Knarf,
CLICK HERE: TV antennas.
Posted on 07/19/2009 4:43:07 PM PDT by knarf
I have a "box" (gummint issue) and have yet to install it.
I came across this a couple of months ago and now I'm wonderin' if it works as shown.
Thank you.
This will save you some money on an antenna but you still need the box if your tv doesn’t have a digital atsc/qam tuner.
I actually built one of those before the digital switch and worked great but since the switch I had to go purchase me a powered antenna. Reason being, as I have been told, is that before the switch stations used the power they provided for the analog signal for the digital signal as well. Since most analog channels required more power the digital signals were of course stronger. So when the switch began all of the stations by law were held to a certain power level. So I had to get a stronger antenna.
The TV pictured at the end of the video was a newer model. Almost all new TV’s have built in digital tuners (as well as cable and satellite converters) , it’s the older TV sets that need the boxes.
Some people just don’t easily fit into government issue boxes.
You are a true Freeper.
I MUST purchase a powered antenna?
(I have another TV that I bought a digital (powered) antenna and it works so-so ... perhaps because I am not using an outside, (high ?) antenna in my rural SW Pa. location?)
I get 5 channels .. 7.1, 7.2 ... 9,1, 9.2 and 9.3
I made one out of a piece of coax cable, some speaker wire and a couple of alligator clips and it worked pretty good. I had just moved into a new house (new construction) and the cable company was extremely hard to deal with and it took way too long to get hooked up.
Not saying you will have to buy a new antenna just saying you might have too. I say build it and see if it works. They are great to put behind wall mounted TV’s.
Important: ANY TELEVISION ANTENNA IS A DIGITAL TELEVISION ANTENNA. There is no difference between an "analog" and a "digital" antenna.
Make sure that there is a station or stations in your area broadcasting on VHF before you invest in a VHF antenna. In the good old analog days, you could tell simply by the channel number. 2-13 was VHF, and 14-69 was UHF.
However, with Digital Television, the "channel number" displayed is the station's old analog channel number, not necessarily the actual broadcast frequency they're using for their digital channel.
The best way to find out which channels are used in your area is to use TVFool.com. There you will find out what stations you should be able to receive in your area, what their virtual channel numbers are, and most importantly, what channels are used for broacast.
If there are no VHF stations in your area, then a good high gain UHF antenna will suffice for excellent reception. If there are VHF stations in your area (not just "Action News 7" but actually broadcasting on VHF as told by TVFool.com) then a combination UHF/VHF antenna is required.
But the most important thing to remember is DON'T EXPECT A CHEAP INDOOR ANTENNA TO WORK MIRACLES. For best reception, use either an attic mounted or outdoor antenna. If your stations are located in different directions, also strongly consider an antenna rotor.
OK ... so ... considering I have a smaller, digital (powered) antenna in the room with my TV, and all I get is a few channels (a neighbor, a few houses away, but higher on the ridge with less trees) gets 5 or 6 more channels .... a rotored outdoor antenna (coupled with the box) should do the job?
For us that live in the sticks, the new system works about as well as obamacare. This Phillips TV we bought because didn’t require a Box (only if you want it to work). If it aint broke, don’t fix it.
barbra ann
The standard bowtie antenna works better than any other I’ve tried. You can add a signal booster if needed. Aim the bowtie at the signal and make sure it is perfectly level.
My TV set has a knob that I pull out to turn the set on and push in to turn it off. Volume is controlled with a twist of the knob.
After the June switch to digital, with the roof antenna for my apartment complex I got only two English language stations, and the antenna will not be upgraded.
My TV has rabbit ears. I put a wire hanger around the rabbit ears and a small unbent paper clip into the antenna plug on the converter box. I adjusted the paper clip so that it touches the wire hanger, and, voila, I now get the regular seven English channels I did before the original digital switch, plus a few more English channels, as well as some Spanish channels.
Height is your friend. The higher up your antenna, the better your reception.
Check the TVFool website in my previous post, find out if you can use just an outdoor UHF antenna, or if you need a VHF/UHF combo. TVFool will also tell you if you really need a rotor or not. If most of your stations are from one direction, you probably don’t.
Give me just your zip code, and I can look it up for you if you wish.
all.. I threw out 2 antennas a few weeks ago. I still have two.. are they dinosaurs without further potential use? We did get Direct TV & have two TVs set up on it in the home.
I am a pack rat & save much to much to begin with..
Whatever you do, do not open that box!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.