OTA antenna advise

[tbest1797]

My current situation is I have been using TWC QAM for recording locals for the last 2 years.  I had a DB4 followed by a CM4228 hanging in a 1st story bedroom to get Chicago locals minus CBS.  This allowed me to get Cubs, Bears, and Bulls HD games and CWHD before TWC added it.  This setup was pretty reliable except during the summer months.  I'm about 60 miles from the Chicago towers and 20 miles from Milwaukee and a few blocks from the lake.  My LOS to Milwaukee isn't as good as the one to Chicago.  I'm using Vista Media Center and 2 HDHR's.  I would love to save the 20 bucks a month and put an antenna on the roof.  What I really want is to put up the antenna and stick with Chicago locals.  I'm hesitant to bother at this time because CBS2 can't be tuned in from here and ABC7 will be moving to VHF in February.  I don't want to put it up this summer and find that I need to get back up there to fix it next year.  The 4228 might not be the antenna of choice to get all those channels reliably at that time.  I have read some reports of success with that antenna on VHF-Hi but I might be too far away.  Should I just stick it out until next spring so I can go up there knowing exactly what I need?  Anyone else out there getting Chicago reliably from Racine or farther north?   What antenna and setup are you using?  Thanks.

Tom

[JohnRacine]

I have a very small, $20 UHF antenna (from Radio Shack) on a low tripod, just above my roof line.  I live on the SW side of Racine, off of Hwy 31, just north of KR.

My little antenna (no amplifier) pulls in all Chicago stations (not 2.1) and all Milwaukee stations.  It doesn't matter if it's pointed north or south, the signal locks in both ways.  Before I put it on the roof, I had it laying on the bed in a spare bedroom for a few days.  It performed very well in that spot.

The little antenna has 8 elements on the horizontal boom which is about 18" in length.  The V (at the back) has 4 elements on the top and 4 on the bottom.  I have a 25' coax cable bringing the signal to my Sony HDTV.  It's mounted on a rotor which is never used...I just keep it pointed south as I prefer Chicago TV over Milwaukee (fewer logos & no needless interuptions for weather announcements).

Hope this helps you a bit.