New member looking for help choosing Antenna

[Lurker501]

Hello, I'm new to all this and was hoping I could get some advice on what to look at when it comes to antennas for my new TV.

I just purchased a Visio 47" 1080p LCD HDTV. I've briefly been looking at antennas, but it seems that there is such a variety out there that I don't know where to begin.

After reading several threads here I saw that I should visit antennaweb.org, which I did and the following is the results...

DTVAntenna
TypeCall SignChannelNetworkCityStateLive
DateCompass
OrientationMiles
FromFrequency
Assignment *[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=Y"][COLOR=#000000]yellow - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WPWR-DT50.1MNTGARYIN
106°32.551 *[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=G"][COLOR=#ffffff]green - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WFLD-DT32.1FOXCHICAGOIL
106°32.531 *[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=G"][COLOR=#ffffff]green - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WMAQ-DT5.1NBCCHICAGOIL
106°32.529
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=g"][COLOR=#000000]lt green - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]W57DN57TBNELGINIL
44°0.657
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=R"][COLOR=#ffffff]red - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WYCC20PBSCHICAGOIL
103°32.920
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=R"][COLOR=#ffffff]red - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WGBO66UNIJOLIETIL
103°32.966
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=R"][COLOR=#ffffff]red - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WPWR50MNTGARY IN
106°32.550 *[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=R"][COLOR=#ffffff]red - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WGN-DT9.1CWCHICAGOIL
106°32.519
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=R"][COLOR=#ffffff]red - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WSNS44TELCHICAGOIL
106°32.544
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=R"][COLOR=#ffffff]red - vhf[/COLOR][/URL]WLS7ABCCHICAGOIL
106°32.67 *[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=R"][COLOR=#ffffff]red - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WLS-DT7.1ABCCHICAGOIL
106°32.552
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=R"][COLOR=#ffffff]red - vhf[/COLOR][/URL]WTTW11PBSCHICAGOIL
106°32.611
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=R"][COLOR=#ffffff]red - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WFLD32FOXCHICAGO IL
103°32.932
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=R"][COLOR=#ffffff]red - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WXFT60TFAAURORA IL
106°32.560 *[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=R"][COLOR=#ffffff]red - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WXFT-DT60.1TFAAURORAIL
106°32.659
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=R"][COLOR=#ffffff]red - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WCIU26INDCHICAGOIL
106°32.526 *[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=R"][COLOR=#ffffff]red - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WCIU-DT26.1INDCHICAGOIL
106°32.527
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=R"][COLOR=#ffffff]red - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WCPX38iCHICAGO IL
103°32.938 *[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=R"][COLOR=#ffffff]red - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WCPX-DT38.1iCHICAGOIL
106°32.643
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=B"][COLOR=#ffffff]blue - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WWME-CA23INDCHICAGOIL
106°32.523
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=B"][COLOR=#ffffff]blue - vhf[/COLOR][/URL]WBBM2CBSCHICAGO IL
103°32.92 *[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=B"][COLOR=#ffffff]blue - vhf[/COLOR][/URL]WBBM-DT2.1CBSCHICAGOIL
103°32.93 *[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=B"][COLOR=#ffffff]blue - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WTTW-DT11.1PBSCHICAGOIL
106°32.547 *[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=B"][COLOR=#ffffff]blue - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WSNS-DT44.1TELCHICAGOIL
106°32.545
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=B"][COLOR=#ffffff]blue - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WJYS62RELHAMMONDIN
144°38.662
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=B"][COLOR=#ffffff]blue - vhf[/COLOR][/URL]WMAQ5NBCCHICAGOIL
106°32.65
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=B"][COLOR=#ffffff]blue - vhf[/COLOR][/URL]WGN9CWCHICAGOIL
103°32.99 *[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=B"][COLOR=#ffffff]blue - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WYCC-DT20.1PBSCHICAGOIL
103°32.921 *[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=V"][COLOR=#ffffff]violet - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WGBO-DT66.1UNIJOLIETIL
103°32.953 *[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=V"][COLOR=#ffffff]violet - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WJYS-DT62.1RELHAMMONDIN
106°32.536
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=V"][COLOR=#ffffff]violet - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WYIN56PBSGARYIN
137°62.456
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=V"][COLOR=#ffffff]violet - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WQRF39FOXROCKFORD IL
296°51.139
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=V"][COLOR=#ffffff]violet - vhf[/COLOR][/URL]WREX13NBCROCKFORDIL
295°54.913
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=V"][COLOR=#ffffff]violet - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]WTVO17ABCROCKFORDIL
296°51.417
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=V"][COLOR=#ffffff]violet - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]W64CQ22TBNARLINGTON HEIGHTS IL
56°17.022
[URL="http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=V"][COLOR=#ffffff]violet - uhf[/COLOR][/URL]W68DO68TBNPALATINEIL
106°32.568

I also tried going into options and changing the height to 100ft as someone suggested in a thread and I got the following...

DTVAntenna
TypeCall SignChannelNetworkCityStateLive
DateCompass
OrientationMiles
FromFrequency
Assignment
yellow - uhfWYCC20PBSCHICAGOIL
103°32.920 *yellow - uhfWYCC-DT20.1PBSCHICAGOIL
103°32.921 *yellow - uhfWLS-DT7.1ABCCHICAGOIL
106°32.552 *yellow - uhfWTTW-DT11.1PBSCHICAGOIL
106°32.547
yellow - uhfWPWR50MNTGARY IN
106°32.550 *yellow - uhfWPWR-DT50.1MNTGARYIN
106°32.551
yellow - uhfWSNS44TELCHICAGOIL
106°32.544 *yellow - uhfWSNS-DT44.1TELCHICAGOIL
106°32.545
yellow - uhfWGBO66UNIJOLIETIL
103°32.966 *yellow - uhfWGN-DT9.1CWCHICAGOIL
106°32.519 *yellow - uhfWMAQ-DT5.1NBCCHICAGOIL
106°32.529
yellow - uhfWFLD32FOXCHICAGO IL
103°32.932 *yellow - uhfWFLD-DT32.1FOXCHICAGOIL
106°32.531
yellow - uhfWXFT60TFAAURORA IL
106°32.560 *yellow - uhfWXFT-DT60.1TFAAURORAIL
106°32.659
yellow - uhfWCIU26INDCHICAGOIL
106°32.526 *yellow - uhfWCIU-DT26.1INDCHICAGOIL
106°32.527
yellow - uhfWCPX38iCHICAGO IL
103°32.938 *yellow - uhfWCPX-DT38.1iCHICAGOIL
106°32.643 *green - vhfWBBM-DT2.1CBSCHICAGOIL
103°32.93 *green - uhfWGBO-DT66.1UNIJOLIETIL
103°32.953
green - vhfWGN9CWCHICAGOIL
103°32.99
green - vhfWTTW11PBSCHICAGOIL
106°32.611
green - vhfWLS7ABCCHICAGOIL
106°32.67
lt green - uhfW57DN57TBNELGINIL
44°0.657
lt green - vhfWMAQ5NBCCHICAGOIL
106°32.65
lt green - uhfW68DO68TBNPALATINEIL
106°32.568
lt green - vhfWBBM2CBSCHICAGO IL
103°32.92 *red - uhfWJYS-DT62.1RELHAMMONDIN
106°32.536
blue - uhfWWME-CA23INDCHICAGOIL
106°32.523
blue - uhfWQRF39FOXROCKFORD IL
296°51.139
blue - vhfWREX13NBCROCKFORDIL
295°54.913
blue - uhfW34CK34RELARLINGTON HEIGHTSIL
106°32.534
blue - uhfWJYS62RELHAMMONDIN
144°38.662
blue - uhfWSPY-LP30A1 PLANO IL
219°28.130
blue - uhfWOCH-CA41INDCHICAGOIL
103°32.941
blue - uhfWYIN56PBSGARYIN
137°62.456
blue - uhfW64CQ22TBNARLINGTON HEIGHTS IL
56°17.022
violet - vhfWTMJ4NBCMILWAUKEEWI
15°78.04
violet - vhfWITI6FOXMILWAUKEE WI
15°78.06
violet - uhfWTVO17ABCROCKFORDIL
296°51.417


(Sorry for the long thread)

Now for the hard part. I want to have this antenna in my attic. Since most of the channels I want are in one direction, I wont need to rotate the antenna. These channels are in the same direction: 2, 2.1, 5, 5.1, 7, 7.1, 9, 9.1, 11, 11.1, 20, 20.1, 23, 26, 26.1, 32, 32.1, 34, 38, 38.1, 41, 44, 44.1, 50, 50.1, 60, 60.1, 62.1, 66, 66.1, 68

I called my local Radio Shack and they recommended a 50" or 80" boom antenna (models VU-75 XR & VU-90 XR respectively)
He said that I don't even have to mount it. I could just "lay" it in the attic and it would work.

I figured that to better guarantee better reception that maybe I should select a higher end antenna like the 160" boom model VU-190 XR.

I would like to spend as little as possible while trying to guarantee that I can pick up at least the main local HD channels (2-WBBM, 5-WMAQ, 7-WFLD, 9WGN, 11-WTTW, 32-WFLD,) I may be missing others, but I can't think of them now.

Oh, one other "kicker" WBBM is VHF and from what I heard at low power.

Thank you in advance to those that reply and sorry for the long post.

 

[lunkie]

WBBM dtv is going to be your reception problem child, your nearly 33 miles from the transmitter and they only output 4.4 kw. Even the VU-190xr may not be enough in the attic, but should work if you can get it above the roof in clear sight of the transmitter. Take a look at the "Chicago WBBM" thread in this forum. WBBM has been a problem. Otherwise a medium sized uhf antenna in the attic would probably work good.

 

[Lurker501]

So you're saying don't bother with WBBM for now. So what antenna would you recommend then (best quality for price) under $100?

Also, would I need any type of amp or preamp?

Thanks.

 

[lunkie]

I would say the Channel Master 4221, a 4 bay bow tie antenna and a Winegard HDP-269 preamp. This antenna has good uhf gain and some gain even down into the vhf range. If your going to put this in an attic a few of things to consider, snow on the roof, a wet roof, hopefully it's not a metal roof, if the house has any metal foil wrap make sure it's above the foil and metal nails, staples, truss plates, etc in / on the roof. All will drop signal strength, which the preamp "should" over come. Use a good RG-6 coax. You should try temporarily using the antenna outside just to have an idea of what you can pick up before putting it in the attic. The antenna is not large and is easy to handle. Warren Electronics in Moline Ill has all this stuff with good prices too. http://www.warrenelectronics.com.

 

[raoul5788]

I would say the Channel Master 4221, a 4 bay bow tie antenna and a Winegard HDP-269 preamp. This antenna has good uhf gain and some gain even down into the vhf range. If your going to put this in an attic a few of things to consider, snow on the roof, a wet roof, hopefully it's not a metal roof, if the house has any metal foil wrap make sure it's above the foil and metal nails, staples, truss plates, etc in / on the roof. All will drop signal strength, which the preamp "should" over come. Use a good RG-6 coax. You should try temporarily using the antenna outside just to have an idea of what you can pick up before putting it in the attic. The antenna is not large and is easy to handle. Warren Electronics in Moline Ill has all this stuff with good prices too. http://www.warrenelectronics.com.

You might want to consider the Channel Master 4228, it's about a foot square. It has excellent reception for high vhf channels, and costs around $50.

 

[Jim5506]

The 4221 has no VHF capability, but the 4228 does (due to the back screen being near the size of VHF wavelength), but the 4228 us about 1 yard square.

 

[lunkie]

The 4221 has no VHF capability, but the 4228 does (due to the back screen being near the size of VHF wavelength), but the 4228 us about 1 yard square.

: I stand corrected

 

[Jim5506]

You are over 30 miles from the Chicago towers.

IF you put the antenna in the attic you automatically loose 1/2 of the signal you could get above to roof. That signal cannot be recovered by amplification, because it amplifies only what the antenna receives. Get the biggest and best antenna you can, you'll need it.

Antennas in the attic are more prone to reflections causing digital channels to pixellate and drop out.

An attic mounted antenna receives the same signal from a station 30 miles away that it could from the same station 45 miles away if it were outside.

 

[Lurker501]

Thanks for all the replies. I tried a local Radio Shack and they only had the VU-190 in stock which is the 160" boom antenna. It has 57 elements and the stats say that as a roof mount the VHF range is 190 miles, UHF range is 100 miles, and the FM range is 100 miles. So I figured maybe half that in my attic. I got about 20 analog channels and about 30 digital. Channel 2 barely comes in on analog and 2.1 is all pixellated. Channel 5.1 comes in, but 5 doesn't. weird.

I'm gonna try out the 80" boom VU-90 antenna which was about $60 to see how many channels I get. If I get about the same, I'll probably return the $100 antenna.

 

[8bitbytes]

Be sure to move the antenna around up there in the attic and try several different elevations as well, ie... hanging the antenna at different heights. It took me a few tries to get the best spot in my attic but I need no amp for my U-75R and I'm 30 miles from the towers I pick up from. The pic on the RS website shows the element "V" aiming horizontally but I have it angled vertically and I doubled my signal.

 

[Lurker501]

The unfortunate thing is the VU-190 is so long that it barely fits in my attic, so there's really no room to adjust. That's why I'm gonna try the VU-90 which is half the length of the current antenna. I'll let everyone know my results. For now I'm gonna start a new thread titled "Chicago area reception results" Maybe other OTA installers will post their results to compare.

 

[Jim5506]

To get anywhere near reliable reception on WBBM-DT you will need an antenna with several long elements, unfortunately they will be as big or bigger than the RS VU-190, and the smaller antenna will probably only get you less signal.

Channel Master's Crossfile 3671 is 173 inches long with a 95 inch turning radius, about the same size as the UV-190 but it has better gain. Add a CM7777 pre-amp to that and you might get somewhere, if there's room in the attic to point it toward Chicago.

 

[Lurker501]

Jim, do you have the gain figures for both antennas? I'm trying to find it to see if it's worth the extra $25 plus shipping to exchange the RS VU-190 for the Channel Master Crossfire 3671.

I see that the CM antenna says its range is VHF 100+ and UHF 60+, but the RS antenna shows VHF 190, and UHF 100.

I am surprised that I'm picking up stations from Hammond and Gary IN from where I live here near Elgin IL.

I guess if I want WBBM I'm gonna have to roof mount it. Only problem is I'm probably gonna have to hire someone to do it and the winds here can get pretty bad.

 

[KwestJones]

Another OTA Newbie Looking for Advice

Antennaweb.org says this:

yellow - uhf WNJS-DT 22.1 PBS CAMDEN NJ 94° 7.3 22
* yellow - uhf WUVP-DT 65.1 UNI VINELAND NJ 90° 7.5 66
* yellow - uhf KYW-DT 3.1 CBS PHILADELPHIA PA 340° 26.7 26
* yellow - uhf WGTW-DT 48.1 TBN BURLINGTON NJ 341° 26.5 27
* yellow - uhf WMCN-DT 44.1 IND ATLANTIC CITY NJ 94° 7.3 44
* yellow - uhf WPVI-DT 6.1 ABC PHILADELPHIA PA 340° 26.7 64
* yellow - uhf WPPX-DT 61.1 i WILMINGTON DE 341° 26.5 31
* yellow - uhf WPSG-DT 57.1 CW PHILADELPHIA PA 341° 26.5 32
* yellow - uhf WPHL-DT 17.1 MNT PHILADELPHIA PA 341° 26.5 54
* yellow - uhf WYBE-DT 34.1 PBS PHILADELPHIA PA 341° 26.5 34
* red - uhf WCAU-DT 10.1 NBC PHILADELPHIA PA 341° 26.5 67
* violet - uhf WWSI-DT 49.0 TEL ATLANTIC CITY NJ 111° 33.7 49

I'm not too worried about AC or Camden so they all appear to be coming form the same direction so I can get everything with red. I heard I should stay away from Terk so I was looking at Channel Master 3010. Any thoughts or advice? I was looking for one of the gold sponsors too but none of the seem to sell antennas. (Or i got too lazy to keep checking).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[raoul5788]

You might want to consider the Channel Master 4228, it's about a foot square. It has excellent reception for high vhf channels, and costs around $50.

Oops, I meant about a yard square.