New to OTA

[Rorshach85]

Okay I'm a tech for dish and was doing an install for a lady today who was just moving into a house. She had a large antenna outside and I asked her what she was gonna do with it and she told me I could have it. I'm new to OTA and it's something I'm wanting to get into so I don't know very much about antennas at all. She said it was prolly twenty years old or so and it was pretty tall so I couldn't see any brand name on it or anything. I took some pics and there not the best but could anyone tell me if it would be worth my time to get this antenna?

 

[Mr Tony]

its a nice antenna but would be a pain to get down with the guy wires and everything

Also depending on your location it may be overkill. Best to post what your tvfool report says
tvfool.com

That antenna has VHF Low (2-6) which most areas its not needed anymore. Those stations when they went digital used UHF mainly or VHF Hi (7-13)

 

[Rorshach85]

Okay when I said I'm new to this it basically means I know absolutely nothing about it. All the VHF high and low is Greek to me. Taking it down might be a pain but with my tools I could get it done. Would it work good is my question.

 

[Rorshach85]

 

[mikeineburg]

You can get a fairly nice new antenna for $100. How long will it take you to get this one down safely ? Do you get the mast also (which may be more valuable than antenna)? Dies this setup fit your "environment"?
VHF low is off-air RF channels 2 thru 6 which are rarely used these days. Note that the broadcaster may still be NBC 4 or similar, their actual broadcast RF is likely in the UHF (14 thru 50-something) range. So, unless you're in a market that has a VHF low broadcaster, this isn't the type of antenna that you'd buy if buying new. Not to say that it won't work - it will simply capture a wider range of the RF spectrum than you need.
Start with tvfool.com and out in your address. It will tell you what broadcasters you can expect to receive.
Good luck

 

[stardust3]

It probably wouldn't be too bad to take down. It appears to be in good shape also, seems like a nice find.
I'd take that antenna home & hook to an ota module on a dish receiver, TV, digital box or otherwise & start playing. Like Iceberg stated Tvfool is a good place to start. It will give you a pretty good idea on what's out there & a direction to point along with antenna sizing. I like those old antennas, they can be some of the best as far as reception goes.

 

[Rorshach85]

Yeah mast and everything comes with it. What all is involved in set up? Do I need an amp or anything? Or can I run rg6 straight from the antenna to my tv?

 

[Rorshach85]

You can get a fairly nice new antenna for $100. How long will it take you to get this one down safely ? Do you get the mast also (which may be more valuable than antenna)? Dies this setup fit your "environment"?
VHF low is off-air RF channels 2 thru 6 which are rarely used these days. Note that the broadcaster may still be NBC 4 or similar, their actual broadcast RF is likely in the UHF (14 thru 50-something) range. So, unless you're in a market that has a VHF low broadcaster, this isn't the type of antenna that you'd buy if buying new. Not to say that it won't work - it will simply capture a wider range of the RF spectrum than you need.
Start with tvfool.com and out in your address. It will tell you what broadcasters you can expect to receive.
Good luck

When you say that it will capture a wider range of spectrum than I need what exactly does that mean?

 

[Jim5506]

Bringing down a telescoping tower is not that difficult, but not without perils, too. I used to raise and lower the 40 ft tower with a Finco 400A and rotator by myself about once a year.

The trick is to use an 8-10 ft step ladder tied off to the top of bottom pole of the mast so it won't move on you and bring the second section down, then the third and so forth.

The guy wires help to balance the whole thing as it comes down but you can NEVER do this when any wind is blowing unless you fancy breaking the pole in half and destroying the antenna.

When all the poles are down you can remove the antenna and rotator off the top then get a little help to lay the mast down and do the final disassembly.

 

[Rorshach85]

Could someone please answer my earlier questions?

 

[Bob2011]

The antenna is missing one of the VHF elements but not a crisis. A new antenna in that class would be about $60 to $80. If the rotor works fine and it has the control box that would be a nice score. You can use RG6 with no problem but I would replace the 300 ohm to 75 ohm transformer with a new low loss outdoor model. As far as an amp goes you should only need one if you are going for the weak distant stations and your cable run is approaching a 100 feet or more. The locals are really strong and should not need an amp even if you split the signal to another TV.

 

[Rorshach85]

Well I'm really trying to do this without putting much money in it. Would it work in the condition it's in now?

 

[Mr Tony]

sure it will work

 

[Rorshach85]

Thanks a lot guys. Know I'm asking a lot of questions but this is something I'm very new at and don't know very much about. One last question though. How high should it be mounted?

 

[Mr Tony]

When you say that it will capture a wider range of spectrum than I need what exactly does that mean?

old antennas covered channels 2-83 then 2-69 when the FCC got rid of channels 70-83 for cell phones

When the digital conversion happened in 2009 (analog went bye bye) most channels settled between 7-51 (52-69 again the FCC grabbed). 2-6 in most cases is not used (there are some spots where it is but they are rare) because of too much interference. The really long elements on the antenna was for 2-6.

Here is an antenna that is designed just for 7-51. Note on the right hand side the VHF (7-13) elements are not as long as the one on your antenna. Your antenna will get more (stations) if they are broadcasting in your area which according to your tvfool they dont

 

[Rorshach85]

Iceberg thanks for the help. That's why I love this site.

 

[mike123abc]

It looks like the mast I have. There are a series of bolts/elbow like screws that you loosen to drop each section into the one below it. The mast probably costs more than the antenna.

 

[muddyboot]

I've been doing OTA installations and service for 15 years and I see no need for you to use that antenna. The only functional portion of that today, for the most part, is the part in front of the 'corner reflector' (in front of the V). Maybe some FM could come off the VHF portion of the back but im not sure if you are interested in that. If you are only interested in UHF reception for television I like Channel Master antennas 4221 if closer to transmitters or 4228 if further away. All of these, including the antenna you posted pictures of are directional so needs to be aimed with a meter

 

[DRCars]

I noticed 1 channel on the OP's TVFool report on RF 7 (WDAM-TV = NBC) so the part behind the V may be necessary to get that channel. However, I agree that the Channel Master 4228 HD is a good choice since it does rather well on high VHF (7-13) even though it is sold as a UHF antenna. I don't know about the 4221. Perhaps it will pick up 7-13 also?

DRCars