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southern MN | You no longer use actual channels 2 through 5 (or was it 6?). Those are the longest ears on the old antennas. Otherwise, the old antenna should work fine still. But is it a VHF only antenna? Then you are left with only 6 through 13 as possibilities. The lower stations moved up to UHF, as well as many new stations have popped up in the 14-69 uhf channels. These antennas look more like a bbq grill standing on end; or they are a bunch of very short arms on the all in one old antenna.
So.... is the old antenna vhf, uhf, or a combo.
Then, the digital signals want the antenna aimed much more precisely at the tower. If you are on the fringe, better aiming will help.
Also, the digital signals are much more fussy about a good shielded coax cable. This might be more important than replacing the antenna.
You would really help yourself if you got 10 feet above the roof. Line of sight, no trees, buildings, hills, or roofs in the way and the signal gets way much better.
If your coax has any length at all, mine is 50 feet, I got nothing watchable until I put a booster on it. The type there is a little gizmo that goes up by the antenna, and then at the bottom is a powered unit that feeds power up to the little gizmo. It made the difference at getting unwatchable mash, or getting 16 good and 10 part time channels from 40 to 80 miles away.
If you are feeding more than one tv, you might want an amplifier at the bottom, to feed out good signals to multiple sets.
I don’t understand how rotators work with digital tv either, as you would have to spend 3 minutes scanning every time you rotate. I don’t get it. My tv stations are in three directions; I aimed at the farthest, and the booster cleared up the closer stations that are bouncing in sideways.
Denny’s tv is a really good online resource for seeing what you need, and links to the station finders and maps others talk about.
http://www.dennysantennaservice.com/?redirect=false | |
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teach me about attic antennas
