TV antenna rotor tower

[CaptainJoe]

looking to buy an outside TV antenna rotor and tower...

 

Need to receive UHF/VHF/FM/SDTV/HDTV

Looking at :

http://www.tvantennasale.com/Lava-HD-2605-Ultra-Outdoor-TV-Antenna-p/lavahd2605ultra.htm

 

would like to have remote control rotor:

http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=CM9521A&mc=03&d=Channel-Master-CM9521A-TV-Antenna-Rotator-System-with-InfraRed-Remote-%28CM9521A%29&sku=CM9521A&utm_campaign=daily_run&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=shopping-com_03_Antenna_Rotators

 

and a sturdy tower approx 30'?

 

Any an all advice appreciated.

 

Switched to satellite for a while to get rid of commercials.... that didn't last long...

 

and for the programming...all repeats ad even the premium movie channels are running movies that are20-30 years old...

 

 

Now that the local tv stations are HD why pay for something I can get for free?

 

need to save the for road trips...

Edited May 28, 2013 by CaptainJoe

[Condor]

looking to buy an outside TV antenna rotor and tower...

 

Need to receive UHF/VHF/FM/SDTV/HDTV

Looking at :

http://www.tvantennasale.com/Lava-HD-2605-Ultra-Outdoor-TV-Antenna-p/lavahd2605ultra.htm

 

would like to have remote control rotor:

http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=CM9521A&mc=03&d=Channel-Master-CM9521A-TV-Antenna-Rotator-System-with-InfraRed-Remote-%28CM9521A%29&sku=CM9521A&utm_campaign=daily_run&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=shopping-com_03_Antenna_Rotators

 

and a sturdy tower approx 30'?

 

Any an all advice appreciated.

 

Switched to satellite for a while to get rid of commercials.... that didn't last long...LOL

 

Now that the local tv stations are HD why pay for something I can get for free?

 

need to save the for road trips...

 

For a while I had an HD broadcast TV antenna set up for the computor. The antenna looked like nothing more than a 3 piece auto antenna. No direction to it. I stuck mine in the window of the office.. If you need to get it up enough for reception perhaps 3-8' antenna post extensions with a few guywires might work. I take it you don't have cable or satilite in your area??

[dacheedah]

Depends how far you are from transmitters?

are you on a high point or in a valley? line of sight or are hills, trees in the way

Are the transmitters all in the same or similar direction?

Edited May 29, 2013 by dacheedah

[MiCarl]

Depends how far you are from transmitters?

are you on a high point or in a valley? line of sight or are hills, trees in the way

Are the transmitters all in the same or similar direction?

 

This is very important!

 

If you're near the transmitters you can get by with a very low gain omnidirectional antenna and probably don't need to go high with it. You don't need the rotor. On the other hand if you're far away you'll probably want an antenna with a lot of elements which will be unidirectional. You'll need a rotor if the broadcaster antennas deviate much from a straight line.

 

When I ditched the cable I hooked up the antenna that was on the house when I bought it. There are a dozen broadcasters within 20 miles of me. The antenna has so many elements it's very directional and I needed to put a rotor on to get more than a few channels. Frankly, I'd probably be better off with a piece of coat hanger.

 

All the bands you're looking for will be covered by a standard UHF/VHF TV antenna.

 

www.antennaweb.org has a tool to help determine TV stations in your area and the antenna you need to get them.

[CaptainJoe]

i have cable and satellite...just getting tired of paying them good money for 3-30 year old movies and commercials.

 

going to go with netflix and download new movies

 

Depends how far you are from transmitters? 45 mi.

are you on a high point or in a valley? valley

line of sight or are hills, trees in the way. yes to both

Are the transmitters all in the same or similar direction? most are in a southern direction

 

there are tricks also to canting an antenna to give it a larger profile as well as height adjustments...

 

 

zipcode 25275

http://receptionmaps.com/

 

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=90

 

Is there something I can buy to determine signal strength "like when your lining up satellite dishes"?:

[CaptainJoe]

All the bands you're looking for will be covered by a standard UHF/VHF TV antenna.

 

Right now i have a standard channel master 12' directional fm antenna 17 yrs old and am getting 4 channels high quality without a rotor. (my old ones toast)

with a rotor i will easily pick up four more.

 

Just looking for maximum channels.

 

was hoping for a newer more powerful antenna.

[playboy]

Thanks for posting this I am fed up with the cost of dish network and lack of programming and there habit of dropping channels out of a package and placing them in another higher price package. Finally dropped to the very basic just to keep the local channels.

 

I noticed in the first link of your first post that that ant. comes with amp, rotor,and remote as well as cable. The price of that unit is cheaper than the best ant. that best buy has and none of them are rated for 150 miles.

[playboy]

We tried the Roku box a few months back but didn't like it. For everything we wanted to watch required a fee. For what was free apparently our internet connection wasn't fast enough.

[Trader]

Not sure about your area but most over the air tv stations are transmitting in digital so the traditional antennae's won't work unless you have a converter box too.

[CaptainJoe]

A few of the articules said to stay away from the ones promising 150 mile range... That a large old type directional antenna combined with a rotor, would pic up the signls just a well, if not better

 

That's why i'm asking...LOL

 

my older (more than 10yrs old) Tv's required a converter as th swere set up t receive an analog signal.... All/most tvs produced today are digital.

[dacheedah]

All should require an hdtv or an analog tv with anhdtv converter. If u r deep fringe you can stack antennas, spaced vertically the same distance as the widest elements. Must be aimed exactly the same and use a combiner. Make sure to bond the tower

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Welcome to the world of the cord-cutters!

 

If the stations that you want to receive are primarily south, but lets say there are 2 or 3 that are east of you, it might make more sense to buy two antennas, and orient them on the tower so that one is pointing south, the other is pointing east. An antenna switch will be needed, and 2 runs of coaxial feedline.

 

Rotators can be a hassle, but if you have 3 or more compass directions that you need to cover, they become kinda necessary.

 

BTW...any standard 'analog' TV antenna will pick up digital signals...of course, what happens after that is what matters.

 

A digital converter or TV with digital tuner will be needed.

 

Also, if the stations are more than 50 miles away, or more then 20 miles with hills in the way, consider adding an antenna-mounted pre-amp.

 

Edited May 29, 2013 by tx2sturgis

[dacheedah]

Just remember towers are rated for load, so make sure the tower will support what you put on it. I have seen towers come down from adding one more antenna, and they don't bend pretty.

 

The pre amp+ amp vs stacking with a combiner is all the way you look at it. When the Govt changed to digital they took snow away. You either get a signal or you don't , the stacking you should use the same antenna above / below each other, cable length between antennas the same length into the combiner. It's not right or wrong but what works for you. Actually your picture will be true hi def vs cable or dish.

Edited May 29, 2013 by dacheedah

[Wizard765]

Welcome to the world of the cord-cutters!

 

If the stations that you want to receive are primarily south, but lets say there are 2 or 3 that are east of you, it might make more sense to buy two antennas, and orient them on the tower so that one is pointing south, the other is pointing east. An antenna switch will be needed, and 2 runs of coaxial feedline.

 

Rotators can be a hassle, but if you have 3 or more compass directions that you need to cover, they become kinda necessary.

 

BTW...any standard 'analog' TV antenna will pick up digital signals...of course, what happens after that is what matters.

 

A digital converter or TV with digital tuner will be needed.

 

Also, if the stations are more than 50 miles away, or more then 20 miles with hills in the way, consider adding an antenna-mounted pre-amp.

 

 

I agree with this. The older signal was called NTSC and if your TV is old enough you will need a tuner that converts. Most newer TV's have an ATSC tuner built and all is good. I have two major areas broadcasting numerous channels. For me it is Toronto and Buffalo. Toronto is almost north and Buffalo is East so I have two Channel Master digital antennas with a joiner and an amp. No rotor to deal with and I get very clear HD (720) signals. Somewhere around 30 channels. Some stations broadcast 2 or 3 channels so for example i have 3 channel 2. 2.1 2.2 and 2.3. One is the standard channel. One is a retro station and the other is weather channel. So unless you have 3 or more directions I'd opt to go without the rotor. An extra antenna is easier and probably less expensive than a rotor. If I remember correctly I have a 4221HD ($50) for Toronto (closer) and a 42228HD ($80) for Buffalo Toronto is about 60 miles and Buffalo about 80 miles.

[CaptainJoe]

Thanks Brian, intend to preamp it. I have one on my old antenna and it does help fight signal loss. It's the type that plugs in behind your tv and sends power to a amplifier that is about 8" away from the antenna. coax from antenna goes into this and coax out to tv.

 

Just remember towers are rated for load, so make sure the tower will support what you put on it. I have seen towers come down from adding one more antenna, and they don't bend pretty. As long as it supports my 230 lbs I'm thinking it will handle a couple aluminum antennas...lol (i hope)

The pre amp+ amp vs stacking with a combiner is all the way you look at it. When the Govt changed to digital they took snow away. You either get a signal or you don't , the stacking you should use the same antenna above / below each other, cable length between antennas the same length into the combiner. It's not right or wrong but what works for you. Actually your picture will be true hi def vs cable or dish.

 

so... two identical antennas, spaced vertically the same distance as the widest elements, pointed exactly same way, with equal cable length, going into a combiner?, followed by, pre-amped will give me max signal?...WITH GROUNDING...(8'copperclad 5/8" grounding bar attached to bottom of tower or to the top)

 

any suggestions on specific: antenna,combiner,rotor to use?

 

Thanks guys...

[Cougar]

I just got this a few weeks ago (like you posted) and it works just fine it already has a rotor built in it and a amp.

http://www.tvantennasale.com/Lava-HD-2605-Ultra-Outdoor-TV-Antenna-p/lavahd2605ultra.htm

I am using it for the guest home

good luck.

Jeff

[CaptainJoe]

Thanks for posting this I am fed up with the cost of dish network...

 

I'm sure we're not alone on this one!

 

Save the :mo money:for our bikes...

[CaptainJoe]

Jeff,

is there amp in the antenna, or, is it amplified at the tv?

[Cougar]

See the little box that runs the rotor in the photo?

that's the amp as well.

[Cougar]

You also need to check this site and type your ZIP CODE in

to maybe see what your going to get .

 

http://www.antennapoint.com/

[dacheedah]

We used to have two full wave antennas we built stacked and on a rotor, when games were blacked out in Chicago we turned toward our friends in Indy or Champaign to watch. I felt like I was always climbing that tower to fix this or that but we never had a bill.

 

Tons of designs online for HDTV antennas

http://www.diytvantennas.com/

 

http://ka-foto.se/album/pask/thumbs/diy-antenna-tv-i18.png

 

You could do a little research and build a fringe or deep fringe or deep fringe antenna for a little effort it will pay off.

[CaptainJoe]

What do you think about this commercial outdoor EXtreme deep fringe antenna ..

http://www.antennacraft.net/Antennas/AntennasAllChannel.html

 

for $165

[playboy]

What do you think about this commercial outdoor EXtreme deep fringe antenna ..

http://www.antennacraft.net/Antennas/AntennasAllChannel.html

 

for $165

 

 

That looks like the Antenna I already have probably 20 years old and few of the bars missing.

[Cougar]

If you have lots of high winds and snow and other bad weather YES look into that type

the one above is not very strong at all. I am just experimenting to see how long mine last. so far so good. only been a month or so .

[playboy]

So how far are you away from the signal Cougar