Tv antenna channels

[ChessieMom]

Originally Posted by HawaiiLover

I have a question. I purchased my house 42 years ago and the family before had an antenna in the attic, which is still there. Years ago, my husband cut the brown flat wire that was connected to it because it was going through our coat closet leading to the family room in the basement. So my question is, would that antenna work with a 4K smart tv?

Quite likely, yes.

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by HawaiiLover

My question is, would that antenna work with a 4K smart tv?

Probably it will work to get 720p or 1080i HD resolution, but nobody broadcasts in 4K or UHD resolution.

More than 40 years ago the popular wire was twin-lead 300-ohm antenna wire is a flat cable that contains two parallel conductors, one on each side, protected by a sturdy plastic jacket. Many older antennas have connectors only for 300-ohm cable, although few if any modern TVs do. The cable is suitable for radio and television signals. Although it bends more easily than coaxial cable, it suffers from interference and signal loss if installed too close to pipes, nails, gutters and other metal construction materials.

75-Ohm Coaxial Cable

Coaxial cable consists of a wire conductor that runs through the center of a plastic insulator, which is surrounded by a conducting shield. The shield is in turn covered with a tough plastic jacket. The shielded design blocks most types of electrical and radio interference, keeping the TV signal strong and clear, reducing the installation worries encountered with 300-ohm cable. The different kinds of 75-ohm cables are identified by a code that begins with "RG" and ends with a number, such as RG-6 and RG-59. Coaxial cables have end connectors that screw securely onto corresponding threaded posts, such as those found on antennas, television sets and other equipment. TV technicians sometimes refer to coaxial cable as coax, pronounced "co-ax."

Types of Coax

Although RG-59 is the type of coax wire used for cable and satellite TV in years past, it is now largely reserved for closed-circuit TV; it performs poorly with modern digital broadcasts. Instead, RG-6, RG-6 with quad-shield, and RG-11 work better for new installations. RG-6 represents a standard cable suitable for most indoor and some outdoor applications. RG-6 with quad-shield has four layers of shielding, better able to block radio interference. The added layers also strengthen the cable, helping it stand up to the stresses of weather extremes encountered with outdoor use. The more expensive RG-11 has a thicker central conductor that carries signals farther with less loss, making it well-suited to long cable runs, such as from an outdoor antenna to the house.

Cable Replacement

When replacing 300-ohm twin-line with coaxial cable, you may need to use an adapter called a balun between the 300-ohm connector on the antenna and the 75-ohm coaxial connector on the cable. The balun has a tiny transformer that matches the different ohm values; without it, the signal weakens considerably. You can also replace the antenna itself with one that has a coaxial connector.

[Marv1985]

For those of you have' cut the cord' over the past few years in favor of OTA programming, what type and brand of an antenna did you purchase in making the switch, and where and how much did you pay for it?

If you also purchased a DVR or utilize a cloud based entity for recording programs, please let me know what you decided to go with.

Thanks!

[TigerLily24]

Originally Posted by Marv201

For those of you have' cut the cord' over the past few years in favor of OTA programming, what type and brand of an antenna did you purchase in making the switch, and where and how much did you pay for it?

If you also purchased a DVR or utilize a cloud based entity for recording programs, please let me know what you decided to go with.

Thanks!

I bought one of the flat ones that can stick to a window.
Don’t remember the brand, but it’s touted as the “top seller” on Amazon which is where I bought it.
I paid less than $30.00 for it.

I didn’t buy a DVR.

[Marv1985]

Thanks!!!!

[MikeBear]

Any of these antenna's are good and cheap: https://www.newark.com/c/audio-video...d=stellar-labs

However, you need to know the actual RF frequencies that your local stations broadcast on, as they are NOT all UHF in many places. That means that if you have some VHF stations, the little "window patch" type antennas won't work for them. You'd need a combo antenna.

We use outdoor antennas, and have a 4 tuner Tivo Roamio Basic, and are antenna only tv.