Digital TV Antenna Recommendations

[ddrieck]

So....I bought a TV antenna of ebay back in April to get ready for the big switch to digital and its a pile of crap The redneck antenna I made out of aluminum angle works better.

Can someone recommend a good antenna and where to get it. I like in town some distance from the tv station is not an issue.

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: Digital TV Antenna Recommendations

So....I bought a TV antenna of ebay back in April to get ready for the big switch to digital and its a pile of crap The redneck antenna I made out of aluminum angle works better.

Can someone recommend a good antenna and where to get it. I like in town some distance from the tv station is not an issue.

If you had an old UHF/VHF antenna, there was no need to buy anything new.
The digital channels use the same UHF/VHF frequency range as the old analog channels, but they are mapped differently.

Anyway, start here to select the best antenna for your location:
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

Good antenna selection here; use the results from the site above:
http://www.channelmaster.com/

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Digital TV Antenna Recommendations

Radio Shack sells an indoor model that looks like the Starship Enterprise. It is programmable and the dome rotates. There is also a remote that comes with it, so that you can do this without getting up. Cost is about 50 bucks.

I got ticked at Cox cable a couple of months ago and dumped them. I only had basic channels anyway and I actually get more on the digital antenna than I did with them. Haven't missed a Saints game, yet.



???

 

[lakelover]

Re: Digital TV Antenna Recommendations

I am on my second Radio Shack roof antenna, the first one got wiped out in an ice storm last year. It's a model 15-2152. They don't appear to have that model any more but they have similar ones. Mine works great (I get 17 channels where I got 6 before digital) and I'm sure this type would work almost wherever you are. It was around $60. I have it mounted in a fixed position with no rotor, so pointing it in the right direction is very important.

Here's a how-to-install pdf from Crutchfield, but it will have good info for any brand antenna:

http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/Manuals/659/6593018.PDF

This antennaweb.org site has tons of free info about antennas, even including getting an exact compass reading direction to point your antenna from your address so that you get the max number of channels for your location:

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx Start by clicking on the "Choose an antenna" button.

And the comment above is right, you will get digital with any antenna that worked for you before the switch. They are the same. (And sorry for the duplicate antennaweb info from the above post by tx1961whaler!)

Good luck.