OTA HD from Philly in the Lehigh Valley - It CAN be done! (1 Viewer)

[Randy Boecker]

I've posted a handful of requests for anyone in the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton, PA, area who might have put up an antenna and is receiving digital broadcasts from Philadelphia. No one responded, so perhaps I am the first.
I live in Bethlehem Township, and yesterday I put a Channel Master 4248 antenna with Channel Master 7775 pre-amp on a 10' mast and mounted it to the side wall of my home. The antenna sticks up over the top of my two-story house about 6 feet. No rotor. While signal strength isn't in the 90's by any means, I am able to lock in to ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox from Philadelphia. Fox is the strongest signal, actually. Locally, I can still pick up the local PBS station, but Channel 69 (both news and weather channels) are iffy sometimes. But since Channel 69 doesn't really broadcast anything in HD, it's not worth $60 to me to buy a rotor just to pick up that station.
Just wanted to let all my neighbors know, it CAN be done.

 

[Howard Williams]

Good info Randy. Your success is encouraging. I'm in a similar boat. According to mapquest and webantenna.org, I am 48 miles away from the towers which means I needed a MD (medium directional) antenna. I just ordered the Channel Master 3020 with a 5' mast which should get me 3'- 4' over the roof line. Mountains are not a huge factor so I am hopefull at this point. No rotor & no pre-amp. The range for this setup is listed at 60 miles.
Just one quick question. Is there a reason you did'nt go with the CM4251 as it's range is listed as +60 miles with 33% more gain? Seems like that extra boost might have come in handy. I settled for the 3020 because no one seemed very interested in selling me the 3671 (my first choice) including Channel Master and their local distributor.
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"Strength and honor"

 

[Randy Boecker]

I went with the CM4248 because it's such a popular antenna, and someone I know in Reading was using the same antenna in an attic installation and getting pretty good results. I figured a rooftop installation would improve signal quality over an attic install. I also didn't want a huge, ugly antenna on the roof. When Philly NBC starts broadcasting at full power, I shouldn't have any problems, and if/when I decide to get a rotor, it would even get better!