Cut the cord: Whole house digital antenna

[bofa]

I ditched cable/satellite a couple of years ago. Between digital broadcast, Hulu, and Amazon Prime I'm pretty happy, not to mention the savings. I've been using Leaf antennas for each TV but they are a bit annoying in that their reception is not very strong at times and you have to hang them on a wall, preferably near a window, so it generally looks like crap in some rooms.

I've been looking at installing a whole house digital antenna, but I'm not 100% sure what all I need. I've read that these can be installed in the attic, so that's where I'll plan to put it (hate adding holes to the outside of a house, especially a brand new one). I *think* I need the antenna, an amp (may need to add an outlet nearby), the cabling to run from the attic to wherever it needs to go, and the hardware to mount it. Does that sound right?

I'm also curious where I connect this to distribute signal to the whole house. I'm guessing that will be in the basement and should be able to confirm in a few weeks.

Any suggestions, input, or experience to share?

 

[fourwd1]

I've been antenna only (OTA) for the last 25 yrs.
I have antennas on the roof with a rotor to point in different directions.
It feeds 4 TVs. I get 50+ stations from MD, DC, northern VA, and PA.
The HD channels are better because they aren't compressed the way cable and satellite are.

 

[fourwd1]

And get that darn bug off my screen.

 

[bofa]

:laugh: The funny part is it still tricks me from time to time.

I've done a lot of poking around on other forums that cover this and it sounds like I am on the right track. Though, I think I'm going to try a setup with a built in amp.

Amazon.com : Winegard FL6550A FlatWave Air Outdoor HDTV Antenna : Video Antennas : Electronics

This plus a good 50 ft cable to run to the box in the basement should do the trick.

 

[SV_Dude]

Do it and let us know how it goes. I am interested in this as well. I am currently with comcast and have a good package at a very good price due to a salesman that lied about a few things. I went around and around with them for the first month and they finally gave me their best package for under a hundred bucks a month.

 

[Rubberdown]

Firstly digital antennas are all marketing. There is no such thing as a digital antenna, any antenna will pick up digital stations. I sincerely believe the best thing you can buy is,one of the old crazy looking multi element antennas, hang it in your attic, and call it a day. It doesn't need an amplifier unless you live in the boonies, but if you decide you do, they are cheap and easy to add in-line. Here in Houston I can put a paper clip in my tv and pick up several hd stations, go figure. How old is your house. I'm going to bet your splitter/distribution point is in the attic somewhere. All you do is unplug your line running in from outside and plug your antenna into the splitter input. All of the wall locations you plug in the splitter will have the antenna signal. The only other thing left to do is couple your incoming line to the outlet with your cable modem if applicable, and your good to go.

 

[TNRunner99]

I had a single antenna from Best Buy for about a year. It had a great signal but every other day one station or another would act up and not have a good signal. Or if you were moving around the house it would affect the signal. It got pretty annoying. I had to get internet so I went with the cable company.

In your situation, Outside where there could be a cable box added there should be a cable coming from the street and one to go to the house. Look in the attic/basement on the side of the house its on and you might be able to find where it first enters the house and is distributed from there. Don't know if all your wiring is ran through the attic or basement, but I know my house its ran all in the attic and it's a newer house built in 2010.

 

[fourwd1]

True, an antenna doesn't know if the signal is analog or digital, and it really dosent care.
But some antennas marketed as "digital" have been designed to work specifically on the frequencies used by digital TV transmissions. They don't cover the lower part of the TV band or the FM radio band.

 

[bofa]

Do it and let us know how it goes. I am interested in this as well. I am currently with comcast and have a good package at a very good price due to a salesman that lied about a few things. I went around and around with them for the first month and they finally gave me their best package for under a hundred bucks a month.

I will. I can say that not having cable is a bit liberating. I do miss some channels, mostly FX and ESPN... but the FX shows usually pop up for free on Amazon Prime a season later. Not seeing MNF is a challenge though.

Firstly digital antennas are all marketing. There is no such thing as a digital antenna, any antenna will pick up digital stations. I sincerely believe the best thing you can buy is,one of the old crazy looking multi element antennas, hang it in your attic, and call it a day. It doesn't need an amplifier unless you live in the boonies, but if you decide you do, they are cheap and easy to add in-line. Here in Houston I can put a paper clip in my tv and pick up several hd stations, go figure. How old is your house. I'm going to bet your splitter/distribution point is in the attic somewhere. All you do is unplug your line running in from outside and plug your antenna into the splitter input. All of the wall locations you plug in the splitter will have the antenna signal. The only other thing left to do is couple your incoming line to the outlet with your cable modem if applicable, and your good to go.

I'm not too familiar with the technical aspects, but I thought there was a big push years ago for "digital" antennas in order to be able to receive local channels. At the time I was still paying almost $200/mo to satellite so I never really looked into it.

I looked at the old style antennas and found one but that new one I posted from Winegard seems to have the range and and frequencies I need for my location, not to mention the amp. Plus I figured aiming one of those beasts in the attic might be a bit tough. The reason I plan to do the amp up front is because these Mohu Leaf antennas just don't seem to have the juice they did in FL, likely due to the terrain out here. I'd rather be a little overkill than yelling at the tv like a drunken uncle.

The house is new construction and should be done in a couple of months. In looking at the model, the panel was in the basement but they had a lot of other crap so I could have been looking at something wrong. Electrical should be wrapped up this time next week so I should be able to find out for sure.

I had a single antenna from Best Buy for about a year. It had a great signal but every other day one station or another would act up and not have a good signal. Or if you were moving around the house it would affect the signal. It got pretty annoying. I had to get internet so I went with the cable company.

In your situation, Outside where there could be a cable box added there should be a cable coming from the street and one to go to the house. Look in the attic/basement on the side of the house its on and you might be able to find where it first enters the house and is distributed from there. Don't know if all your wiring is ran through the attic or basement, but I know my house its ran all in the attic and it's a newer house built in 2010.

We've had similar issues with certain channels but with these smaller antennas I think interference is more common. I'm hoping a more powerful, and powered, unit will do the trick. I keep looking at cable but their teaser rates and price structures just make me want to :flipoff:

I want to say the cable and phone panels are in the basement. Hmm.. wonder if I have a pic of the model's panel...

 

[bofa]

Here's the pic from the model. It's hard to see from this pic but I recall seeing the phone lines, coaxial lines, and a bunch of wiring for their speaker options (speaking of overkill...)

 

[Rubberdown]

I'm not too familiar with the technical aspects, but I thought there was a big push years ago for "digital" antennas in order to be able to receive local channels. At the time I was still paying almost $200/mo to satellite so I never really looked into it.

No that was digital receivers not digital antennas. It's on the same frequencies, etc. the difference is Analog is a broadcast of continuous uncompressed analog video. Digital TV is 1s and 0s and you get an exact copy of the original materials. While analog signals can give you a weak crappy signal, digital signals hypothetically are perfect until you don't get them anymore. That isn't really how it works, and you get crappy pixelated and jumpy video when the signal is weak, similar to a scratched DVD.

Looking at your pictures, that sucks. It's hard to runs wire from your attic to there. Might be able to snag an unused coax going to an upstairs room and use that as the input for your splitter located in that distribution box.

 

[bofa]

No that was digital receivers not digital antennas.

Looking at your pictures that sucks, it's hard to runs wire from your attic to there. Might be able to snag a line going to an upstairs room and use that as the input for your splitter located in that distribution box.

Ah, gotcha. That sounds right.

I think there is a central run that I might be able to access from the attic. Once it's wired up, I'll see if I have a direct shot or not. Also, this builder includes a 1" conduit run for solar panels, in case we want to add them in the future. I'll have to see if that runs to the basement or not - but that might be an option.

 

[MtnT4R]

I've never heard of this, but I want. Anyone care to help out the noob and tell me what I need to just run an antenna? I hate comcast on a visceral level, and hardly watch anything but netflix anyways.


Also, running cable vertically is easier than horizontally, but its still a b*tch. You'll need a decent snake and some free time. Fingers crossed that you can find that conduit. But you'll probably still need a snake.

 

[Rubberdown]

Plug an antenna into your coax input on your digital ready tv, do a channel scan, and your done.

 

[bofa]

I've never heard of this, but I want. Anyone care to help out the noob and tell me what I need to just run an antenna? I hate comcast on a visceral level, and hardly watch anything but netflix anyways.


Also, running cable vertically is easier than horizontally, but its still a *****. You'll need a decent snake and some free time. Fingers crossed that you can find that conduit.

Are you wanting to run it to the entire house like I am or just to one tv?


I'm planning to buy a snake so I can run some speaker wire under the carpet without pulling it all up, so I'll just make sure it's long enough to reach the basement. I'm hoping it's relatively easy to find. It's new construction though so I should be able to find the conduit when I do the pre-drywall walkthrough next week. Maybe I need to go out there today or monday and slip the electricians a little extra to take care of some off-the-books needs.

 

[MtnT4R]

Are you wanting to run it to the entire house like I am or just to one tv?


I'm planning to buy a snake so I can run some speaker wire under the carpet without pulling it all up, so I'll just make sure it's long enough to reach the basement. I'm hoping it's relatively easy to find. It's new construction though so I should be able to find the conduit when I do the pre-drywall walkthrough next week. Maybe I need to go out there today or monday and slip the electricians a little extra to take care of some off-the-books needs.

Well if things go as well as I hope over the next few months, I'll need to wire up to 4 tvs(buying a house!)

I like to run as much wire as possible. Not a fan of all the EM flying around these days. I understand its already a pretty much a done deal with all the cell and radio towers, but still try to minimize what I can...

 

[bofa]

Well if things go as well as I hope over the next few months, I'll need to wire up to 4 tvs(buying a house!)

I like to run as much wire as possible. Not a fan of all the EM flying around these days. I understand its already a pretty much a done deal with all the cell and radio towers, but still try to minimize what I can...

Ah, congrats. Fun times! I can't wait to be out of this damned rental.

I would see if you want to install outside or in the attic then. I think the main difference between the two is the absolute need for a ground if outside. I think with the wind and snow out here though, I'd much prefer it being inside, plus I can attach the amp that much closer to the unit.

Check out this site: TV Fool

You put your address in and it tells you what you need, dish wise, for different types of installs, where you should point it, and what channels you can expect.

 

[MtnT4R]

This site says I can only expect 6 channels. Does that sound about right? might not be worth it if all I get are PBS and our local channels...

 

[bofa]

This site says I can only expect 6 channels. Does that sound about right? might not be worth it if all I get are PBS and our local channels...

Not sure... you can post the report here and we can take a look. I wonder if you'll need something with a little more umph out there.

 

[MtnT4R]

lets see what we have here.....sorry to hijack your thread Bofa. Appreciate the help! I had to dink around with the address a little more, which netted me a 7th channel :clap2: