# TVs antennas



## gebhardsdairy72 (Oct 20, 2014)

Can Anyone assist me in buying a descent HDTV antenna for my house!! And which one works best, I live about 125 miles from our largest city... Buffalo NY


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

gebhardsdairy72 said:


> Can Anyone assist me in buying a descent HDTV antenna for my house!! And which one works best, I live about 125 miles from our largest city... Buffalo NY


Speaking of TV antennas, Did you here about the two TV antennas that got married? The wedding was ok.........

But the reception was freakin AWESOME! badump bum dabump


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

What is "TV"?

Seriously, what is it?


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## jeff47041 (Jan 5, 2013)

I can't help. Just getting into the thread so I can see if anyone answers. I'm interested in getting an antenna and getting rid of my dish. but I didn't know there were special, like hdtv antennas. I thought I could just get a tv antenna and be done with it. 
I'm about 35 miles from Cincinnati, OH., but live in a fairly bad reception area.

Hashbrown, you're awesome.


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## zimmy (Aug 17, 2012)

*Television antenna*



gebhardsdairy72 said:


> Can Anyone assist me in buying a descent HDTV antenna for my house!! And which one works best, I live about 125 miles from our largest city... Buffalo NY


http://www.homedepot.com/p/Channel-...u=203763044&ci_src=328768002&ci_sku=203763044

I use this television (TV) antenna with a rotor so I can turn the antenna toward the station I want to receive, and a booster amplifier to increase gain or signal of the broadcasting station. You can get into a lot of money buying all of this, but it is free tv after all.


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## labotomi (Feb 14, 2010)

Go to antennaweb.org and put in your address. It'll tell you what "style" you need and the directions to the stations you're capable of receiving. 

At that distance, you may benefit from a preamp mounted on the antenna mast. Good cables will help also. 

Also, there's no such thing as an hdtv antenna. Any antenna will receive hd signals. Don't pay more for one that insinuates a special antenna is needed.


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## Marcus (May 13, 2012)

http://www.highdefforum.com/local-h...0138-long-distance-local-channel-pick-up.html

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/07/indoor-hdtv-antennas/index.htm
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-dIHq6pnUtpt/learn/learningcenter/home/antenna.html
http://makezine.com/projects/digital-tv-coat-hanger-antenna/

The first link is to an antenna forum.
A couple of things first:
There is no such thing as a hdtv antenna. An antenna is optimized to receive signals for particular wavelengths. 
If you live in a fringe area, you'll need a directional antenna.
TV antennas are LOS (line of sight.) If you're surrounded by hills or live in a steep valley, you won't be able to receive OTA stations unless the antenna is mounted on a mast or on a hill.


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## txcatlady (Sep 26, 2013)

If you have a new TV, most likely the HD is built in. If an older TV, you will have to buy the HD box that unscrambles the whatever you call it for a clear reception. Like Labotomi said, an antenna is an antenna. Rotary helps, but a pipe wrench will help turn to strongest signal with someone in house directing you. Been there done that


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## Marcus (May 13, 2012)

You can get one of those cheap signal meters (~$10) if you're doing it by yourself.


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## labotomi (Feb 14, 2010)

txcatlady said:


> If you have a new TV, most likely the HD is built in. If an older TV, you will have to buy the HD box that unscrambles the whatever you call it for a clear reception. Like Labotomi said, an antenna is an antenna. Rotary helps, but a pipe wrench will help turn to strongest signal with someone in house directing you. Been there done that


I think you're referring to a digital TV receiver/tuner.

Most newer TVs have digital receivers but older ones had analog tuners. If you have an older TV you may have to use a converter to show digital channels (almost all are digital now).


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## backlash (Nov 11, 2008)

I bought a $15 antenna from Wall-Mart.
Connected it up and threw it on top of the bookcase.
I get crystal clear pictures from several stations that are 35 miles away.
Also get some from the other direction.
If I install an outside antenna I could probably pick up a few more.
It's all digital signals now, HD antennas are a scam
If you have an old rabbit ears antenna around try it and see what comes in.


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## backlash (Nov 11, 2008)

Grimm said:


> What is "TV"?
> 
> Seriously, what is it?


Television.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

backlash said:


> Television.


Really? I did not realize that.


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## fteter (May 23, 2014)

How much do you want to spend?
http://www.walmart.com/ip/RCA-Outdoor-Antenna-for-Digital-Reception/10983722


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## backlash (Nov 11, 2008)

Grimm said:


> Really? I did not realize that.


Well you did ask.


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## Jim1590 (Jul 11, 2012)

Oh come on people. We really are more of a do it yourself community.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how-to/tv/build-your-own-digital-tv-antenna

I have made this one myself for my sister. Works better than the store bought one she had.


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## Marcus (May 13, 2012)

Jim1590 said:


> Oh come on people. We really are more of a do it yourself community.
> 
> http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how-to/tv/build-your-own-digital-tv-antenna
> 
> I have made this one myself for my sister. Works better than the store bought one she had.


That's pretty much what I posted earlier.
http://makezine.com/projects/digital-tv-coat-hanger-antenna/


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## zimmy (Aug 17, 2012)

gebhardsdairy72 said:


> Can Anyone assist me in buying a descent HDTV antenna for my house!! And which one works best, I live about 125 miles from our largest city... Buffalo NY


This person would like to receive television (TV) signals from a city 125 miles away. They need a large deep fringe antenna with the ability receive not only VHF but UHF as well. We are talking about an antenna that is outside up on a pole or tower for good reception. If they want to receive signals from other directions a rotor is required as well. Any TV antenna that can receive analog signals will also receive digital. It is not like the old analog days when you could watch a program with snow(distorted) in the picture, you either have a digital signal, or you don't


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## Jim1590 (Jul 11, 2012)

Whoops, didn't spot your last link.

Yup thats a good one!


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Grimm said:


> What is "TV"?
> 
> Seriously, what is it?


LOL, quoted for truth.

I haven't "watched TV" in years....


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## dragon5126 (Nov 30, 2008)

labotomi said:


> I think you're referring to a digital TV receiver/tuner.
> 
> Most newer TVs have digital receivers but older ones had analog tuners. If you have an older TV you may have to use a converter to show digital channels (almost all are digital now).


Some day you will learn of what you speak, All TVs sold in the US are digital, however not all are HD, there are SD, ED and HD. Do us all a favor and stop being such a damned poser. and before you start arguing, Educate yourself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard-definition_television

You remind me of the people that were running around claiming that digital TVs wouldnt work in moving vehicles even though we have been doing it for years in the electronics industry.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

dragon5126 said:


> Some day you will learn of what you speak, All TVs sold in the US are digital, however not all are HD, there are SD, ED and HD. Do us all a favor and stop being such a damned poser. and before you start arguing, Educate yourself.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard-definition_television
> 
> You remind me of the people that were running around claiming that digital TVs wouldnt work in moving vehicles even though we have been doing it for years in the electronics industry.


Where the heck does this come from and what's with all the hostility?

The only sense I can make is that you are addressing the part of the post where they were quoting someone else, to help clarify the other poster's terminology. The text you quoted;



> Most newer TVs have digital receivers but older ones had analog tuners. If you have an older TV you may have to use a converter to show digital channels (almost all are digital now).


Is correct, it is about analog vs. digital, whether or not it is HD is a separate issue and a point of confusion for many, though obviously not the person you confronted.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

dragon5126 said:


> Some day you will learn of what you speak, All TVs sold in the US are digital, however not all are HD, there are SD, ED and HD. Do us all a favor and stop being such a damned poser. and before you start arguing, Educate yourself.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard-definition_television
> 
> You remind me of the people that were running around claiming that digital TVs wouldnt work in moving vehicles even though we have been doing it for years in the electronics industry.


You might want to qualify that with a date, not very long ago there were units with only an analog tuner still in warehouses. and lots were shipped to Canadian distributors, when the us switched to digital, shortly before Canada made the switch.


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## dragon5126 (Nov 30, 2008)

backlash said:


> I bought a $15 antenna from Wall-Mart.
> Connected it up and threw it on top of the bookcase.
> I get crystal clear pictures from several stations that are 35 miles away.
> Also get some from the other direction.
> ...


you are absolutely correct. antennas are designed around a frequency spectrum, not digital or analog, nor the display definition, but what the antenna manufacturers don't want people to know, is that due to the digital aspect of the signal, what used to be weak signals that were snowy and full of ghosts now come in as crystal clear pictures because digital processing doesnt see the ghost images it just sees ones and zeros. and as long as the signal is strong enough to differentiate the difference between 1 and 0 the tv will show the image, so the so called HD antennas are just cheap antennas that wouldn't have worked very well on analog tvs with a built in extremely high signal amplifier built in. On an analog tv this would have been massive ghosts on screen, but digital doesn't ghost. (ghosts result from picking up the same image more than once, due to it being reflected like an echo). So an outdoor antenna good for 35-50 miles on an analog tv, will usually work for double to triple that distance, and adding a signal amplifier will even increase that distance.


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## dragon5126 (Nov 30, 2008)

zimmy said:


> This person would like to receive television (TV) signals from a city 125 miles away. They need a large deep fringe antenna with the ability receive not only VHF but UHF as well. We are talking about an antenna that is outside up on a pole or tower for good reception. If they want to receive signals from other directions a rotor is required as well. Any TV antenna that can receive analog signals will also receive digital. It is not like the old analog days when you could watch a program with snow(distorted) in the picture, you either have a digital signal, or you don't


Actually you are not quite correct. the digital receiver will work when an analog tv will not even resolve enough of a signal to display ANY picture at all. An analog has to be limited in its sensitivity to PREVENT multipath reception and the attendant ghosts. Digital, thanks to error correction, doesn't have this issue and can use extremely powerful preamplification and signal saturation with in the receiver itself. this is why the new antennas are smaller and have high gain preamps built in. With digital there is no need for fringe antennas an antenna around 6 ft long is all they would really need up on the roof, add a halfway decent preamp and rg6 coax and you would be set. A small rotor would probably allow them to pick up other cities as well. This has become a popular pastime with many people since the switchover, when they discovered they could use the big antennas they needed before.


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## dragon5126 (Nov 30, 2008)

Tirediron said:


> You might want to qualify that with a date, not very long ago there were units with only an analog tuner still in warehouses. and lots were shipped to Canadian distributors, when the us switched to digital, shortly before Canada made the switch.


if you open the supplied link you will find it is qualified. And as for what were in warehouses, not too likely, since the US had a shortage of TVs as a result of a tuner shortage, as the chip manufacturers couldnt keep up with the demand for them. Meanwhile the suppliers were purging their stock as they had over ten years advance notice, since the broadcasters had to change over as well


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