New OTA Antenna for the QTH

[spongella]

Bought this antenna on Amazon a few weeks ago, a little over thirty bucks, rotatable, has preamplifier. Mounted it on a home made telescoping mast not that high above ground, works great, gets all Philly, NYC, and Lehigh Valley channels. Am located about mid-way between NYC and Philly.

For the price am totally satisfied. It does come with coax, but it was kind of thin and flimsy so just used some old satellite RG/6 instead.

 

[comfortably_numb]

Bought this antenna on Amazon a few weeks ago, a little over thirty bucks, rotatable, has preamplifier. Mounted it on a home made telescoping mast not that high above ground, works great, gets all Philly, NYC, and Lehigh Valley channels. Am located about mid-way between NYC and Philly.

For the price am totally satisfied. It does come with coax, but it was kind of thin and flimsy so just used some old satellite RG/6 instead.

Is that one of those “150 mile” antennas? How does it compare to your other antennas?

 

[harshness]

For the price am totally satisfied. It does come with coax, but it was kind of thin and flimsy so just used some old satellite RG/6 instead.

Most of those antennas come with coax that is a step above RG6 as the pre-amp and rotator motor need extra ampacity. You might want to confirm that the provided cable doesn't have a thicker center conductor.

Of course since it is working, don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

[spongella]

Yep, it's a "150 mile" antenna, not that I believe that statement. The TV stations I watch are 25 - 50 miles away so this one works fine. What also helps is that this location is 200+ feet above sea level with the horizon in all directions.

It might work even better when mounted on the roof but at this age I try to stay off it hi hi.

 

[spongella]

Too late, I threw out the coax that came with it, my bad!

Most of those antennas come with coax that is a step above RG6 as the pre-amp and rotator motor need extra ampacity. You might want to confirm that the provided cable doesn't have a thicker center conductor.

Of course since it is working, don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

[comfortably_numb]

Too late, I threw out the coax that came with it, my bad!

 

[spongella]

Got a second one of these antennas to replace the worn-out main TV antenna that was mounted on the chimney. I then scanned OTA stations in different directions (NYC/Philly/Lehigh Valley PA). This time I used the coax that came with the antenna instead of substituting it for heavier RG/6. So far it works as well as the one mentioned in the first post.

That's the funny thing about digital OTA antennas; you'd think mounting it higher would be better, but in my case not so.

 

[Lone Gunman]

Too late, I threw out the coax that came with it, my bad!

NEVER THROW STUFF LIKE THAT AWAY, EVER!

 

[navychop]

OTA reception is part art. A few feet in any direction, including up and down, can make a big difference.

 

[comfortably_numb]

OTA reception is part art. A few feet in any direction, including up and down, can make a big difference.

That’s why it’s so much fun, but also sometimes a pain in the arse