Hopper OTA What antenna

dhageremtp

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Oct 2, 2006
183
3
North Dakota
I have looked at antennaweb to find a good antenna for my situation. I am having trouble and thought maybe some of you can recommend an antenna. Channels 10, 13, 14, 24, and 40 are about 72 miles from my home. Channel 25 is 36 miles. What would be the best antenna? UHF, VHF, Combination, Yagi? I dont want any big old antenna, I want something that isnt an eye sore that works well.
Thanks
 
At 72 miles from the towers, you will need a "big antenna" whether you like it or not. For channels 10 and 13, you need VHF. For the others, you need UHF.
 
In all honesty....forget it. You're just too far without spending a small fortune and never going to have 100% reliable reception.
 
Second is to go the TV Fool, enter your address info and see what's recommended.
Your first suggestion is a very good one actually -- so long as you get the right person at the station ! As for TV Fool, at his distance, it's not going to say anything different than what he's been told here. He needs a big-ass antenna. If he wants channel 25, he'll need a rotor as suggested too. Finally, if can mount the right antenna at a proper height, an amplifier/booster may not be necessary. North Dakota is pretty flat, isn't it ? :eek:
 
I have looked at antennaweb to find a good antenna for my situation. I am having trouble and thought maybe some of you can recommend an antenna. Channels 10, 13, 14, 24, and 40 are about 72 miles from my home. Channel 25 is 36 miles. What would be the best antenna? UHF, VHF, Combination, Yagi? I dont want any big old antenna, I want something that isnt an eye sore that works well. Thanks
I have a DB8 from AntennasDirect (http://www.antennasdirect.com/store/DB8_HD_Antenna.html) on a mast mounted the the gable of my one-story house, putting the antenna about 20 feet above ground level. When I had it connected to my 722, I picked up four stations that have transmitters right at 60 miles away with amazingly strong signals - typically in the 95-98 range. The day I had the Hopper installed was the day Dish ran out of OTA modules, so I'm not connected now. From what I've read, though, I expect to have similar - if not better - results with the Hopper when the modules become available.
 
Your signal should be equal if not better than with the 722..... Well, wait, I was thinking 722k as it splits the OTA signal into (2), thereby reducing the strength to some degree. The 722 only has (1) OTA tuner, correct ?
 
Your signal should be equal if not better than with the 722..... Well, wait, I was thinking 722k as it splits the OTA signal into (2), thereby reducing the strength to some degree. The 722 only has (1) OTA tuner, correct ?

The built in ota is 1 tuner. The K models and 922 have the MT2 tuner that are dual tuner otas.
 
I have looked at antennaweb to find a good antenna for my situation. I am having trouble and thought maybe some of you can recommend an antenna. Channels 10, 13, 14, 24, and 40 are about 72 miles from my home. Channel 25 is 36 miles. What would be the best antenna? UHF, VHF, Combination, Yagi? I dont want any big old antenna, I want something that isnt an eye sore that works well.
Thanks
Distance from the station is only one factor. If you don't have a direct line of sight to the station, at 72 miles (assuming it is air distance not road distance) you would need a BIG antenna and tower. If you do get an amplifier, it has to be a low noise figure amplifier and mounted at the antenna.
 
Distance from the station is only one factor. If you don't have a direct line of sight to the station, at 72 miles (assuming it is air distance not road distance) you would need a BIG antenna and tower. If you do get an amplifier, it has to be a low noise figure amplifier and mounted at the antenna.

Like the Channel Master 7777...
 
Before you spend tons and tons of money on a giant antenna, I would try a 4 Bay or 8 Bay UHF antenna, which is flat and can mount on the side of your chimney. I saw a test of UHF antennas from years and years back, and these little 4 and 8 bay UHF antennas work as well or better than the large Yagi's for UHF, which most digital TV channels are on. They are not VHF antennas, but it seems to work fine on those channels, too. I decided to try my $20 antenna to see what would happen. I am 48 miles from the Los Angeles transmitters, and antennaweb says I should only get 7 channels. I get over two dozen, and with subchannels it comes to 112 channels here in Los Angeles. I don't even have an amplier at the antenna. Most signals are 95+. The 4 and 8 bay UHF antennas are inexpensive so you can give one a test, without breaking the bank or spending huge amounts of time putting it up. In fact, in my first test, I just layed it up against the chimney on the roof. You can then go from there. They do like height, so keep that in mind. Google "4 bay uhf", and you can see what they look like. Since you are a little further away, you might try an 8 bay antenna.

Good luck!

Michael
 
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An antenna doesn't have a limit on the number of channels that it can receive. It is only a function of the channels signal strength at the antenna and the Gain of the antenna.
 

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