what's actually happening in the LA market before choosing an antenna.

[CamBoy]

Where did you find the info on CH 2, 4 & 5 being UHF? I didn't see it on AntennaWeb.org's site. So does that mean I can use a ClearStream 8 antenna to get all my HD channels? I'm mainly interested in getting Los Angeles' CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX stations. Getting PBS & KEYT (Santa Barbara) would be a plus. I'm willing to install a rotator to get KEYT. My address is 2545 Villamonte Ct, Camarillo, CA 93010.

[tigerbangs]

UM, no...the Clearstream antenna is seriously overhyped and not a good choice for you. After Feb 17, 2009, KABC, KCAL, KTTV and KCOP will return to their original VHF channels, but will be broadcasting in digital. KCBS, KNBC and KTLA will CONTINUE to broadcast in UHF digital. Please don't confuse the digital stations with their analog equilents as analog is going away in six months. If you design an antenna system for installation now, you better plan for the Feb 17, 2009 changes. You will need a deep-fringe UHF antenna, like an AntennasDirect XG-91 PLUS a High-Band VHF yagi like a Winegard YA-1713. At 54 miles from the transmitters, you should also include a preamplifier, and the Channel Master Titan 7777 is an excellent preamplifier wich also has seperate VHF and UHF inputs, facilitating the installation of separate UHF and VHF antennas.

[CamBoy]

Well, I've got the ClearStream 4 antenna installed and it's a lot better than I had expected. I'm at 2581 Villamonte Ct, 93010 (Camarillo, CA) in a 2-story home and am about 55-miles from LA and 57-miles from Santa Barbara. I had the antenna in a spare bedroom pointing at 78-degrees (SE) towards LA and was able to get KNBC, KCBS, KABC, etc (about 31-channels) all in HD. I'm even using a Channel Master 4-output amp (Model 3044) with a standard RG-6 cable which is 100-ft long and there's a large mountain between my home & LA. I then moved the antenna to another bedroom in the far west side of my house hoping to get KEYT (ABC, Santa Barbara). Other than pointing the antenna at 277-degrees (NW) towards Santa Barbara and using a 25-ft RG-6 Quad cable everything else was the same. I wasn't able to pickup Channel 3 or 27.1 (KEYT) but surprisingly was able to pickup LA stations KNBC (4-1) & KCBS (2-1). I tilted the face of the antenna up about 30-degrees hoping to pickup KEYT but had no luck. However, surprisingly, I was still able to get KNBC & KCBS. This with the backside of the antenna pointing more downwards and through about 3-walls in my home.

What I'm looking for is help in getting KEYT? I don't think distance is a problem and I believe I've got the antenna pointed in the correct direction so I'm suspecting there may be a large mountain farther way that may be causing a problem. But, the mountains on the east-side of my house are much farther away and smaller than the one on the west-side of my house. Could something else be causing the problem? Any ideas?

[CamBoy]

Sorry, just realized I screwed-up on the mountain locations. Here's the correct info & the help I'm looking for.

Well, I've got the ClearStream 4 antenna installed and it's a lot better than I had expected. I'm at 2581 Villamonte Ct, 93010 (Camarillo, CA) in a 2-story home and am about 55-miles from LA and 57-miles from Santa Barbara. I had the antenna in a spare bedroom on the far east side of my house pointing at 78-degrees (SE) out a window towards LA with a Channel Master 4-output splitter amp (Model 3044), standard RG-6 cable which is 100-ft long and there's a large mountain between my home & LA. I was able to get KNBC, KCBS, KABC, etc (about 31-channels) all in HD.

I then moved the antenna to another bedroom in the far west side of my house hoping to get KEYT (ABC, Santa Barbara). Other than pointing the antenna at 277-degrees (NW) towards Santa Barbara and using a shorter 25-ft RG-6 Quad cable in place of the 100-ft standard RG-6 cable everything else was the same. I found it odd that I wasn’t able to pickup Channel 3 or 27.1 (KEYT) but surprisingly was able to pickup LA stations KNBC (4-1) & KCBS (2-1). I then tilted the face of the antenna up about 30-degrees hoping it’d help to pickup KEYT but had no luck. However, surprisingly, I was still able to get KNBC & KCBS. This with the backside of the antenna pointing more downwards and through about 3-walls in my home.

I’d like to get KEYT. I don't think distance is a problem and I believe I've got the antenna pointed in the correct direction so I'm suspecting there may be a large mountain farther way that may be causing a problem. But, even that would seem odd since the mountains on the west-side of my house are much farther away and smaller than the ones on the east-side of my house. Could something else be causing the problem? Any ideas?