OTA Antenna
- Thread starter TKoP
- Start date
Yes... an antenna with greater sensitivity will help, they tend to be big and directional (so all the towers need to be in the same general direction from the house). Also, raising the height will improve reception as well as getting the antenna away from the wires and metal pipes and any water in the house (water is a good absorber of RF energy).
So:
1) Get a good large antenna (not another small one with an amp, that is only barely a fix).
2) Put the antenna as high as you can away from wires, pipes, or any other metal things (like metal AC ducts and such).
3) Aim the antenna at the broadcasters towers.
So:
1) Get a good large antenna (not another small one with an amp, that is only barely a fix).
2) Put the antenna as high as you can away from wires, pipes, or any other metal things (like metal AC ducts and such).
3) Aim the antenna at the broadcasters towers.
I know Bats and maybe a few others here have one, and we have one here at work as well, but the Mohu Leaf does a great job for just a little money. Surely not as good as a full blown outdoor multi directional antenna, but we pick up stations that are 60 miles away from us, although we do get some dropouts.
Yeah I was using a Leaf for about a year up in the attic and it was getting super reception. I had it about as high up in the peak of the roof as I could get angled parallel to the pitch of the rear of our roof. Then about 3 months ago or so it just started acting up, no matter what I did helped. I recently installed an outdoor antenna and haven't had any issues since. We're about 40 miles or so from Philly. I got this antenna at Lowe's on a Best Buy price match. Perfect for my needs.
So Chris, you had satisfactory performance and then it later started screwing up? That's the issue I had, and even an external, expensive antenna didn't fix things for me. I had to go back to Dish just to get the standard networks.
I'm still baffled at how an antenna can work, then begin degrading and stop working.
I'm still baffled at how an antenna can work, then begin degrading and stop working.
The four most common reason for this happening are:
1) The antenna direction has moved from wind or other things
2) The cable connections have corroded and are causing a large drop in gain
3) Another RF source has been turned on somewhere in the path of the signal which is strong enough to make the receiver struggle with locking onto the desired signal.
4) In your area new large metal-rich buildings may have been built in locations which cause significant reflections and noise
^ I imagine it's possible one of the last two if any of those reasons. I'm wondering if could've been heat related being up in the probably the hottest part of the attic. The Leaf was mildly warped when I took it out of service. It's not the wiring as I used the same lead only extended (with a barrel) for the further distance of the outside antenna.
Did you have an inline amplifier for the longer lead cable? I used one on my antenna and it made a significant difference since the amp sits at the antenna and eliminates all cable loss.
These are very high frequencies and very low voltage signals, so the length of the cable AND every single connection create losses which can be a problem. An antenna isn't like a cable distribution system which already has an amp in it to reach each room connection. One has to add the amp.
From everything I read when I was considering mine, line of sight was critical, as mentioned before. I printed off the map from antennaweb and actually oriented it North and had my indoor antenna sitting on top of the map. It worked great and I was able to move it to see where I got the most channels. I am within 40 miles of most of the St Louis stations. When I installed the outdoor antenna (UHF only) I took the map up to the roof with me and again used it to aim the antenna. There were stations at like 109 deg and 123 degrees so I positioned the antenna at @114 degrees and it worked great. I got all the stations. I haven't used it in quite a while but last time I did it still performed excellent.
No I didn't. In the past I haven't had good luck with in line amplifiers. The run is only 35-40' to our master bedroom just below. Maybe not even that long. And my situation right now is working well.
TKoP
Well-Known Member
Ok, a couple of options that I've found on Amazon's website:
ClearStream 4 - Link
Amazon's preferred... - Link
Per tvfool.com, to get the channel she's looking for, she should get "An attic-mounted antenna is probably needed to pick up channels at this level and above". Both are one step above that... one WAY more so I think.
antennaweb.org says "a Large Directional Antenna is recommended to receive this station. Look for the CTA-certified Violet mark on the antenna's box."
My assumption is that the ClearStream covers this one, and the second probably does...
Or would you folks recommend something else?
ClearStream 4 - Link
Amazon's preferred... - Link
Per tvfool.com, to get the channel she's looking for, she should get "An attic-mounted antenna is probably needed to pick up channels at this level and above". Both are one step above that... one WAY more so I think.
antennaweb.org says "a Large Directional Antenna is recommended to receive this station. Look for the CTA-certified Violet mark on the antenna's box."
My assumption is that the ClearStream covers this one, and the second probably does...
Or would you folks recommend something else?
That ClearStream linked above is the next step up from the one I pictured. I almost just went with that one you linked but the sale price I received was too good to not take a chance on this one. I've been very pleased. I would just make sure your aunts home is within the range the antenna is rated for.
lakedmb
Well-Known Member
We went with the Clearstream 5 since we needed UHF and VHF. For some reason, our local ABC network is the only station that uses VHF. It's mounted outside and has been great since 2011. We also have it running throughout the house without any issues. ABC WLOS is the furthest station for us, transmitting out of Asheville, which is roughly 55 miles away in a direct line. We are also at the base of the Appalachian Mountains and the antenna does fine in the rolling hills.
The Clearstream 4V looks like it will pick up UHF and VHF, but the Clearstream 4 without the "V" is UHF only.
The Clearstream 4V looks like it will pick up UHF and VHF, but the Clearstream 4 without the "V" is UHF only.
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