Indoor HDTV Antennas

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ZeeOSix

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Bought a 1080p HDTV for the spare room and just want to use an indoor HDTV antenna to pickup the main local channels. Similar to this type (50 mile range, amplified signal option) - LINK

I've been looking at literally hundreds of these types of antennas on Amazon.com, and trying to go through reviewer comments to find one that seems decent and actually works well. Seems like a lot of comments on Amazon are fake/scam reviewers. One had something like 200 reviews with 100% 5 star, and only 10 out of the 200 reviewers were a "Verified Purchaser".

According to the on-line DTV reception maps, I should be able to get ~15 channels. Has anyone here bought one of these types of indoor HDTV antennas from Amazon and had good results?
 
I have a Mohu and it works pretty good. It works best when it's on a wall opposite of the window. It also has a signal booster you can get for it if you need one. I haven't needed one yet.
 
Im curious as well
smile.gif
 
It all depends on where the antenna is mounted. I live on the first floor and the antenna is mounted abt 6ft above the ground. Out of about 30 channels, I am supposed to get all I get 2 channels worth watching with signal strength of about 20-22dB with the towers about 20 miles away. Local ABC channel which is 24miles away and the signal is abt 29dB cannot be picked up by this antenna. So its pretty much YMMV.
 
My dad has his mounted on a 35' TV tower outside and it'a a long range HD Antenna pointed between New York and Toronto and he gets 55 HD channels. I tried one put in the attic space of my roof and got 3 channels. Depends on the type of antenna and the height you can have it at with outdoors being the best. Just FWIW.

 
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You dont say how far away your local channels are but I can certainly tell you no indoor antenna of that type is going to have a 50 mile range.

50 miles requires This - Click or This - Click

You can attic mount the above with very good results in that range.

There is a saying that is very true ... "there is no replacement for displacement" and that goes for antennas too.

Here is a WHOLE BUNCH OF FREE ANTENNA WEBSITES THAT WILL TELL YOU EXACTLY WHAT SIZE ANTENNA YOU NEED AND WHAT STATIONS YOU WILL GET BASED ON YOUR ADDRESS ... >>

Getting free over the air TV is the best digital experience you can have when done right, superior to pay TV, free over the air HD has a superior picture then pay TV HD.
Stream everything else and you will wonder why you ever paid for TV ...
 
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Have the Mohu Leaf amplified for the spare room TV. Picks up lots of OTA stations.
Watch for others like it on Amazon daily deals. Saw one recently for less than 20
Fry's Electronics used to sell refurb. for about half the price, then watch the sales for those.
 
Originally Posted By: alarmguy
You dont say how far away your local channels are but I can certainly tell you no indoor antenna of that type is going to have a 50 mile range.


According to https://nocable.org/ I have 14 stations that range from 16 to 36 miles away. They are indicating that all these channels could possibly be received with an amplified 50 mile range indoor antenna - depending on your elevation, obstructions, etc of course.

So, that's one reason I started this thread to see if there are any good indoor antennas that will actually perform good enough to obtain these channels. I know there are tons of variables involved, and the only way to know would be to buy 10 antennas and test them all under the same conditions to see if some perform better than others.
 
Steve, that antenna your dad is using is also another good option, I have never used one, but on the antenna sites they are well respected. All antennas serve a particular use. The one your dad is using is slightly more "directional" I think.
In the antenna specs or tests maybe at Dennys site. It shows you have good signal is when pulled in from the off axis (sides) of the antenna. Anyway, I always wanted to try the one your dad has for fun but took the safe route and working great for me. By safe route = what I was used too.
 
My dad has the one shown in the picture above which is about a 90 degree capture angle. (Channel Master, Long Range). He also has one that looks like a ray gun that is quite directional with I would say about a 20 degree capture angle that he put on-top. (Don't have a picture of this unfortunately). It picks up further stuff but has to be moved with the controller in between transmitters to get whatever channel you are looking for. Looks something like this only his has a motor on it.

 
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Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Originally Posted By: alarmguy
You dont say how far away your local channels are but I can certainly tell you no indoor antenna of that type is going to have a 50 mile range.


According to https://nocable.org/ I have 14 stations that range from 16 to 36 miles away. They are indicating that all these channels could possibly be received with an amplified 50 mile range indoor antenna - depending on your elevation, obstructions, etc of course.

So, that's one reason I started this thread to see if there are any good indoor antennas that will actually perform good enough to obtain these channels. I know there are tons of variables involved, and the only way to know would be to buy 10 antennas and test them all under the same conditions to see if some perform better than others.


Well there you have it, your max distance is 36 miles and you may have a good chance of getting the channels that you want. I knew you would NEVER get close to 50 miles, from a little indoor antenna no matter what any company says.
When seeking advice however, looking for such a small tiny antenna inside a home involves as you say "tons of variables".
The reason for this is, anything below the roof line of a home, the home becomes part of the antenna, reflection signals etc.

Anyway, you have nothing to lose by trying the antenna that you posted a link too, you can always return it if it doesnt do everything you hoped for. It will be hit or miss the further out you are from a station, as well as the direction.

Here is a link, which I think you can see, Denny is more then honest about what you will receive on this $80. indoor antenna, says it is rated for 50 miles, best they could do was 35.
Look at it this way, a small indoor antenna will never get the channels a large attic or roof based antenna will get, its the same as asking a small automobile to tow a 3 ton boat vs. a Chevy Tahoe. No replacement for displacement.
Click here for Winegard antenna

Since looking for indoor, try the one you posted a link too, and like you say, try 10 different ones if you have too, order from sites you know you can return. AS far as reputation, Winegard is the standard by which all these funky compact antennas are measured, be it a boat, yacht, motor home or tractor trailer, you may get lucky in your search to find a cheap Chinese copy that works good enough or the same..
 
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You have to find out if any of the channels you want are transmitting on VHF-HI (ch 7-13)
Not if their channel numbers are between 7-13 but if their transmitting freq. is 7-13 (174-216 MHz)

If all your channels are transmitting on UHF frequencies then focus on a UHF antenna
If you have channels using VHF-Hi transmitting frequencies then you will want a combination VHF-hi/UHF antenna to receive those far away stations.

SolidSignal ( solidsignal.com ) near Detroit has a great selection of antennae and offer help selecting the right antenna.
 
Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
You have to find out if any of the channels you want are transmitting on VHF-HI (ch 7-13)
Not if their channel numbers are between 7-13 but if their transmitting freq. is 7-13 (174-216 MHz).

I decided to order this one from Amazon to give it a try. I'll report back after I test it out. If I get 8 to 10 out of the 14 possible channels I'd be fine with that.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01FUB4ZG8

Seller said in the question section:
"Frequency Range: VHF 86-230MHz, UHF 470-862MHz."
 
I suspect you are going to be happy with it and very well may get more channels then you expect based on your posts.

Good news is with Amazon as the fulfillment, you will not have issues returning if you choose.
Yes, please let us know how it works out!

There are so many variables, another one that I thought of, your feeding 1 TV right now, when I was posting my thoughts, I am talking about what worked for me and my desire to capture everything possible.
My system supports 5 TVs in our house and even more outlets in rooms that have no TVs, I get well over a couple dozen channels of programming and of course all the majors.

Oh and I never mentioned, it also supports a 6th device which is a Channel Master DVR+. Fantastic device and works EXACTLY like ANY PAY TV Device with all the programming ... Click here to see the DVR+ ...

I set up the same system at my sons house using the Channel Master equal of what I have, and being he is closer to another state one hour from me, we get around 50 channels through the same type of set up.
 
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"I set up the same system at my sons house using the Channel Master equal of what I have ..."
I ran out of time to edit.

Should say ... I set up the same system at my sons house using the Channel Master CM2020) which is sort of the RCA equal antenna of what I have.
 
Got the indoor HTDV antenna today and tested it out. Setup the TV in the spare bedroom with the antenna temporarily taped to the wall facing west - almost all the broadcast towers are located NW, W and SW of me. Hooked it up without the amplifier and did an AutoScan on the TV, which found 47 digital channels.

Scanning through the found channels, the 1080p and 720p channels look awesome. There are a lot of low resolution channels also (480i) which look bad due to their resolution not the antenna signal, so that's why the TV found so many channels. I'll have to note how many channels I get that are HD 1080p or 720p. Will also compare what channels I have vs what the on-line tool said I could possibly get with an indoor antenna.

The HDTV antenna I got from Amazon seems to work pretty well. Even channels that report only 1% or 2% signal strength look good and solid. This TV must have a good tuner in it. Will do another AutoScan with the amplifier installed while not moving the antenna's location and see what differences I can see.
 
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