Help with OTA

[elloco07]

Hi guys
I am a newbie, if someone can point out a FAQ or make a sticky post about what is OTA, how can we get HD OTA channels for free, what equipment you need. Sort of like a startup guide. If someone can link different posts or websites on where to get more info that would be great. Thanks for everyones help.

 

[hancox]

Hi, and welcome...

The best lesson anyone can give you about OTA - it's a location-specific science. Post your zip code, and we can get started...

 

[sdallnct]

I don't know how much of a newbie you are but to get OTA for "free" you need the following three items that are typically "not free".

1) A HD Display device (such as HD TV, HD Monitor, HD Projector or whatever). Some non-HD devises will not even display a HD source. Others will but won't be true HD, but might be better then what you got now.
2) A HD receiver. This could be built into your HD TV or it could be a Set Top Box (STB).
3) An antenna of some sort. As hancox mentioned, you need to provide us your zip and we should be able to narrow down what you specifically might need. Sometimes you can get away with even rabbit ears. Other times you might need a 60 foot mast antenna that is powered.

 

[elloco07]

Thank you guys for replying

I live in Canton, GA 30114. I currently have Dish and Adelhpia. I am just getting Adelphia installed as we speak but it does not carry all local HD channels. If i stick with Adelphia I will Cancel DISH since it does not offer the 942 to existing customers. Can i use the Dish Antenna to get the OTA signal or do I have to buy a different one. Thanks for all your help


I have a 42in HDTV LG 42PX5D

 

[roashru]

elloco07, your far away from atlanta the closest station to you that has regular over the air hdtv is WPBA 21.1 (pbs) the tower is over 30 miles away your going to need a really good antenna system.

 

[hancox]

Hmmm - looking at your zip, antennaweb doesn't show you getting much of anything (one PAX dt station). However, you're only about 30 miles outside of Atlanta, so I would *think* that's too conservative.

BTW - using this for a guide:

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx


How far are you from West Roswell, 30075 ?

 

[elloco07]

Hmmm - looking at your zip, antennaweb doesn't show you getting much of anything (one PAX dt station). However, you're only about 30 miles outside of Atlanta, so I would *think* that's too conservative.

BTW - using this for a guide:




How far are you from West Roswell, 30075 ?

I am about 15-20 miles from Roswell 30075. That sucks, guess only way is through Adelphia or DishNetwork. Nothing else I can do huh?

 

[roashru]

most of the nbc, cbs, abc, fox, and upn I found are in the south east corner of atlanta add 20 more miles if you still want to try.

 

[dodge]

ota

Do you have an old tv antenna on your roof you could use to try it, I get HD from chicago 55 miles away pretty much no problem

 

[elloco07]

Do you have an old tv antenna on your roof you could use to try it, I get HD from chicago 55 miles away pretty much no problem

I have right now a DishN 500 Antenna Would that work?

 

[mdonnelly]

I have right now a DishN 500 Antenna Would that work?

The Dish 500 is a DBS antenna. It doesn't work for OTA.

Well, if Antennaweb is right, you have both VHF and UHF digital stations you want to receive, so you need a VHF/UHF antenna. Remember, UHF is line-of-sight, so your antenna needs to be able to see the broadcast towers. If there are mountains in the way, you'll have a hard time.

Having said that, digital OTA is the best picture quality you'll get, so it's worth a try.

 

[Jim5506]

No, it must be an over the air TV antenna, not a satellite antenna.

If you want to spend the money for a mast, antenna and amplifier, you are 30-35 miles from the Atlanta towers.

Is there an obstruction between you and Atlanta, like mountains, or are you in a valley? For 30-35 miles the numbers look very low on reception.

Even for conservative AntennaWeb that looks low. I've seen places in west Texas and SE New Mexico where stations 100 miles away were listed.

 

[rockaway1836]

Check www.hdtvpub.com

 

[elloco07]

Thanks for everyones help. I will start thinking about puchasing an Antenna and see if it is worth it. The only thing is I live in a HOA community, so I would need permission to put another antenna on my roof. We will see, thanks everyone.

 

[rockaway1836]

You should read this
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

 

[Sapient]

I'm going to ask for similar help for a friend of mine. He recently used some bonus from work to buy a nice big HDTV. I believe it has the HD tuner integrated. He used rabbit ears on the thing, which is in his basement, but he didn't get much of anything. So he signed up for basic cable. After I slap him upside the head for wasting his money on a TV he is not using properly, what should I suggest he do? Is there some sort of inexpensive antenna he could purchase that would not be a big deal to install?

He lives north of Minneapolis, near zip code 55434.

 

[rockaway1836]

A good indoor UHF antenna may work for your friend. The good thing is he is less than 10 miles away from the towers. The bad news is we are talking about a basement. Indoor antennas are a hit or miss thing. They work for some and don't for others. If he buys one, make sure he can bring it back if it does not work for him. Something like this may work.
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=15-1880
If he needs to go outdoors, I would use this.
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?main_cat=3&CAT=&PROD=ANC3021

 

[Sapient]

Thanks for the info. HDTV comes in on UHF frequencies? And did I just betray how ignorant I really am?

 

[rockaway1836]

Most digital stations are UHF. There are some that are VHF. In this case all the digitals stations are in the UHF band. Good luck!

 

[Lorenzo]

Sapient, go to http://antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx ...click on choose an antenna and enter your zipcide and you'll see that the Minneapolis St Paul stations are all about 9 miles away and in the same direction. If you look at the very far right column you'll see what the digital channels are for each station. I think for the best reception you should get the smallest all channel antenna something that looks roughly like a Radio Shack VU75XR, by this I mean an antenna that has metal elements not one of those glorified RV plastic space age looking antennas.
Best mounting is on the roof with a clear shot to the Southeast. Radio Shack has wall mounts, chimney mounts, eave mounts, and vent pipe mounts combined with a 5 or 10 foot pole and coax cable should do the trick. The analog WB station on ch 23 is lower power and might be good for pointing the antenna.