New to hdtv, in Sheboygan area.

[tywest]

Well i broke down and ordered an Optima H31 Front projector for the basement. I am looking to set up an ota system. I currently live on the south side of sheboygan. I currently have directv ( non-hdtv system) and am looking to put up a regular antenna on the roof. What antenna would i need to get that would pick up hdtv signals from milw and g.b.? I would also like to use that antenna to receive no hd broadcasts for my other non hd tv's in the house.
What hd ota receiver is good? I was looking at the Samsung T451. I would hook that up to the projector. I also would need to get a rotor, thats no problem.
Is there anything else i would need besides wire? Is RG6 cable good enough?
Thanks
 :confused:

[dj1111]

We live on the Northwest side of Sheboygan (town of) in a single story home so my antenna is about 10 feet higher than the roof peak.  I'd like to go higher some day but this actually does work ok.  My antenna is a Radio Shack model I installed like 10 years ago.  All I know is it's about 13.5 feet long and I got it for half the $100 price tag.  "Digital ready" doesn't mean much, my pre-digital antenna works great.  But get one with the "purple" band on the box.  Also have Radio Shack's best amp/preamp setup and further split that signal into a 4-way amplifier to distribute it to our 6 TV's.  Without the amplifiers my reception suffers significantly so please invest in good quality ones.  I completely rewired the house with quad shield RG6 with the all weather connectors since going to DTV.  I also just installed one of those remote control antenna rotators (from Menards) it's cool.

Buy a good quality tripod.  I got mine at Fleet Farm over 20 years ago.  Was bigger (taller) than all the other stores at the time.  Good insurance for those windy days.  Also don't buy the cheap (usually gold in color) mast tubing available at most stores.  I went to Radio Shack for it because they still sell the heavier gauge tubing and it's not much more expensive.  And if you are going to split to many TV's I would recommend the 4-way amp.  With my setup I get excellent reception with all Green Bay stations in both SD and HD as well as Milwaukee (with the exception of 6 and 58 DTV).  But that's not our fault as you will learn in this forum.  I also receive (most of the time) a station in Fond du Lac and Mayville.  And then there's Grand Rapids MI.  Most of the time I get 13 and 17 from that direction.

As far as STB's I have the LG LST-4200A.  Purchased at Bitter Neuman along with the TV.  Everything is working fantastic.

Good luck on your install.  We also have D* non-HD and don't plan to go HD until all the new satellites are in place and they offer a package I think is worth the expense (good luck).  If you have any other questions, reply back, I'd be happy to share my experiences.

[tywest]

I just installed a Phillip's/Magnavox MANT901 Antenna. The s.o.b. is big... I live about 50 miles or so form the major broadcasters in Milwaukee and Green Bay. I figure this should handle things just fine. Well i got it all set up today and i have problems. I picked a spot on my garage roof and mounted a 3 ft tripod. In that i have about 4-5 feet of mast, a rotor, and then about 2 ft above that is the antenna. To the antenna i have connected an adapter that hooks up to coax. that runs to the preamp. I hooked up a magnavox preamp to the mast as well. . then from there it runs about 40-50 (rg6) feet where the wire is grounded and goes into the basement. From there it goes to the amp part of the preamp that plugs into the wall. From there it goes out to the tv.
Well my goal here is to hook er up to an hdtv ota receiver box and play that thru my Optima H31 Projector (should be here soon).
I decided to test it out since i don't have my projector. I hooked it (meaning the wire from the antenna) up to my regular no-hdtv.
Well the picture would prob. look better if is stuck a coat hanger in the darn thing. I can only get one channel even remotely clear. Other channels are all fuzzy. All that even by using the rotor.

What am i doing wrong?

 :bang:

[Jimboy]

Start simple. Try the output of the antenna directly to an analog tv.  It's usually best to determine how well the antenna is performing before adding amps and longer cable runs. Antenna height and placement need to be determined and you may need to experiment before a permanent spot is picked. Although with a big s.o.b. antenna this would be difficult.

[dj1111]

Assuming the antenna and amps are ok (they are new) and you do what Jimboy suggests, my next check would be the wiring.  I have experienced with other people's installs, and some of my early ones, where the stripping of cable and crimping of the cable ends was taken too lightly and was the cause of constant reoccurring reception problems.  One of the guys finally gave up and went to basic cable (local channels only).  What a waste of money.  Years later when he described his install I learned he went about the stripping and connecting of the cable ends all wrong.

In my arsenal of tools is a good cable stripper (cuts and strips everything to exact specs).  Also have one of those pro quality "cast die" hex crimpers.  And recently bought the tool for connecting the new quad shield all weather ends.  The reason I'm saying all this is because a simple bad connection can make all the difference between good and bad reception.  Take the wiring job very serious.  Years of maintenance free good reception will be the pay-off.  If you've never done it before read up on it or get help from someone with experience in successful installs.

[tywest]

Thanks for all the good feedback.

I took back my cheep antenna and amp. I now have a Winegard and no amp. Well the pic is a lot better. I am having some issues with reg non hd tv. (want to get this squared away first) There is static on the screens. Some dont have any static at all.. but most do... Any idea what would be causing that? I suppose it could be anything, but the best way to describe it is when someone in the house turns on a small appliance like a blender, the screen gets little static lines going thru it. I dont think i messed anything up with the cable. Here is what i did... Tell me if u think this could have something to do with it.
My local cable co use to have an a/b system. So i have two wires already coming into my house. I currently use one of them for my cable modem. I took off the other one and fed the coax to that one. I did this cuz its already grounded and one less hole to punch thru the wall. Would that have any effect on the pic?

As far as the wireing goes, with the exception of the pre run cable, i have all quad shielded cable and purchased one of those good wire strippers from radio shack. I also have the crimper for the cable. Now i know someone is probly asking why would u use pre run cable if you have all new quad shileded cable. Well i dont know either.



Thanks


 :confused:  :confused:

[dj1111]

I still think you need an amplifier.  With all the stations being around 50 miles away from us, the signal getting to your antenna is already at a disadvantage.  Then there is the long run of cable winding through your house maybe with a couple of splitters creating greater signal loss with every additional foot and/or split.  Like I said in my earlier reply if I bypass both of my amplifiers my reception for the most part sucks.  I did do a test when I was rewiring with quad shield and bypassed the amps.  If that was the kind of OTA reception I was getting I'd probably have cable instead. :bang:  Did I really say that?  I have Radio Shacks best amp/preamp combo, it has an adjustable boost so you can fine tune it.

As far as electrical noise on non-digital signals, I don't think you will ever completely eliminate them.  First of all I'm no expert in this area I just know analog signals by their very nature are subject to a variety of interference problems.  You get spoiled with D* in the fact that the picture quality is always perfect.

[tywest]

I Will have to mess around and see what i can do about an amp. Any recomendations other than radio shacks best one?
I got my new antenna at Herzog Tv in Sheboygan Falls. I was going to check with them. Hopefully i can figure this out and the amp does the trick.
The guy at the store also said for like $50 (probably will end up being more) they will come out and give some expert advise....Anyone think its worth it? Im hoping it wont come to that.
I also hear ya on being spoiled with D*. Im trying to remember life b4 cable tv. Am i correct that with HDTV the pic would not have snow or static. Its either there or not, and possibly pixilated like D* signal when it get bad.

Otherwise radio shack here we come.. :guns:

[AndrewP]

RS is very good for returns. My advise is return everything and go with Chanell Master 4228 with Chanell Master Titan 7777 pre-amp. You will be able to pick up both Milwaukee and Green Bay without any rotor. You can buy it online at soldsignal.com or locally, check location at chanellmaster.com, distributors.

[MrSuzuki]

Tywest,
A couple observations on what you described.  Are you sure you are pointing the correct end of the antenna, towards the broadcasting source?  The Radio Shack amplifier is a very good unit...but they ship them with the gain set at it's maximum.  Also, amplifiers not only amplify the signal, they also amplify the noise.  Might want to try turning that gain down.  Also, have the FM trap set to IN...meaning, it will not allow FM signals to come in.  Lastly, cable is huge...and using old cable, especially something from the cable company, usually installed by some kid...might be a source of a problem.

Good luck...OTA delivers a phenominal picture.

[tywest]

Ok thanks again.
I am pointing the UHF end ( <- ) toward the broadcasting station. Is that right?
I will do some re,wiring and get rid of that old stuff. I will also be going to radio shack. With the amp, i will have to mount the preamp up on the antenna and then the power supply somewhere else. Is it better to mount the powersupply as close to the antenna as possible? I plan on mounting it in my basement. Which will be about 50 or so feet from the antenna. Will that b ok?

 :cool:

[MrSuzuki]

Yes, point the UHF towards the source.

Check out //www.antennaweb.org

This site will provide you with exact angles for pointing your antenna, to the broadcast towers around your area, after you put in your address.

50' of cable...not a problem.  I have my preamp mounted about 6" below the antenna, and I did NOT use the cable provided in the Radio Shack amplifier package.  I know they supply them, but I don't trust the person that made the cable...make your own quad shield cable, and you will be confident it is done right.  The amplifier...I mounted in the basement, right next to my splitter.  I have about a 2' cable, going from the amp-to-the-splitter.   Alignment, cables, and gain setting...you should have a perfect picture.

[dj1111]

Some new Sheboygan experiences to share.  My mom just purchased a 51" Toshiba TV with built in HD tuner.  She has and uses for the most part our local "no definition" cable.  When I went with her to pick out the TV I was pumped at the thought of reconnecting her roof top antenna so she can truly get the most out of her new purchase.  So I spent mother's day rewiring her house with quad shield and getting everything reconnected.  She hasn't used the RTA equipment for probably 15 years now.  The antenna is a larger Radio Shack as well as a Radio Shack amp.  Here are the results.  All Milwaukee channels are crystal clear.  With of course the exceptions being 6 and 58 DTV.  I can't say the same about Green Bay.  She lives on the far South side and for the most part cannot get any of the Green Bay channels.  Must be because the signal has to go straight through the heart of the city, and she is a little low in elevation.  That was quite a let down.  I wanted her to have access to Fox (11) for her sports addiction.  I only hope 6 is at full power before Packer Season.

Here are some additional fun facts.  Her TV has a filter for cable TV users.  I laughed at the thought, but it's true. :rofl:   The instructions say it's to smooth out the picture from the inherent distortions of cable and the fact that the TV will magnify them to a large screen.  We tuned her TV1(cable) and TV2(OTA) to the same channel.  The analog OTA was better quality than cable even with the filter enabled.

[tywest]

Well that dosent make me feel good. Im waiting for my dvi cable and others to come. It should be here on tuesday. Then we we'll see i guess. Is she farther south than South High? I live around there. Im hoping g.b. will come in. I still have to get an amp.
Thx for the info.

[dlhoppe]

A couple of things I learned when I set up my antenna & tower system.  You may not necessarily need an amplifier. If you have a large antenna with good line of sight and not many obstacles creating multi-path, you may do better without the amp. I installed my stuff with an amp right away because I thought it would be a good idea to really crank up the gain. I didn't know very much back then and it didn't work very well at all.  The amp was over-driving big time and the ATSC receiver couldn't deal with it. I actually had to turn my antenna away from the broadcast towers to get the receiver to work. I decided to back up one step and bypass the amp for a test.  Wow!  Worked like a charm. I get everything from Milwaukee and Green Bay just fine - no amp.  The amp can also help hide the weaker stations by boosting the adjacent ones (like WITI & WISN).

On thing to note also. Even with my setup, quite a few of the analog stations are NOT crystal clear. Some have a bit of snow, some more than others. However, the digital signals are very strong on those same stations, including WITI (6 milw). The lesson here is: Don't equate snowy analog with poor digital performance. Granted, there is some correlation, but not what you might think. I never watch analog anyway so I don't care about the couple of snowy analog channels. The digital versions are perfect.

Good luck,
Dave