Longview, TX antenna setup examples

Alright, I have some news for you guys. I was perusing at Best Buy today and ran into the well known Terk HDTVa indoor antenna. It was 73.99 which is obscene of course, but I got curious. I took it to the customer service desk and asked what the return policy was... of course it was 30 days just like everything else. So I told the girl, I'm going home to try this out and if it doesn't pick up any signal I'm bringing it to get my money back. Basically, I'm just "renting" it for a month while I acquire my other antenna to put outside of the house:D.

I plugged it in and was blown away on what all it picked up. It picked up every channel I wanted plus all of the Shreveport channels.


Here are the channels and their respective signal strengths (I pointed the antenna towards Shreveport for those channels and towards the west for my one VHF channel):

3.1, KTBS, ~70
6.1, KTAL, ~90, pretty solid
7.1, KLTV, ~ mid 70s
12.1, KSLA, ~74
18.1, KYTX, ~74
33.1, KMSS, ~70-74
51.1, KFXK, 100
56.1, KETK, 100


This bodes very well for when I get my antenna up outside. I am very excited by the way!:D Now I just need to buy an outdoor antenna!
 
Alright, I have some news for you guys. I was perusing at Best Buy today and ran into the well known Terk HDTVa indoor antenna. It was 73.99 which is obscene of course, but I got curious. I took it to the customer service desk and asked what the return policy was... of course it was 30 days just like everything else. So I told the girl, I'm going home to try this out and if it doesn't pick up any signal I'm bringing it to get my money back. Basically, I'm just "renting" it for a month while I acquire my other antenna to put outside of the house:D.

I plugged it in and was blown away on what all it picked up. It picked up every channel I wanted plus all of the Shreveport channels.


Here are the channels and their respective signal strengths (I pointed the antenna towards Shreveport for those channels and towards the west for my one VHF channel):

3.1, KTBS, ~70
6.1, KTAL, ~90, pretty solid
7.1, KLTV, ~ mid 70s
12.1, KSLA, ~74
18.1, KYTX, ~74
33.1, KMSS, ~70-74
51.1, KFXK, 100
56.1, KETK, 100


This bodes very well for when I get my antenna up outside. I am very excited by the way!:D Now I just need to buy an outdoor antenna!
Was it this one? Terk - Indoor Amplified HDTV Antenna - HDTVA
This is an amplified antenna but it should be a good indicator of what an outdoor antenna will receive. Besides Solid Signal another good supplier is Summit Source.
 
It is amplified, but shouldn't an outdoor antenna get better signal. Especially if I put it up on 10 to 15 feet of mast?


Also, if I bought a small amplifier for the outdoor antenna, that would probably help. I will just try the antenna first, but an amplifier may help it lock down a higher signal. I am probably about to pull the trigger on an outdoor antenna real soon. Thanks for all the help guys.


I am not done asking install questions and updating yal on the process though!:)
 
... shouldn't an outdoor antenna get better signal. Especially if I put it up on 10 to 15 feet of mast?

Yup. See the following antenna truism:

Bigger is better.
Higher is better.
Outdoors is better.


Also, if I bought a small amplifier for the outdoor antenna, that would probably help. I will just try the antenna first, but an amplifier may help it lock down a higher signal.
That's the way to go. Refer to my earlier post: Try the antenna first, and then add a pre-amp later if needed. If you buy the HD-7084, my hunch is that you'll be fine with just the antenna. It's made lots of people happy all by itself.
 
OK, so I've decided to go with the Winegard 7084p:D



Now, I was looking at three different ones and there is quite a bit of price discrepancy...

Here are the three spots I am looking to buy from:

Channel Master CM 9521A Complete Antenna Rotator System with Infra-Red Remote Control (CM9521A) | CM9521A [Channel Master] | Antenna rotator CM 9521 CM-9521 Rotor rotate rotater rotors CM 9521 CM-9521 rotators roter channel master 9521a automatic ant

And these two appear to be the same, but one is quite a bit cheaper...

Winegard HD7084P HD-7084P VHF / UHF / FM HDTV Antenna Platinum 68 Element REFURBISHED Off-Air Local High Definition Digital Signal Channel Outdoor Television Aerial, BLUE ZONE, Part # HD7084P | With Coax Cable: Oak Entertainment Centers and Home Offi

Winegard HD-7084P HD7084P High Definition Platinum VHF / UHF / FM HDTV Antenna 68 Element Off-Air Local Digital Signal Channel Outdoor Television Aerial, BLUE ZONE, Part # HD7084P | With Coax Cable: Oak Entertainment Centers and Home Office Furniture



I am also going to probably get this rotator:

Channel Master CM 9521A Complete Antenna Rotator System with Infra-Red Remote Control (CM9521A) | CM9521A [Channel Master] | Antenna rotator CM 9521 CM-9521 Rotor rotate rotater rotors CM 9521 CM-9521 rotators roter channel master 9521a automatic ant




As far as mounting goes, I am thinking of a eaves mount or a wall mount. Possibly a j mount. I'm still kind of undecided in this area. I am wanting to stay away from mounting it on a mast because that gets expensive, but I will do it if that is the way to go. Any advice in this area will be greatly appreciated!
 
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that antenna is too big for a j mount. Buy a 3' tripod they are like 19 bux at home depot lowes or menards and get a 10' mast and cut in half 5 ' on the tripod the other 5' above the rotor and you should be good to go. Make sure when you install the tripod use at least 3" long lag bolts and lag them into the rafters if possible and seal them with roofing cement ( get the kind that comes in caulk gun tube in the roof dept at your local big box store).
 
Question again...


Can you attach the boom of the antenna to the rotator, or does there need to be a mast attached to the rotator...


I plan on burying an 8 foot mast 2 feet into the ground. Attaching 4 foot mast to it with 2 wall clamps for support attached to a 2x10 nailed between rafters. On top of that I will put the rotator with either the boom of the antenna attached to that, or another 4 foot mast attached. The boom length on the 7084p is 131".


Any help on mounting will be greatly appreciated!
 
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Can you attach the boom of the antenna to the rotator, or does there need to be a mast attached to the rotator...

Nope. The rotor clamps to the lower mast for stability. The rotor has no "stub" for mounting the boom, but rather a clamping "cuff" into which the upper mast fits. It is the cuff that rotates the upper mast and the boom.

I plan on burying an 8 foot mast 2 feet into the ground. Attaching 4 foot mast to it with 2 wall clamps for support attached to a 2x10 nailed between rafters. On top of that I will put the rotator with either the boom of the antenna attached to that, or another 4 foot mast attached.
Sorry. I didn't respond prior to this because I had a hard time trying to picture exactly what you want to do here. Dodge suggested a good, secure, cost-effective mounting method back at Post #28. I'd say he knows a bit more about that end of it than I do, so take a second look at his post.
 
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