DISH and OTA HD...which antenna?

[drknute3]

DISH does not broadcast my locals in HD, even though the station emits an HD signal from the local tower. I am in Cedar Rapids IA. Does anyone know when DISH will send these local signals in HD?

I would like to be able to watch my locals in HD. My tv is a DLP that is HD ready, not built in. My DVR is a 622 VIP that has a coax input for local antenna.

Which indoor antenna do I need to get in order to receive my locals in HD? According to antennaweb, all my digital locals are uhf. All of the towers are within 30 miles according to antennaweb.

If I get the right antenna, how do they incorporate into my DISH DVR menu? Is there an antenna that can be piggy backed to my dish?

Thanks
Bill

 

[osu1991]

Plug your antenna into the back of the 622 where it is says antenna in. Then go into the menus on the 622 and scan for locals. They will appear in the guide with your other sat channels, but you will only get guide info if dish provides sd locals to your area and you subscribe to them from dish. otherwise the guide will just say digital station in the guide info. Most people like the zenith silver sensor for an indoor antenna.

 

[drknute3]

This is the one I tried, but couldnt get any signal strength on the 622 meter. Is this just not a strong enough unit?

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2625059

 

[osu1991]

Did you go into the menus and run the scan for locals? You will not get any signal strength until the receiver has scanned for channels. It may not be strong enough if some of your stations are not at full power or if there are some tall buildings or hills and such around you. I personally am not a fan of indoor antennas and prefer the larger outdoor antennas mounted in the attic or outside. It is usually hit or miss when I have tried indoor antennas for other people and my location requires an outdoor antenna.

 

[brittmer]

This is the one I tried, but couldnt get any signal strength on the 622 meter. Is this just not a strong enough unit?

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2625059

Hi Drknute3.....I live in the Quad-city area and have tried the same antenna and it is junk.

I ended up installing a regular antenna that normally attaches to the roof in my attic. It works very well.

There is a local group at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=651277&page=9&pp=30 that is good help also.

 

[drknute3]

Most people like the zenith silver sensor for an indoor antenna.

What kind of range will that still pull in UHF? I am about 30 miles from the towers. Does it need to be in a window? Or can it be put anywhere in the TV area?

 

[osu1991]

I am not sure. I believe 25 to 30 is max. The higher you can get the antenna the better.

 

[drknute3]

I went to antennaweb and this is what they told me...


DTVAntenna
TypeCall SignChannelNetworkCityStateLive
DateCompass
OrientationMiles
FromFrequency
*yellow - uhfKIIN-DT45.1PBSIOWA CITYIA 138° 19.7 45
*yellow - uhfKFXA-DT28.1FOXCEDAR RAPIDSIA 293° 27.4 27
*green - uhfKRIN-DT35.1PBSWATERLOOIA 332° 29.6 35
*green - uhfKCRG-DT9.1ABCCEDAR RAPIDSIA 332° 29.6 52
*red - uhfKWWL-DT7.1NBCWATERLOOIA 338° 34.6 55
*blue - uhfKPXR-DT48.1iCEDAR RAPIDSIA 328° 28.5 47
*violet - uhfKWKB-DT20.1CWIOWA CITYIA 139° 19.1 25
*violet - uhfKGAN-DT2.1CBSCEDAR RAPIDSIA 332° 29.6 51

Is there an indoor antenna that will work?

 

[raoul5788]

I went to antennaweb and this is what they told me...


DTVAntenna
TypeCall SignChannelNetworkCityStateLive
DateCompass
OrientationMiles
FromFrequency
*yellow - uhfKIIN-DT45.1PBSIOWA CITYIA 138° 19.7 45
*yellow - uhfKFXA-DT28.1FOXCEDAR RAPIDSIA 293° 27.4 27
*green - uhfKRIN-DT35.1PBSWATERLOOIA 332° 29.6 35
*green - uhfKCRG-DT9.1ABCCEDAR RAPIDSIA 332° 29.6 52
*red - uhfKWWL-DT7.1NBCWATERLOOIA 338° 34.6 55
*blue - uhfKPXR-DT48.1iCEDAR RAPIDSIA 328° 28.5 47
*violet - uhfKWKB-DT20.1CWIOWA CITYIA 139° 19.1 25
*violet - uhfKGAN-DT2.1CBSCEDAR RAPIDSIA 332° 29.6 51

Is there an indoor antenna that will work?

Try the Silver Sensor. It is an indoor UHF type. Probably the best indoor one. If you can fit a Channel Master 4228 in the attic, it will definitely work better. The problem is the different directions to the towers. It may pick up the stations from the rear. I have had good luck at my house with that setup. The advantage to the indoor type is you can move it around easily. Good luck!

 

[drknute3]

Just remembered the previous owner had an antenna up in the attic, it is a winegard ws 1964. Will this unit bring in the channels I need? If so, great, now all I have to do is run a coax from it to the rec.

Could it be that easy???

 

[drknute3]

One side question. What about a Winegard square shooter? Says the UHF range is 50 miles. Can the squareshooter be inside or does it have to be outside?

 

[sunelec]

It should work if it has uhf elements on it. However when an antenna is mounted inside an attic there is about a 50% signal loss compared to ouydoors so it's possible that you might need a preamp near the antenna and you may need to rotate it a little bit. Also the old antenna may be 300 ohm so you may need a 300/75 ohm transformer /adapter to use coax.

 

[drknute3]

It should work if it has uhf elements on it. However when an antenna is mounted inside an attic there is about a 50% signal loss compared to ouydoors so it's possible that you might need a preamp near the antenna and you may need to rotate it a little bit. Also the old antenna may be 300 ohm so you may need a 300/75 ohm transformer /adapter to use coax.

Not really an old antenna. House was built in 2003, we just moved in this past summer, so its probably a 75 ohm unit already? What is a good preamp for an antenna like this?

Would the squareshooter be better than what I have? Even if the square shooter was inside? What about the sharpshooter?

 

[sunelec]

Just saw your question about the Squareshooter. I have that one on my roof and it works fantastic. I did add a preamp to it though. If you were to put it in your attic there would be some signal loss but you would have to try it to see. The preamp would help.Those antennas or a clone (Winegard private labels for several companies) can be bought with an integrated preamp but usually you get better quality with a seperate one. Try out your old winegard first, it may work just fine

 

[drknute3]

Just saw your question about the Squareshooter. I have that one on my roof and it works fantastic. I did add a preamp to it though. If you were to put it in your attic there would be some signal loss but you would have to try it to see. The preamp would help.Those antennas or a clone (Winegard private labels for several companies) can be bought with an integrated preamp but usually you get better quality with a seperate one. Try out your old winegard first, it may work just fine

If the squareshooter works real good, can it be piggybacked to my dish and diplex the signal to my receivers?

 

[sunelec]

Channelmaster makes some very good preamps if you look locally. Also Solidsignal.com is a good source for OTA products. I believe that your existing one antenna in the attic will work just fine. I have hooked these up for people doing your same kind of setup ( one just this last week ) and always had good results . Outside is best but in an attic works too if you have room to point it properly.

 

[sunelec]

Yes you can diplex and you need one on each end. I assume your incoming Dish coax goes near your antenna. Keep in mind that each time you insert a diplexer there is some signal loss so all the more reason for a preamp before you run the antenna coax into the diplexer.

 

[drknute3]

The problem I have with the antenna in the attic is getting the signal to each receiver. I have 3 dual tuners in the house so there are 6 feeds from the dish, and all the wiring is on the inside. So I would have to figure out a way to get the OTA signal to each DVR.

Thants why I was starting to look at the squareshooter or sharpshooter. I could install one right next to each DVR (provided these can be used inside). It might cost a bit more buying 3 of these, but makes my life alot easier as saves more time.

What do you think of my plan?

 

[sunelec]

I think as I remember the Squareshooter is over $200 each so 3 of them could cost you quite a bit of money. I assume that you are going to a multiswitch before you run to your receivers. You can take the antenna coax ( after you preamp it) to the area of the multiswitch and then split it 3 ways using an amplified splitter. Then you can diplex the antenna signal into one of the cables going to each receiver. You would need 6 diplexers because you would have to inject and extract the antenna signal to each of the 3 receivers.

 

[drknute3]

I can pick up a squareshooter off ebay for less than $100. I think I might try just one to make sure it works. I would rather waste $100 than tackle all that diplexing myself. How well do you think a squareshooter would work inside the house? Thanks for the info.