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Electronics Repair (sci.electronics.repair) Discussion of repairing electronic equipment. Topics include requests for assistance, where to obtain servicing information and parts, techniques for diagnosis and repair, and annecdotes about success, failures and problems. |
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#1
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
My girlfriend has two aunts in Huntington Park. They live in an older
home and need a TV antenna installed to get TV reception. The bunny ears are not going to cut it come Feb. 2009. We already got them a DTV box, now we need the rooftop antenna installed. I have read about how to do it. I'm fuzzy on pointing the antenna or bolting down the mast on an old roof. Perhaps a pole anchored in concrete would be better. I was hoping to find someone who sells and installs the antenna, so a Pro (or semi Pro) could take care of it. I found http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_disp...p?prod=ANTINST but the out the door cost would be about $400 or so. An expensive gift to give someone if you ask me. I called another guy out of Santa Monica, but he is asking $500. Do you know anyone who can do it for less? I almost feel inclined to do it myself. Radio Shack sells a large antenna for $99. Bah this post is very stressful. Lesson I learned is, don't open your mouth to help. I fear if I take on this project I will muck it up. TV reception is hit and miss, the advice I was given is point the antenna to Mount Wilson. How do I do that, use a compass? If you've read this far, my hats off to you. Best regards, Michael Scipione |
#2
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
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#4
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
On Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:36:14 -0700, UCLAN wrote:
wrote: My girlfriend has two aunts in Huntington Park. They live in an older home and need a TV antenna installed to get TV reception. The bunny ears are not going to cut it come Feb. 2009. We already got them a DTV box, now we need the rooftop antenna installed. Why a roof-top antenna? Several good indoor antennas are made that should work in your situation. Several indoor antennas work significantly better that rabbit ears? I think not. If his rabbit ears won't work then a super duper amplified "As Seen on TV" antenna would be a waste of money. The lowest cost outdoor rooftop antenna will greatly outperform the best indoor antenna. |
#5
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
Do you know anyone who can do it for less? I almost feel inclined to
do it myself. Radio Shack sells a large antenna for $99. Bah this post is very stressful. The below are all cheap outside vhf/uhf/fm antennas. They get their gain by being directional. Compared to inside antennas they have height gain and a much less obstructed view of the desired signal. Hopefully the stations you are interested in are in the same direction so that a rotor would not be required. Wineguard and Channelmaster are the two dominant players as far as TV antennas go. http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_disp...?PROD=ANCM2001 http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_disp...?PROD=ANCM3014 http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_disp...p?PROD=ANC3016 http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_disp...p?PROD=SPR7032 Installation of such a small antenna should be a breeze. Just determine where you want to mount it. Among your choices of mounting hardware is a mast pipe( required) A small tripod, a side wall mount ect. You also need transmission cable. The best choice would be a 300 ohm to 75 ohm outside transformer/balun mounted at the antenna so that you could run 75 ohm coax to the TV. |
#6
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
This antenna complete with universal mount and amplifier may be all you need if the broadcasters are close enough. http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_disp...om=Large#xview |
#7
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
On 08/08/2008 12:13 PM, sent:
My girlfriend has two aunts in Huntington Park. They live in an older home and need a TV antenna installed to get TV reception. The bunny ears are not going to cut it come Feb. 2009. We already got them a DTV box, now we need the rooftop antenna installed. I have read about how to do it. I'm fuzzy on pointing the antenna or bolting down the mast on an old roof. Perhaps a pole anchored in concrete would be better. I was hoping to find someone who sells and installs the antenna, so a Pro (or semi Pro) could take care of it. I found http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_disp...p?prod=ANTINST but the out the door cost would be about $400 or so. An expensive gift to give someone if you ask me. I called another guy out of Santa Monica, but he is asking $500. Do you know anyone who can do it for less? I almost feel inclined to do it myself. Radio Shack sells a large antenna for $99. Bah this post is very stressful. Lesson I learned is, don't open your mouth to help. I fear if I take on this project I will muck it up. TV reception is hit and miss, the advice I was given is point the antenna to Mount Wilson. How do I do that, use a compass? If you've read this far, my hats off to you. Best regards, Michael Scipione Please try to tell us something about the aunt's home(s) location with regards to nearby outdoors obstacles. Are there nearby high trees, buildings or structures that will interfere with the signal path? Would a possible outdoor installation have a fairly clear path to the NNE? Have you installed the DTV converter box? If so, what have the results been? How many feet of lead-in cable would be needed between the exterior antenna and the furthest DTV converter box? Putting a weakened high channel UHF station through 75 Ohm coaxial cable can lead to a disappointing result. However, I do it at home with a Radio Shack VU-190 XR, but I have a fairly short (40 feet) cable run to my home's VHF/UHF distribution amplifier. Remember not to be influenced by anything describing an antenna that says it's been optimized for DTV or HDTV. R.F. is R.F., period. -- 1PW @?6A62?FEH9E=6o2@=]4@ [r4o7t] |
#8
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
What about installing an antenna in the attic? Reception might be slightly
worse when it rains, but installation will be a heck of a lot simpler -- and safer. --- The Lady from Philadelphia |
#9
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
On Aug 8, 2:13*pm, wrote:
My girlfriend has two aunts in Huntington Park. They live in an older home and need a TV antenna installed to get TV reception. The bunny ears are not going to cut it come Feb. 2009. We already got them a DTV box, now we need the rooftop antenna installed. I have read about how to do it. I'm fuzzy on pointing the antenna or bolting down the mast on an old roof. Perhaps a pole anchored in concrete would be better. I was hoping to find someone who sells and installs the antenna, so a Pro (or semi Pro) could take care of it. I foundhttp://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?prod=ANTINSTbut the out the door cost would be about $400 or so. An expensive gift to give someone if you ask me. I called another guy out of Santa Monica, but he is asking $500. Do you know anyone who can do it for less? I almost feel inclined to do it myself. Radio Shack sells a large antenna for $99. Bah this post is very stressful. Lesson I learned is, don't open your mouth to help. I fear if I take on this project I will muck it up. TV reception is hit and miss, the advice I was given is point the antenna to Mount Wilson. How do I do that, use a compass? If you've read this far, my hats off to you. Best regards, Michael Scipione It would help if you told us where Huntington Park is , what state, how far from the transmitters, etc. |
#10
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
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#11
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
On Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:13:37 -0700, michaelscipione33 wrote:
My girlfriend has two aunts in Huntington Park. They live in an older home and need a TV antenna installed to get TV reception. The bunny ears are not going to cut it come Feb. 2009. We already got them a DTV box, now we need the rooftop antenna installed. I have read about how to do it. I'm fuzzy on pointing the antenna or bolting down the mast on an old roof. Perhaps a pole anchored in concrete would be better. snip Before spending a lot of money, I suggest you google on "gray-hoverman". build it and try it in the attic. Hook it up with a balun and rg6 cable. I've built one from scrap wood with heavy copper wire for the elements and aluminum foil for a reflector. I have it installed in an attic like position above a kitchen. I am receiving a channel 32 station 23 miles away with no problems. hth, kw ----== Posted via Pronews.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.pronews.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups ---= - Total Privacy via Encryption =--- |
#12
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
wrote:
Several indoor antennas work significantly better that rabbit ears? I think not. If his rabbit ears won't work then a super duper amplified "As Seen on TV" antenna would be a waste of money. I disagree, strongly. Read some opinions on AVS, or go to: http://www.hdtvantennalabs.com/revie...a-reviews.html I've seen this antenna and the unamplified model in action, along with ordinary rabbit ears. It was no contest. The lowest cost outdoor rooftop antenna will greatly outperform the best indoor antenna. Dunno 'bout that. I've seen some pretty pathetic excuses for outdoor antennas, and some quite well performing indoor ones. For 20 miles and a digital signal, an indoor antenna and a converter with a decent front end should work fine. Besides, the OP didn't sound like he wanted to mess with masts, guy wires, etc. |
#13
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
On 08/08/2008 08:57 PM, Ken Wright sent:
snip Before spending a lot of money, I suggest you google on "gray-hoverman". build it and try it in the attic. Hook it up with a balun and rg6 cable. I've built one from scrap wood with heavy copper wire for the elements and aluminum foil for a reflector. I have it installed in an attic like position above a kitchen. I am receiving a channel 32 station 23 miles away with no problems. hth, kw Hello Ken: I'm just wondering if, on those days when the roof is wet with rain or snow, if it might have been best to have used a good quality 300 Ohm twinlead from the "Gray-Hoverman", and then convert to 75 Ohm at the last possible moment? Reason: Higher signal level, and probably better S/N ratio, delivered to the DTV converter or TV because the coaxial cable, even a very good quality RG-6, would exhibit so much signal loss at UHF frequencies versus a good 300 Ohm twinlead. Granted, the twinlead would need to be carefully routed with the liberal use of standoffs and a reasonable amount of twists while avoiding metal and noise producing equipment and/or appliances. With respect. -- 1PW @?6A62?FEH9E=6o2@=]4@ [r4o7t] |
#14
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
"UCLAN" wrote in message
... wrote: Several indoor antennas work significantly better that rabbit ears? I think not. If his rabbit ears won't work then a super duper amplified "As Seen on TV" antenna would be a waste of money. I disagree, strongly. Read some opinions on AVS, or go to: http://www.hdtvantennalabs.com/revie...a-reviews.html I've seen this antenna and the unamplified model in action, along with ordinary rabbit ears. It was no contest. The first review goes like this... "Design and construction is so flimsy the antenna was unable to support itself in an upright position without supplemental bracing. All our HD stations are on the same tower site so the distance to each is 20 miles (+/- one mile) and bearings are +/- 2 degrees. Using the autotune feature on the TV, this antenna was only able to capture 3 digital signals and unable to hold any of them long enough to permit viewing a program. A few of the analog stations were picked up, however, the picture quality was so bad the signals it did receive were useless. Got out my $10, 30-year old rabbit ears, pluggged into my high dollar TV and got 19 digital channels plus excellent performance on analog. Took the Terk back to Best Buy." Terk makes junk. I had one of their amplified indoor FM antennas that actually gave worse audible performance than a piece of wire. |
#15
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
On Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:21:47 -0700, 1PW wrote:
On 08/08/2008 08:57 PM, Ken Wright sent: snip Before spending a lot of money, I suggest you google on "gray-hoverman". build it and try it in the attic. Hook it up with a balun and rg6 cable. Hello Ken: I'm just wondering if, on those days when the roof is wet with rain or snow, if it might have been best to have used a good quality 300 Ohm twinlead from the "Gray-Hoverman", and then convert to 75 Ohm at the last possible moment? Reason: Higher signal level, and probably better S/N ratio, delivered to the DTV converter or TV because the coaxial cable, even a very good quality RG-6, would exhibit so much signal loss at UHF frequencies versus a good 300 Ohm twinlead. Granted, the twinlead would need to be carefully routed with the liberal use of standoffs and a reasonable amount of twists while avoiding metal and noise producing equipment and/or appliances. With respect. I don't doubt good twinlead would be best. But by mounting in an attic location you will probably need less than 50 feet of coax. My setup is truly horrible but still works. I have one uhf station off to the northeast at 44 degrees while all the rest range from 264 to 307 degrees. The 44 degree station is covered by an old commercial yagi with corner reflector and the rest of the uhf stations are covered by the Gray-Hoverman. I have the two conbined with a splitter in the 'attic' with a single rg6 coax feeding down to the tv room. A couple of the stations will revert to vhf frequencies after the Feb 09 switch so I have another splitter combining with the coax feed from two old vhf antennas which are pole mounted outside. I figure I'm losing about 9 decibels with the splitters and being located under a roof but it still works pretty good! Three of the uhf stations are usually in the green zone on the converter's meter. One uhf station is usually in the yellow but seems fine. I'm still waiting for one uhf station to come on the air, so I don't know about it yet. kw ----== Posted via Pronews.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.pronews.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups ---= - Total Privacy via Encryption =--- |
#16
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
William Sommerwerck wrote:
The first review goes like this... "Design and construction is so flimsy the antenna was unable to support itself in an upright position without supplemental bracing. All our HD stations are on the same tower site so the distance to each is 20 miles (+/- one mile) and bearings are +/- 2 degrees. Using the autotune feature on the TV, this antenna was only able to capture 3 digital signals and unable to hold any of them long enough to permit viewing a program. A few of the analog stations were picked up, however, the picture quality was so bad the signals it did receive were useless. Got out my $10, 30-year old rabbit ears, pluggged into my high dollar TV and got 19 digital channels plus excellent performance on analog. Took the Terk back to Best Buy." How nice of you to quote back the worst review. How about all of the "5 Star" reviews, like: "Before I bought this antenna, I was using a smaller HD antenna that was shady at besr. I bought the terk at best buy simply because it was open and they discounted it. I couldn't believe the difference. I scanned the available channels again, and discovered that I was now getting at least twice the number of channels that I was getting with my old HD antenna. I highly recommend the Terk HDTVa. It may be pricey but it's worth it." or... "I was really impressed with this antenna. My husband was fed up with the broken reception we were getting with the Phillips antenna. He was ready for Direct TV. I gave it a try anyways, I am sure glad I did. The picture is great on any channels from 2 to 68 and we are receiving more digital stations. No more broken images and digitization. Great product for the low price." As I stated, I watched a test of both the amplified and unamplified versions of this antenna versus the TV's rabbit ear antenna. No contest. The rabbit ears just couldn't compare. I'm not saying this is the *best* indoor TV antenna. My point was that the statement "If his rabbit ears won't work then a super duper amplified "As Seen on TV" antenna would be a waste of money" was not even in the ballpark. As for me, I use a CM4228 mounted INSIDE in a north facing window, and have no problem pulling in digital signals from 100 miles away. |
#17
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
"UCLAN" wrote in message
... William Sommerwerck wrote: The first review goes like this... "Design and construction is so flimsy the antenna was unable to support itself in an upright position without supplemental bracing. All our HD stations are on the same tower site so the distance to each is 20 miles (+/- one mile) and bearings are +/- 2 degrees. Using the autotune feature on the TV, this antenna was only able to capture 3 digital signals and unable to hold any of them long enough to permit viewing a program. A few of the analog stations were picked up, however, the picture quality was so bad the signals it did receive were useless. Got out my $10, 30-year old rabbit ears, pluggged into my high dollar TV and got 19 digital channels plus excellent performance on analog. Took the Terk back to Best Buy." How nice of you to quote back the worst review. How about all of the "5 Star" reviews, like: "Before I bought this antenna, I was using a smaller HD antenna that was shady at besr. I bought the terk at best buy simply because it was open and they discounted it. I couldn't believe the difference. I scanned the available channels again, and discovered that I was now getting at least twice the number of channels that I was getting with my old HD antenna. I highly recommend the Terk HDTVa. It may be pricey but it's worth it." The reason I quoted it was that (assuming it was an honest review, which it seemed to be) it pointed up the fact that amplified antennas don't always work very well. It's also worth noting that the five-star review you quote was from someone who did not bother to comare the Terk's performance with a pair of rabbit ears -- which the first reviewer did. |
#18
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
On 08/09/2008 09:48 AM, Ken Wright sent:
On Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:21:47 -0700, 1PW wrote: On 08/08/2008 08:57 PM, Ken Wright sent: snip Before spending a lot of money, I suggest you google on "gray-hoverman". build it and try it in the attic. Hook it up with a balun and rg6 cable. Hello Ken: I'm just wondering if, on those days when the roof is wet with rain or snow, if it might have been best to have used a good quality 300 Ohm twinlead from the "Gray-Hoverman", and then convert to 75 Ohm at the last possible moment? Reason: Higher signal level, and probably better S/N ratio, delivered to the DTV converter or TV because the coaxial cable, even a very good quality RG-6, would exhibit so much signal loss at UHF frequencies versus a good 300 Ohm twinlead. Granted, the twinlead would need to be carefully routed with the liberal use of standoffs and a reasonable amount of twists while avoiding metal and noise producing equipment and/or appliances. With respect. I don't doubt good twinlead would be best. But by mounting in an attic location you will probably need less than 50 feet of coax. My setup is truly horrible but still works. I have one UHF station off to the northeast at 44 degrees while all the rest range from 264 to 307 degrees. The 44 degree station is covered by an old commercial Yagi with corner reflector and the rest of the UHF stations are covered by the Gray-Hoverman. I have the two combined with a splitter in the 'attic' with a single rg6 coax feeding down to the TV room. A couple of the stations will revert to vhf frequencies after the Feb 09 switch so I have another splitter combining with the coax feed from two old vhf antennas which are pole mounted outside. I figure I'm losing about 9 decibels with the splitters and being located under a roof but it still works pretty good! Three of the UHF stations are usually in the green zone on the converter's meter. One UHF station is usually in the yellow but seems fine. I'm still waiting for one UHF station to come on the air, so I don't know about it yet. kw What a terrific description! Of course by running RG6, you could tape it to water pipes and literally run it through mud puddles and snow without too much of a problem. Cool! -- 1PW @?6A62?FEH9E=6o2@=]4@ [r4o7t] |
#19
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
On Sat, 9 Aug 2008 04:46:11 -0700, "William Sommerwerck"
wrote: "UCLAN" wrote in message ... wrote: Several indoor antennas work significantly better that rabbit ears? I think not. If his rabbit ears won't work then a super duper amplified "As Seen on TV" antenna would be a waste of money. I disagree, strongly. Read some opinions on AVS, or go to: http://www.hdtvantennalabs.com/revie...a-reviews.html I've seen this antenna and the unamplified model in action, along with ordinary rabbit ears. It was no contest. The first review goes like this... "Design and construction is so flimsy the antenna was unable to support itself in an upright position without supplemental bracing. All our HD stations are on the same tower site so the distance to each is 20 miles (+/- one mile) and bearings are +/- 2 degrees. Using the autotune feature on the TV, this antenna was only able to capture 3 digital signals and unable to hold any of them long enough to permit viewing a program. A few of the analog stations were picked up, however, the picture quality was so bad the signals it did receive were useless. Got out my $10, 30-year old rabbit ears, pluggged into my high dollar TV and got 19 digital channels plus excellent performance on analog. Took the Terk back to Best Buy." There's something odd here. All (and I do mean ALL) the HDTV sets I've seen do NOT include a 300 ohm twin lead connection which would be required to use a common wabbit ear antenna. Presumabley, he may have used a coax to twinlead balun adapter, but methinks he would have mentioned that. I used that particular type of antenna as an example of lousy design. It's a log periodic antenna. With 7 short elements, it will have zero gain at any of the VHF channels, and perhaps 4dBi at best at the UHF channels. A 12dB RF amp working over the entire UHF band is going to have a marginal noise figure and is only good for compensating for the effects of coax loss. If the coax cable is quite short, as it appears to be in this case, the amp isn't going to improve sensitivity, especially if there's no signal to start with. My guess(tm) is that the reviewer had to deal with some lower VHF channels, which his rabbit ears were able to pickup. 19 HDTV channels implies a metropolitan area, with strong signals. Methinks he did something wrong, such as a defective coax cable or not applying DC power to the amp. Terk makes junk. I had one of their amplified indoor FM antennas that actually gave worse audible performance than a piece of wire. Maybe. In a strong signal area, a piece of wire shoved into the F connector antenna jack will work. In a weak signal area, a much larger outside antenna, an amplifier to compensate for the coax losses, and possibly an antenna rotator are required. Erecting an antenna: http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html Comparison of commercial antennas: http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html The higher, bigger and uglier the antenna, the better it works. -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
#20
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
On Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:15:08 -0700, 1PW
wrote: Hunting Park is a community of Los Angles County. Huntington Park is approximately 19 to 20 miles SSW of most of the Los Angeles area's transmitter sites. I dug this out of the OP post. Santa Monica + the OP's IP gave it up. Plus, it doesn't hurt to live in California and have about half a dozen relatives near the OP. I know it well. My father's factory used to be nearby. http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=34.000304,-118.203278&spn=0.172484,0.306244 Most of the HDTV xmitters for the Smog Angeles area are on Mt Wilson. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Wilson_(California) http://www.well.com/user/dmsml/wilson.html If you can see Mt Wilson, you will get good reception. If you have a bunch of buildings in the way, you'll have problems. The exercise is to position the antenna so it points to Mt Wilson and does NOT have any obstructions. My guess(tm) is about 15 degrees from true north. -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
#21
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
Set the rabbit ears on the roof and set a brick on it .
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#22
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
William Sommerwerck wrote:
The reason I quoted it was that (assuming it was an honest review, which it seemed to be) it pointed up the fact that amplified antennas don't always work very well. As I noted, the antenna comes in amplified and non-amplified versions. The amplified version can have the amplifier switched off without killing all signals, a fact the reviewer failed to mention. Methinks it was operator error on his part more than the failure of the antenna. It's also worth noting that the five-star review you quote was from someone who did not bother to comare the Terk's performance with a pair of rabbit ears -- which the first reviewer did. In as much as "rabbit ears" do a horrible job at best in receiving UHF signals, such a comparison would be useless. *That* is one reason that the post praising "the TV's rabbit ears" over any indoor antenna was so laughable. Those that are using their TV's rabbit ears with a converter box to receive digital transmissions are not getting all of the signals. Period. |
#23
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
In as much as "rabbit ears" do a horrible job at best in receiving UHF signals, such a comparison would be useless. *That* is one reason that the post praising "the TV's rabbit ears" over any indoor antenna was so laughable. Who uses rabbit ears for UHF? All TV's with a UHF tuner have a terminal for hookup of a UHF loop. |
#24
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
"UCLAN" wrote in message
... William Sommerwerck wrote: The reason I quoted it was that (assuming it was an honest review, which it seemed to be) it pointed up the fact that amplified antennas don't always work very well. As I noted, the antenna comes in amplified and non-amplified versions. The amplified version can have the amplifier switched off without killing all signals, a fact the reviewer failed to mention. Methinks it was operator error on his part more than the failure of the antenna. It's also worth noting that the five-star review you quote was from someone who did not bother to comare the Terk's performance with a pair of rabbit ears -- which the first reviewer did. Inasmuch as "rabbit ears" do a horrible job at best in receiving UHF signals, such a comparison would be useless. *That* is one reason that the post praising "the TV's rabbit ears" over any indoor antenna was so laughable. I don't remember the poster praising rabbit ears over _any_ indoor antenna -- just the Terk. Are you certain he's wrong -- or lying? People often have simple antennas lying around. You don't claim an expensive product is good or superior without comparing it with exisiting products. That's called a "control". Some years back, when attending the SCES, I bought, on impulse, a Terk indoor amplified FM antenna. As I said earlier, it was audibly inferior to a piece of wire. I need to explain this. At that time, I lived in Bellevue, WA, around the corner from Microsoft. This was an area of severe multipath, which (despite the high signal levels), would have justified a directional antenna. On some stations, it was necessary to adjust antennas to minimize the multipath, or you'd have audible distortion and breakup. This was not a problem with the wire, but the Terk could not be positioned to eliminate the distortion. Amplification is not suitable compensation for an undersized antenna. (Many years ago I asked an engineer at Channel Master whether it was possible to design a "tiny" multi-element antenna that discarded gain in favor of directionality. He said it wasn't.) Those that are using their TV's rabbit ears with a converter box to receive digital transmissions are not getting all of the signals. Period. You know this as fact? |
#25
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
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#26
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
William Sommerwerck wrote:
Inasmuch as "rabbit ears" do a horrible job at best in receiving UHF signals, such a comparison would be useless. *That* is one reason that the post praising "the TV's rabbit ears" over any indoor antenna was so laughable. I don't remember the poster praising rabbit ears over _any_ indoor antenna -- just the Terk. Are you certain he's wrong -- or lying? Message-ID: His post, in part "Several indoor antennas work significantly better that rabbit ears? I think not. If his rabbit ears won't work then a super duper amplified "As Seen on TV" antenna would be a waste of money." NOBODY had yet even mentioned Terk antennas. But yes, the Terk I later mention is just ONE of several that work better than rabbit ears, and that was with several DTV converter boxes. |
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
On Sun, 10 Aug 2008 19:07:08 -0700, UCLAN wrote:
wrote: In as much as "rabbit ears" do a horrible job at best in receiving UHF signals, such a comparison would be useless. *That* is one reason that the post praising "the TV's rabbit ears" over any indoor antenna was so laughable. Who uses rabbit ears for UHF? All TV's with a UHF tuner have a terminal for hookup of a UHF loop. In your original post of this thread (about receiving DTV signals, many of which are UHF): "Several indoor antennas work significantly better that rabbit ears? I think not. If his rabbit ears won't work then a super duper amplified "As Seen on TV" antenna would be a waste of money. Rabbit ears for UHF DTV signals? I think not. In my book the term "Rabbit Ears" assumes that if your TV is new enough to have a UHF tuner then it will also have the UHF loop which is the UHF equivalent to Rabbit Ears. |
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
Jeff Liebermann wrote:
If you can see Mt Wilson, you will get good reception. If you have a bunch of buildings in the way, you'll have problems. The exercise is to position the antenna so it points to Mt Wilson and does NOT have any obstructions. My guess(tm) is about 15 degrees from true north. Go to www.tvfool.com. Click on the TV Signal Locater button. Enter your address. You'll get a list, sorted in order of descending estimated signal strength, of all the available stations. Part of the list is a column showing the pointing azimuth from the address for each station. If the transmitters are all in one spot, that simplifies life greatly. Jerry |
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
On Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:08:44 -0700 (PDT), Jerry
wrote: Go to www.tvfool.com. Click on the TV Signal Locater button. Enter your address. You'll get a list, sorted in order of descending estimated signal strength, of all the available stations. Part of the list is a column showing the pointing azimuth from the address for each station. If the transmitters are all in one spot, that simplifies life greatly. Jerry Seems like a great idea. Too bad I get: The requested URL /modeling/tmp/e342501848/getall.php was not found on this server. instead of a chart. I'll try again later. Thanks. -- # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060 # 831-336-2558 # http://802.11junk.com # http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS |
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
On Aug 8, 12:13*pm, wrote:
Your post was a month ago, but if you're still interested...here goes! The bunny ears are not going to cut it come Feb. 2009. If they are working fine now, they may still work if they can watch UHF (18-69). We already got them a DTV box, now we need the rooftop antenna installed. I have read about how to do it. I'm fuzzy on pointing the antenna or bolting down the mast on an old roof. Perhaps a pole anchored in concrete would be better. The higher the antenna the better, but still you may not need a rooftop. I was hoping to find someone who sells and installs the antenna, so a Pro (or semi Pro) could take care of it. I foundhttp://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?prod=ANTINSTbut the out the door cost would be about $400 or so. An expensive gift to give someone if you ask me. I called another guy out of Santa Monica, but he is asking $500. Do you know anyone who can do it for less? I almost feel inclined to do it myself. Radio Shack sells a large antenna for $99. Bah this post is very stressful. Don't buy a large antenna, you don't need one. Lesson I learned is, don't open your mouth to help. I fear if I take on this project I will muck it up. TV reception is hit and miss, the advice I was given is point the antenna to Mount Wilson. How do I do that, use a compass? Wrong! The new HD converter boxes come with an signal strength indicator that also buzzes. The box will tell you which direction to point the antenna! But, you're right, Mt. Wilson is the best direction. If you've read this far, my hats off to you. Best regards, Michael Scipione If you're listening Michael, or anyone else who's interested in an Off- the-Air HD changeover (sure beats da moneysucking cable or dish). I live in San Bernardino, a good 50 mi west of LA and a good 40 mi SE of Mt Wilson, but I get 52 HD channels! Many are Spanish language, but I get all of the major Networks, PBS, oldies and cartoons, and in beautiful HD on my old Sony TV via the new HD converter box (RCA) I got at Walmart for $60-$40coupon! My secret is that Grey-Hoverman Antenna. I went to the website, looked closely at the dimensions, and made one out of PVC and clothes hanger wire. It works great on my roof. It even receives VHF as well as UHF (some stations will continue to transmit VHF after Feb09). HD channels are wonderful! There's no snow, no ghosts, no weird interference, in digital you either get a good enough signal (my box needs at least 15% signal strength) or you get a digitzed freezframe. I get KCET at 50% and our local PBS station, which is only 15 mi away but in the opposite direction SE, I get 60% with the antenna still pointing toward Mt Wilson! (I don't have or need an antenna rotator.) Here's da bottom line: (If you really need sumptin betta than rabbit...) 1) I can help you make a G-H antenna. (free email advice) 2) I can sell you the pre-cut PVC parts with directions. ($25) 3) I can make a G-H antenna for you. ($50) 4) I can make a G-H antenna and install it for you. ($100) I hope you see this, still have your girlfriend, and haven't bought that $99 antenna! Sincerely, dickawa |
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
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#33
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
UCLAN wrote:
wrote: The bunny ears are not going to cut it come Feb. 2009. If they are working fine now, they may still work if they can watch UHF (18-69). Many stations will be reverting back to VHF in February. Many will be on UHF. So ordinary "rabbit-ears" won't cut it. Those that paid $$$ for a UHF only rooftop antenna installation will be upset. If you're listening Michael, or anyone else who's interested in an Off- the-Air HD changeover (sure beats da moneysucking cable or dish). I live in San Bernardino, a good 50 mi west of LA and a good 40 mi SE of Mt Wilson, but I get 52 HD channels! Many are Spanish language, but I get all of the major Networks, PBS, oldies and cartoons, and in beautiful HD on my old Sony TV via the new HD converter box (RCA) I got at Walmart for $60-$40coupon! Hint: You're getting NO HD channels with your converter box. You're getting analog conversions of digital channels. They AREN'T called *HD* converter boxes, they're called *DIGITAL* converter boxes. They CAN'T put out a digital signal, hence they can't put out a HD signal. You are receiving a stations digital signal, be it HD or SD, and watching an analog conversion. You are NOT watching "in beautiful HD." Sigh... Oh come on now, Just when I thought I was gettng ahead of the game with my goverment issued converter! What a why to spoil it all! ... -- "I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy" "Daily Thought: SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES. NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS. http://webpages.charter.net/jamie_5" |
#34
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
September 8, this year, Wilmington,North Carolina will switch to HD TV.
www.tvpredictions.com cuhulin |
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
FCC is all screwed up! They have an all screwed up dude by the name of
Powell up in there.F..K the FCC!!!!!!!!!!!! cuhulin |
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
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#38
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Where can I get a rooftop TV antenna, installed, on a budget?
UCLAN wrote: wrote: FCC is all screwed up! They have an all screwed up dude by the name of Powell up in there.F..K the FCC!!!!!!!!!!!! cuhulin Wake up! Powell left the FCC quite a while ago. Take a long nap? He's trolling, as usual. -- http://improve-usenet.org/index.html aioe.org, Goggle Groups, and Web TV users must request to be white listed, or I will not see your messages. If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm There are two kinds of people on this earth: The crazy, and the insane. The first sign of insanity is denying that you're crazy. |
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