G+_Frederick Holtsberg Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 So I have a question to throw out to the Know How community. No it is not Quadcopter related, sorry. I live in a rural area and it is time to update my outdoor TV antennae. Nine years ago I got a radio shack antennae First Picture It was OK when it was not falling apart. I have been doing research and have narrowed my choice down to two. Xtreme Signal HD8200XL Long Range HDTV VHF/UHF/FM Antenna (Second Picture) 8 Element Bowtie Indoor/Outdoor HDTV Antenna (Third Picture) They both seems good choices but what would you recommend? I am also open to other suggestions…. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Black Merc Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 As I understand it... digital TV is in the old UHF band... very few analog VHF Chanels still exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_G Riedell Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Distance from your broadcasters? Any terrain or structures between them and you? And yes, do you know if you need reception of VHF, UHF, or both signals?? Also, what type of weather will the antenna have to deal with... high winds, lots of ice?? You should be able to determine what physical channel your stations transmit on if they have a Wikipedia page (it seems that they list that information), look for the "Digital" channel listing... also noted is whether that is a VHF or UHF frequency.? You will need to know this for every station you want to receive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Brian Moses Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 If You are in the states this site is helpful- http://antennaweb.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_G Riedell Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Brian Moses - I was just looking for that bookmark. Thanks Brian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Travis Hershberger Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 All I can say for sure, is 90% of the time you'll want a remote rotation device as well. Grandparents friends had one, and they could get ~12 channels while the grandparents got 3. Check out the local broadcasting maps to see what you may be missing. https://transition.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/dtvmaps/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Frederick Holtsberg Posted March 31, 2016 Author Share Posted March 31, 2016 George Riedell We are about 50 miles away from broadcasters. It will have to deal with high winds and ice on occasion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Frederick Holtsberg Posted March 31, 2016 Author Share Posted March 31, 2016 Travis Hershberger I have one already but maybe it is time to upgrade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_John Wallace Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 In general the more elements the better reception from those far off TV stations. You need to find the frequency of the channels you watch and look at the technical specs of the antenna to see if it covers those frequencies. See this wiki on the frequencies for the channels. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_television_frequencies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Jason Perry Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Tvfool.com and unfortunately choosing an antenna isn't easy. Make sure it is tuned for the frequency past that it is all opinion. Just make sure you think of the weather in your area when you are comparing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Peter Hanse Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 Lookup stations you want to receive note direction and frequency. Many broadcasters got exceptions and stayed in VHF in our area about 1/2. Our first antenna was advertised as digital antenna so eliminated VHF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_G Riedell Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 Frederick Holtsberg?? - the larger the antenna, the more it will be affected by wind and ice. But if you're only sometimes in the cross-hairs, or not too worried, most consumer solutions should be fine. If you need VHF reception, nix the bowtie-type antenna, it's not going to do well on those channels. With digital, you may find that you want a fairly clear path to the transmitter site, leaves on trees and precipitation can mess with signal strength... though, at only 50 miles you may be okay. At nearly 100 miles, I need 45+ feet of tower and a booster / amplifier... and when it rains, I'm not watching anything but "no signal". I've used Winegard antennas recently with good results... 79xx and 8xxx series options. Unfortunately, the only opinion that I can provide on the Xtreme Signal 8200 is that it appears very similar both physically and to specs of the Winegard HD8200U... so perhaps they are the same and it should be fine. Also, be aware that you want a short run of quality coax from the antenna to the set(s)... and perhaps an amp if you're running to multiple sets / boxes.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Eddie Foy Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 I found this to be a pretty good source: http://tinyurl.com/gp3u5we Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Jason Eckelstafer Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 I personally use http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29 when I'm helping people cut the cord but some find the information too overwhelming. http://www.antennarecommendations.com/ is a very good and simple site to figure it out too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Frederick Holtsberg Posted April 1, 2016 Author Share Posted April 1, 2016 George Riedell A big thanks. I looked up what stations I would want and they all broadcast VHF. I think the bow-tie is out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_G Riedell Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 Frederick Holtsberg - You're very welcome. Glad to help. I would normally advise to check if the stations are VHF-high (channels 7-13) or VHF-low (channels 2-6), as some smaller-sized antennas omit the lower channels so that they can eliminate the longer elements from their design. IIRC, that 8200XL covers the full-range (the 79xx series Winegards omit the VHF-low - again IIRC). Keep that in mind also if you opt for another antenna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_William Walimaki Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 I have a Winegard HD8200 which I ordered from Solid Signal couple yrs back. Works pretty well for me. The most distant station I can pick up with it is 88 mi away (straight line) which is good since we live in a shallow valley with trees in the way. I could actually use a rotator because there are stations in two other directions. Maybe check out the Solid Signal Xtreme Signal VHF/UHF Outdoor Yagi HDTV Antenna (HDB91X) too which works well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_G Riedell Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 The HDB91X lacks good VHF-high gain and is not spec'd for low-band VHF at all. Probably not a good choice for our OP who needs VHF at distance... Looks good for anyone receiving UHF signals though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Jason Marsh Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 I've been thinking about cutting the cord for a while now, but I'm going to have to get an antenna up fairly high to get over the terrain. TV Fool shows that I can receive half a dozen or so with a set-top antenna, but the other three sites show I will have zero, even if the antenna is 30 ft AGL. Hmmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Eddie Foy Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Jason Marsh a balloon? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Jason Marsh Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Eddie Foy Maybe Google's Project Loon will have some surplus balloons I can get for cheap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Derek Kademan Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 I moved my antenna to avoid trees and increased height by 4 ft and grounded the mount. Made a big difference. I have a Radio Shack 60 mile antenna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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