Antenna Recomendation for Fond du Lac

[ontherun]

Need a recommendation for new antenna in Fond du Lac.  Since WLUK channel 11 switced their digital signal back to vhf 11 I haven't been able to recieve them. My Radio Shack uhf antenna has worked fine for the last six years but I dread having to put up a large boom just to recieve them.  Second it doesn't seem their reasoning for switching back makes much sense.

[bschlafer]

Judging by what I've seen on people's roofs in the Fond du Lac area, you will probably need a large, multi-element boom antenna with rotor.  

Various tools on the TV Fool website will give you an idea of what your expected signal strengths will be from any broadcasting station in your area: http://www.tvfool.com

With a appropriate deep-fringe antenna, you should be able to pick up Green Bay, Milwaukee and Madison stations.  You should have a great number and variety of channels to chose from.

If you are doing it yourself, be sure to do some research on the proper way to mount and connect a outdoor antenna and rotor.  And be sure to take the necessary precautions to protect yourself, your home and your equipment from lightning strikes.

Good luck!
*Bill

[Northern Fringe]

I would suggest keeping your current UHF antenna if you are satisfied with it, and add a Winegard YA-1713 VHF Hi-Band antenna to your mast.  Combine the two antennas at the mast with a Channel Master CM-7777 preamplifier.  

I'm using a YA-1713 for reception of WLUK, WMVS Milwaukee and the two Wausau VHF stations.  It performs well considering it is not all that large or expensive.  I have it combined with another UHF antenna (Antennas Direct 91XG) using the preamplifier I mentioned.  I'm in Oshkosh, and am able to receive strong signals from Green Bay, and fair to good signals from Milwaukee, Madison and Wausau using this setup.  I recommend the YA-1713 highly.

[ontherun]

Northern Fringe in your post you mention that you use an Antennas Direct antenna.  I was wondering how well it works becuase I am looking for a uhf antenna and considering either the DB8 or Channel Master's CM 4228HD.  This antenna would be for a friend that is looking for a small footprint one.

[Northern Fringe]

I'm satisfied with the 91XG.  I have two other antennas on the mast, so I didn't want to use one of the larger antennas such as the DB8 or the CM-4228 that would take up more space.  Also, I've read that those larger antennas can act as a "sail" and cause excessive wind load.  

However, I haven't actually used one of the other models in order to compare signal quality.  I've read that both models (the 91XG and the CM4228) are similar in what they can deliver.  You can find some other opinions between the two models at: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=806976

[Velociraptor]

I am new here and want to say hello.  It is good to see a mention of the 91XG.  I put up two with a combiner & pre-amp because I refuse to pay monthly bills just to watch TV and the GB channels nearby are pathetic.  I can tune in Milwaukee channels pretty solid and it seems decent for almost 90 miles out.  Only 49 seems flaky for some reason.

Actually since the analog shutoff I was surprised to see the Chicago channels 9,11,32,50 rather often too, but they are still borderline most of the time and probably not worth the trouble to clear up...