TV Antenna for Rural Areas

[Franziskaner]

I recently purchased a house in a rural area of southern KY. I want to buy an antenna for regular TV channels as I do not wish to sign up for dish, cable, etc.
Being in such a rural area I am assuming the indoor digital antennas will not be efficent for my needs. I believe most indoor antennas cover an area of 50 miles or less. However I am 77 miles north of Nashville so I believe I will need an outdoor antenna capable of covering more range.
Does anyone have any suggestions on which indoor or outdoor TV antennas may be efficent for my needs. I've starting researching this topic but it's easy to get overwhelmed by everything that is available.
Any suggestions or advice is appreciated.
Thanks
Derek

 

[JB]

Re: TV Antenna for Rural Areas

Hi, Derek.

I am about 50 miles west of Ft. Worth, 70 or so miles from Dallas.

I have an antenna I got from Radio Shack about 20 years ago mounted about 8' above my roof. I think it was advertised as having the greatest gain of any they offered at the time.

I get excellent reception of about 20 digital VHF and UHF stations in the DFW area. Reception weakens a bit in bad weather.

Of course we didn't have digital broadcast at the time, but this antenna doesn't care. The reception of digital signals is even better than the analog was.

Edit: sorry about the pic. The antenna is hidden by the tree at left.

 

[eavega]

Re: TV Antenna for Rural Areas

My understanding is that digital (DTV) signals are more limited in range, somewhere in the 50 mile range. There is a website that estimates how many channels you can get and signal strength based on your zip code The Digital TV Transition: Reception Maps. the assumption, though, is antenna 30' above the ground with relatively good line-of-sight to the broadcast tower.

Rgds

 

[emilsr]

Re: TV Antenna for Rural Areas

Line of sight to the broadcast tower is going problematic in that part of the country due to the hills. Our friends at Nolin River Lake tried in vain to get anything but satellite TV.

If you're in a lick, then forget it. If you're on a knob then maybe. (If I'm remembering my KY terminology correctly)

 

[rbh]

Re: TV Antenna for Rural Areas

YUP, try to get it on the high ground and do not set up under leafy trees, the leaves will bounce/absorb alot of the signal away from the antenna.
They make a cheap signal meter to fine tune the incoming signal, and if there are signals coming in from different directions you may need/want to stack your antennas.

Not all antennas are omni directional, and those that are will not always be the best for picking up low signals.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: TV Antenna for Rural Areas

AntennaWeb - Home

 

[KD4UPL]

Re: TV Antenna for Rural Areas

Get the largest directional antenna you can find. Mount it as high as you can. Install a rotator so you can point the antenna directly at the station you're trying to pick up. Install a pre-amp up near the antenna. These will have a power supply box that mounts in the house and send power to the amp over the coaxial cable. Use a high quality RG-6 cable and keep it as short as possible.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: TV Antenna for Rural Areas

I had a big Winegard antenna when I was picking up HD over the air. I also installed a Winegard amp like KD4UPL amp but found it was degrading the signal too much so I took it out. I would put up the antenna first and then decide later if you really need the amp.

 

[colbyt]

Re: TV Antenna for Rural Areas

In your location I doubt this will work but it costs almost nothing to try. Bend a 12" loop out of a coat hanger or other stiff wire (copper best), then use a 300ohm to coax adapter, one lead connected to each end and plug it into your TV input and scan for channels. In the flat land this little rig will pull in signals for quite a ways.

Now the rotor and directional antenna is your most viable suggestion to date. Don't get done, shop around, this isn't rocket science.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: TV Antenna for Rural Areas

I am assuming the OP is looking for OTA HD Digital channels. Not sure how many TV's have built in OTA HD tuners in them

 

[colbyt]

Re: TV Antenna for Rural Areas

I am assuming the OP is looking for OTA JHD Digital channels. Not sure how many TV's have built in OTA HD tuners in them

You might be right. I assumed since he was talking digital he had one. Anything bought in the last 3-4 years should have have one. I have two with and two old ones without.

 

[Opnine99]

Re: TV Antenna for Rural Areas

AntennaWeb - Home

^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: TV Antenna for Rural Areas

I have a LARGE vhf antenna (circa 1995) and an original Channelmaster 4228 UHF antenna mounted on a ham rotor atop a 50ft tower. I also have a high quality preamp and inline signal amplifier. I receive 13 channels from Toronto (45 miles) and a few from Buffalo New York (70 miles), all are 100% digital. The Toronto stations are 100% reliable but the Buffalo stations are weather dependant.

I believe it is possible but you will need good equipment and someone who knows what and how to install it. As rbh mentioned, you can stack antenna for more gain and receive weaker signals. Will cost a few $$$ but think of the money you will save by not subscribing to satelite. There is a growing movement towards antenna again with more and more people getting tired of paying increasing monthly cable or satelite bills

A great resource for learning and a host of tools is Over-The-Air (OTA) Digital Television - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums. More information than you could hope for, and a lot of knowledgable people.

 

[dolluper]

Re: TV Antenna for Rural Areas

I have being on antenna vision for some time now .....all the digital channels come in that used to except the US A ones....In Canada the regulators cut us off......anyways any antenna will work your tv is or the problem ....old tv,s are anologe.newer are digital ....so the the old tv.s need a convertor