Any of the indoor TV antennas you can purchase up to $40 will not work as well as the DIY type. I bought an indoor TV antenna and I couldn't get good digital signal from approx. 30 miles. The DIY antenna made out of coat hangers was able to get good signal from 30 miles. Your friend has to have one of the more costly type that is likely installed on the roof or attic to be able to get reception from 60-70 miles. That'll cost you a few Benjamins.
You should head on over to tvfool.com to check and see which channels you'll be able to pick up. After that go to dbstalk.com and join the forum. It will have all the info you will need concerning satellite television. Very knowledgeable people over there.
Where can you typically find antennas at for sale? I mean, I don't think I can just got to Walmart, K-Mart, or Target and pick one up. Lowes? Home Depot? 150-200 is not bad at all to me as it would save me $35/month and pay for itself in about 6 months. How much do boosters cost and are they worth it? I'm thinking I can do 40 feet easily because my home is already 2 stories. Bigger antenna or height? I live outside of the city limits and am not part of any HOA so I'm fine there. What exactly takes time? I think that is going to be one of my problems, finding a place to purchase the materials for setup. Is DIY a good option or no?
Hard to say until you try it. You will have to run some Coax to the attic - outside whether you DIY or buy an antenna. Parts List for DIY: 1. Coat hangers or some wire that is similar 2. Wood or something similar to mount the wire or coat hangers on. 3. Screws & washers 4. A balun and you might be able to cannibalize an old rabbit ears for that. 5. Wire mesh or similar to serve as a reflector. Some consider that as optional, but since you are in a fringe area, then you will probably need it. Tools Drill Time required Probably 1 hour. If the above is not going to be a problem for you, then try DIY. If it fails, it will have cost you an hour of your time and probably $5 or less in parts.
radio shack is a good place to start, they'll allow you to take it back if you're not satisfied... i haven't tried this one, but the reviews seem to be positive, and it comes with the mounting kit. http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2417011&y=3&x=5&retainProdsInSession=1 signal boosters will help to a degree, but they're really only needed in extreme cases. something that may help more useful than a booster would be a rotator. this would allow you to change the direction of the antenna to face whichever tower you desire, thus improve the reception. so assuming money isn't much of an issue, i would run a setup with that (or a similar) antenna, and something similar to this rotator. http://www.tvantenna.com/products/tvreception/rotators/9521A.html mount it to the chimney (assuming you have one), run the coax cable, and you're good to go... probably something like a 4 hour project. as a side note, a DIY antenna may work, but i'm not a big fan due to the look... not that a massive rooftop antenna is all that much more visible pleasing.
Good news for you, LilPun. Looks like you might finally have your locals through your satellite feed. Although this is a Dish article, DirecTV will no doubt be following suit. http://dish.client.shareholder.com/releases.cfm
Space Ghost, just saw the post from a week ago. I am very glad to see my city listed. Does this new act allow DirecTV to follow suit? And remember, my local CBS, NBC, and FOX come out of Memphis and/or Little Rock. Will these be included or only the station which is local here, ABC?
Yes, DirecTV can follow suit. When is the question. Im not exactly sure which ones you will get, but it won't be your actual locals. From my understanding, if you do not live in the DMA (Designated Market Area) of the given locals, then the providers can not let you view them, as the advertising that pays for the airtime is not for your market area. So if your locals are not fed by your provider(Sat. or cable), for whatever reason, you're out of luck. This new act allows you to watch locals from other DMA's if they are not available to you.
Hey Lil Pun. Looks like you will finally get your locals in Jonesboro http://investor.directv.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=567980
Thank goodness. Don't have time to look at the link. Do they say when locals will be available? Not having ABC was tougher than I thought. Thanks for keeping this updated Space Ghost. repped
The cool thing is If you do get an antennae, your local channels will probably look clearer and cleaner than your DirectTV channels since it won't be compressed - Thanks to the new digital transmitters.
I bought an antennae and the quality looks great. The only problem is I don't get ABC, FOX, or CBS. I only get NBC and some other random channels I don't care about. I wonder if the signal in my girlfriend's apartment is bad or something? Any recommendations for a higher quality antennae that can get the signals from these channels. I also have bad cell service in her apartment.
Try moving the antenna to a different location. You may be able to put it anywhere in the apartment that has a coaxial jack near it and just use the cable drops that are already in the wall for one or more TV connections.
As has been recommended previously, check her address at tvfool.com You can generate a map and see exactly where you need to be pointing the antenna and which one to purchase if you actually need to get a better one. Edit: here's another resource from the fcc that allows you to see where the towers from individual channels are relative to your address
Señor @Lil Pun, maybe your friend has an INDOOR antenna set up. I'll explain: At my previous house we were renting before we bought our current home, the owner had an OUTDOOR antenna INSIDE his attic. The cables went down to the walls and out the coaxial setup, but by the time we rented, I figured out that the cables had been cut from that huge (about 10 feet long, yes, 10) antenna and it was no longer sending the signal down, and previous renters had set up DirectTV or other Satellite providers. Well, some lowlife from the Cable or Satellite company or maybe the previous owner just CUT, without crimping, the old cables from that antenna. So I called up a buddy who is good with cabling and networking, and he brought a couple tools, and we tested the antenna. It was working GREAT. It caught channels from Austin and from Beaumont in the west Houston area. Buying a big antenna like that and sending the coaxial cable down to your TVs might also not be a bad idea to try. Hello again. EDIT: What the hell, @HR Dept ? LOLs. Weird BUMP. I had even answered already.
Try plugging into the coax cable at the wall and doing a search. You might be amazed with what you can get for free.
