recommendations for HD digital antenna

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

I have a family member that lives in Central Texas, and is trying to get his over-the-air digital antenna setup. He has tried an indoor and outdoor antenna (two separate ones), and each one has issues getting some channels (although oddly enough, not the same channels). I have no personal experience with any civilian TV antenna, and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions, especially pertaining to the area and trying to pick up TV stations from Austin.

1st antenna tried was one from Best Buy, and I couldn't find the model or any details on it.
2nd antenna: RCA ANT800R

 

[wirednuts]

there are plans for this style across the net. the reason is because they work as good or better then anything else. yes, they are ugly, but if you are crafty you can build them to look nice and pretty

http://www.tvantennaplans.com/

ive built half a dozen or so now for my friends. they all love them, because they just work.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

there are plans for this style across the net. the reason is because they work as good or better then anything else. yes, they are ugly, but if you are crafty you can build them to look nice and pretty

http://www.tvantennaplans.com/

ive built half a dozen or so now for my friends. they all love them, because they just work.

If I had the time, that would be wonderful. But we are trying to get something up and going as soon as possible for our grandpa so he can be happy with watching some TV...

 

[wirednuts]

takes an hour or so? i guess if you dont have a garage then yeah, it sucks to build.

but the design is copied from factory made antennas... so if you want to spend the $50 or so, here ya go-

http://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direct-DB4E-Antenna/dp/B0074H3IU6/ref=dp_cp_ob_e_title_3

 

[asen]

Not sure how far you are from the towers, but you may want to look into Mohu, their Leaf is ranked high on Amazon, the leaf plus is the amplified version, which is better if she is further than 30 miles from towers. They are indoor and paper thin, also made in America.

 

[wirednuts]

Not sure how far you are from the towers, but you may want to look into Mohu, their Leaf is ranked high on Amazon, the leaf plus is the amplified version, which is better if she is further than 30 miles from towers. They are indoor and paper thin, also made in America.

ahh, i forgot about that. i never tried one, but its hard to find a bad review on it.

and its cheaper and a LOT less ugly then my suggestion.

I would go with the mohu leaf too!

 

[Pardus]

I built my own over this weekend, looks very close to this pic. Did it without a drill and s garage.. made the holes in the wood with a hammer and a big nail, did that on the sidewalk. Have about 30 channels, nothing great, but i am not paying for cable anymore.

Just take the parts list to home depot, the guy knew exactly what i wanted. Total cost was $17.00, i have it sitting on the window sill, works well.

 

[wirednuts]

is your transformer connected to the middle of the antenna?

 

[Pardus]

is your transformer connected to the middle of the antenna?

placed it on the bottom so the cable runs neatly to my tv.

 

[MrBond]

I've done a lot of antenna research in the years since the DTV transition - my folks live about 35 miles from the towers and use an OTA antenna for their local channels. I've installed numerous antennas for them, before finally settling on a giant Winegard monstrosity that was so wide it wouldn't fit through a standard garage door once I had it assembled. It's bigger than they need, but they have some factors working against them (metal roof + cell phone tower in the way).

First, go to DTV.gov and search for the address where you'll have service. It will tell you what stations you can expect to receive and what direction you need to point your antenna. Also note if there are any VHF stations - after the DTV transition, most stations went to UHF, however in some markets, there are still some VHF stations. Make sure the antenna you're using can pull in both types if needed. A lot of the "HDTV Antennas" sold today are UHF only.

If you're really far out (or have a long cable run), you might need a preamplifier and possibly a distribution amplifier. I bought Winegard amplifiers, however I've heard their quality has slipped lately and have since bought a Channel Master preamp that I may swap out (supposed to be better quality).