Finally, my SIR-T165 came...

[BrettD]

I received my Samsung STB (SIRT165) yesterday, after a month and a half wait! I live on the Northwest side of Brewtown and temporaqrily have a set of rabbitt ears as the attenae feed.

What are others using and suggesting as a better results-oriented attenae source for the DTV broadcasts around Milwaukee? In my case, I think MOST of the signals are from my southwest. Am I correct in that we have to be capable of receiving DTV signals from BOTH UHF and VHF bands!!?? I have a TV42 dish mounted ant. from Terk, also. Thanks for your advice folks!!

[Gregg Lengling]

If you mean your on the NW side of Milwaukee then the signals will be coming from the ESE.  The towers are all between Villard and Green Bay to the NW and Humbolt and Capitol to the SE.  All in that quadrant.......

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Gregg R. Lengling
RCA P61310 61" 16x9
(Built in DTC100 w/Directv)
HiDTV Pro 2 computer reciever card
glengling@ameritech.net

[BrettD]

OOPS! You're absolutely correct, Gregg! I meant ESE. Now I just need some input as to what type and model antennae to use for both UHF and VHF signals. Thanks for your reply to my query, Gregg

[Tom Snyder]

Are you getting anything with your Terk or current rabbit ears?

[BrettD]

Yes, I get 1-1, 1-2,4-1 4.0 Sometimes 10.0,10.1-5, but no 34.1 (WISN DTV) and some decent and some really crappy analog broadcasts. My attenae is strictly the dipole rabbitt ears with no bowtie or loop-type attennae attachment like the old tv's used to have. What are double bowtie attenaes, anyway? Do they for the reception of UHF and VHF without a lot of constant rearranging of the masts, etc.?

[Pat]

The double bow-tie looks like a square made of clothes hanger wire, but has two aluminum bow-tie shaped do-hickies on the front of it.

It is directional, so does have to be pointed at the signal(s), but doesn't have individually adjustable "arms" or anything.

Regarding UHF(channels 14-83) vs VHF (channels 2-13), what you need depends on what you want to receive.  If you only want HD from the antenna, you can get by with a UHF only antenna.  If you want both HD and the existing analog stations, you want a VHF/UHF antenna.

However, the cutoff is not abrupt -- I get PBS (HD channel 8, the lowest HD channel around here) just fine with my UHF-only antenna.  Lower numbers than that become worse and worse.

[BrettD]

Thanks, folks, for the input. Now, are the dipole-type (ie "rabbit ears") anttenaes designed for Uhf, or VHF reception? Does the dbl. bowtie type do a better job at "capturing" one or the other? I have already invested in two anttenae arrays already. An amplified rabbitt ears and that Terk TV42 piece of crap that that the kid at Radio Shack would "work great in the Milwaukee metro area" for local broadcastd.
So, I'm looking for you guys/gals to spill the beans on what you use to enjoy HDTV OTA broadcasts from our market broadcasters!  

[Joseph S]

The Zenith Silver Sensor and Radio Shack Double Bow Tie are the best for UHF reception (ABC, CBS, NBC). PBS channel 8 (10.1-10.5) is sent via VHF. I found I needed to supplement the VHF signal received from the Silver Sensor with  a separate normal antenna.

I did this by using a UHF/VHF combiner/splitter to for allow VHF from one antenna and UHF from the other. The benefit was I found improved UHF reception by eliminating the VHF signal and interference on the Silver Sensor. I didn't have to do this with the Radio Shack Bowtie. The Silver Sensor on the other hand has better UHF reception and looks better.(if that matters) Stay away from the Terk and "Amplified" antennae.

There really isn't a simple solution, try a few and find what works. I can pick up NBC with a coat hanger. ABC isn't far behind. CBS is very directional. PBS is VHF dependent.

[tenth_t2]

I'm using a Channel Master 8 bow (cm4228)on the roof here in Waukesha and it also works well for channel 10 (er, 8 actually) also.

Rabbit ears can work just fine, however you only have two elements to deal with and as the station frequency increases (channel # gets bigger) the length of the receiving element gets shorter-- so you'd have to adjust it from time to time.  That's why you'd look at a multi-element VHF/UHF antenna from Radio Shack-- it's got many sets of rabbit ears essentially.

If you want results oriented, it really will depend on how close you are to the signal source.  I saw dramatic improvements when I went from attic to rooftop-- the signals were just too weak at my location, so I went outside.

I assume that the SIRT-165 has a signal strength meter, so it would be helpful to compare your readings to some others.  There are a few people here on the NW side of Milwaukee.

What we use to enjoy HDTV?  Well for me it's beer and:


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Mitsubishi 55859 w/integrated tuner
CM 4228 Antenna
ChannelVision modulator & distribution amps
Sony DA555ES Receiver
Sony DVP-S300 DVD
Mits U776 S-VHS
A few Sony WEGA's
A mix o'speakers (Infinity, JBL, Bose)
1- Black Rabbit
1- Wife

[BrettD]

Say, tenth_t2, what you posted made a lot of sense! What I am missing is good UHF reception. So far, I determined throught he help fo all of you guys, that the TERK TV42 was a waste of time and money, however I'll use until I locate a Radio Shack RS 15-1862 internally amplified UHF/VHF indoor antenna. I read the results of tests run by a guy who is an expert at this sort of thing and the RS antenna won hands down. If you are inteested, the URL is www.projectorexpert.com