[mythtv-users] OT: OTA HD

Travis Tabbal travis at tabbal.net
Mon Dec 22 16:43:04 UTC 2008


Blue=Medium Directional w/amp. I would lose the amp and get a bigger
antenna, personally. With an HOA, just about any antenna is going to get
busybodies irritated, so you may as well go big and get what you need. That
said, you may be able to get away with mounting it inside or in the attic if
you have one. Just get a really high gain antenna and point it properly.
Note that UHF is where most digital OTA is going to be, so you can get high
gain with a much smaller antenna than the monsters of old. If you have VHF
stations, it might be best to write them off rather than get the huge
antennas for VHF.

I'm in a yellow area and wanted a good quality antenna. I went with a DB4
from solidsignal.com. It works VERY well for me. For your blue channels, it
might be too small. A DB8 might be a good choice. These are bow-tie antennas
with a mesh reflector, so they are somewhat hard to see from the road and
such. The mounting mast is noticable, but not objectionable. I used a long
version of a satelite dish mounting arm.

If you really want to try using a smaller antenna and an amp, spend some
money on the amp. My reception issues got WORSE with an amp, not better.
Partly because I used a cheap amp. And mount it on the mast with the
antenna, not inside.

Note that with directional antennas, you need to point at the stations. So
it's best if they are all in the same direction within about 20 degrees. If
they aren't, you might need more than one antenna.

avsforum has a great topic about OTA antennas. I got some good advice there.
You might want to try posting your maps and such there to see if they can
help you further. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=381623



On Mon, Dec 22, 2008 at 9:24 AM, Bill White <raygions at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I am trying to decided between OTA and cable for my new HD setup, and in
> doing so have been googling for info on OTA HD channel availability and a
> signal strength coverage map.  [
> http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Stations.aspx ] has been my best find so far.
>  It seems that I could be well covered by yellow and blue antennas.
>  Unfortunately, I live in an association, and while they cannot legally bar
> me from erecting an antenna, I would prefer not to incur unnecessary grief.
>  Can anyone speak to the existence of low profile, innocuous or camoflaged
> blue antennas?  Or direct me to a resource?
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