JP1 Remotes

[vickyg2003]

Another slightly off topic post here. I'm extremely happy with the advice you guys gave me on purchasing that DTVPAL, and now I need help picking the right antenna.

My new home is north of Detroit and has no antenna. I need to get one, but I'm totally confused. I'm going to have to mount this in the attic, (no roof tops allowed), although I read that the FCC says that you have the right no matter what your neighbors say. I don't want to start off on the wrong foot with the neighbors.

I went to antennaweb.org and found out that the channels I want are going to be in a whole bunch of directions.

[Thomas]

Check the AVS forum, look for posts from Detroit area.

http://www.avsforum.com

IIRC there is some info about using two (or three) antennas and 'combiners' however a rotor and antenna that is small enough to be rotated in your attic may be the best bet. I have an amplified dipole (my stations are 25-45 miles away, clustered 180 degrees apart) and have found that weaker digital signals can be received successfully - the main issue has been multipath. We have trees and other houses in the way, the attic construction also has an effect. You may find that you can capture some stations reflected from nearby buildings.

To start, I would get a cheapo UHF bowtie and perhaps some rabbit ears, bypass the 8-way splitter and just try to locate the best placement for reception. If your coax is RG6 that should work ok - in an electrically noisy area, you might need the more expensive quad-shield variant.

I got an OTA HD receiver some while back - I hauled it to the attic, hooked up an old analog tv to the composite inputs (yellow and white RCA ports) and fished for the strongest signals that I could receive without losing any of the weaker stations. It's all trial and error.....
_________________
Tom Carlson

[underquark]

My first thought is that I'm glad that things in my part of the world aren't that bad. I can see the 500KW Black Hill transmitter from my house. A PVR in the top room showed a good picture with just the antenna cable stuck in the back.

I'm not an expert but rely on good websites like this UK one. I like the idea of a rotating antenna but wonder if obstructions would mask the signal in at least some directions. It still sounds as though you'll need to combine VHF and UHF antennae signals via a diplexer.

[vickyg2003]

[greenough1]

Hi Vicky,
you're correct that you'd need to join antennae if they're picking up channels in very different directions.
Fortunately the VHF channel is in the same direction as the UHF ones, so no need (probably) for a separate VHF only antenna. I'd bet you can get buy with UHF/VHF antenna like the channel master 3016. Remember being in the attic will reduce your gain, so you might need a larger one to have more gain. here's a table for channel master:
TABLE. I've used successfully CM products in the past.

Of course, I'm guessing what'll work best in your area. The best thing to do is check out the local area avsforum section AVSFORUM for Detroit . If you post there, I'm sure you'll find people in the area using antennae and that'll be your best guide of what to use. Also, look around on people's chimmenys/roofs and make note of what they have. What works for analog TV will work for DTV.

I'll also add that the local channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW) will be carried in HD "in the clear" on their cable system. You'll have to subscribe to basic cable, then probably "upgrade" to a digital package. But if you have a digital TV with a QAM tuner, or want to buy a tuner box with a QAM tuner in it, then you can get some HD content without an antenna. NOTE: that you'll need a tuner with an antenna also. Most tuner these days will have ATSC (Over the air digital format) and QAM in them.

Best,
jeff

[vickyg2003]

[greenough1]

Hi Vicky,
QAM is the format digital TV is transmitted on cable systems. Many/most DTV tuners for OTA (over the air) can decode QAM also.

From the AVS HDTV TECHNICAL FORUM , here's a list of set top boxes (STB) for decoding OTA signals that are available for 2008:
Available Now:
· Samsung DTB-H260F $179 ATSC, Clear QAM
· Winegard RC-1010 $190 ATSC
· Contemporary Research 232-ATSC $1050 ATSC, NTSC, Clear QAM, RS-232
· TiVo HD $299 ATSC, CableCARD, Clear QAM, NTSC
· AV Tool ATSC-100 $199 ATSC (no DD output)

So now, depending on how many tv's you have that you want to run on independent feeds, you'll have to make some decisions of how to configure things. If you want each TV to function independently, then you'll have to distribute the DTV signal from the antenna to each box that will decode the signal for the TV, unless you TV has an ATSC decoder in it.

Best,
jeff

[zaphod7501]

You'll probably have to swap out the passive splitter for an amplified version. (not a lot of gain, but no loss)
The exact UHF frequencies in use will make a difference. Higher = worse
Anything over physical channel 50 will be changing in Feb.
_________________
Just call me Zaphod (or Steve) --- I never should have started using numbers in a screen name but I just can't stop now.

[greenough1]

Or another option is to pre-amp the antenna signal. If you don't have enough gain to begin with it's not helpful, but if you need to compensate for splitters, then it might help and avoid distribution amp complexity.
Best,
jeff

[vickyg2003]

So it looks like I picked a bad time to start this project.

[greenough1]

Hi Vicky,
A yagi is just a fancy name for a directional antenna. Pretty much any UHF/VHF combo antenna you've seen has a yagi for the UHF piece. I wouldn't worry so much about a change in optimization from 69 max to 51. You should worry about UHF channels changing to VHF (58 to 7). (I've not looked at antennas for 5 years or so and now see that UHF only antennas are getting very scarce)

Also, if you're close enough to the transmitters (around 10 mi in your case), then a simple set of rabbit ears (VHF) or a UHF loop might work well (feels like the 50's - 60's again). I've heard of folks close enough to the transmitters that just a coat hanger or loop of wire was good enough. In my case, I'm 40+ mi from the transmitter for all but NBC and over 2 sets of hills. Fortunately they're all UHF and the signal "hugs" the ground pretty well. I just need to point a good high gain yagi + pre-amp at the main gap in the first set of hills and I was good to go. the pre-amp is to compensate for bad weather signal fade. (quick thought: If you have a set of rabbit ears and a UHF loop around you might just try that and see what you get. You might need a 300 Ohm to 75 Ohm balun to connect it to the box ( LINK )

Without going up on your roof with a spectrum analyzer to see what can be seen at your house, the best thing to do is make a post in the Detroit AVS HDTV reception area and find someone near you who's already figured out what works and what doesn't. This is what I did and by following a local guys lead, what I installed first worked great. You might also get a lead there for local installers who know what works and what doesn't *in your area* - this is key. if you're going to go the DIY route, you can buy whatever you need on the internet, but I'd recommend knowing what will work before you go that routine. Return shipping of antennas is expensive. If going the DIY route try and locate a local electronics shop that sells antennas. They're probably near the bottom of the list for knowing what will work in your neighborhood, but it's a local place that has gear for you to try if you're in the trial and error mode.

Can you provide your zipcode and maybe we can help get you pointed a bit better in a good/productive direction?

Since you're got ATSC boxes, you'll only be out the cost of the antenna and mounting gear AND you've already got remotes to control the boxes, TV's, etc. so you're almost there.

Best,
jeff

[underquark]

You can virtually stand on your roof using the Live Search Maps website and have a look around for trees and things that might spoil your signal. Armed with the antenna bearings above one could even have a stab at seeing where you live (or where you told the antenna web site you lived, at least).