Cut the cord: Whole house digital antenna
- Thread starter bofa
- Start date
I have an old unit in the attic, probably 35 years old and installed when the house was built. All my neighbors have the same thing. I tried all sorts of adjustments on it and it didn't match the Leaf so you know it was pretty bad.
A lot of my neighbors have a dish of one sort or another so I think an outside antenna would look fine compared to those.
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bofa
New member
We had a walk-through today and I got them to add an extra 1.5" conduit, to run from the basement to the attic, so I should be all set to run what I need. I went this route because I noticed there were no power sources up there besides those running on a switch so I may need to run wire for an outlet as well.
RonMAIDEN
Super Moderator
I love my TV time and the tech features built into Dish Net's Hopper DVR and Joey system work flawlessly and they don't jack around with my bill like Direct and Comcast kept doing. I did get rid of all the movie premiums and that has kept my bill reasonable. I can't imagine going antenna only.
bofa
New member
How's the reception out here? I'd think with all of the crazy wind, elevation changes, and occasional weather it would be pretty spotty. In FL, any small storm would wreak havoc on our satellite. We'd have random distortion on clear days. The real killer though was storms... you'd get a strong storm come through and think, hey I'll just stay home and watch TV. Nope.
The transition hasn't been as tough as we thought. The real challenge had been MNF but after a few seasons of doing without, I'm over it.
RonMAIDEN
Super Moderator
The only issues we have had with the dish is the occasional need to remove the snow but it's windy has heck right now and no issues at all. The dish is installed very well with a bit more support than your normal install.
I'm watching the men's hockey semi final between USA and Canada which isn't available on the local feeds which was a bad shortsight on NBC's part.
I'm watching the men's hockey semi final between USA and Canada which isn't available on the local feeds which was a bad shortsight on NBC's part.
bofa
New member
Yeah their approach to that this time around is pretty weak. I think my mindset has changed to where if organizations want to let things like MNF, TNF (though that is changing a bit next season), the Olympics, etc be exclusive to paid services, they can pound sand. Let their ratings and ad revenue drop enough and they will come around. There's no reason they can't adequately profit from OTA and streaming ads...
bofa
New member
I have an old unit in the attic, probably 35 years old and installed when the house was built. All my neighbors have the same thing. I tried all sorts of adjustments on it and it didn't match the Leaf so you know it was pretty bad.
A lot of my neighbors have a dish of one sort or another so I think an outside antenna would look fine compared to those.
I was poking around some other options and came across this site.
AntennaPoint.com - Antenna Locator
I like the format better than tvfool but you'll have to use the advanced search for longer distances. Anyway, I thought this might interest you... it seems that the major broadcast towers are actually in Golden, not Denver, so maybe that cuts the distance down for you a bit.
Here's the unit I'm leaning toward now. I figure with this, a pre-amp, and a distribution amp, I should be good to go.
Amazon.com: Antennas Direct C2-V-CJM ClearStream 2-V Long Range UHF/VHF Indoor/Outdoor DTV Antenna with 20-Inch Mount: Electronics
fourwd1
Moderator
That's not worth $100, if you want an indoor/attic antenna that is directional it would work, but its over priced.
In any installation you wouldn't typically use a pre-amp and a distribution amp together. Ideally a preamp right at the antenna (signal source) and then a 2/3/4-way splitter downstream.
bofa
New member
I haven't been able to find a long range UHF/VHF around that size for any less. I found a few in the $55-$60 range but they were 2-3 times bigger and seemed like a pain to haul up to the attic, not to mention aim in a confined space. Is there another you recommend?
I've been doing a lot of reading and people in "fringe" areas seem to have good results with a preamp and distribution amp setup. They do two separate things right? One strengthens the signal once received by the antenna to accommodate longer runs and the other strengthens it in order to be split. Antenna to splitter will be about 50' and then it's split 6 ways with the longest run probably being around 50' as well.
I'd be happy to drop one amp or the other or find a cheaper antenna. I didn't originally envision this costing $200... but then again for a long term solution it's not too bad. I think I paid $30 per TV with the Leaf and the signal is pretty bad. I'm open to suggestions though.
bofa
New member
Ok, I'll do that. I looked at quite a few options but most of the UHF/VHF combinations had a range of 40 miles or so or were 6 feet long.
Okay, I'll probably start with the distribution amp then and see how it goes. That one's easier to set up. I'd have to run an outlet for the pre-amp anyway and can save that for a Summer project if need be.
It's really hard to find out what's too long or too much power before you get it hooked up. That sounded dirty.
bofa
New member
Got my tool and connectors today and finally had some time this evening to get back to this project. It took me three attempts but I finally learned how to trim coax and install a crimp connector. Hooked it up to the amp, ran upstairs to the bedroom tv and connected the cable from the wall and ran auto programming... I netted 50 channels. Granted, half of them are en español, but I'm getting all of the major local channels and each of the HD channels I flipped through were crystal clear. I'd call this one a success!
Hooked it up to the amp, ran upstairs to the bedroom tv and connected the cable from the wall and ran auto programming... I netted 50 channels. Granted, half of them are en español, but I'm getting all of the major local channels and each of the HD channels I flipped through were crystal clear. I'd call this one a success!
