I love digital TV and all the on demand features that come with it.

 

While a TV service is nice, those aren't available with OTA broadcasts.

 

Previous relevant discussion: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...ml#post7607045

In addition to the skills needed in keeping my Fords on the road and out of dealerships, I am well versed and experienced in TV antenna systems and am VERY well versed in both the digital transition and what antenna systems work and don't work particularly well. I'm happy to share with the FTE guys and gals.

First, about 74% of the US full-power stations transmit on UHF channels 14-51. About 25 % transmit on high-VHF (7-13) and the remaining 3 dozen or so stations transmit on low-VHF channels. Out of the top 100 markets, about 90 or so are mixed with at least one "major" on a VHF channel allocation. Due to this, it is necessary to have an antenna that is capable of operating on both frequency bands unless you are fortunate enough to have signals that are strong enough to be received by a small. UHF antenna.

UHF antennas can be much more compact that VHF antennas due to the shorter wavelengths. At the opposite end of the scale, an antenna needs to be about 10 feet wide to be efficient on channel 2.

Available online tools to see what channels are in use in your particular area include antennaweb.org and TVFool.com Several antenna manufacturers offer personalized assistance in selecting an antenna. Antennas Direct ( Antennas Direct | Contact us ) and Winegard (Contact Us - Winegard) are two such companies.

Personally, I've installed several antenna systems as far as 70 miles away that yield MORE channels (in perfect quality) than the old analog systems provided. Granted, I've got a few toys in my toolbox than a DIY homeowner and I have the technical background to exploit the tools.

You're confusing a wired service with free, over the air broadcast TV service.

The OTARD rules were part of the TCA act of 1996. Out of the cases litigated by HOAs so far, there has not been a single case where the individual homeowner has NOT prevailed. The HOA can go pound sand when it comes to regulating your installation of a TV or compact satellite antenna on your own property except with very narrow exceptions that are spelled out in the OTARD rules.

A few general rules for selecting and installing an antenna:

1) Indoors antennas with amps are usually junk. The amps are basically crap due to electronics that are "noisy" and overload easily.

2) Do not use any amplifier unless you actually need one. An amp in a system that doesn't need one will often overload or distort and cause a LOSS of signal, not an improvement. Unless you have long cable runs or splitters, there is little opportunity for an amp to be beneficial. This is quite different from analog reception where brute force usually helped.

3) Find out the correct direction to aim your antenna using one of the tools above.

4) Select an antenna (or two) that corresponds the the channels in use in your area. Get recommendations from manufacturers, if needed. Mount them as recommended.

5) A clear line of site is desirable to avoid signal degradation. Putting the antenna behind trees usually will result in sporadic reception.

6) Except in less common cases, higher is usually better.

7) Keep antennas away from (and not behind) metal objects such as roofs and trim. 10' above a metal roof is recommended as a minimum.

There are several online forums that have users (myself included) who can analyze your location and make recommendations for you. These include AVSforum.com DTVusaforum.com and Digital Forum for those in Canada.

For forum members who'd like assistance, send me a PM with your street address and what your situation is and I'll try to customize a recommendation for you.

 

You know what's REALLY FUNNY about this thread?

Here's a real-life circumstance, maybe a little different because I live near Metro NY.

The big Nor'Easter we had here in NY and NJ and other areas nearby really took a toll on us. Me, I didn't lose electric, but DID lose cable. No TV, no internet, and no business phone line. It was out for 24 hours.

So what did I do?

I hooked up this little 2-foot-long antenna I got with a high-def TV tuner card I got for my computer. Connected it to my HD TV.

Scanned for channels, with the antenna horizontal, and in a north-south direction so it picks up signals from the west, towards NYC.

Little rinky-dink antenna, never expected it to do ANYTHING, given that in the years past I've tried it with REGULAR ANALOG tv, and never got anything better than a large amount of snow and static with some slight indication there's a person on the screen.

Guess what?

I got three major network channels, at a signal strength high enough to not glitch. Got NBC, FOX5, UPN, some local public stations (which would have had emergency stuff on them if necessary), etc. Got the local new york news from FOX and NBC, even the weather.

While I am in a suburban area, I am about 40-50 miles away from any broadcasting towers. And that was using a small basic antenna.

If I had a big antenna on my roof, I'd have everything.

It makes me rethink cable, that's for sure.