OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

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fsrph
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OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by fsrph »

For anyone that uses or knows about OTA HDTV, what's the best antenna to use? I'm talking about an antenna that's placed by the window not in the attic.There are basic antenna or with boosters. I have heard many recommendations that the cheapest antenna will do fine as the signal is digital. If that is so why is the Mohu Leaf http://www.amazon.com/Mohu-Leaf-Paper-T ... B004QK7HI8 so highly rated? Will the Leaf pick up more channels than a cheap antenna?

I hooked up my new plasma to a simple RCA antenna (about $10). Did a scan and had about 16 channels - pretty good. But, sometimes a few local stations (transmitter is about 8 miles away) break up for a few seconds. A few times the TV screen shows a warning - "weak or absent signal". Don't know if there is a connection here but occasionally the picture seems to break up for a few seconds when a truck goes past the house. But it also can break up without the truck passing. If I buy a Leaf or another type antenna will the signal be more stable? Or is the cheap antenna as good as it's going to get? Thanks.



Francis
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sscritic
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by sscritic »

How ugly are you willing to go? I have the equivalent of this; it is an "outdoor" antenna but works well in my house. I used to place it against the window in my apartment, but in my house it sits on a shelf near the tv. TV signals come through walls, or so it seems. It is UHF only officially, but can pick up VHF, so you may want to go to tvfool and see what your real channels are. My channel 4.1 is really 36, and comes in great. Channel 11.1 is really 11, and it sometimes gives me a little trouble. Actually, although I am farther from the transmitters now than I was before, it is easier to point my antenna in the right direction now, so I have less trouble than I did in my apartment.

http://www.antennasdirect.com/store/DB2 ... tenna.html
DSInvestor
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by DSInvestor »

Take a look at the Mohu Leaf ($40) or Mohu Leaf Ultimate ($69). http://Www.gomohu.com. Enter your zipcode and the site will show you which stations you can get with each antenna.
When I last looked in early December there was a coupon code "comeback" that gave 25% off.

I tested 5 antennas (terk, RCA a, and couple of others) in the sf Bay Area and most weren't very good - unstable reception and bulky. The mohu ultimate was much better and it allowed my brother to receive signals from 40-50 miles away. The mohu leaf is very thin and can be mounted behind a painting, or taped to a window or even on the back of the tv. My brother cut his comcast tv subscription after one day with the mohu ultimate.

If you can find a local vendor that carries it, you'd have the option of easy return if it doesn't work well in your location.
Last edited by DSInvestor on Sun Dec 22, 2013 11:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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RF
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by RF »

Another vote for mohu leaf

When comcast decided to scramble the HD signal of major network, I looked into
OTA antenna. Mohu has a great reviews so I gave them a try. I place them in a closet
Where I can split the signals into 4 tv. It worked well and I actually had only repositioned them
Once to get better reception on one of the channel.

Disclosure: I lived within 15 miles of all the station.
DSInvestor
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by DSInvestor »

RF wrote:Mohu has a great reviews so I gave them a try. I place them in a closet
Where I can split the signals into 4 tv.
I didn't even think about splitting the signal. I wonder if my bother can plug the mohu's coax into the cable outlet and use the house cable wires to feed the second TV set. I don't think his townhouse has a wiring closet in his unit.
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sscritic
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by sscritic »

DSInvestor wrote: I didn't even think about splitting the signal. I wonder if my bother can plug the mohu's coax into the cable outlet and use the house cable wires to feed the second TV set. I don't think his townhouse has a wiring closet in his unit.
This adds distance. Both the distance and the splitting degrade the signal. If you do, you want to feed from as close to the box as you can get. If your antenna is at the far end of the house from the box and you run the signal all the way there and back again to the room next door, you will lose a lot. Each split also costs. A two way might be possible, but not a four way. You don't know until you try.

The reason my antenna is next to my tv is that if I hang the antenna in the garage which is near the cable box and use the cable wiring to get the signal to the tv, the VHF channels won't come in.
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dual
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by dual »

fsrph wrote:If I buy a Leaf or another type antenna will the signal be more stable? Or is the cheap antenna as good as it's going to get? Thanks.
Francis
Whether there is a difference depends on the signal strength in your area. The fact that you are getting breaking up on some channels indicates that you probably do not have a strong signal so an amplified antenna such as the Mohu or Winegard will probably give you more stations and more stable performance on those you get.

Just out of curiosity, why are you not installing in your attic. Another rule of thumb is that the higher the antenna from the ground, the stronger the signal. So going to the attic or even mounting near the ceiling of the room will in general work better. You May also want to experiment with the antenna orientation since all antennas have some non-isotropic response pattern.
stlutz
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by stlutz »

I would vote for whatever antenna sscritic is using, as it picks up the Chinese stations that broadcast all of his favorite soap operas. That would clearly be superior to anything else out there...
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by LadyGeek »

RF wrote:Another vote for mohu leaf

When comcast decided to scramble the HD signal of major network, I looked into
OTA antenna. Mohu has a great reviews so I gave them a try. I place them in a closet
Where I can split the signals into 4 tv. It worked well and I actually had only repositioned them
Once to get better reception on one of the channel.

Disclosure: I lived within 15 miles of all the station.
The key point: "I lived within 15 miles of all the station." Any antenna will work that close to to the station. For everyone else, try: TV Fool, and use the Check Your Address for Free TV to get an idea if an indoor antenna will work.

The mohu can't ignore physics. It all depends on placement (in view of the TV station, by a window, height above ground, indoor / outdoor, etc.) which has more to do with anything than the antenna itself. To make a small compact design, you need to compromise in performance somewhere. They don't cost much, the rest is marketing. Here's 2 that I found (Bogleheads referral tag added):

- HomeWorx HDTV Digital Flat Antenna UHF / VHF (HW110AN) - $9.49
- AmazonBasics Ultra Thin Indoor HDTV Antenna - Made in USA - $20.24
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will98683
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by will98683 »

I bought and use a Winegard FlatWave that I got at Costco. Works like a champ!

http://www.winegard.com/get-free-tv/
LPSpecial
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by LPSpecial »

I have a Mohu Leaf that works quite well. I am about 20 miles or so from most of the broadcast stations. I found that placement is very important and the best location for us is taped in the upper right hand corner of a window. I run the cable down the wall and through a small hole in the floor to the basement. There I plug into a signal amplifier that splits the signal into 4 outputs. I plug our existing cable installation runs in to the amplifier and we have crystal clear hdtv in our living room and one bedroom. We definitely needed the signal boost for this to work well for us. I purchased the amplifier/splitter at Home Depot for less than $20. Works great, just remember to get the caps to screw onto the unused outputs.

This combined with Netflix and Amazon prime is all we really need. There are a few shows we miss, but not many. This is a great way for us to save money.
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danwhite77
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by danwhite77 »

For anyone else reviewing this thread without the constraint of wanting the antenna inside your room, the Antennas Direct DB8e is the Cadillac of OTA antennas. Works great inside, outside, or in your attic. You can pull stations from about 100 miles away, depending on your geography. I highly recommend it from personal experience.

http://www.antennasdirect.com/store/DB8 ... tenna.html
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fsrph
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by fsrph »

dual wrote:
fsrph wrote:Just out of curiosity, why are you not installing in your attic. Another rule of thumb is that the higher the antenna from the ground, the stronger the signal. So going to the attic or even mounting near the ceiling of the room will in general work better. You May also want to experiment with the antenna orientation since all antennas have some non-isotropic response pattern.
As for why not the attic, I don't have the mechanical ability to run a wire from the attic down two floors to connect to the TV. Maybe I should try a Leaf and place it in the window near the ceiling. Or even sscritic's idea of placing the outdoor antenna indoors near the window. As another pointed out, he's getting Chinese soap operas.

Francis
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TX_TURTLE
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by TX_TURTLE »

fsrph wrote:As for why not the attic, I don't have the mechanical ability to run a wire from the attic down two floors to connect to the TV.
Have you checked http://www.antennaweb.org to see what kind of antenna is required in your location for the channels you like? Just click start, enter your address and submit. You will see a listing of TV channels with a color code, which indicates the type of antenna required (lower signal strength will require a fancier antenna).

Keep in mind that HDTVs do not require a special or different type of antenna, an old/existing one will work just fine. You may be able to get one from friends or colleagues (so many people switched to cable and no longer need them). If not, your safest bet is to get an indoor antenna from a store that has a good returns policy (no restocking fee) and try it. If you receive the channels you care about you are all set. Otherwise, you may want to hire a handyman to install one in the attic, all things considered it would be a one time expense and it may allow you to enjoy greater variety.
persimmon_tree
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by persimmon_tree »

Browse this one, RCA/Audiovox ANT751R, and read the reviews, unidirectional, about 40 miles range.
Small enough to be place near a window, yet powerful.
http://www.amazon.com/RCA-ANT751-Qualit ... s=rca+751r

I have good HD reception with it, from Sutro Tower.
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by wander »

TX_TURTLE wrote: Have you checked http://www.antennaweb.org to see what kind of antenna is required in your location for the channels you like?
This is what I receive from Antennaweb.org after entering my zip code:
No Stations were predicted for this address

Due to factors such as terrain and distance to broadcasting towers, signal strength calculations have predicted no television stations may be reliably received at this location.

Verify the correct ZIP Code and address have been entered.
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22twain
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by 22twain »

Try http://tvfool.com instead. Use the "Start MAPS" link, enter your address, and use the map of your (supposed) location to verify that it's correct. If the location needs to be adjusted, you can drag a marker around on the map.
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by wander »

22twain wrote:Try http://tvfool.com instead. Use the "Start MAPS" link, enter your address, and use the map of your (supposed) location to verify that it's correct. If the location needs to be adjusted, you can drag a marker around on the map.
It shows that I have a good chance for OTA channels. The nearest tower is 45 miles away. I will give it a try.
Thanks,
WendyW
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by WendyW »

Try the $10 cheapy antenna first; I live in Podunk and still pull in more channels than I'm interested in watching.

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SHB
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by SHB »

I have the Mohu with the amplifier and would recommend it to my friends.
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by Jeff Albertson »

The Mohu Leaf antenna is one of amazon's daily sale items today, list $50, sale $25.
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by ejvyas »

Terk HDTVa http://www.amazon.com/Amplified-High-De ... B0007MXZB2 has been awesome for me. I like 30 miles from the city and I get a lot of channels
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by LadyGeek »

I've found Terk products to be overpriced. That 50% off deal for the Mohu leaf is good - it's a few dollars above the Amazon.com antenna I mentioned previously. Unless you want the $10 antenna.
LadyGeek wrote:The mohu can't ignore physics. It all depends on placement (in view of the TV station, by a window, height above ground, indoor / outdoor, etc.) which has more to do with anything than the antenna itself. To make a small compact design, you need to compromise in performance somewhere. They don't cost much, the rest is marketing. Here's 2 that I found (Bogleheads referral tag added):

- HomeWorx HDTV Digital Flat Antenna UHF / VHF (HW110AN) - $9.49
- AmazonBasics Ultra Thin Indoor HDTV Antenna - Made in USA - $20.24
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by jeffyscott »

TX_TURTLE wrote: your safest bet is to get an indoor antenna from a store that has a good returns policy (no restocking fee) and try it. If you receive the channels you care about you are all set.
This is the way I did it when I needed to set my mom up in her assisted living room. It was about 20 miles from the signals, but her only window faced the wrong direction. I tried three antennas from local Radio Shack, before finding one that worked well. It was an amplified omni-directional flat panel antenna for about $50 and even that one was just marginal for the one station that has a VHF signal.
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by Seattlenative »

fsrph wrote:For anyone that uses or knows about OTA HDTV, what's the best antenna to use? I'm talking about an antenna that's placed by the window not in the attic.There are basic antenna or with boosters. I have heard many recommendations that the cheapest antenna will do fine as the signal is digital. If that is so why is the Mohu Leaf http://www.amazon.com/Mohu-Leaf-Paper-T ... B004QK7HI8 so highly rated? Will the Leaf pick up more channels than a cheap antenna?......Francis
This is an old thread, but a timely topic. In our suburban area east of Seattle, there are many tall Douglas Fir trees blocking the line of sight to our local stations, so sometimes we end up with signal breakup due to swaying tree limbs. We did end up installing a Channel Master 4228HD on the roof and it is a bit better, but I probably would have stuck with an indoor antenna and saved the money. It doesn't help that in the Seattle area, our television transmitters are located in five different directions, so a "directional" antenna like the CM 4228 won't get good reception on the "other" channels that are pointed in different directions. Paradoxically, while an "omnidirectional" antenna would seem like an ideal alternative, an omnidirectional aerial will pick up a lot of multipath from the adjacent trees, buildings and hills because the antenna IS NOT pointed precisely at a particular station.

Of the indoor antennas we have used - which are "semi-directional" - my two favorites are the Solid Signal HD-Blade and the Radio Shack "Budget TV Antenna" (recommended in an indoor antenna comparison thread at the AVS Forum). The HD-Blade is a private-label version of the Winegard Flatwave. I also have a Mohu Leaf, and in our testing here the HD-Blade has much better high-VHF pickup. In the Seattle area, 3 of the 14 transmitting stations use High-VHF. The HD Blade is very similar to the Leaf but is larger sized, and you can buy it without an attached RF cable so that you can run as much cable as necessary to place it for best reception. This unit sells online for $30, a bit less than the Leaf, and I consider it's a better unit than the Leaf.

The Radio Shack 1874 Budget TV Antenna is another real sleeper here. Although I liked the even-cheaper RCA ANT-111, the RCA has a very short 4-foot cable which limits your flexibility in placing the antenna for best reception, and the cable itself is extremely thin. The real reason I encourage you to spend the extra $5 for the Radio Shack unit is that it comes with an attached high-grade 6-foot long RF-6 connecting cable, so it's easier to place and you have less signal loss. The VHF dipoles on the Radio Shack extend a bit further, the UHF loop is substantially larger, and the assembled Radio Shack antenna feels more sturdy and stable.

Another model which I used in the past, but it's out of production and hard to find used, was the Philips PHDTV-1 Silver Sensor. The Silver Sensor is an extremely directional antenna designed by a UK company called Antiference. If you can find one, and can anchor it properly so it doesn't tip over, the Silver Sensor is an excellent antenna if your stations are in the same direction. Otherwise it's a pain to have to frequently move it around. I wish I still had mine, gave it to a friend not knowing that it's no longer easy to buy a replacement. Terk sells something which looks similar - the HDTVi and HDTVa - but they are not to my knowledge identical to the Antiference design which was highly regarded for many years.

Normally if you can install outdoors, you will generally get better reception, BUT your signal quality can deteriorate if there are long cable runs from the antenna into your house and your internal wiring.
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by ArthurO »

I got non amplified amazon made antenna for one of my places and it works sort of ok, but it was non amplified model. Anyone has an idea if amplified model is worth extra money? is the reception any better or will I get more channels?
TFinator
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by TFinator »

One thing to think about: Get your antenna from a place such as Amazon with a good return policy. I am only half the max radius from my local broadcast station, but as I live in a valley at ~sea level and it is somewhere around +750 feet, I get few stations. I have the in-line amp as well. This is with an indoor Leaf and their branded amp.
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by mbcruiser »

I've made several homemade tv antennas for myself and friends using this website as a source http://makezine.com/projects/digital-tv ... r-antenna/. Total cost less than $5 each :moneybag .
My 50"plasma does great and gets super strong signal in HD from local stations.
It's hidden in the attic so safe and sound.
(I'm 35 miles from transmitters, though it's good line-of-sight).
:happy :thumbsup
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jeffyscott
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by jeffyscott »

TFinator wrote:One thing to think about: Get your antenna from a place such as Amazon with a good return policy.
Amazon has a good return policy???

Rarely buy from there, but did so recently and the materials with the shipment said only that I can return unopened items.

To me returning to a local store is much simpler. So even when I order things online, my preference is to get it from someplace that has local physical stores.
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by Enkidu »

mbcruiser wrote:I've made several homemade tv antennas for myself and friends using this website as a source http://makezine.com/projects/digital-tv ... r-antenna/. Total cost less than $5 each :moneybag .
My 50"plasma does great and gets super strong signal in HD from local stations.
It's hidden in the attic so safe and sound.
(I'm 35 miles from transmitters, though it's good line-of-sight).
:happy :thumbsup
Very cool! Thanks for posting and welcome to the forum.
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by htdrag11 »

fsrph wrote:For anyone that uses or knows about OTA HDTV, what's the best antenna to use? I'm talking about an antenna that's placed by the window not in the attic.There are basic antenna or with boosters. I have heard many recommendations that the cheapest antenna will do fine as the signal is digital. If that is so why is the Mohu Leaf http://www.amazon.com/Mohu-Leaf-Paper-T ... B004QK7HI8 so highly rated? Will the Leaf pick up more channels than a cheap antenna?

I hooked up my new plasma to a simple RCA antenna (about $10). Did a scan and had about 16 channels - pretty good. But, sometimes a few local stations (transmitter is about 8 miles away) break up for a few seconds. A few times the TV screen shows a warning - "weak or absent signal". Don't know if there is a connection here but occasionally the picture seems to break up for a few seconds when a truck goes past the house. But it also can break up without the truck passing. If I buy a Leaf or another type antenna will the signal be more stable? Or is the cheap antenna as good as it's going to get? Thanks.



Francis
I just bought one yesterday and will test it out how it fares in my area. The last amplified one did not work for me, except picking up one NYC station which is about 40 miles away. Philly is about 60 miles.
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by Boglegrappler »

I know some people don't have the option, but outdoors and higher is best of all. I had a "shortwave listener" antenna up as a 100' wire strung between two trees and when we had a long outage I decided to try it for TV signals. It worked very well and I was able to get about 35 channels, but I live no more than 35-40 miles from most of them.

The antenna is "collecting" microvolt signals out of the ether, so the more metal you have higher in the air, the better off you are.
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htdrag11
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by htdrag11 »

Wife said outdoor is ugly; watching TV and her Food TV is one of her few pleasures in life, so "hands off"!

Just try to keep peace.

Cheers!
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by mwm158 »

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Seattlenative
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by Seattlenative »

mwm158 wrote:How far away from the towers are you? If they are close, you want an omnidirectional antenna that can pick them up all around you. If you are far away, and the signals are generated in a nearby city, you would want a directional antenna with a lot of gain that can be pointed in the direction of the city.
The paradox of an omnidirectional antenna is that it is much more prone to picking up multipath interference, a major source of signal level fluctuation and picture/sound breakups. One possibility, if you can space two outdoor antennas on the mast at least five feet apart to avoid interfering with each other, is using a combiner to join two antennas pointed in the different directions. I wish I had done that with our rooftop install.

In the Greater Seattle area, our 14 local television transmitters are actually located in 5 (yes, five) different locations. Compounding this problem, the Seattle area has hilly geography and plenty of tall trees. There is a 15th transmission tower, which carries the MeTV and Movies! programs for the Seattle area, that is about 70+ miles northwest of Seattle which nonetheless can be received in some locations because it's a very, very high-powered transmitter and located on top of a mountain at about 3500 feet above ground level.

At my house, although reception of some transmitters is spotty, my tuner captures 51 distinct channels, not counting the MeTV/Movies! channel which shows some weak signal but usually not enough for picture and sound (it's 88 miles away from here).
SuperSaver
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by SuperSaver »

I got Mohu-leaf equivalent on Amazon. Works beautifully, and keep in mind my house surrounded by tall trees.


Add Netflix/Hulu Plus, and your "cable" bill is $20 tops/month
rec7
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by rec7 »

Would a Mohu Leaf work in a brick house?
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by bungalow10 »

rec7 wrote:Would a Mohu Leaf work in a brick house?
My house is stucco and a similar one works.
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by bungalow10 »

I bought a powered antenna similar to the Leaf at Costco. It works very well (we actually have two). Costco has a great return policy for those who want to try it.
An elephant for a dime is only a good deal if you need an elephant and have a dime.
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htdrag11
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by htdrag11 »

SuperSaver wrote:I got Mohu-leaf equivalent on Amazon. Works beautifully, and keep in mind my house surrounded by tall trees.


Add Netflix/Hulu Plus, and your "cable" bill is $20 tops/month
How far are you from the broadcasting tower? I just ordered mine last week.
SuperSaver
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by SuperSaver »

I'm about 10-15 miles... Again, very wooded neighborhood and city. It works great. Just goto antenna web.org, and hope that you have enough clearance to get a good signal. We love saving $60/month... Pouring it all in index funds!
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

jeffyscott wrote:
TFinator wrote:One thing to think about: Get your antenna from a place such as Amazon with a good return policy.
Amazon has a good return policy???

Rarely buy from there, but did so recently and the materials with the shipment said only that I can return unopened items.

To me returning to a local store is much simpler. So even when I order things online, my preference is to get it from someplace that has local physical stores.
OT a bit, but I've probably returned 50+ items to Amazon, without any resistance from them, ever. The one thing to look out for is when an item isn't sold by Amazon or "fulfilled by Amazon." If you're just using the Amazon payment and ordering software, the actual seller might be more difficult, although I've never had a problem with it. The only time I've ever had to pay for return shipping was when I just changed my mind about the item and honestly stated that as the reason for the return
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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htdrag11
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by htdrag11 »

Got my amplified Leaf today.

Played with it briefly and able to pick up CBS/NBC, but no ABC nor PBS 13 (but got WNJT), all on top of the Empire State Building. Bummer! Will play with it some more tomorrow. I moved it once to about 2 feet higher and picked up 8 more channels, for a total of 35.

From a distance view, I was surprised that I cannot pick up ABC from either NYC or Philly, though ABC NYC is the closest at about 32 air miles. Philly's CBS/NBC/Fox is about 58.

Had the Twin Towers been around, it would have been different. Sigh!
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by LadyGeek »

Try this website: TV Fool, then Check Your Address for Free TV for an idea of what you should be able to get.

htdrag11 wrote:From a distance view, I was surprised that I cannot pick up ABC from either NYC or Philly, though ABC NYC is the closest at about 32 air miles.
Does the leaf cover VHF? That's where NYC (7) and Philly ABC (6) are.
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htdrag11
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by htdrag11 »

Rather odd. The Leaf is suppose to support both VHF and UHF but it cannot pickup ANY VHF at all, so I did not see 6 or 7 for ABC in Philly or NYC respectively.

Just a side note, my TV has usb inputs so I could just connect the amp directly to the TV's usb port, w/o using the charger at all, very neat. The instructions are dummy proof. Just the pins to hang the leaf antenna itself are little fragile; they could have packed couple pushpins instead.

Kudos to Leaf for a great product.
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Toons
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by Toons »

This Amazon Brand "Leaf Antenna" works great for us :happy

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DIF ... VWPF6TAJ2W
"One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity" –Bruce Lee
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htdrag11
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by htdrag11 »

Toons,

How far are you away from the tower(s)?
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by 22twain »

htdrag11 wrote:Rather odd. The Leaf is suppose to support both VHF and UHF but it cannot pickup ANY VHF at all
Any antenna (even a straightened paper clip) can receive VHF if the signal is strong enough. However, if the wavelength of the signal is much larger than the size of the antenna, the antenna's sensitivity decreases rapidly.

The Leaf is about 0.3 m square. UHF channels 14-51 have wavelengths between about 0.4 and 0.6 m. VHF channels 2-6 have wavelengths between 3.4 and 5.6 m, and channels 7-13 have wavelengths between 1.4 and 1.7. The laws of antenna physics dictate that an antenna the size of the Leaf will not perform as well for VHF as for UHF. There's a reason why classical "rabbit ears" are long, and with variable lengths for fine-tuning.

I consider it misleading to advertise the Leaf as VHF-capable, without qualification.
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htdrag11
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by htdrag11 »

I saw in fine print that VHF has a radius of only 20 miles. Guess a $10 rabbit ear might be better for VHF.

Today I tried it in my MIL's place in CT off the north side of Long Island Sound; it could only pick up CBS and nothing else worthwhile to watch. NBC and ABC are within 40 miles. The back of her house is facing a mountain though. So for my own home, it is still amazing that it could pick up Philly but w/o any mountains in between.

Plugging in the wall charger in my case has no effect in the ability to picking up more channels.

I'll probably return it and give the Amazon version a try.
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Re: OTA HDTV - Best antenna to use?

Post by Toons »

htdrag11 wrote:Toons,

How far are you away from the tower(s)?

30 - 40 miles

http://www.antennaweb.org/Address.aspx
"One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity" –Bruce Lee
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