Cut the cord: Whole house digital antenna
- Thread starter bofa
- Start date
bofa
New member
Mtn, what's the closet major city out there? The longest range I found with a quick search was roughly 70 miles.
Antennas Direct DB8e Extended Long Range UHF HDTV TV Bowtie Antenna (DB8e) from Solid Signal
Antennas Direct DB8e Extended Long Range UHF HDTV TV Bowtie Antenna (DB8e) from Solid Signal
MtnT4R
New member
Geez I guess this technically is the boonies :wacko:
I remember meeting one lady who was just enthralled that I grew up out here "in the trees and stuff."
I'm 97 miles from denver and 148 miles from grand junction, so probably out of luck, unless they make longer range antennas? I guess glenwood springs is technically a city(67 miles), but I dont think they really broadcast tv.
bofa
New member
Is that 97 miles driving or directionally? I'm sure there has to be a solution... probably one of those big death ray sized antennas. :lol:
MtnT4R
New member
Ehh its both directional and driving, everything west of Denver is essentially laid out along the I-70 corridor that stretches east-west. I remember seeing a huge antenna in one of the commercial parks that looks like it can beam a signal to the moon. Might need to see where I can get me one of those. I sure would enjoy some free tv! looks like you are pulling most of the decent channels worth watching down there.
fourwd1
Moderator
Look at their UHF corner reflector and they also have a real nice yagi that's good for maybe 90mi. I have 2 of the 6' long corner reflectors stacked horizontally.
These are highly directional antennas, so you'll probably need a rotor. But that's what you have to do to get weak or distant stations.
acr_ted
New member
That guide for off-air reception isn't all that great - out here in east Mesa, AZ I get about 55 channels off air with an ordinary yagi TV antenna that I put up 17 years ago, even though the guide said I would not get any of the Tucson channels. It does help to have some elevation as well. I get all of the Phoenix and Tucson channels with a strong signal. Of course, some of these channels are of no interest to me ...
I used RG6 cable from the antenna into the basement and then split and distributed the signal to the 4 rooms that have TV's.
I used to plan and install cable TV distribution networks for schools, so it is easy for just one house!
While I still have DirecTV I find myself watching less and less TV so maybe the dish will be dumped in the future. And of course DTV does not carry the subchannels that I can get off air.
Ted
I used RG6 cable from the antenna into the basement and then split and distributed the signal to the 4 rooms that have TV's.
I used to plan and install cable TV distribution networks for schools, so it is easy for just one house!
While I still have DirecTV I find myself watching less and less TV so maybe the dish will be dumped in the future. And of course DTV does not carry the subchannels that I can get off air.
Ted
Nervo19
Member
MtnT4r, the whole reason they invented cable TV was back in the early days of TV people in the mountains couldn't get antenna signals. Maybe it's still the same. Who needs TV anyway when you have mountains to stare at?
I'm hoping to try an antenna soon too. My cable is also scrambling the signal and leasing the boxes. It seems to me that no one is going to want the clutter of an additional box when their skinny TVs are mounted on the wall. I have Netflix and Amazon Prime and mostly watch that anyway.
I'm hoping to try an antenna soon too. My cable is also scrambling the signal and leasing the boxes. It seems to me that no one is going to want the clutter of an additional box when their skinny TVs are mounted on the wall. I have Netflix and Amazon Prime and mostly watch that anyway.
I haven't had cable tv in over 10 years. I either download all my stuff or watch it OTA. My house in VA had an old, huge antenna froim the 80s in the attic. I ran new wires, plugged it into my tv and had almost 50 HD channels. You guys on Cable and Satellite don't know what real HD is. EVERYTHING that is broadcast via sattellite or cable, (especially Time Warner) is heavily compressed. The first time you see OTA full 1080P, you will be amazed.
Between Hulu, OpenHulu, EZTV, etc., there is no reason to have cable unless you are a big sports fan and just have to watch the games live.
Between Hulu, OpenHulu, EZTV, etc., there is no reason to have cable unless you are a big sports fan and just have to watch the games live.
AZ07Runner
Member
I got my Cox Comm. bill a couple days ago and they've raised the rates...AGAIN! Seriously considering cutting the cord this time. I looked up this site the last time they did this.
Best HDTV Antenna
I already have an antenna, but I think I'll rewire it due to the age of the wires. Their $99 kit will be paid for in about 5 weeks without the cable bill.
Best HDTV Antenna
I already have an antenna, but I think I'll rewire it due to the age of the wires. Their $99 kit will be paid for in about 5 weeks without the cable bill.
Rubberdown
New member
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.
Dude if it's new construction by all means talk to whoever a doing your low voltage and have all your speakers wired, and a spare coax run up to the attic for an antenna. Or do it yourself before they drywall. Just look at how they ran theirs and follow their lead. It's super easy! Just remember to label your wires to make it easy on yourself later.
bofa
New member
Yeah, already have them doing the speakers (the one I mentioned earlier was to run the amp wire so I can mount it behind the couch). I went out there again today and the 1" conduit wasn't in yet and none of the coax was in yet. I'll go out there again this week and see how they run it and may do as you mentioned, and run one myself. I was thinking about running some wiring for CCTV as well.
Also, we went to the model again for some paperwork and I checked out that box in the basement. That's definitely where the splitter is located.
Grenvilleter
New member
Make sure you run RG/6 and not RG/59. RG/59 was the standard for vhf matv systems however with the rise in the upper bandwidth useage, the higher uhf channel signals will degrade very quickly in a longer the cable run.
My parents built a house in '88 and I wired it with RG/59 (the standard at the time) only to discover a few yrs later they were unable to get the upper uhf channels (35-65)on tv's near the end of the cable run.
Eventually had to change it out for RG/6 and install a line amp.
My parents built a house in '88 and I wired it with RG/59 (the standard at the time) only to discover a few yrs later they were unable to get the upper uhf channels (35-65)on tv's near the end of the cable run.
Eventually had to change it out for RG/6 and install a line amp.
bofa
New member
Thanks for the tip. I'm planning to run out there tomorrow to see what I can do.
Question - what effect does the length of the cable between the antenna and splitter have on the signal, if any?
Grenvilleter
New member
The cable length has no effect on the splitter itself. A 2-way splitter will divide the signal strength by about 3db (50% of the signal gets routed to each o/p port.).
If your cable length is excessively long, a splitter may drop the signal to un-useable levels which in that case you need a line amp.
A 4-way splitter will drop your signal level by about 10db or 10x on each of the o/p ports.
Most televisions can handle this drop in signal level via a built in cct called the AGC (automatic gain control) but if your marginal in the upper frequencies to start with, the AGC may not be able to compensate.
I am so happy I cut the satellite/cable about 10-15 years ago and the only thing I miss is the specialty channels.
Of course, I live near the Canada/US border and off-air, I get NBC,ABC,CBS, PBS & Fox from my American neighbours plus all the Canadian major networks CBC, CTV 1 & 2, Global, TVO, Omni 1&2 and a host of others as well.
High gain, deep fringe antenna's do need to be pointed at the transmitter site however to get the maximum signal so a rotor to point the antenna is necessary and can be a pain if your just channel surfing.
The height of your antenna can play a huge factor also in your ability to receive stations from farther away with a MATV system (what your thinking about). I have a 40' tower and a RF signal booster along with about 10' of masting so I'm about 50' from the ground which is a really good height. I can get tv stations from over 100 miles away.
If your cable length is excessively long, a splitter may drop the signal to un-useable levels which in that case you need a line amp.
A 4-way splitter will drop your signal level by about 10db or 10x on each of the o/p ports.
Most televisions can handle this drop in signal level via a built in cct called the AGC (automatic gain control) but if your marginal in the upper frequencies to start with, the AGC may not be able to compensate.
I am so happy I cut the satellite/cable about 10-15 years ago and the only thing I miss is the specialty channels.
Of course, I live near the Canada/US border and off-air, I get NBC,ABC,CBS, PBS & Fox from my American neighbours plus all the Canadian major networks CBC, CTV 1 & 2, Global, TVO, Omni 1&2 and a host of others as well.
High gain, deep fringe antenna's do need to be pointed at the transmitter site however to get the maximum signal so a rotor to point the antenna is necessary and can be a pain if your just channel surfing.
The height of your antenna can play a huge factor also in your ability to receive stations from farther away with a MATV system (what your thinking about). I have a 40' tower and a RF signal booster along with about 10' of masting so I'm about 50' from the ground which is a really good height. I can get tv stations from over 100 miles away.
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fourwd1
Moderator
The coax has a loss of around 6dB per 100', so the shorter the run the less the loss. A 4-way splitter has another 7 dB of loss.
For best results use RG-6 Quad Shield coax, and mount an inline preamp at the antenna.
I quit cable TV a few years ago and use the same antenna boca is replacing (Leaf) and I agree they aren't the greatest. I have the regular and the amplified and there's no difference between them as far as reception goes. I'll be watching this to see if I upgrade to a rood antenna because the one in my attic isn't worth a damn, worse than the Leaf.
bofa
New member
I have to save the tin foil for my hat. :tinfoil3:
bofa
New member
I'll keep you posted. It will probably be the beginning of May before we are moved in and I set it up. The Leaf worked a lot better in Florida, where everything is flat and I was only about 20 miles from the broadcast stations. But here I can only get about 12 channels consistently downstairs, and only half that upstairs. Plus I hate having cables and a laminated paper antenna hanging on my walls/windows. It looks like crap.
What do you have in the attic? Think and adjusting the direction and maybe an amp would help? An outside install would be a last resort for me, I think.
