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@@thayertate2409 custom antenna recommendations including a list of channels is are available on my website: antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html
People who share their knowledge freely are pure gold, especially in these troubled times. Thank you SO very much AntennaMan for your excellent videos in language most people can understand. May you live long and prosper.
Your 101 right . He’s Awesome and he Reply back to your question I’ll be Sharing more of his videos . I’m getting set up to do the same thing . Show people how to repair gas running welder .
I'm sure he's literally saved lives, I'm not playing around. Depression is a colossal deal & perhaps some lonely Soul learned how to hook up their own TV antenna & was able to escape depression through various TV show options, Thanks to this man right here!
YOU ARE AWESOME TYLER! Have lived on top of a Mountain in South Schuylkill County for 35 yrs, Couldn't get cable since beginning from the LOCAL YOCAL CABLE CO. that was right down the field from me (Until Comcast Bought it out, got rid of the FRONT END EQUIPMENT and CUT IN THEIR FIBER FEED...Now I COULD BY A NEW HOUSE WITH WHAT THEY ESTIMATED to get cable...lol) So have relied on making my own system of Antennas and amps over the years. I was also an AMATEUR RADIO OP for about 20 yrs. Thank you for the Great Model and Price Tips Guy! THIS GUY IS THE REAL DEAL...HE KNOWS WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT! (An Old Ham Radio Saying, "Ya want MORE SIGNAL?...Ya gotta put MORE METAL UP IN THE AIR!!!")
@@meakasandraclaus4981 - unfold the paperclip carefully, leaving a angle sticking out, then with the TV unpowered, carefully insert the paperclip into the F-connector (antenna port). now you should be able to tune the TV.
Excellent about 50 years ago I worked after school and weekends with a tv repairman and installed several antennas and in the 70s the brand everyone that were in the business installed was Channel Master I’m glad they are still in business. Thank you for the very informative video
Hands down the best video covering TV antennas and what factors to consider. Also one of the easiest to watch and hear the information needed. GREAT JOB
I got one of those Clear Channel 4D antennas at a garage sale for $10. After watching one of your other videos I realized having the antenna 90 degrees from the ground was an important part of getting good reception, so kudos to you👍
My dad and I put up my new Channel Master 3020 antenna with a Channel Master 7777 adjustable gain pre-amp today. It's a really good set up and worth the cost. I am on a hill with the antenna on a pole. I live about 85-90 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, PA and I'm getting quite a few stations tonight from that area along with Altoona and Johnstown, PA. If you are going the antenna route then don't go cheap. Get a good antenna like the 3020 and one one of their pre-amps if you live in a rural area. You won't be disappointed.
Some good information there. I'm a Master Electrician, cut the cord over 15 years ago. Do all of my own antenna installations, those are good picks. Years ago I worked for a Satellite TV business doing installations.
I have a antenna on my roof that looks identical to the channel master 3020. It's been on my roof since 1978 and it works like a charm. I am very glad I never took it down.
Thanks for the helpful info! Helped a brother in law leading into football season get his antenna up and running at his new house. He's about 45 miles out and in a low area, lots of foliage to contend with so not an ideal setup. He had the $50 ONN "150 mile antenna" on his roof, so we gave it a shot...traced out the cabling and corrected some connection issues and dialed in the antenna point. Hooked up and Picked up some UHF, but all very low and lots of pixelation, so I looked into this antenna and your honest review gave us confidence that replacing with your recommended more formidable channelmaster would do the trick. And it DID, picked up the VHF (FOX) that has his preferred football team, the Packers and also grabs channels from 60 miles away at basically a perpendicular point from another market, additionally his signal strength is several bars up using that antenna over this one. You can't change physics, picking up VHF requires longer elements for the longer wavelengths of the lower frequencies.
Wow, thanks for doing this! I have AT&T streaming, but they don’t have the PBS that I like, or the side channels for the other local stations. It’s great to see a straight up guy sharing his knowledge. I hope you get a lot of sponsors from your industry. An endorsement from a guy like you would have value to them.
After ditching Xfinity triple play at $170/month, I hired a guy out of NJ to come install my OTA RCA antenna here in Wilmington. He mounted it on my ranch house chimney, so probably 20’ up in the air. I receive about 35 channels (including sub-channels of the main channels). I have more free programming then I ever imagined now. I had also signed up with Verizon for their $49.99/mo. internet used for my PC and also my Smart TV streaming services, Netflix & Apple TV+. I learned many things subscribing and listening to this guy, for that I thank you for all you made me aware of. BTW, I am 23 miles btwtcf from the antenna farm in Roxborough, & interestingly, though I don’t receive Ch. 12 PBS, I receive WNJS out of NJ somewhere, somehow.
Great review and tech advice. I've been playing around with tv antenna's since I was a kid, I'm in my 50's now and I learned you can't beat the old school antenna's like the channel master. I'm a HAM radio guy so the big TV antenna just blends in with the other 4 antennas!
Damn it sure is convenient that I've chosen your channel to learn all of this from and I am inside of the Philadelphia market as well lol. Much respect to you for making this wealth of information available; it's clear that this is just as much a passion project for you to return television to its status as a public service.
Antenna Man: My compliments on the technical accuracy of your RU-vid videos, which I have only recently come across and been watching. I am a semi-retired electrical engineer in Northern California; I worked for an engineering firm that designed radio and TV stations; that is, the selection of a site, transmitting antenna pattern, pattern orientation, beam tilt, and all the myriad of technical requirements the FCC requires for a grantable application. Still do a few TV applications on a "consultant-to-the-firm" basis. In 2008 I ditched my cable feed and installed a roof top TV antenna, with a mast-mounted preamp and an antenna rotor. That combination gives me over the air (OTA) reception of about 30 San Francisco Bay Area TV stations, even though my location in Sonoma is knife-edge terrain obstructed to Sutro Tower in SF and San Bruno Mountain. The good news is that I have just barely obstructed paths to the South Bay Monument Peak and Mt. Allison TV sites; although it's about an 80-mile path, a substantial portion is over water (SF Bay) so those UHF signals come in like gang busters. I even wrote an article about my experience that was published in the industry trade journal TV Technology; the links are www.tvtechnology.com/news/my-return-to-ota and h-e.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/06-de-tvtech08_sup.pdf , if you're interested. I am currently in the process of replacing my Channel Master Titan 2 preamp, which finally died after 12 years. Will install the dual-input version that Channel Master now offers, which will allow me to remove the 3 dB combiner. Since that combiner was before the preamp, it was a critical 3 dB hit to my OTA reception, causing occasional pixelation on some of the DTV signals from Sutro Tower. I expect rock-solid reception reception with the new preamp.
Hi there, I saw your post, experience, & that this is a recent post so I thought I might ask you a question. I'm seeing the geographic location & how your mention different high places that transmit along w/ the equipment you're using and I wondered what you might suggest for my application? I'm about 1/2 way between Dallas, Tx. & Oklahoma City, Ok. There's no mountains to deal with but I'm 150 miles from each City. How might I get my choice from both from an equipment standpoint or should I pick 1 City & just get the best I can from it? If you can suggest a decent antenna & preamp that's all I need. You might save me many hours of trying to figure it out? I'l be checking out your article even though it's probably over my head...... thanks & peace
www.rabbitears.info/searchmap.php for TV signals available at your location. Channel Master Titan 2 preamp is excellent. Whether you need antenna rotor depends on directions to available TV station transmitter sites. Antenna Guy’s videos on antenna types are excellent as well. The higher the better for receiving antenna. Be sure to ground mast and use a coax ground block to a good Earth ground with at least 10 gage copper wire or at least 8 gage Aluminum wire.
@@dane1234abc1 ~ thank you for your time, Sir, and for info that will save me numerous hours of searching. I was a heating & a/c tech so I never skimp on a, "ground". .... lol, that's not the place to save monies. Yeah, I told you my geo-location so you'd know I'm not dealing w/ a rugged terrain. But I appreciate that "link". Whatever the costs it will pay for itself in a few months >> My bundle is $200 a month & I don't even have a cell phone. I feel like I can do much better.... be safe out there. peace & GB all
10 year cord cutter here. I live 50 miles south of Atlanta.I have the CM4228 mounted in my attic w/ a preamp. I am pulling in 65 stations from ATL at full strength. The CM4228 is an excellent antenna.
Great content. Soon as I heard you, I knew you knew. Thanks for the excellent introductory information repeating the basics helps folks like me jump into any video and right away you catch up the new person.
For the last two years, I've been using a multi-directional Mohu Sail in Northern Berks County, PA. It does a solid enough job, though certain stations tend to come and go depending on the weather. I also do streaming through Hulu. The combination of the two is MUCH less expensive than my old satellite dish subscription.
He has mentioned line of sight reception on VHF and UHF. To help overcome this somewhat is to get the antenna up as high as you can possibly afford. A sturdy mast or a tower of about 30' is even better. That will help to increase the line of sight. Too low to the ground and you'll be lucky if you can get stations from 10 miles away.
Enjoy the vids. You provide a valuable service ensuring people understand radio waves carry the broadcast to be picked up by their antenna, no other function (properly discounting the whole HD sales shtick). The FTC should go after the snake oil salesmen who offer "4K HD TV" antennas. They won't but they should. As a kid in the 60s and 70s we had the classic three leg antenna tower next to our home. Our directional Channel Master (looked very much like the 3020 you highlighted) antenna w/motor was mounted atop a 30ft tower. We could pick up Detroit stations very well on a good day (120 miles LOS), but not every day. Heavy rain or snow between us and the broadcast antenna would interfere at times. Our normal 'market' was Bay City/Saginaw/Flint stations at 24-55 miles, almost always very good reception.
Plenty of comments in a short time. You are doing a great job Tyler since viewers trust your message. I hope your business is picking up. And thank you for sharing your knowledge with the OTA TV antennas community. Cheers!
Hi I’m using a LAVA 8008 omnidirectional so they say . I’ve been using this antenna for about 3 years I pick up 28 to 30 channels. I use a Homworx DVR which is quite tuner sensitive. On weaker channels from the Buffalo area. I live in Toronto in a condo apartment. When I do move to a house should I consider getting Channel master ? Good video with your knowledge.
andrew Last I have the xtreme signal 8 bay antenna and it works great! Its $80 on solidsignals website and its cheaper than the channel master and you can bend it in half to turn it in different directions unlike the the channel master
I remember a similar antenna like that last one that had a high rating. My parents had it mounted on a pole that rose about 30 feet about the roof. It was mounted to the roof with a bracket and guide cables. It indeed did a very good job of pulling in different channels available at the time.
Truth and Quality. Practical and Useful Information. Many Humans will see the cheap plastic mud flap antenna and their thinking will stop at the mud flap antenna.
This guy knows what he talking about. I use the CM-4228 and it works very well. I have been in broadcast television for 42 years and have helped many viewer install an outside antenna. Thank you, de k4vw
This was the only antenna that was able to lock in a distant UHF signal at a customers house that was surrounded by mountains. Glad you're enjoying TV the way it was supposed to be free.
Yep, I have a 4228, and pick up 3 stations 107km (66.2 miles) away. Surprised no mention of preamps. Without the preamp, I'd be unable to pick the aforementioned stations.
I use the Channelmaster amps to drive multiple TV's in the house. I get 110 HD channels, some at 70 miles. The ones in the stores with AC cords are JUNK, with no signal difference with the plug removed. Something else not mentioned. USE good RG6 cable, not RG59 or twinlead
@@steveurbach3093 I only use channel master distribution amps. The other ones failed within a few months. I forgot they still made RG59. I've only seen it with one of those cheap antennas with the built in rotor (seen in my video). The cable itself can be the difference between getting a channel and not.
When we lived in Northern California, we were roughly 70 miles north of Sac and 30 miles south of Chico. I ordered a leaf indoor antenna. Put it on an few different walls until I found the best spot. It brought in stations from Redding and San Jose. It also was clearer than Comcast and as clear as Dish. Cost maybe $50 at the time. Extremely easy to install.
in my 50 years experience , i found channel master anything but quality. also found wiengard maybe cost 20 % more but, is maybe 10% better than all else. no mater what the cost better is better
OK, here to say you gave some great advice. I became a cord cutter just after Covid hit. Finally dropped Direct TV and the $150 / month bill and went out and purchased the antenna at the 1:00 mark (prior to seeing this video). I mounted it on my roof facing north towards where the bulk of the signals would be coming from which most is over 50 miles away. I picked up 6 - 10 channels depending on the day. I figured that was what I could expect since I live in a valley. The whole point of this endeavor was to pick up the local news channels because my wife wanted them over anything that we could get streaming. I couldn't receive any of them with this current setup. I was disappointed in the antenna motor for the fact that you could not tell which direction it was facing without physically observing it. So I invested in an RCA antenna motor which was cheap enough ~$110 but had some horizontal force issues that could break off the top of the motor. So I rigged up a system that would mitigate the horizontal wind force on the antenna and I was in business. I could now rotate my antenna 360 degrees and knew exactly which direction it was facing. It ended up I could rotate my antenna S-SW and pick up about 15 channels but still no news channels. Well, now still trying to figure out ways to improve my system I turned to youtube and ran across this video of yours. upon seeing your "Antenna's to avoid" section, I was like "Hey, I have that one." So when I saw your recommendation at the 4:52 mark for low lying areas, I decided to give that one a shot. Mounted it in place of my other antenna plus adding an additional 5' to the mast because of the way it mounted to the mast. Faced it north and was able to pick up ~28 channels without moving the antenna, I also was able to pull in some of the local news channels. SUCCESS! going a bit further, I picked up the Channel Master signal amplifier and I increased my channel count to 38. Even better! So the last thing I just did was add the Channel Master frequency filter to weed out cell interference and boosted my channel count to 42. All without moving the antenna. Sorry for the long winded story but I just wanted to say thanks for the advice and I also to help anyone else that would happen to be in the same situation. FYI, I also just added the Amazon Fire Recast to my system and now I can record, pause and rewind live OTA tv signals.
I bought 4 Clear Stream Antennas for North Carolina & New York City homes, this 2019 year makes 14 years I've had these Antennas Still Working Great inside the house, didn't put on roof yet. And have given them away as gifts! I paid Under $70.00 from Walmart! Best Buy Etc are Too Expensive!!
Hi, I have been doing antenna and satellite installation for 30 years. I am in Canada, just southeast of Detroit Mi.. For the past 10 years I have been using the Channel Master CM2020 (Digital Advantage ) It has a 100 mile ranve, line of sight. Most mounting has beenroof.mounted with tripod or chimney mounts. I have even installed them in attics, with good reception. It I a high band VHF, and UHF. I found that just stocking this one model was cost effective and it worked well in my area. I have antenna installs across all of Essex County.I like the Channel Master brand for its build quality. - Myran
Good information, I would like to give some feedback regarding the antenna's. My place is located in the Cherokee National Forest TN and is situated 60 miles northeast of Chattanooga and 60 miles southwest of Knoxville and I installed an 8 panel bowtie antenna, the Extreme Signal model HDB8X along with a Winegard LNA-200 signal amplifier. According to Antennaweb, up to 16 channels are available at my location coming from the Chattanooga area. However, using this antenna and not the Channel Master, It allows a person to install it and point 4 bays in two different directions; I found this much more appealing not to mention the cost was about 40% less than the channel master. Keeping that in mind, I aimed 4 panels at the towers located in Knoxville and the other 4 at the towers located in Chattanooga and together I am pulling in 45 channels between the two cities. Granted their is some redundancy but it is nice to be able to see news from both cities along with other local channels to watch.
Had the 8 bay channel master, it worked great where we lived but has a narrow beam width. We were right between two transmitters. When we moved we were no longer directly between the two transmitters and we didn’t want to wire a rotator. Switching to a 4 bay channel master (wider beam) dropped signal strength a bit but still allowed us to receive signals from both transmitters at once.
Tyler, should have listened to your review from the beginning. I bought a couple different versions of the Clearstream antenna, toyed with them, but never really gave them a try. I finally bought one at BJ’s club, and boy, what a difference it made! Reception is fantastic, and living in the Miami are I can even grab a FOX channel from West Palm Beach! You are right, and I would recommend this antenna to anyone living in a suburban area.
I disconnected cable and pulled an old Archer 75 roof top antenna from my attic that had been there since 1990. I installed it on the roof. Regardless of what the nice salesperson told me back at the electronics store, the antenna worked flawlessly. I have 43 liquid clear channels and did not have to by the expensive little antenna the salesperson nearly forced me to get. Looking at the specifications of the old signal and the new signal, the new signal is right within the range of where the old signal used to be. There is no reason the old roof top antennas would not work. Go to an old rummage sale and find a vintage television antenna. You will likely find it for $1. Install it on the roof the way your dear old dad did and scan the channels. You will get lots of channels. By the way, there is no such thing as a digital antenna. An antenna is tuned for certain a frequency range. It does not matter what modulation the signal is.
Man, I really wish my dad would have watched this video before he had taken down our old antenna. We had a great antenna mounted on our chimney that was basically the same as the channel master CM 3020 that you shown in this video. It was pretty old and probably from a different manufacturer, but was that exact same design and was massive. Never really got a chance to test it out, but it probably would have gotten a ton of channels. My dad took it down because he thought it couldn't get HD channels since it was so old (tbf my mom just thought it was ugly, so that's probably the bigger reason why lol). After that he bought one of those cheap piece of crap flat indoor "HD" antennas that you tell people not to buy.
I wanted to purchase a new OTA antenna and based on your review of the three antennas in this video, I chose the Clear Stream 4V. I received it yesterday, assembled it and today mounted it on the roof, used the manufacturers "Antenna Point" App to find the correct direction to point the antenna. Very pleased with ease of installation and Quality of the channels received. I had the wife run a channel scan while I held the antenna by hand in the direction I believed the towers to be in prior to mounting and another scan after actually mounting it. Wish I had done this sooner. Thanks Antenna Man !!
I'm glad my videos helped you get better reception. Feel free to give a contribution at one of the links below as I spend a lot of time making the videos and responding to these comments: paypal.me/pools/c/8cwRt7M0g4 www.patreon.com/AntennaMan
purchased a New Flea Market antenna a few years ago. never used it till I moved. not allowed a Dish so I unboxed it.. two years now 95 channels. no exaggerating. I'd say 80 miles and one possibility of a 120 mile . I'm very happy at this point. I have it indoors and easy redirect as needed..
Channel Master, so the best antenna is still the common roof antenna before cable TV showed up in the 70s. Radio frequency capture doesn't change. Physics and EM is still the same.
Ken Bob. Works for most low building height non mountain areas if the tower is 20-40 miles away. If you're atop a solitary mountain or the tallest building, then internal antennas work great too. Most of these installs are for suburban and rural areas, unless you happen to be in the countryside near the tower. Radio waves are still just radio waves.
@@STho205 So your telling me no one has figured out how to coordinate reflected waves and give a stable picture for us behind mountains? Or how to capture waves with an antenna a circuit board and some software if you are surrounded by trees?
Tim Steinkamp: Sorry, the physics of RF didn't change in the past 250 years, or so. I had one install (in the 1970s) that wad behind a mountain. Quite by accident, I discovered a "knife edge" affect while raising the antenna. The signal came in great at about 16' above the roof. Higher or lower, the signal went away. Apparently the signal was being refracted at just the right angle to hit the antenna.
@@tom7601 That is where a drone could come in handy. I'm tired of looking for the knife edge if there is one on my property. I have gone to cell service for my important video watching. I can watch video all day with ATT.
I ditched Direct and cut the cable leading to the dish. I then took adhesive aluminum tape like use to be installed on windows for alarm systems. I then made a fan dipole with the tape, connected the coax with an adhesive block used for the window tape and circuit connection. You can determine length for the tape by dividing 234 by the center frequency of each band. This will give you the length for half the dipole, then cut another leg the same length and you have your dipole, be sure and cut these lengths a little long so there's room to tune. I did mount it vertical and it works great. One more thing, an antenna analyzer is a major plus and eases the tuning just be sure to make small adjustments. P S.: A.R.R.L. has excellent online resources should you need further assistance.
You could have just shown the three antennas at the start and saved me a lot of time. One look and I would have known that the Channelmaster was the best choice. I started installing antennas with my father in the 1950s. In the areas of southern California where we installed them, a ten foot pole supported with only brackets would be useless. We were installing antennas on 30 to 50 foot poles braced with guy wires to stand up to the wind in the canyons. Had to close the television and radio shop after every supermarket and drug store installed a tube checker around the same time radios and televisions were going solid state. Most consumer electronic devices soon became throw away items. Generally it would be necessary to charge more for the repair than what the customer considered fair just to make a living. I totally agree that free over the air is the way television was meant to be watched. For years the only cable was community antenna cable for people living 50 or more miles from the transmitter and or behind a mountain. Then the cable companies came along with few to no commercials. People got cable and started paying for television as a service. The lack of commercials didn't last so people soon started paying to watch all the commercials that had paid for their free television. And they got the added benefit of the cable companies additional commercials.
I have been using the Winegard Flatwave FL6550A Amplified Antenna for the past 7 years and it has been great. It is a sleek and compact 14"x14"x4" box antenna and it survived through many windy storms. I think I adjusted it only once in 7 years. I receive 79 channels with the Winegard antenna and I have it going to 4 television tuners and 2 DVR tuners. They have been making antennas since 1953 and they continue to design and make them in the USA. Even though it is a directional antenna, I receive some very good channels (Escape and True Crime Network) nearly 30 miles away on the opposite side. True Crime Network and Escape are my favorite channels even more than the major broadcast networks.
Great informational video! Liked how you explained "there is no such thing as an HD antenna...." Being ignorant on OTA technology, I found your video very helpful. And dumb me I was specifically looking for "digital antennas" in my research. Your video opened my eyes and mind. Thank you.
"No such thing as HD Antenna" Exactly any coat hanger will do, which was what we used back in 1956 on our first tv. I think mom wrapped aluminum foil on it for better reception. Any old school Antenna is fine, BUT upgrade all of your wiring, splitters and connectors with Blue markings, because the signal is about Frequencies and the Blue gets you the best frequency(5-2400Mhz) Old school stuff was (5-900Mhz) and the Red Coded stuff is (5-1020Mhz) My Grand Daughter and her husband bought a home and it came with a plank of wood and some bow ties stapled to it which gave them 14 stations!! But He got the bite once we assessed his system. It was his "Master gave Dobby clothes" moment!! I also suggest a Pre Amp. I have a RCA because that is what was on the shelf, but I suggest the Channel Master Pre amp. I also suggest Signal boosters where needed. So I always get over 40 channels and as high as 64 under the right conditions. I can also pickup other channels by turning my antenna. I live on the coast so I use the Channel Master Extreme CM 4228 antenna that is recommended for picking up most stations in 180 degrees. Lowes sells chain link fence "rails" which I used 3 putting my antenna 30' in the air, But Hurricane Flo twisted up the units. So I bought a size bigger from 1.33" to 1.5" electrical conduit and I'm roughly 24" off the ground. I plan to install a tower and have been looking for a used tower and lowes Home Depot and Ace sells rotors and most of what you need. I also suggest Roku for more free content. You need Internet Wifi service to get Roku type devices to work. So I do have Charter Spectrum Internet and phone. I live in the country, in a wooded area. I have more viewing options since I returned my 5 cable boxes saving me $120 a month Also, in the last 5 or so years you are using Wifi on more and more devices, like when friends come over. So my point is, your Modem and Router may be straining. I talked to my provider and the took back my old Modem and gave me a great Modem and a decent Router, which will provide me clear signals for years to come.
To clarify, antennas are designed based on the broadcasting frequencies of the stations you want to receive, not whether the signal is analog or digital. Ergo, if you have an antenna designed for UHF which predates the digital conversion of 2009, it should work just fine.
@@brucegl4298 My grandson-in-law has a 2 foot long plank of wood with 4 bow ties stapled to it mounted on his roof. I told him to update his cable and a few other thinks that would help him double the stations that he is receiving.
*Prisoner Zero* When we first started getting digital TV in my area, I jury-rigged a newly bought digital receiver to a line leading to a metal CURTAIN rod in the window. Got several local stations. Needless to say, I moved on to a better setup, but I was impressed, especially since we lived in a gully at the time.
It's not the same Channelmaster Antenna company that was started in the 1940s "at the dawn of television". They took bankruptcy in 2003 and the name was sold again in 2007.
Tyler, your recommendation for the Channel Master CM 4228 HD was spot on. I'm getting much better reception than before. Thanks! Because of my distance from the stations and because they're in different directions, I opted for a rotator on my tower. I had originally intended to put a VHF antenna that you recommended below the Channel Master, but the rotator installation documents precluded that option. Do you plan on doing a rotator video? Thanks again!
Good info. I decided to try a Televes DigiNova VHF/UHF amplified antenna and found that it works well for my situation. I used a chain link fence top pipe for a mast, clamped to a steel vent pipe on the roof of my house (a cheap and easy way to get an antenna up in the air).
Thanks for the great info. As a ham operator for over 30 years I totally agree with what you say. What do you think about adding inline powered amplifiers or discrete amplifiers at the antenna? Is the pain worth the gain?
Thanks for the detail Tyler. Question: what antenna do you recommend for an RV? We would either use existing collapsing antenna structure or mount pole one the ladder for those longer stays at campgrounds. Again, thanks.
Great vid. thanks. I have a Channel Master 4228 that I just hung in my attic and it works great. I'm in Atlanta (DeKalb County) and can get all the local stations.
I need some advice, I live within area code 39553 and I purchased the MOHU arc pro-60-mile range indoor antenna. After a day of trial and error positioning, all I can get is 2 channels. So this is what I'm thinking. (1) Purchase one of these: Channel Master CM-3020 | CM-5020 | Masterpiece 100. (2) Channel Master CM-9521HD Complete Antenna Rotator System with Outdoor Drive Unit, Indoor Control Box and Remote Control - TV, HAM, CB, WiFi, Radio Reception (3) Channel Master CM3414 4-Port Distribution Amplifier for Cable and Antenna Signal (4) Channel Master LTE Filter Improves TV Antenna Signals. Now per antennaweb.org if I don't mount the antenna higher than 30 feet all this effort will be useless. Lucky for me I own a 2 story home with a chimney so that is the mounting plan. I need good advice on which of the 3 outdoor antennas I should purchase as well as comments on the other items listed above so I will know if I'm on the right track or not. Thank You
Hubby pro tip, when she asks, "Do these pants make my ass look big?" Wrong answer, "No, yer ass makes yer ass look big. Don't moon anyone. They'll think it's a lunar eclipse. Now fetch me anudder beer."
My Comcast bill went from $157/mo to $36 (wifi only). All I did was get a Roku for $40 at Walmart and a nice ~50 mile antenna for $50. I got HBOmax (Which has HGTV and FoodNetwork), Netflix with commercials and all of the free apps on Roku. Dropped off the Cable box (saved $10 there too). "Live TV" on Roku has ~350+ channels and air channels are 50% of my viewing, so I really have more TV now than with Cable, and I don't have to pay for stuff like Sports fees. Thank you Antenna Man!!!!
When I was a kid, my father had the antenna inside the attic. So it was less effective than on the roof, because of the lower height. But also, is there a rule of thumb or something to say how much less effective an antenna is when it is under the roof of a typical home?
I'd say putting an antenna inside takes away 10-30% of the signal. Strong to moderate channels will have no problem but very weak stations will needed the added height and less obstruction with an outdoor install
Antenna Man Because of HOA rules we cannot have an outside antenna on the roof, only at ground level. However, we have a very large open attic with the possibility of mounting an antenna inside the building at about 35 ft. above ground level. I am a newbie at this; some ads talk about an inside/outside antenna. Is there really an “inside/outside” antenna or can I just look for an outside antenna and mount it inside? Your comments appreciated. Regards, DrBill
@@bullittone1365 You are correct. HOAs discourage the use but cannot legally ban them. To be fair, most HOA run communities are near urban centers, so you should be able to get by with an antenna in the attic. I do. It works great and looks neater in the community.
Yes Tyler one question. With modern technology I would think there would be a supreme antenna out there even being hand made in the United States. If dish and direct tv can reach out there why can’t someone come up with a antenna out there and get everything. Satellite tv was wonderful when they started back in the late nineties. Dish network was $19.00 a month for basic. Greed got in the way and people are tired of getting a rate hike every year. And plus the fact there are better channels with OTA tv now than 20 years ago. Is anyone building a very good antenna? Cost isn’t the problem. You only buy it one time. I would rather pay for something built in the United States than cheap Chinese junk. Thanks so much for your help.
You're correct in regards to the cheap Chinese junk. Dish and DirecTV can get signals from outer space because of the high power of satellites and no obstructions. The reason we can't receive TV signals beyond 80-100 is not that they disappear but the curvature of the earth sends the signals into space. I have heard good things about the HD Stacker Antenna from Denny's Antenna Service. Since it's winter I am not doing any installs but plan on testing it out over the summer.
The bigger the antenna and the higher you can mount it, the more reception you will get. What surprises me is seeing folks install cheap indoor antennas and only getting a few channels and on their roof is old 12 foot antenna not being used. People just assume those old antennas don't work.
Mr. Davis, in my experience in the last 20 years of antennas, there is no perfect antenna. The nearest to that I have found is stacking multiple antennas in phase, ( meaning identical length coax from the splitter at the antennas, cutting the length of one in half in length, to feed the second antenna, puts that antenna 180° out of phase, this CAN but not necessarily create huge gains in that configuration.) To keep it simple though, I use 2 antennas aimed the same direction one half wavelength apart on the verticle pole, using 2 identical length from those antennas to a QUALITY LOW LOSS splitter, down the pole to enter my garage. Using identicle lengths as short as possible reduces losses, maintains impedance matches, and keeps both antennas in phase. My pole has 1 bracket at the eave of the roof, and the bottom is inserted into a short, (6 inch long) pipe driven into the ground of next bigger dimention, makes it easier for any maintenance in the future, an 8 foot ground rod driven in close by, but NOT with a hammer, an impact drill set on impact only, sends it into the earth very nicely and quickly. MAKE SURE where you put that ground rod does not hit any utilities. All tv cable splitters sold at Walmart are junk, a quality 2 way splitter should cost in the range of $20 to $25. Never ground to a gas pipe, those pipes are plastic underground and insulated up to the meter. Using multiple antennas increases "capture area" this is why larger is better in this case. GOOGLE "tv dxing" to find many more tips, tricks, further technology. And again, more info can be found locally from a HAM radio operator, this is part of what we do. Most importantly, throw away cable/satellite monthly bills and learn at the same time! Be safe, Harley kc9gld
I'm glad my videos helped you get better reception. Feel free to give a contribution at the link below as I spend A LOT of time making the videos and responding to these comments: antennamanpa.com/support.html
I never knew there were antenna installers. That’s amazing. My family usually sent the boy up on roof. Me. Lol wtf. MOM, did you know there are pro installers for free antenna? Pick up the phone. I am going away
Just like there are people to unplug toilets, cut grass........goes on and on. That what a free people can do. Be an entrepreneur or spend your money however you want. Keep this concept in mind in November and make the right choice.
Y’all do hear the sarcasm in my paragraph? Of course I really know people pay for anything to be done. I was not insulting anyone. Just making a joke on how I was the 8 year boy going to turn the antenna. Fussing at mom for being poor. My bad. Settle ya feathers.
Really like what you do.... Keep it up! We live a few miles from Spickard, Missouri... That's 100 miles NE of KC, MO...and almost the same S of Des Moines, IA. For at least 60 years, we had a 30' push-up-pole on top of the roof guy wired 4 directions. (which is 20' above the ground) Mounted on that was always Channel Master Crossfire (or at the very least, their best) antenna with a rotor. Before digital, we were able to consistently get 15-20+ stations. Some stations were on the same channel, just by turning the rotor. Around 8 years ago, we had our roof, re-roofed. At that time the antenna was taken down because we had satellite. I'm wishing now that it was still up there. Probably will invest in a tower that can be lowered so that I don't have to climb on the roof, use a step ladder to bring down the mast to make any changes.... I'm really too old for that anymore...LOL! Before I make that kind of investment, I really need to know if I can get very many channels. Back in the day, everything was VHF Low and VHF High... I've looked at charts and there's a ton of stations 110 miles or less and the closest is 60 miles. Your information has helped me in my quest. Thanks again.
Listen Antenna Man, I came to this chanel solely for informative purposes and I'm now highly offended by your wife comment. Let it be known that I install many, many antennas on my house just for the pure asthetic.
I've just set up an antenna that was recommended to me by Tyler the Antenna Man. Works great, and is a big relief. I highly recommend checking out Tyler's Amazon site, and asking advice if you are having issues. (AntennaManPa.com) He a professional, and takes a lot of time helping folks out, so remember that paypal link above.
@@lionelhowell4972 For my situation, this was his recommend: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KVVBF2A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I'm 60 miles from city, with trees, and an attic install. Doing great.
I bought a cheap indoor flat wall antenna , a rca made in china thing. it can't even pick up the local channel 7 miles away and whenever a plane or bird flies by it scrambles.
I’ve been having trouble getting a good antenna and watching your videos have helped me a lot...thanks man appreciate your work and knowledge about this topic !!!!!
Wow. I have tried 3 antennas... the last one worked ok for a while but we had to keep re-positioning it, finally it just stopped working. I found your video here and bought the Antennas Direct ClearStream 4V... It works great!
I'm glad my videos helped you get better reception. Feel free to give a contribution at the link below as I spend A LOT of time making the videos and responding to these comments: antennamanpa.com/support.html
