Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I was wondering if anybody here actually has a roof top TV antenna, maybe around the Oak Ridge, northern Greensboro area? If so, how many channels can you pick up and would any of them happen to be from Roanoke, VA? I know chances of that might be slim, but I was curious. The reason why I'm asking is that I'm a big Redskins fan, and I know that Carolina shows more Panthers games than Redskins, and I was hoping for a cheaper way of being able to watch every game instead of getting NFL Sunday Ticket with my DirecTV. Honestly, that's one of the biggest reasons why I have DirecTV - so I can keep up with my sports...LOL! But, if I knew I could watch every 'skins game without having to go to a sports bar, I'd cut the cord in a heartbeat! Anyways, just curious.
Type in your address, and it will show you the type of antenna you would need in order to pick up certain stations at your house and which direction it needs to point for each particular station.
Type in your address, and it will show you the type of antenna you would need in order to pick up certain stations at your house and which direction it needs to point for each particular station.
Hey thanks! I noticed that I could pick up Roanoke, VA Fox and CBS channels, which is good for me considering I could possibly watch the Redskins play! =) I'm probably going to do the DirecTV thing for the first year, but get a professional to come out and install it for me when I'm ready. This could save us over $1000 a year, which would be most awesome!
About 6 mos in get the antenna installed (you can really do it yourself) and give it a trial run. If you're happy with it you can cut the DTV without risk. If you're not happy with it you may be able to return the antenna and keep the DTV.
About 6 mos in get the antenna installed (you can really do it yourself) and give it a trial run. If you're happy with it you can cut the DTV without risk. If you're not happy with it you may be able to return the antenna and keep the DTV.
Only thing is I am sort of surrounded by trees, but not a very thick amount of trees, so I think I would still be OK with putting an antenna up. There are some channels I really liked that you can only get off of the antenna, like "Antenna TV" channel. Plays all the cool 80's shows!
Only thing is I am sort of surrounded by trees, but not a very thick amount of trees, so I think I would still be OK with putting an antenna up. There are some channels I really liked that you can only get off of the antenna, like "Antenna TV" channel. Plays all the cool 80's shows!
If you can mount one externally that would be your best bet. Unlike satellite, OTA antennas do not require a direct line of sight
I had to send you guys an update of this thread as I discovered a pleasant surprise. I took my fiancee' TV over to the new house yesterday and hooked a little indoor antenna up to it and did a channel scan. To my surprise, I was able to pick up WDBJ 7 out of Roanoke, VA, which is a CBS station, and Fox21/27 (although not quite as good) out of Roanoke. Both stations where I'm usually able to watch my 'skins play! DirecTV is giving me NFL Sunday Ticket free this year for moving, but at least next year I won't have to worry about spending the money since I can pick up those stations over the air. This is great news for me for two reasons. I can still watch my favorite football team, and I can still keep up with news from Roanoke, Martinsville, Danville, etc...
I had to send you guys an update of this thread as I discovered a pleasant surprise. I took my fiancee' TV over to the new house yesterday and hooked a little indoor antenna up to it and did a channel scan. To my surprise, I was able to pick up WDBJ 7 out of Roanoke, VA, which is a CBS station, and Fox21/27 (although not quite as good) out of Roanoke. Both stations where I'm usually able to watch my 'skins play! DirecTV is giving me NFL Sunday Ticket free this year for moving, but at least next year I won't have to worry about spending the money since I can pick up those stations over the air. This is great news for me for two reasons. I can still watch my favorite football team, and I can still keep up with news from Roanoke, Martinsville, Danville, etc...
I stumbled across this old thread I created about two and half years ago, and wanted to update you guys. Well, it's funny, when I had said that I was able to hook in an indoor tv antenna and get two Roanoke stations - I was never able to get those stations after that particular day! Weird! I don't know why it worked that one day, but never again! Well, fast forward to this year, I still have DirecTV, but it's gotten so outrageous that we need to desperately unhook. We're, technically, still under contract until August, but in this case, it might be worth it to just bite the bullet and pay the disconnect fee.
So, my desire is still the same. I still want to be able to pick up Roanoke Channels. Which means, I must be able to pick up channels that are around 70 - 100 miles away. The main station I want to pick up might be out of reach though. I did a Google Maps search for WFXR, which is Fox21/27 out of Roanoke, VA. From my house, Google Maps says it's 92.8 miles away. I didn't think it was that far away, but maybe it is. It's downtown Roanoke, VA. I think it's sharing the same studio as WSLS, because I remember them having the same studio and even some of the same anchors and reporters as Channel 10.
Anyway, I've been researching, off and on, trying to figure out what would be the best possible antenna to get. But, sometimes, it's hard to cut through the marketing, and the misleading facts. I've heard some say that there's no such thing as a rooftop antenna that will pick up 100 miles away. But yet, I see antennas that are rated to be able to do so. This would be what I want. And, I would want it directional, with the use of a rotor system. After all, I don't want to JUST pick up Roanoke channels. If I'm able to pick up Charlotte, or Raleigh, or Lynchburg and further north...all the better! I want to be able to pick up as many channels as I possibly can.
The other piece of it is confusion on what type of amp to get. Seems like a too powerful amp would over power the signals (from what I've heard), but if I get something that isn't strong enough to boost my ability to reach Roanoke, I'll feel like I've wasted money. And the same goes for the antenna. Either way, I don't want to waste money, but I kind of feel like this project is going to be kind of a shot in the dark in some respects.
Lastly, I'm not one to climb on top of the roof. Actually, my wife won't let me climb on top of the roof, lol! (And yes, she's now my wife and we now are raising our infant son,) So, I'm just wondering if there are any installation professionals out there in the Greensboro area who will come and install all of this the right way? I don't want the antenna in the attic - I can't really have it in the attic anyway. I want it on the roof.
Anyway, I'm hoping some of you will chime in and give me some good info to go on. I know that cord cutting is more popular now than it was even two years ago. It's almost becoming a necessity with the rising cost of pay tv. If my project winds up giving me what I want, then I'll eventually add an OTA-DVR, and I plan on adding Sling TV so that I can have ESPN. By that point, I'd be pretty satisfied with my TV entertainment.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I did a Google Maps search for WFXR, which is Fox21/27 out of Roanoke, VA. From my house, Google Maps says it's 92.8 miles away. I didn't think it was that far away, but maybe it is. It's downtown Roanoke, VA. I think it's sharing the same studio as WSLS, because I remember them having the same studio and even some of the same anchors and reporters as Channel 10. 
