Good (small) indoor antenna for DTV reception?

[EscapeVelo]

That is a sweet Double Bow Tie youve got there wa2ise.

Why is this message box so small?

Anyways, regarding indoor antennas. I have a big instrument measured shootout about to get under way with 20 or so commercially available units over at the AVSforum. And Im working on a guide as well. Its still a work in progress. But its getting there.

Check it out, everybody. Let me know what you think.

EV's Best Top Rated HDTV Indoor Antenna Review Test Round-Up Guide

[OvenMaster]

Originally Posted by EscapeVelo

That is a sweet Double Bow Tie youve got there wa2ise.

Why is this message box so small?

Anyways, regarding indoor antennas. I have a big instrument measured shootout about to get under way with 20 or so commercially available units over at the AVSforum. And Im working on a guide as well. Its still a work in progress. But its getting there.

Check it out, everybody. Let me know what you think.

EV's Best Top Rated HDTV Indoor Antenna Review Test Round-Up Guide

Nice post over there. This part caught my eye:
"During the transition to digital TV, many stations are temporarily operating at reduced power levels. If you are not receiving certain digital TV stations, this does not necessarily mean there is a problem with your antenna or receiver."
I sure hope this is the case. I have an outdoor antenna 25 feet up. In the winter, everything was fine. But since the leaves sprouted on the 40-foot tall trees that surround my house, I've lost half my DTV channels. Not good.

I also saw that people who rely on indoor antennas for DTV are potentially in for a big hassle: http://www.centris.com/pages/viewnew...ID=34&SiteID=9

I know some people in this situation, and an outdoor antenna is simply not an option for them. Since they refuse to pay to watch TV, there's an excellent chance that they will simply stop watching TV after Februrary 2009.

Oh, and your message box is small because it's an issue of this forum's software and your IE browser. Firefox does not have this problem.

Tom

[wa2ise]

Originally Posted by EscapeVelo

That is a sweet Double Bow Tie youve got there wa2ise.

That's not mine, that's Findm-Keepm's antenna. I used his picture as an example of what some commercially made antennas looked like, with some decorations thrown in.

[EscapeVelo]

I use Opera, not IE.

Id use Firefox, but I have others using the same computer, and we(I) decided to use a different browser, just to keep things serparate. Im thinking about switching to seamonkey.

[OvenMaster]

Originally Posted by EscapeVelo

I use Opera, not IE.

Id use Firefox, but I have others using the same computer, and we(I) decided to use a different browser, just to keep things serparate. Im thinking about switching to seamonkey.

Whoops. My bad.
Doofus Tom

[240sx4u]

Dumb question here folks. I live 8 miles outside of Madison, and can make one of these homebrew antennas pretty easily. I have a roof mount standard unit now. Should I stick with the rooftop? Or put this beast in the attic? I really hate the look of the rooftop unit and would LOVE to get rid of it.

I have cable, but like having my options open!!

Evan

[EscapeVelo]

Post your tvfool.com info.

Depends on where the towers are that you are trying to reach. But Id say an attic mount would be fine.

Post the TVfool info and list the stations you are trying to get. Then I can give you some suggestions and perhaps some dimensions for an improved Home Brew Bow Tie antenna.

[240sx4u]

Says everything in the area is either green or yellow. I don't know how to post the exact results. I live in Oregon, wi 53575. Town is very small, so street address is not really needed. There are a lot of trees.

Thanks!! - Evan

Evan

[EscapeVelo]

Oh. Im new forgive me.

A commercially available model similar to that is the AntennasDirect DB2.

[EscapeVelo]

Here is your tvfool info. Is this info off by more than 10 miles to the local transmitter tower cluster? In your immediate yard/block, are there trees between you and 320 degrees or so? That figure may change with an exact address. How close is the info I posted to the info you got?



Are you trying to get analog still or or you just concerned with digital? Why kind of TV are you using? If using analog CRT, what kind of converter box are you using or going to use?



You are very close to the towers and Line of Sight. You could use and indoor antenna and do well, seem to me. And certainly an attic install would be fine. What is your preference?

[kbmuri]

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/antenna.aspx?color=Blue

Yellow is the easiest get, Green next. Blue would require a good antenna.

[240sx4u]

That information is pretty much dead-on that you posted as far as distance.

There ARE tall trees and hills between me and the towers, I also have very tall trees in the back yard. The good news is there is a 10 acre field behind my row of trees that is empty. I have a sony SXRD dlp that is a year old. When I lived in madison, i was able to pick up several high def channels with NO antenna even connected to the tv.

I would prefer an attic mount setup, its not a very tall attic so storage-wise its useless. It would also allow me to get my big antenna off the roof (looks like crap IMO).

I am primarily concerned with digital broadcasts. Honestly, there is a chance it will see little use unless cable goes on the fritz. I want to have broadcast TV in the event of severe weather if I ever go to direct TV as well.

Evan

[Phil Nelson]

Originally Posted by 240sx4u

There ARE tall trees and hills between me and the towers

Our property has a perimeter of tall evergreens in the direction where all the area transmitters are situated. The stations are located from 13 to 37 miles away.

The homebrew antenna that I made receives very well, and it is just sitting on a table on a first-floor room, not upstairs or in the attic. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Now if they would just broadcast something worth watching on those stations :-)

Phil Nelson

[EscapeVelo]

You could attic mount just about anything since you are that close to the towers....... the trees will be in the way regardless of if its on the roof or not. All the towers are in the same direction as well. You do have one VHF Hi, but its on the upper spectrum of VHF Hi....which is good for our purposes....a uhf antenna should have an easier time with it.

Here are my recommendations for an attic install.

AntennasDirect DB2, Channel Master 4220, or even a Channel Master 4221....with Channel Master Titan 7777 amplifier and Quad Shield Copper on Steel RG6 cabling. You can leave these inside the box if you wanted, and use them like that inside the attic. I like the DB2 best out of that bunch....its smaller and lighter and packs a mean punch with its 4mm aluminum whiskers.

Other options...


RS DA-5200 outside or attic
Winegard SS-2000 or Terk HDTVs which is a SS-2000 clone outside or attic....bit pricey but you can find them on ebay for less.
Winegard MS-2000 outside or attic

All of these have their own amplifiers....not too sure about the MS-2000, though.


You could try a home build Quad Bow Tie. I recommend using thick 10 or 12 gauge bare solid copper(or aluminum) wire, and larger 9 1/2" bows with 9 1/2" spacing center to center of the Bow Ties.

[240sx4u]

Thanks for the information and insight guys. I may try the home built bowtie setup, I have a bunch of 12 ga. romex left over from a microwave installation.

Evan