south florida OTA hi-def

johnml

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Jun 3, 2006
440
1
fort lauderdale
Anybody in the south florida area get HI-DEF channels with a outdoor / indoor antenna ? ( ft. lauderdale / Oakland Park ) i just bought a directv h10-250 but have to get the networks with a OTA antenna. any thoughts ?:confused:
 
I have friends and relatives in the Palm Beach, Jensen Beach and Key Largo areas that I helped. What is your zip code, what antenna, and what heading, are you trying to use now. I used 33304 for Oakland Park, FL (correct?) and got these results. You are in one one those areas I love; covered with signals and mostly under 20m. Are you wanting everything you can get, or wanting to aim at one specific city; reception-wise?
 

Attachments

  • antenna.jpg
    antenna.jpg
    72.4 KB · Views: 313
Last edited:
johnml said:
Anybody in the south florida area get HI-DEF channels with a outdoor / indoor antenna ? ( ft. lauderdale / Oakland Park ) i just bought a directv h10-250 but have to get the networks with a OTA antenna. any thoughts ?:confused:

I have a 190" antenna in my attic and I'm in Boca. I pick up just about every station though channel 17.1 still is flaky even with 70dbs.

I'm currently pointing it straigh north towards the west palm stations, but I pick up the miami ones pretty well too.

The best station I get is WB 39.1 which comes in around 90-96, worst being in the mid 60's which is usually 17.1

Check antennaweb.org to find out where to point it, get the largest antenna you can fit and shove it in the attic. Don't bother with the tv top antennas, they're terrible.
 
charper1 said:
I have friends and relatives in the Palm Beach, Jensen Beach and Key Largo areas that I helped. What is your zip code, what antenna, and what heading, are you trying to use now. I used 33304 for Oakland Park, FL (correct?) and got these results. You are in one one those areas I love; covered with signals and mostly under 20m. Are you wanting everything you can get, or wanting to aim at one specific city; reception-wise?


im in Oakland Park 33334. id like to at least get the major networks - ch2,4,6,7 &10 i heard a couple are hard to get because their VHF ? im not sure what kind of antenna im getting - directv is supplying it ? thanks for the help.:confused:

from what i can tell i'm about 19 miles from the antenna farm.
 
You only have 3 VHF channels and they are VHF HIGH, so you should have no worries. TONS of signal around you, all within 14 - 28 miles. I am not thrilled with any DBS provided OTA antenna, and you can almost alway get better for less money on your own. BUT be 110% sure to check your reception on all channels before you sign off of the install and let them leave. Also watch where and how they install; speak up at any point if things are not going the way you want. You want that OTA as high as possible; at the roof peak, or on the chimney if you have one.

Antennas Direct V21
Winegard HD7080P
Winegard PR 7015
Winegard PR 7000
Channel Master CM 3016
Channel Master CM 5646
Channel Master CM 3677
Channel Master CM 4221A (maybe)
 

Attachments

  • antenna.jpg
    antenna.jpg
    75.3 KB · Views: 256
Last edited:
johnml said:
id like to at least get the major networks - ch2,4,6,7 &10

Those are some of the easier ones to get, execpt 7 that was a bit difficult for me. 33, 34, 17, 25, and 39 were a bit iffy for me when I had a smaller antenna (60-80" directional)

I think I picked up 2,4,5,and 29 with a small little 20 dollar tv top antenna mounted in the attic.
 
I thought we would have the Miami local HD's by now so had D* come out to install the AT9 and H20 receiver. They said the dish needed to be moved and of course the HR10-250 wouldn't work so decided to wait until they finally get the HR20 and lower profile dish.

In the meantime decided to try an ota antenna even though it is 58 miles to the transmitters at 015 degrees. Checking exactly where to aim with google earth I think I am line of sight between two roofs from the upstairs. Ordered a Terrestrial Digital 91XG UHF directional antenna with CM7777 amp so with the high gain hopefully it will work. The amp is back ordered so will try the ant with no amp until it comes. Fingers crossed. Will let you know how it works out.

Hurricanes and my fear of heights makes the logical roof top mount not an option.
 
Got the high gain UHF antenna and CM7700 preamp yesterday. Put the Antenna upstairs in attic and am very happy with the reception. Since the Miami transmitters are mostly 58 miles away I didn't expect complete success. Channels 7 and 10 don't come in at all but most everything else does. I get 2.1, 4.1 and 6.1 very clearly, much better than the Miami locals off the dish. I first used the TV tuner with good results then switched to the HR10-250 with equal results. That surprised me after reading some reviews of its OTA performance.
 
The attic is killing the signal, try moving the antenna out to the roof, eve, or chimney if you have one. OTA antennas can be protected via OTARD and no HOA can say otherwise. I live in a very restrictive one (wouldn't have it any other way) and they just need to nicely be made aware of laws that supercede them.

And before anyone chimes in, YES I have been on the other side of the HOA fence before and have learned the hard way about some people and their non-HOA "its my property, and I'll do what I want " crap; I choose not to go through that ever again after living next to a rat & roach infested junk yard located in an upper middle class area.
 
Last edited:
Charper1,

I wish I could put the antenna on the roof but with hurricanes and my fear of heights, I can't. Channel 7 and 10 are VHF for 7.1 and 10.1 so my UHF antenna won't receive them from this distance. I can't fit a VHF antenna in my attic and since I get no signal at all don't think it will work. I am waiting for D* to get the HR20 and new antenna out.

I noticed tonight Lettermen was in HD on the NY satellite but not with my OTA 4.1. Leno, 6.1 was HD in both. Must have been a Miami problem.

Key Largo neighborhoods have no codes so that isn't the problem. We are called the Conch Republic because we wanted to make these islands a different country a while back.
 
You live right down there by a old high school friend of mine. Her husband works at the fire department last I heard and is also a big HD nut. The have an office for a company she runs on Overseas Hwy, 37037 zip.
 
As far as I know I am the only one down here that cares about HD. Word is the Miami HD locals are really operating effective yesterday. High Def had a couple of reports but they did last month too. Someone else thinks the HR20 will be available in August.
 
:( Then i must be the second person down here ( Oakland Park ). The locals were supposed to be operating as of yesterday.As far as the HR20-250 the last CSR told me November is a realistic date and also that the price will be comparable to the HR10-250's when they first came out, so that means I'll have to wait a bit for the price to drop-
 
If I remember reading a thread a while back correctly, Scott posted that last he was told it was still on time for the original September 2006, fall release. If he sees this, he can elaborate or correct it.
 
Hey, if I was able to squeeze a 190" antenna into my attic I'm sure you could too. :)

Right now I'm only missing channels 17 and 34 in digital. I get all the other channels from miami to port st. lucie.
 
It isn't really an attic, the top floor has storage as the roof reaches 6 feet from the floor on both sides of the bedroom and den so a VHF antenna is too wide to fit. Wife already made it crystal clear it could not be visible. When we got married she made me convert my tool cabinet back into a pantry. Now I have to go all the way down to the garage to get my drill. As long as I can keep all the boats I guess I can handle the inconvenience. We also put up a metal roof so have to deal with all those 1/2 wavelength interference rules too.
 
VinceT3 said:
Hey, if I was able to squeeze a 190" antenna into my attic I'm sure you could too. :)

Right now I'm only missing channels 17 and 34 in digital. I get all the other channels from miami to port st. lucie.


Your one of the lucky ones - My attic has about 2 1/2 - 3 feet at its highest point and then i would have to maneuver around the A/C ducts. My last antenna blew off during Wilma and i know if i put another big antenna up, with my luck we'll get hit again:eek:
 
I am just north of you John in Coral Springs. I have an antenna in my attic that was built in the house back around 1981 and it works just fine. It is very directional though. Almost all of the stations have towers very near the Dolphins Stadium right on the county line. I pick up all the networks with signals in the 90's. If you need help I can probably lend you a hand but it will have to wait about a week.
 
***

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 1, Members: 0, Guests: 1)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)