Anybody use a TV antenna instead of cable here?

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by Kavalier

Is there ANY way to get a clear signal for all the available channels at all times?


I'm in the Twin Cities (55130) and the coaxle UHF/VHF antenna's I have tried come in sporadically.


There are many channels that aren't getting picked up, or get picked up occasionally.

You could try an omnidirectional antenna, assuming you're close enough to the Cities. You could put it in your attic, or even outside.

I tried an indoor antenna at my son's house in Kennesaw, Georgia (suburb of Atlanta) and could pick up zero stations, and Atlanta has a plethora of them. I have an antenna in my attic and can pick up local stations, 10-15 miles away, some of the time. It depends on terrain and weather. Digital OTA, in my experience, isn't what it's cracked up to be.

[Tek_Freek]

Antenna placement isn't the only consideration. I put a flat antenna in our garage for a TV just on the other side of the wall. We got a ton of stations. After a while I redid the opening through the wall so I could add add a plate for connections instead of just the cable.

During that same time I was rearranging things in the garage and I put our (heavy!) Christmas tree on top of some cabinets about 3 feet away.

After getting everything set up I discovered we were having problems getting a number of stations. I went through so many things to get them back. Different antenna, different locations, different cables. No change.

We had a garage sale that we planned on joining, but ended up not doing so. As part of the preparation I took the tree down.

Voila! All the channels are back. Turns out all that metal in a 7.5 foot Christmas tree caused considerable interference.

[johnd393]

I pay for satellite but also use an outdoor antenna for OTA channels. My satellite DVR box can receive and record form both sources at the same time. I also have a couple antenna only DVR receivers. Sometimes weather can take out the satellite reception while the antenna still works.

[PacoMartin]

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