Help me pick a TV antenna!!!! (1 Viewer)

[SteveSpoon]

Which antenna would you recommended? Cable is such a rip-off and we end up renting more dvd's to not justify cable, so am trying to find a way to pull in the local stations.

Am looking at the Terk TV55.....anybody know anything about this antenna? Looks a lot like the FM PRO. Is this antenna (the Terk TV55) worth the approx. 100 bucks? Also, can I somehow hook it up to my stereo system at the same time? Thanks

Steve

 

[Matt Stryker]

Steve- I think that RadioShack is having a big sale right now, with a lot of their roof mount antennas for around half off. For UHF reception, the RadioShack double-bowtie is hard to beat. $18 and it easily outperforms a lot of the "Specialized HDTV antennas".

Are you opposed to a large outdoor (or attic-mounted) antenna?

 

[SteveSpoon]

Being a lazy American, just wanted to plug something in and enjoy great local programming!!! I will run out to Radio Shack and take a look at what they have.

Seems like a pain butt rigging up an outdoor antenna....my luck a thunderstorm would roll thru, hit the antenna, and fry everything in my house!! Thanks.

Steve

 

[Jared_B]

Need some more info:

How far are you from your local towers?

What kind of terrain is between you and the towers?

Are your locals broadcast in both UHF and VHF?

In my opinion, the Terks suck bad. I purchased a $99 one the does both UHF and VHF. It performed very poorly (I'm 35 miles away from the towers). I since upgraded to the Channel Master 4228 UHF antenna ($70). Since all I wanted was my local digital HD stations, I could get away with a UHF only antenna. All the digital locals come in very strong, with virtually zero dropouts.

My antenna is mounted on the roof, with a 10' mast. Lightning should not be a concern because antennas are required to be grounded, and you SHOULD already have your equipment hooked up to a surge protector.

 

[SteveSpoon]

I'm really not sure how far I am away from the towers.....bad thing about where I live it's kinda hilly around me, so we're sitting in kinda of a bowl. Not good.

As for UHF or VHF, I don't have a clue what they transmit in.....it's amazing some of us can even get thru the day without getting killed. As you've probably already figure out, I'm not too swift when it comes to electronics. Have got some decent equipment (M-80 amp, C-85 preamp, T-85 Tuner, GE-60 equalizer, DSP-E492), but sometimes I wonder if I should just go out and get a boombox; not worthy to own nice equipment.

Although even us dimwits have our stuff hooked up to very good surge supressors!! Got that going for me at least.

Am going to wander off to Radio Shack and see what's going on. Thanks for the help.

Steve

 

[Jerry C]

Steve,
Sounds like you need a visit to www.antennaweb.org and www.titantv.com. These sites can give you good info about how far you are from transmitters, what type of antenna you might need, and the assigned broadcast channel numbers for digital stations that are (or will be) broadcasting in your area. If the number is 14 or higher, you're in the UHF range.
I'll agree with the posts that recommend the Radio
Shack double bowtie. Try the simplest and least expensive first. Rat Shack has a great return policy, and if the double bowtie doesn't work, they make another indoor antenna that's amplified with an adjustable gain. This is the one that worked best for me. Keep in mind that with an indoor antenna, you'll need to do a lot of fussing with location to find a place where signal strength is best. For me, six inches in direction one way or another makes a huge difference in reception. Good luck!

 

[Jerry Wright]

Steve, Like Jared said, I too, bought and tried two of these compact unobtrusive outdoor antennas for my locals, (I also have direcTV sat but not going to pay for free channels) and both of them were crap. Even with their so called amplifiers. I ended up catching Radio Shacks' 160" boom long range vhf, uhf, fm antenna ( #15-2156 ) on sale half price for $49.99 and their rotator ( #15-1245 ) for $69.99 I'm now pulling in stations I didn't even know were available, crystal clear thanks to the rotator and this web site similar to those Jerry C gave you. It was a little work, but very well worth it. Good luck.
http://www.100000watts.com

 

[Dennis Reno]

How exactly do you ground an antenna? Just curious, I've never done anything like this before!
BTW, I'm in the same boat as you Steve. I tried the Terk-55. BIG waste of $$$. A $19 (not the RatShack double bowtie) VHF/UHF antenna outperforms it. With the Terk I could not get ABC to lock. It would go out every few minutes for approximately 20 seconds and then come back. With the el cheapo it gets blocky sometimes, but hasn't dropped. Don't bother with the Terk.

 

[StephenL]

Information about grounding:
National Electrical Code - Search for "dish"
Link Removed
Preventing Damage Due to Ground Potential Difference
http://www.cinergy.com/surge/ttip08.htm
PSIHQ - Grounding Requirements
http://www.psihq.com/iread/strpgrnd.htm
PolyPhaser Technical Information
http://www.polyphaser.com/ppc_technical.asp
Tower Page - see N1LO's GUYED TOWER TOPIC SUMMARY
http://www.qsl.net/n1lo/tower.htm