# Antenna



## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

I have an RCA antennae from Walmart. I think it works well when I don't have cable. That is if you don't have to have HBO, etc.


It's maybe the size of a manila folder, is flat and black & sits in the window.
I get a lot of interesting channels.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

.... and a lot depends on your location. We have a TV in a spare bed rm that isn't hooked up to cable. It just has a cheap dollar store antenna which works well but I do live on top of a tall hill.


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

See what antennaweb.org recommends based on your location.


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

It is more about elevation & orientation than the quality of the antenna. An 8" loop of copper wire attached the 300/75 ohm converter will pull in anything the vast majority of indoor antennas will. 



In the downstairs portion of a home traffic on a busy road can affect the signal.


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

I'm with huesmann; your best resource is probably antennaweb.org. It'll show the direction and distance to the broadcast towers around you, based on your address. It'll also tell you which ones you should be able to get with different types of antennas, based on the mounting height.

In most areas, 30 miles is a tall order for any indoor antenna; an outdoor antenna in the attic, maybe.


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## GrayHair (Apr 9, 2015)

I use an indoor flat-panel antenna and the most distant station I receive is a UHF station about 25 miles away, and it's not rock solid. Most transmitters are about 18 miles away and they are not always rock solid. All towers are 1,000 feet tall or better and the terrain is relatively flat.

Stations actually transmitting on channels 7 thru 13 are very iffy and channels 2 thru 6 nearly impossible. 99% of the time I can get channel 13, but have gotten Channel 5 just a few days in the 2½ years I've lived here.

To see what channels the stations in your area actually transmit on, look up the station call sign in Wikipedia. On the right side of the page, *Digital* is the channel they actually transmit on and *Virtual* is the channel number that appears on your set.


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## LS-6 (Nov 26, 2019)

Thanks guys I'll do some checking...:wink2:


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## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

If your antenna does not have bars or fins about 3 feet long then it will have difficulty receiving actual channels 2 - 13.


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## man00 (Jan 3, 2015)

AllanJ said:


> If your antenna does not have bars or fins about 3 feet long then it will have difficulty receiving actual channels 2 - 13.


You speaking of VHF?


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## GrayHair (Apr 9, 2015)

AllanJ is not monitoring this thread, so I'll jump in. Yes he must be referring to VHF. Channels 2 thru 6 range from 54 thru 88 Mhz, Channels 7 thru 13 range from 174 thru 216. Channel 14 (UHF) starts at 470 Mhz.
Wavelength is a function of frequency:
λ (Wavelength in meters) = 299,792,458 (Speed of Light in Meters per Second) / Frequency (in Hertz). To convert meters to feet, multiply by 3.2808.
The higher the frequency the shorter the wavelength. Most TV antennas are designed around only a fraction of a wavelength, but regardless, an antenna must by physically larger to properly receive VHF channels. Channels 2 thru 6 in particular.


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## man00 (Jan 3, 2015)

GrayHair said:


> AllanJ is not monitoring this thread, so I'll jump in. Yes he must be referring to VHF. Channels 2 thru 6 range from 54 thru 88 Mhz, Channels 7 thru 13 range from 174 thru 216. Channel 14 (UHF) starts at 470 Mhz.
> Wavelength is a function of frequency:
> λ (Wavelength in meters) = 299,792,458 (Speed of Light in Meters per Second) / Frequency (in Hertz). To convert meters to feet, multiply by 3.2808.
> The higher the frequency the shorter the wavelength. Most TV antennas are designed around only a fraction of a wavelength, but regardless, an antenna must by physically larger to properly receive VHF channels. Channels 2 thru 6 in particular.


Okay..Thanks I'm working on a Grey Hoverman to see if will do better than my old version DB8


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