Apr 11, 2009
TV Antenna
This is just a quick post to make an antenna recommendation for over-the-air TV reception. I had to do a lot of research to find the right antenna, and I’d like to help out others.
I live in McKinney, TX and I was looking for an antenna that would get good reception of all the over-the-air digital and HD channels in Dallas/Ft Worth. I live 46 miles from DFW’s antenna farm in Cedar Hill, so it’s quite a distance. I found a lot of antennas that were rated “up to” 50 miles, but I didn’t want to take the chance. I also wanted to put it in my attic since the roof isn’t an option for me, so I wanted something with a higher rating. I ended up buying the Clearstream 4 (CS4) Antenna, which is rated for 65 miles, from indoorhdantenna.com.
When I first hooked it up, i wasn’t getting reception on some of the channels. I read that a lot of people had problems when they used coax cables longer than 50 feet, and I was definitely over that. I only had one spare cable to run from the antenna to the splitter in the attic, and it was 50 feet right there. Then the signal had to go from the splitter down to each room, adding another 20-30 feet. I bought a 8 ft cable as a replacement and added an amplified splitter on top of that and now everything works great. I get all of the channels with perfect reception.
A few notes:
- ABC is the only channel in DFW that does not broadcast on UHF. They are VHF only. The CS4 is a UHF antenna, but it works.
- I’m in SOUTH McKinney. Look up how far your line-of-sight distance is for you before buying an antenna. You can do this at antennaweb.org (just put in your address, you don’t need to give your email or phone), then click on “Show Digital Stations Only” since they’re about to make the transition.
- Mounting the antenna is best outside, but it will work in the attic. Just make sure you get it as southwest as possible and away from any metal like air ducts.
Helpful websites:
- http://www.antennaweb.org – channel listing with frequency, distance, and compass heading.
- http://www.indoorhdantenna.com – antenna recommendations and advice. I recommend buying your antenna from them as well.
signal is measured in dbmv. it breaks down into digital and analog. digital signal drops 5.5 dbmv over 150 feet, analog drops 1.5 over 150 feet. each split lowers your signal. if you use a 2 way, it lowers it -3.5 dbmv. a 4 way is -7 dbmv. a 3 way is either -3.5 -7 -7 or balanced at -5.5 all outputs.
so in theory…..
your signal is 12.5 dbmv
150 feet your down to 7 dbmv (digi) and 11 (analog)
throw in a 2 way, your down to 3.5 dbmv. split that on a 4 way now your signal is in the negatives, which is ok for analog, bad for digital.
Colin – That’s excellent information to have. Thanks. I’m using an amplified splitter, so I’m sure that’s helping. I’m getting really good reception, but there’s one HD channel that still flakes out every now and then. I’m going to try and tweak the antenna a little bit more to see if that fixes it. It’s just tough because I live so far away and I’m unable to mount my antenna on the roof.
hi there, simply wanted to mention thanks alot for this post, it helped me become aware of one thing I didnt given much deliberation to it previously.
I just needed to say thanks a lot for posting. I happened upon your website from altavista and I just wanted say i’m liking what I see.