1Plus Antenna

WOW! that's one of the worse TVFool reports I've seen.

Every channel is negative!

How tall of a tower can he afford?

Only one signal over zero NM at 100 ft AGL.

Looks like he is surrounded by trees, with a substantial mountain to the NE, a small hill to the WSW, WOW!

He doesn't happen to own that mountain NNE of his house does he?

It might be a candidate for a passive repeater antenna array.

Passive TV Repeater

With a tower just above the trees, half way up the hillside (about 1500ft) there are 3 or 4 stations reasonably easy to receive.

One antenna pointing NNW toward Utica connected back to back with coax to an identical antenna aimed at a third antenna on his rooftop.

This is about the only way I see him getting OTA TV without satellite or cable.
 
I bought a similar one and am very pleased. Have had it up several months. Worth the money in my book. Am located about half-way between NYC and Philadelphia (approx 40 - 50 mi), have it mounted on a mast about 12 feet off the ground (elevation here is about 290 feet ASL) and get many stations from NYC, NJ, Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley PA, and one in Delaware. I did add an existing TV preamp that I had in my junkbox though, it got me a few more stations. Probably would be better if I mounted it on the roof but the days of climbing ladders and being fettered with tools, wires and antenna parts are over hi hi. Why take chances at this age :).

Pros:
Cinch to assemble, comes with coax, built-in amplifier, control box, remote.
Cheap price, small footprint.
Antenna is small, but works surprisingly well.
Somewhat bi-directional.
Control box has outputs for two TV sets.
Lots of fun during tropo openings, have gotten stations from the DelMarVa peninsula, Harrisburg PA and SE CT. One of the main reasons I bought it.

Cons:
It rotates a bit too fast so if you're trying to pinpoint a station in a particular direction it is tough.
Comes with a remote but you don't know which way the antenna is turning unless you look at it. What I did initially was point it N,E,S,W and did scans at each point.
Have to be pretty accurate in pointing the remote at the control box. Have used it as far away as 5 feet though with a steady hand.

TVfool is good, but I use it only as a guide, and go by my gut most times. Also I've found that pointing towards a station may not get you the best signal when it comes to digital TV. Pointing it towards a mountain might work. Trying different locations on a property may bring better results, I've experienced that ever since 2009 when OTA went digital. Much different than the analog days of yore.

Have had it up several months and it's survived rain, snow, high winds. For the price I was satisfied. How long will it last? The answer is blowin' in the wind.
 

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WOW! that's one of the worse TVFool reports I've seen.

Every channel is negative!

How tall of a tower can he afford?

Only one signal over zero NM at 100 ft AGL.

Looks like he is surrounded by trees, with a substantial mountain to the NE, a small hill to the WSW, WOW!

He doesn't happen to own that mountain NNE of his house does he?

It might be a candidate for a passive repeater antenna array.

Passive TV Repeater

With a tower just above the trees, half way up the hillside (about 1500ft) there are 3 or 4 stations reasonably easy to receive.

One antenna pointing NNW toward Utica connected back to back with coax to an identical antenna aimed at a third antenna on his rooftop.

This is about the only way I see him getting OTA TV without satellite or cable.

No, he does not own the mountain, lol. There is no cable at his address. Satellite would be his only option AFAIK. He keeps asking about "miracle" antennas, like this one. This one actually seemed to get some decent reviews, so I figured I should ask.
 
I bought a similar one and am very pleased. Have had it up several months. Worth the money in my book. Am located about half-way between NYC and Philadelphia (approx 40 - 50 mi), have it mounted on a mast about 12 feet off the ground (elevation here is about 290 feet ASL) and get many stations from NYC, NJ, Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley PA, and one in Delaware. I did add an existing TV preamp that I had in my junkbox though, it got me a few more stations. Probably would be better if I mounted it on the roof but the days of climbing ladders and being fettered with tools, wires and antenna parts are over hi hi. Why take chances at this age :).

Pros:
Cinch to assemble, comes with coax, built-in amplifier, control box, remote.
Cheap price, small footprint.
Antenna is small, but works surprisingly well.
Somewhat bi-directional.
Control box has outputs for two TV sets.
Lots of fun during tropo openings, have gotten stations from the DelMarVa peninsula, Harrisburg PA and SE CT. One of the main reasons I bought it.

Cons:
It rotates a bit too fast so if you're trying to pinpoint a station in a particular direction it is tough.
Comes with a remote but you don't know which way the antenna is turning unless you look at it. What I did initially was point it N,E,S,W and did scans at each point.
Have to be pretty accurate in pointing the remote at the control box. Have used it as far away as 5 feet though with a steady hand.

TVfool is good, but I use it only as a guide, and go by my gut most times. Also I've found that pointing towards a station may not get you the best signal when it comes to digital TV. Pointing it towards a mountain might work. Trying different locations on a property may bring better results, I've experienced that ever since 2009 when OTA went digital. Much different than the analog days of yore.

Have had it up several months and it's survived rain, snow, high winds. For the price I was satisfied. How long will it last? The answer is blowin' in the wind.
I have the same one and it does work better than most I have tried.
 
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He currently has Sling with a WiMax WISP. It is barely sufficient, and he has no local channels.

With a streaming device like the FireTVstick, he could use apps like FitzyTV for example, that at least carry the NYC locals for the big four network programs. I don't know how well it would work with his WISP though. Just a possibility if the antenna options don't pan out and satellite TV is out of the question for some reason.
 
The report suggests that OTA is off the table. One could invest hundreds of dollars to prove it wrong and end in failure as multiple edges are very difficult to overcome -- it isn't just an issue of more gain. The best option may be a satellite TV subscription that will cost hundreds over time but could deliver most of the available content.

The risk/reward of OTA in this situation is very high.
 
With a streaming device like the FireTVstick, he could use apps like FitzyTV for example, that at least carry the NYC locals for the big four network programs. I don't know how well it would work with his WISP though. Just a possibility if the antenna options don't pan out and satellite TV is out of the question for some reason.

Sling is the only live OTT streaming solution he has found that will work at all reliably with his WISP's throughput limitations.
 
Sling is the only live OTT streaming solution he has found that will work at all reliably with his WISP's throughput limitations.
Bummer, I guess his best bet is satellite then. Maybe the smallest package that includes locals to keep the cost down.
 
Bummer, I guess his best bet is satellite then. Maybe the smallest package that includes locals to keep the cost down.

Yeah. That is beyond his limited budget. They are supposed to get Spectrum internet sometime in the next couple of years. Then he'll have more options.
 
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