recommendations on OTA Antenna

[crippe]

does anyone have any good recommendations on a solid OTA antenna? I just got a 921 receiver and would like to hook up an OTA antenna to get more HD content. I live in Oakland, CA and according to antennaweb.org I need a red antenna to get everything near me. Looking for an inexpensive option that is easy to install. Wouldn't mind an indoor antenna if they are easier to install and can still get the signals strong enough.

Also, if anyone knows where to get RG6 Coaxial cable cheap I would appreciate it. I have to run the line from the OTA antenna and another line from my satellite switch for the 921's second tuner, but since I live in a city most electronics stores are small so I don't know if they would have a good price on the length of cable I'm gonna need (prolly close to 100 feet).

If there is anything else someone who has little knowledge of this stuff should know about ahead of time that will save me money and/or headaches down the road I would appreciate that as well.

Thanks!!
dan

 

[boy921]

crippe, I would recommend either Wineguad or Channel Master "fringe" rated diectional antenna without pre-amplification. Hopefully all your digital stations are located within 13 degrees of each other, otherwise you may need a rotor. Using a directional antenna, even with pre-amplification, may result in signal loss due to multipath where same channel signals bounce off of different different locations. You can get good RG-6 off of Ebay for a fair price but shipping jacks it up. TitanTV has an excellent antenna selector site. Check it out. http://www.titantv.com/TTV/MyTitanT...x?broadcastType=digital&broadcastType=digital

Good luck and let me know how your OTA works.

John

 

[cpdretired]

Try Home Depot for the RG6. They sell it by the roll or cut to length.

 

[crippe]

are there any options that do not require a rotator? most signals in my area seem to come from 246 degrees, but the NBC station is at 141.

 

[boy921]

are there any options that do not require a rotator? most signals in my area seem to come from 246 degrees, but the NBC station is at 141.

Yes, if your stations are close and transmit at a reasonable power, you can have two antennas with a splitter. Space the antennas at least four feet vertically apart so they don't interfere with each other's reception. Aim to 141 degrees and the other to 246 degrees. Use your titanTV antenna selector for the stations for the 141 degree, and the others stations located at 246 degrees so to determine what antennas will work best. If the splitter reduces your signal strength to where you start getting pixelation, you should connect a good in-line amplifier to the cable. If splitting the antennas causes actual signal loss, you may have to run separate lines from the antennas and use an A-B switch to change the respective antenna to your receiver.

 

[mserrano]

For best results, I recommend the following: For all HDTV channels except NBC get either a Winegard HD9095P (http://www.winegard.com/offair/pdf/hd9095p.pdf); a Winegard PR9032 (http://www.winegard.com/offair/pdf/pr-9032.pdf); a Winegard PR8800 (http://www.winegard.com/offair/pdf/pr-8800.pdf); or a Channel Master 4228 (http://www.channelmaster.com/Pages/TVS/UHFAnts.htm). All of these antennas are for UHF only.

NBC (KNTV-DT) transmits on Channel 12 (VHF-hi). For this channel, you can use either a Winegard YA1713 (http://www.winegard.com/offair/pdf/ya-1713.pdf), or a Taco/Jerrold/Delhi 10Y12S (http://www.starkelectronic.com/delhi.htm). If you get the Winegard HD9095P UHF antenna, it has a built-in VHF coupler for your Channel 12 antenna. If you get any of the other UHF antennas, you will need a VHF/UHF Separator/Joiner to combine the antennas. You can use a Winegard CS-7750 (http://www.winegard.com/offair/separatorsjoiners.htm), which has a very low insertion loss.

If you have a long coax run to the TV, Winegard makes a high-input pre-amp specifically designed for HDTV (model HDP-269). Please note that you cannot have any splitters in between the outdoor pre-amp unit and the indoor power supply. You could try it without the pre-amp first and see what happens.

The only station you may have a problem with is KNTV-DT (12) because they are in San Jose. I recommend that the Channel 12 antenna be mounted outside. If you find that all other stations come in reliably except KNTV-DT, you can use a Winegard AP-3700 pre-amp which boost VHF only (it passes UHF) and is less expensive than the HDP-269. The Winegard CS-7750 Separator/Joiner will pass pre-amp power on the VHF side.

If you cannot find the Winegard or Channel Master products locally, Warren Electronics (http://www.warrenelectronics.com) carries most of their products. The Taco/Jerrold/Delhi 10Y12S must be ordered from Stark Electronics (http://www.starkelectronic.com).

 

[mserrano]

I just checked the FCC web site for KNTV-DT (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?stat...t2=&mlat2=&slat2=&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&size=9) and found that they have a construction permit to move the tower to the Colma/Brisbane area (San Bruno Mtn) and dramatically increase power. It's quite possible you may not need a separate Channel 12 antenna. You should contact them and ask when they plan to complete the upgrade.

 

[Highwayman]

Wal-Mart has 100 feet of RG6 for about 19 dollars

 

[Grandude]

I just checked the FCC web site for KNTV-DT (http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/tvq?stat...t2=&mlat2=&slat2=&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&size=9) and found that they have a construction permit to move the tower to the Colma/Brisbane area (San Bruno Mtn) and dramatically increase power. It's quite possible you may not need a separate Channel 12 antenna. You should contact them and ask when they plan to complete the upgrade.

The new transmitting tower for Ch12 is supposed to be completed early this year.

 

[Paradox-SJ]

kntv 11 also broadcast on 48.2 from monument peak in fremont...

Just get a CM4228 ($50.00) at Fry's and mount it out side towards Sutro Tower. You may get KNTV11 of the back side of the CM4228 like most of us do. especially if you are in the hills. You should check out the http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HDTV-in-SFbay

 

[Carl B]

If you use 2 antennas, make the leads from the antennas to the joiner/splitter of exactly equal length. You can get a good splitter/joiner/combiner HYBRID at RadioShack. It passes all signals and DC current both ways on all ports. It works fine for combining the signals of 2 antennas and doesn't create new problems or degrade your signal.

The biggest problem with combining the signals of 2 antennas is multi-path caused by both antennas picking up a signal from the same channel. These signals will confuse your ATSC tuner and you may not be able to lock the channel. Test each antenna individually on all channels of interest. If you get a "lockable" signal for a channel on both antennas, try moving the antenna furtherest from the channel's signal azimuth a few degrees both directions to see if you can get that antenna to hit a null location for the channel's signal. I've done this with antennas pointed at 120 degrees and 211 degrees with good results.

Lowes sells Zenith quad-shielded RG-6 coax in 100 foot lengths for a reasonable price (cheaper than RS). If you're running new coax, make it quad-shielded for piece of mind.

 

[crippe]

thanks alot for all the info everyone!

 

[Amphicar770]

Try a Join-Tenna

Rather than a splitter, you can get a ChannelMaster Join-tenna channel coupler for your second antenna which will pass through only the NBC feed you are after. This should help prevent any multicasting issues. I know you can find them at Warren Electronics (on-line), probably other places as well.

http://www.warrenelectronics.com/Antennas/joiners.htm