[TriLUG] [OT] HD Antenna suggestions, was: TV Tuner Card suggestion

[Steve Litt]

On Wednesday 07 January 2009 09:53:31 am Brian Henning wrote:
> Hi gang,
>
> Thought I'd hijack this thread to see if anyone might have advice on HD
> antennas.  I just got the converter box (I have an old analog-only TV
> right now, and dropped TWC a few months ago when they wouldn't let me go
> straight from one promo deal to another) and I've been trying different
> antennas and have had somewhat surprising results.  Note: low-profile is
> a requirement; I don't have room for something I can't mount on the
> wall.
>
> First I tried a $20 passive antenna.  Looks cheap, but scanning found
> about 12 channels (though I can't actually watch all of them; I get
> weak- or no-signal messages on all the NBC channels, and most channels
> suffer frequent dropouts).
>
> Then I tried a $100 "smart" antenna.  It works WAY WORSE than the $20
> contraption; I can only pull in PBS with that thing.  Granted I was
> testing during the icky weather last night, but I was
> half-expecting/hoping that the $100 guy would always outperform the $20
> guy.  Caveat emptor.

You probably had the gain turned up too high. Lower the gain and watch the 
number of channels go up.

>
> So next I'm thinking about trying a $60 amped not-smart antenna.  Should
> I bother?  It seems my reception (in a ground-floor apartment near
> Southpoint) is poor all around, but even with a low SNR, more amplitude
> still means more signal, right?... 

No. Once it gets to the point where it overloads the first amplification stage 
of the TV or DTV converter box, further amplification makes things worse. And 
every bit of that antenna amplification amplifies noise.

Run, don't walk to Target, and pick yourself up a GE Amplified Quantum 
Antenna. It has 3 panels on hinges which fold together to make a triangle. 
Small, non-directional, just enough amplification. When I put it together 
with my (spectacular) Zenith DTT901 DTV converter box, I got 31 channels, 
which is good for the Orlando area.

> until you start to overwhelm the 
> receiver, but one amped antenna shouldn't do that...

Yeah, it will, quite easily.

SteveT
 
Steve Litt
Recession Relief Package
http://www.recession-relief.US