We live far enough out that our only option is satellite TV. For many years we did without then we decided to give it a try and now, a few years later, I look at the bill and figure what I pay for tv. It really is obsurd. We pay about $800 yr and that is not the high end package.

I am thinking about doing away with the satellite and going back to a standard antenna.

What are you guys using ? I have an electric pole that used to hold my wifi receiver that I plan on using for the antenna.

Unless you're close to the broadcast, antennas may not do you much good.. Once they all switched to digital broadcasts, it limited the range by about 50-60% of what you could get with analog..

I'm 30 miles from the Shoreview Towers where most of the Twin Cities broadcasts from and I can get those.. But the one I really want to get (CH-13 Eau Claire) is impossible now. It's about 50 miles east..

I'm interested in this also. We had cable, then satellite and recently got rid of all of it. We just have Netflix and an indoor antenna now (not sure on the make) - it works okay, but not great. We get a handful of channels but reception cuts in and out on some. I don't miss cable / satellite at all (except some of the ESPN stuff once in a while). There was a thread here not too long ago that discussed antennas - indoor vs. outdoor, etc. A search might bring that back up...

1) Do a scan for your address.
2) Use Titan TV for your "TV Guide"...(in the link)
3) Antenna info is in the link as well.

https://www.antennaweb.org/

Just did a search and results were up to 44 channels could be viewed using that setup. That's very tempting.

Thanks for posting that link.

4 Stations/13 channels here

This thread is a couple years old, but has some info and links:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/8902972/1

^This.

And this: https://www.amazon.com/GET-Digital-...mp;keywords=digital+amplified+tv+antenna

Or other powered/amplified digital TV antenna.

I'm guessing you can't get Lynchburg either...

7[your fav ]
10
13
15

I get
7
10
15
27
38

No way to get 13

My bad,
it was 27[not 13].

Digital TV actually gets along with lower signal levels than the old analog TV. That's because the data stream uses an error correcting code, and because the bandwidth of the signal is narrower.

There is no such thing as an HDTV antenna. Antennas cannot tell the difference between an analog signal and a digital signal.

As a quick and dirty test, hook a short piece of TV cable to your antenna jack, and 2-3 ft piece of wire to the coax center conductor, with the free end of the wire attached to the cable outer conductor to form a loop antenna. On the TV menu, choose the antenna as your input, and have the TV do a scan to see what it detects. If you can detect a few channels, that's very promising.

A good general purpose antenna for HDTV is one with two "bow ties", one above the other, and a reflector screen behind them (~$50). If your channel detection test didn't detect anything, you may want to go to a four bow tie antenna.

You will almost surely want an amplifier at the antenna. They are cheap, and they get their power via the coax. They are important because coax is fairly lossy at UHF, and without an amplifier, only a fraction of the signal will make it down the pipe to your TV.

We ditched cable. We enjoyed it, but not $105 per month worth. We're happy with free broadcast TV and Netflix and Amazon Prime.

0 stations, 0 channels

http://www.channelmaster.com/Outdoor_Antennas_s/20.htm

Look into translator (relay stations) in your area that rebroadcast TV from Wichita, KC, or Joplin.

We get the same stations as Anchorage, but via local translator stations.

My house is a little northeast of Martinsville, VA. I have one of these on the chimney aimed at the Winston-Salem/Greensboro area and get about 30 channels in the summer and a few more in the winter.

https://www.amazon.com/ClearStream-Indoor-Outdoor-Antenna-Mount/dp/B007RH5GZI

I’m thinking about adding a pre-amplifier to see if it will pick up a few more channels.

Same set up we've got here.

Denton: I disagree with your analysis. At my remote cabin prior to the switch to digital I had access to numerous stations. Reception was at times poor but we always got audio even if the picture was snowy. Since the the switch to analog we only get 2 channels and both are PBS. Digital is all or nothing. Either a good picture or NO SIGNAL but nothing in between.

The link is to the manufacturer of the antenna I use in upper northern Wisconsin. The model I have is DT-XFAMP20-1(0-80+ miles). It is mounted atop a 25' antenna tower. These antennas are pretty compact compared to the old massive analog antennas I've used.

Though the claim is that 80+ miles, due to elevation and trees I can't get broadcast signals from those towers that are ~78 miles out. I do get the channels through closer repeater towers. Those towers are ~30-45 miles away.

Link to some pretty good antennas. http://digitenna.com/

Well, that sucks!

A couple of questions: What antenna are you using? How old is it? What kind of feedline are you using (coax or twinlead)? How long is it? Do you have an amplifier at the antenna?

Depending on your answers, I may be able to tell you how to get a lot better reception for extremely little effort.

I am a bit nervous about switching.

I assume that once we all switch from cable and satellite, those buggers will buy up all the "free" and low cost technology and they will be out to screw us again.

I have no idea what "net neutrality" means, but I bet we get screwed by it somehow with all these low cost tv options.

Depends on how much you like the unique cable shows.
If your wife likes "Knitting with Erma" you are screwed.

If you can do without the bells and whistles of cable, go for it if your scan results (see above) warrant it.

Even if you want to go "middle of the road" by using Sling TV, Hulu or Netflx, one thing is for sure....
Your monthly bill will be much less.

I'm primitive with a CRT and converter box but I can get a good channel selection out of Portland.
I watch most of my sports on the computer.
And NO monthly bills.
I'm seeing more old-time TV antennas popping up everywhere.

With a new "smart TV" it would be even better.

I scavenged and placed an old Direct TV dish directly behind my 'over the air' antenna and vastly improved my reception. I figured if the dish collected and concentrated satellite signals, it would do the same to regular TV signal.

It worked for me...

https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps You can check out what is available, we have an RCA flat antenna under the eves and get good reception on channels 60 miles away on most days

This.... HDTV antenna is a marketing ploy nothing more..

The only reason we have cable is for internet access, and I'd gladly get rid of cable if we had other internet options.

Not having TV is a good thing, can't wait to get or build an off the grid cabin.

here in Gainesville, a simple GE brand indoor antenna brings in about a dozen 'channels'. Down in Miami in the condo, the same antenna system brings in almost 70. I think I paid about $25 each for the little antennas.

Smart idea !

They did the same years ago marketing 'special' color TV antennas, then digital, and now HD antennas.

.

I stopped watching broadcast TV about 10 years ago. Don't miss it at all. Whenever we stay in a hotel I am amazed at having 50 or so channels on which there is nothing worth watching. What little TV we do watch is over the internet, where we can get pretty much anything we actually want, without commercials, for less money than cable TV. And we need the internet anyway.

My antenna came from Radio Shack about thirty years ago. it is on a pole outside about twenty feet off the ground. The arms spread out to about 24 inches and the whole thing is about 36 inches long.

I am approximately sixty miles from the broadcast towers near Boise. But I have a direct line of sight.

We can select from nearly fifty different channels since the switch to digital TV.