# What Digital TV Antenna is Working for You



## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

I get 17 semi local stations using a home built one using the single bay Gray-Hoverman Antenna Design. http://www.digitalhome.ca/ota/superantenna/design.htm

I am lucky in the fact that the 17 channels are clustered on 4 towers that are roughly on the opposite ends of a line with me located on a NW - SE axis. For that reason I elected to not add the reflector portion of the design. I face the primary side to the weaker (67 mile away) signal.

I built this using 10 gauge copper wire for the fins and mounted the whole thing on a scrap of 1 x 4. Right now it sits near a window on the second floor. I plan to mount it in the attic some day.


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

There is not really any such thing as DIGITAL antenna. It takes exactly the same antenna now as it did for old analog TV. Most of the digital stations are broadcasting in the UHF range. You need a UHF antenna. That is the one with the short rungs on it.


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## RegeSullivan (Dec 8, 2006)

I tried two others that didn't do the job before I installed this one at my camp. It is about 50 miles average to the transmitters in the Pittsburgh area (hills, trees and buildings).
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UKMU0M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I get a great picture on at least 20 stations. The only time I have signal loss is when there is a lot of wind and rain in the summer.


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## ron45 (Feb 25, 2014)

Have not paid for TV reception in fifteen years. You will be surprised how clear the stations are since no one is stealing the signals. If you have more then one TV think about getting a DB booster it will also make more stations come in. All new TVs are digital, old ones will need a digital converter box.
The one in the picture can be found here.
http://antennadeals.com/HD2605.html


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

As stated above....there is no such thing as a 'digital' antenna. 

It's all about the gain....or, how much of the signal it can capture. Most digital stations are using more of the VHF spectrum than the UHF. But, if you get an antenna with good gain on all bands....you are good to go.

Here is a good link...

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/antennas-and-digital-television

But what is more important is the coax and connectors. 

You should be using RG6 with good quality connectors....or at least installed correctly. You can have the best antenna in the world and render it useless with crappy coax and connectors.


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## vickyChou (Jan 24, 2015)

There are many types of indoor and outdoor digital TV antennas you can find on ebay, and amplifier in addition.


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

joed says: _*" Most of the digital stations are broadcasting in the UHF range. You need a UHF antenna."*_

Then along comes ddawg16 and says:_* "Most digital stations are using more of the VHF spectrum than the UHF."*_



So...boys and girls...which is it?


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

You can check here to see who's broadcasting on what channel. In my region near Buffalo there are only 2 in the VHF range out of 51 on the list.

http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

Bud Cline said:


> joed says: _*" Most of the digital stations are broadcasting in the UHF range. You need a UHF antenna."*_
> 
> Then along comes ddawg16 and says:_* "Most digital stations are using more of the VHF spectrum than the UHF."*_
> 
> ...



It may be a local thing. Here all are in the UHF range. One of the locals moved to VHF when the digital age dawned and then begged the FCC to move back to UHF. I have no info across the nation but I bet Google does.


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

Don't be fooled by the channel numbers either. Most of the VHF stations retained their original numbers but are actually broadcasting in the UHF range now.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

Bud Cline said:


> joed says: _*" Most of the digital stations are broadcasting in the UHF range. You need a UHF antenna."*_
> 
> Then along comes ddawg16 and says:_* "Most digital stations are using more of the VHF spectrum than the UHF."*_
> 
> ...


Brain fart on my part.....I got the two backwards.


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## dmxtothemax (Oct 26, 2010)

SeniorSitizen said:


> I've about had all I can take of Dish Network and considering going back to the antenna system.
> I need one with a long range. It will be pole mounted. I know exactly 0.0 about TV antennas.


You need to find out what frequencies your channels are using ?

You will want a high gain antenna

Basically the longer it is the more gain there is !

Antenna's are designed for specific frequency ranges
this ensures maximum gain.

You can trade off frequency range but at the expense of gain.

Look around at neighbouring houses what are they using ?

This will give you some idea of what you may need !

























Here are some examples of UHF antenna,s
of various sizes.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

This is my antenna. Over 100 channels over the air.


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## PD_Lape (Nov 19, 2014)

It depends on your area. But I believe most channels now broadcast at UHF range so UHF is almost always the one to get. There are quite a lot of variations though. Try to look around and see what the most commonly used one in your area and get the same thing. That should be a safe bet.

-Paul

_________________________________________________________________


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## ktkelly (Apr 7, 2007)

Channel Master 4228HD is probably the best all around, and most used outdoor antenna, for receiving off air signal.

Bear in mind that if the stations are off axis, you will either need to rotate the antenna, or combine two of them


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## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

For most U.S. commercial TV stations nowadays, the channel number in their logo is nothing more than part of the logo.

The actual channel the station broadcasts on now still has the same channel number that it had in the analog days and is rarely stated in the station's ID either on screen or as announced. Fewer channels are being used for commercial TV today compared with in the past; the UHF channels currently in use for TV are 14 through 51.

As a political concession to TV stations, TV tuners (channel selectors) and remote controls let viewers key in the logo number of stations and the internal workings tune in the actual broadcast channel number that is not displayed.

You can custom design an antenna to optimize reception of a single channel or small range of channels by choosing the length and spacing of the rungs. For most people this is not practical because they would need two (or more) antennas for different groups of stations, and an A-B switch or two to choose which antenna you need to use.

Generally, the more gain an antenna has, the more precisely the antenna needs to be pointed at (rotated to) the station.


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## Cauro (Feb 13, 2015)

As it's been said it depends where you live. If you live in an area with line of sight to the towers and not many hills then eliminate the grief with an Omni-directional antenna. There are a lot of junky ones, but I think Mohu makes good stuff. This Mohu Leaf review goes into some detail about the leaf and how placement strategy can alleviate headaches.

However, if you live in an area that isn't ideal then you need to go with a Yagi style roof antenna that will let you direct the gain of the antenna in one direction at the expense of the other directions. It all depends on what you see in your TV fool report. If you post it I could provide some better insight.


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## pgreenwood (Feb 19, 2015)

SeniorSitizen said:


> I've about had all I can take of Dish Network and considering going back to the antenna system.
> I need one with a long range. It will be pole mounted. I know exactly 0.0 about TV antennas.


If you're in a hurry, you can stop reading now. If you want the best antenna for your situation look no further than this site. Don't be side-tracked by the Canadian overlay. There's lots of US information here, and the physics know no national boundaries. I ended up building the Gray-Hoverman with hats and 3-reflectors which I am extremely pleased with.


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