Indoor antenna anyone? (1 Viewer)

[AaronArmstrong]

Has anyone used an indoor antenna with their HDTV setups?
I live in Cleveland, OH and live very close to transmitters.
In fact the CBS transmitter is less than 5 miles from me.
I don't have an outdoor antenna set up and would rather try
an indoor antenna just trying to get some success stories or lack there of.
Thanks guys!

 

[Michael Lee]

I recently ordered the Antiference Silver Sensor indoor antenna that hails from the UK. I had read great things about it in the AVS forum and etown. It is as cheap as dirt and is supposed to be a top performer despite the low price. I'll report more when I get it and try it out.
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[Frank]

I receive all four digital channels with a Radio Shack UHF double bowtie antenna. I am about 25 miles from the transmitters. The antenna is upstairs in a bedroom pointed out the window.
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Frank
Join the Home Recording Rights Coalition.
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[Steven Tyner]

I am using the Radio Shack bowtie antenna also in my basement.It worked better than the Silver Sensor.I am getting four dtv channels out of D.C.

 

[Brian Bunge]

Hey guys! I'm getting a Pioneer Elite 610 and already have the Dish6000 receiver. Could one of these Rat Shack "bowtie" antennas be mounted in one's attic? I'm probably 25-30 miles from any transmitters and have no desire to stick one of these things outside on my roof.
Any help would be appreciated!
Brian
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[Ron M]

Brian
I have the Elite 610 and Dish 6000 setup the you are getting am I am using the RS bowtie antenna with a RS line amp ($30 total) sitting on top on my set (2nd floor) in New Hampshire and I am picking up the HD signal from 60 miles away in Massachusetts. I am fortunate that they are at full power. You will have to find out the status of your local staion but even if they are at half power you should be able to receive their signal. Good luck and enjoy the 610, you will love it.

 

[Brian Bunge]

Ron,
So you're using a set top antenna with a signal booster? Good God! I might have to give that a shot! Of course I don't plan on getting the OTA module any time soon. But when I do I'll have to try this! I'll check the Atlanta channels and see what their strength is!
Incidently, I ordered the 510 but the dealer's having trouble locating one. It seems the 510 is hard to come by right now. So if he can't get the 510 I'll get the 610 for practically nothing extra. I'm hoping to have a Super Bowl party, so whatever's quickest is what I'll get!
Brian

 

[Jim Clark]

I use a Radio Shack outdoor type antenna in my attic. It "looks" like a Channel Master Channel King model but is a little smaller. I'm only 8 miles from the transmitters and I get great reception. I don't have a HD receiver yet but I'm sure it will be fine for digital.

 

[Todd_R]

HDTV update for Cleveland people:
I use a $17 Radio Shack 2-bowtie antenna that sits on my STB, which is on my TV. I live in Twinsburg, which is about 16-19 miles from the transmiters. Keep in mind, unless something has changed that I don't know about (ie the DTV is coming from a different location than the regular), the towers are actually in Parma, not Cleveland. (you can see the towers from the 480 bridge). I'd estimate Cleveland Hts. to be about 23-25 miles from the towers. Here are the stations / signal strength I get:
Station Signal S. Comment
NBC(2) 28-35 Can't get it; need outdoor ant.
CBS(10) 75-89 Excellent
ABC(15) 70-88 Excellent
FOX(31) 80-88 Excellent
So basically, I get 3 out of 4 stations with excellent signal strength. I know a couple other people who can't get the NBC channel in Cleveland either. I'm guessing that with a large roof antenna or some sort of outdoor antenna, there would be a better chance of pulling this in. WKYC has always been the weakest of the stations here. Even on cable it's the worst. The problem for HD is that the channel is on 2, which is low VHF compared to CBS which is the higher numbered VHF. FOX is UHF so it's easy to get. I've been told because of it's station number location (2), it would be hard to get with an indoor. Not sure if this is true, but I'll go with that since it seems few people can get it!
I actually purchased a $79 Terk25 powered antenna before the Radio Shack one. I actually got worse signal strengh with it (anywhere from 45-60) for all channels. Just goes to show it isn't the cost of the antenna!
Hope that helps.
-Todd

 

[Michael Lee]

After receiving my Silver Sensor(after waiting a month), I hurriedly hooked it up. I, like Steven Tyner, discovered that the Radio Shack dual bowtie worked considerably better. I am getting CBS and FOX relatively easily, and got ABC in and out last Tuesday with the bowtie. Last night, I barely got CBS intermittently...trying out all locations in the room.
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[AaronArmstrong]

Well guys I got my DTC-100 last night and I got a
RCA powered indoor antenna. Well I think I got some more
tweaking to do but I will say this.
So far the results are not jaw dropping, very nice
but not overwhelming. Thats with only watching
King of Queens and part of the CBS movie 'Blackout'.
Also Jay Leno looked ok. So far I'm getting about
60 strength... I'm hoping with better signal strength
the picture quality will be better. So I will work on that.
Also I haven't had my Toshiba 40h80 ISF calibrated
so maybe that will bring out more detail.

 

[Todd_R]

Keep in mind Aaron, with DTV / HDTV, there really is no in-between signals that cause snow or worse pictures. Either you get the picture or your don't. So as long as the screen isn't pixelating, cutting in/out, or pausing, getting a stronger signal won't necessarily mean a better picture. That's part of the beauty of DTV. It's easier to pull in & the picture quality doesn't rely on signal strength for picture quality. What that means is that if 55 is enough to pull that particular station in without any interuptions, the picture will theoretically be as good as someone getting a 90 signal. If it's strong enough to receive it without any pauses, it's enough for the best possible picture.
Since you weren't really blown away by the picture here is something else I've seen posted and also that I agree with. The 'indoor' shows such as the CBS lineup & Jay Leno, while looking great, aren't exactly 'blow you away' good. Once you watch the Super Bowl & the Masters golf tournament, you'll see what being blown away by a picture is. Having your set properly calibrated is very important (convergence etc...), but really HDTV absolutly shines at it's brightest, during sports broadcasts & live events!!
Let us know how you liked the Super Bowl. I'm interested to see your opinions. I'm sure you'll flip at how it looks.
-Todd
PS - I'm envious of you for being able to get NBC. I must be in a dead spot for that signal

Since I'm so close I would have thought it would come in but so far no luck.
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[Paul W]

I bought a $7 RCA indoor antenna from Wal-Mart. It works just fine (I am 25+ miles from the transmitter).
Something strange, tho. I understood that DTV is carried in the UHF band. I tried using only the loop UHF antenna and I could get all of the stations perfectly except one. It was channel 9. As soon as I added the VHF antenna (both bolted to the matching transformer), I started receiving it perfectly.
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I have a wonderful proof of this theorem but, with the 1536 kb/s bitrate DTS soundtrack, there is no room on the DVD to write it.
-Fermat

 

[David Hillyer]

I live about 50-60 miles from Indianapolis HD transmitters. What does anyone think the chances are of picking up the broadcasts with an attic antennae? My neighborhood association won't allow roof installations aside from a DBS dish.
The local 'experts' say I *HAVE* got buy the $350 Terk unit, but I had a bad experience with Terk products before so have no desire to throw any money at them.
I'd prefer to get some kind of attic unit that'll plug into my Dish Network HD receiver. Suggestions?

 

[Chris S]

Paul,
The reason that you couldn't get channel 9 (WFAA) is because that particular channel number is in the VHF band. They just happen to be the only channel in the metroplex that is not broadcasting in UHF. I think the VHF contains all of the stations up to channel 16, but I could be wrong. Thanks, Chris
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[Jeff R.]

Is this the Radio Shack bowtie antena that you all are talking about?

My local RS has it listed at $40 so I didn't want to buy it until I could find out for sure.

 

[AllenD]

I bought a different one (below) following the "double bow tie" description everyone was giving. I'm pulling in PBS at 90, CBS at 88, and the rest are in the 70s. I do have to move it to the right side of my 65807 to receive CBS. The rest are best when it's moved to the left side. Only about a 3 feet difference. Go figure!

Note: This is a UHF only indoor antenna. The part number is 1500623. You can find it HERE.

 

[AaronArmstrong]

Well,
to those who said that live sports would be more
impressive than the taped CBS shows. I have one thing to say to them....
YOU WERE RIGHT!
I was very impressed. Made me feel that the
enormous expense involved was almost worth it!
I am looking forward to the masters very much.

 

[Frank_S]

I live 45 miles from the Transmitting towers in SF bay area and use a RS double bowtie antenna to pull in all stations.
I could not believe it was possible but it is. I picked up the Mits HD-400 the night before the SBowl and watched my first HD broadcast ever in my own livingroom. The RS D.Bow-tie antenna was upstairs in a bedroom pointed toward the towers(45 miles west). I have a hug redwood tree right in front of my condo which I thought would make it impossible to receive transmission but I got 86-93(CBS)with no fuss at all. It's amazing that I spent just $15 on an antenna and get excellent results. Sat. installers suggested that I would have NO chance of receiving HD broadcast without an outside antenna. Go figure.

 

[AllenD]

It's amazing that I spent just $15 on an antenna and get excellent results.

I find this quite amusing myself. You spend thousands of dollars on all the gear but w/o a $15, butt ugly uhf antenna, you won't get HD...