Help with what antenna we should get

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Malibu918

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Original poster
Jun 12, 2011
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Virginia
Hi! I'm new here, and need some help. My husband and I recently put our Direct TV account on "suspension", and are seeing what it's like without having to pay ridiculous amounts of money each month for TV. We got a Roku box, and are loving it. But we're having some issues with our local channels that we don't quite understand.

I went to TV Fool, and was going to post the link here, but apparently need to make a few posts before I'm able to post links..... We live in Blue Ridge, Virginia-the chart for Blue Ridge is pretty much the same as the one for our exact address if you don't mind entering it in yourself...

WSLS (NBC), WDBJ (CBS), WVXR (FOX) and PBS stations come in fine. However, we cannot get ABC at all....which quite frankly is baffling us. The antenna we have now is an indoor RCA something-or-other that we picked up at WalMart, but it is VHF/UHF, so it seems that we should get ABC. We tried what we thought would be a more powerful one from Radio Shack, but that didn't get anything more than what we were already getting, so we returned it.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I'd love to keep this simple if there's an indoor one we would be able to just hook up to the TV, but am willing to explore different possibilities. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me!!
 
Malibu918 said:
Hi! I'm new here, and need some help. My husband and I recently put our Direct TV account on "suspension", and are seeing what it's like without having to pay ridiculous amounts of money each month for TV. We got a Roku box, and are loving it. But we're having some issues with our local channels that we don't quite understand.

I went to TV Fool, and was going to post the link here, but apparently need to make a few posts before I'm able to post links..... We live in Blue Ridge, Virginia-the chart for Blue Ridge is pretty much the same as the one for our exact address if you don't mind entering it in yourself...

WSLS (NBC), WDBJ (CBS), WVXR (FOX) and PBS stations come in fine. However, we cannot get ABC at all....which quite frankly is baffling us. The antenna we have now is an indoor RCA something-or-other that we picked up at WalMart, but it is VHF/UHF, so it seems that we should get ABC. We tried what we thought would be a more powerful one from Radio Shack, but that didn't get anything more than what we were already getting, so we returned it.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I'd love to keep this simple if there's an indoor one we would be able to just hook up to the TV, but am willing to explore different possibilities. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me!!
Click to expand...


I f you look at TVfool chart you will see that the channels your getting are all located at 240° while the ABC station is at 119° which is going to be on the side of the antenna, not a good place for any type antenna let alone a inside one and what makes it worst is it's power level is not that high. You need either a outside antenna and maybe a rotor. You haven't posted what model antenna your using which might make some different on how you can handle this issue.

When to Walmart site and only found one RCA antenna a model ANT 1000 which my only suggestion would be to try different locations in the house, otherwise I think you'd need a different antenna.

TV Fool
 
Last edited:
Malibu918 said:
The model we're using is RCA ANT111. Pretty basic :)
Click to expand...
Don't knock it – those "basic" antennas outperform their fancier, pricier counterparts more often than not.

Your ABC affiliate is on real channel 5 as well as on real channel 13. WSET started simulcasting from W05AA (the seventh station on the TVFool list) decades ago to resolve signal issues such as yours. As you can see, it's broadcasting from the Poor Mountain antenna farm along with the rest of your major network affiliates. At a noise margin of 36 dB versus 27 dB for channel 13, channel 5 is a better bet for reliable reception. Just be aware that low-VHF signals like W05AA's are more vulnerable to interference from static discharge (lightning) and impulse noise (appliances, cars) than those on higher channels.

If you're using the one-meter cable that typically comes attached to such antennas, that may not be far enough away to avoid the reception interference radiating from the TV itself. (The tuner is actually a computer.). So try this: Get a six- or 12-foot length of coaxial cable and a "bullet" splice for joining the two cables together, and try different antenna locations farther away from the TV. Remember to re-scan for signals after each move. If you have a window in the room that faces south or west, it might help to move the antenna somewhere near it. Be sure to extend the two "rabbit ears" fully; this will optimize the antenna to receive channel 5.

The cable and splicer should cost less than ten bucks, so it's definitely worth trying first. If it doesn't work, then it's time to consider putting a bigger antenna in the attic or (ideally) above the roof.
 
If you're using the one-meter cable that typically comes attached to such antennas, that may not be far enough away to avoid the reception interference radiating from the TV itself. (The tuner is actually a computer.)
Click to expand...
This would only apply if your TV is a new type HDTV, like LCD or Plasma models. And older analog set using a converter box shouldn't have a problem, at least I've never seen one have issue.
 
Don_M said:
... aaaand what's inside that converter box? That's right – a tuner, aka a computer that's designed to receive digital television broadcasts!
Click to expand...

Who cares what's in a converter box as I'm not at all sure why you even brought this up about it. The last time I check the older analog TV's will not receive a digital signal without a converter box so the box can't cause a problem with it with the older sets.
Yes it could cause problems with a new style TV, BUT, why would anyone even use a converter box on a new style TV.

And as a side note, from what I've read from a 2009 converter box test report ( 202 pages) of the FCC and NTIA the requirements from their test program they were not to have any inference with adjacent TV signal.




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sergei said:

BUT, why would anyone even use a converter box on a new style TV.
Click to expand...
I use a converter box for DX'ing. The manual tuning feature on the Zenith/Insignia converter boxes is great for finding new channels that would otherwise never be found.Scanning channels on newer TV's can result in physical/virtual channel conflicts when DX'ing.
 
All things considered, I think we're going to look into a rooftop antenna. Can anyone recommend one based on our location and what channels we want to get (main ones plus wset which is he only one we can't get with the current antenna)? Thank you for all the continued help!
 
Malibu918 said:
All things considered, I think we're going to look into a rooftop antenna. Can anyone recommend one based on our location and what channels we want to get (main ones plus wset which is he only one we can't get with the current antenna)? Thank you for all the continued help!
Click to expand...

There is a large selection of antennas on the market and range in cost. So do you have a certain amount you want to spend on an outside system, to me this will determine what you install.
 
Here are a few worthy candidates in order of likely performance and durability:

• Winegard HD-7082
• AntennaCraft HD1200
• AntennaCraft CSS1843

Channel Master was once the Corvette of consumer over-the-air antennas... but that was before its parent corporation began farming their construction out to Chinese contract manufacturers. Antennas Direct has a decent reputation for making good (if somewhat expensive) antennas, but none of its all-channel models is well suited to that situation.

These models aren't typically available in stores, so shop for them online. You can get the mast, mount, coaxial cable and grounding equipment locally in the big home centers or Radio Shack, as mast/mount shipping gets pricey. Expect quality hardware to cost at least as much as the antenna does.

These are all rather sizable models, so if you plan to install the antenna yourself, ask a family member/friend or two to help. To get an idea of what's involved, read this primer. It's written so that the non-technical reader can skip over all the geek-talk and still get plenty out of it.
 
Malibu918 said:
All things considered, I think we're going to look into a rooftop antenna. Can anyone recommend one based on our location and what channels we want to get (main ones plus wset which is he only one we can't get with the current antenna)? Thank you for all the continued help!
Click to expand...

• Winegard HD-7082
• AntennaCraft HD1200
• AntennaCraft CSS1843

These are all good antennas that Don_M has suggested but my I'm sure depending on what channels you want to watch you most likely will also need a rotor.


Another option to look at which could also be used with or without a rotor depending on how it's set up, but I'm sure a rotor would give you the maximum number of channels. .

Antennacraft U-8000 UHF 8 bay bowtie antenna

Antennacraft U-8000 UHF/HD 8 Bay Bowtie TV Antenna (U8000) - AntennaCraft - U8000 -

Antennacraft Y5-7-13 Highband VHF Yagi

AntennaCraft Y5-7-13 Highband-Broadband VHF HD Yagi TV Antenna for Channels 7-13 (Y5-7-13) - AntennaCraft - Y5-7-13 - 716079000987

Winegard CC-7870 Antenna Joiner Coupler

Winegard CC-7870 2-Way TV Antenna Joiner Coupler (CC7870) - Winegard - CC-7870 -
 

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