Buying the correct antenna

[Verna]

I'm looking to buy an antenna for my dorm room and need to know which will work best for me. A lot of people have bought one and can only pick a few channels, most are fuzzy. I am on the 4th floor with not too many tall buildings nearby, just a huge tree almost right outside my window. I am roughly 40 miles away from Chicago. I can only use an indoor antenna. Any suggestions? I have a HDTV.

[dkay62]

40 Miles away is probably too far away for an indoor antenna to do the job properly. That being said, you do have a lot of height working in you favor so it might be worth a try. The best antenna I have ever used indoors for HDTV is a product called the Zenith Silver Sensor. I have tried 6 or so other amplified and unamplified products and non did any better than this unit. Some came close, but none were better. And the price of this unit is hard to beat.
You can turn this small weird looking antenna to improve gain. It is highly directional so it might require a bit of adjusting on a flat surface to bring in a steady HD signal. I would avoid the gimick amplified antennas or amplifier boxes as these have proved for me to be just hoopla.

Click Link:

http://www.zenith.com/index.asp?url=./sub_search/search.asp?fldKeywords=silver%20sensor

I bought my antenna at a local store for around $20. You might want to call a few electronic retailers as this is a popular unit and should be easy to locate.
Good Luck.

[redwudz]

I've never had much luck with indoor antennas for HDTV unless you are very close to the transmitter. The first place to go is: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx They will tell you what you need for an antenna.

I went with a 'flycatcher' type of flat outdoor antenna sitting in a corner of my apartment. It's big, around 42 inches square, but a smaller one may do. If you have a weak signal where you are and don't have the option of a outside antenna, it's a good alternative. There are smaller models, but still over 36" square. Just sit it in the corner and think of it as a modern art sculpture.


http://www.lashen.com/vendors/winegard/pdf/pr-8800.pdf These are usually about $40US. I wasted much more than that on bogus 'indoor' antennas that worked about as well as a cheap pair of 'rabbit ears'. If you find the model that will work for you, do a Google search. Some suppliers have them for less than the list prices.

[Verna]

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx - It says I need a Medium Directional w/ pre-amp...

In regards to the outdoor antenna you suggested... I would buy the outdoor antenna and put it inside?

[redwudz]

That's what I have done. I clamped it on a floor lamp. My apartment faces the wrong way to the transmitters, and there is no place to mount the antenna outside even if I wanted. It might be overkill, but it sounds like a regular indoor antenna won't do it for you.

You won't get a poor or noisy picture with HDTV. It either gets a good picture or none at all. If you have a good selection of channels and they have true HD, it's pretty impressive on a HD TV. HDTV is generally in the UHF band and you need a UHF type of antenna. The flat type of antenna takes up less space than the regular Yagi (Long type) of antenna. An amplifier is optional and may help also.

In a pinch, hanging a 8 to 10 foot wire out the window may work also and may be worth a quick try. Works better than some indoor antennas,

[Verna]

I don't think I would have enough room for an outdoor antenna to place inside, I just don't have the room.

In a pinch, hanging a 8 to 10 foot wire out the window may work also and may be worth a quick try. Works better than some indoor antennas,

Meaning running a long cord to the ground where you place the antenna? If that's the case I'll ask if I'm allowed too but if not, what do you suggest I go with?

[redwudz]

No, not to the ground, the piece of wire itself would be the antenna. If you have a window facing the transmitters, it sometimes works. The best alternative for just experimenting is a cheap pair of 'rabbit ears' type of antenna. If you can get a signal on one of the stronger channels, then it might be worth a little more investment. You can probably pick up a pair for a couple of dollars at a big box retailer like Walmart or similar.

The Zenith antenna like dkay62 mentions works fairly well in strong signal areas, but may not do much where you are. I have one, but the rabbit ears worked just as well.

Unfortunately you usually need an antenna that takes up some space when you are in a fringe area for reception. Amplifiers don't help much unless they have a signal to work with.

[Verna]

I tried two different types of rabbit ears from walmart and although one worked better than the other, i could really only pick up ABC and NBC; ABC was the only real channel that came in clear.

Just looking around I came across this. It seems small and looks like it will work. Any thoughts?
http://www.antennasdirect.com/DB4_HDTV_antenna.html

And also, my window is in the general direction of the transmitters too if that helps at all.

[Verna]

See post above.

[elister]

Very happy with my DB4 that I got from antennasdirect.

[SingSing]

Are you using this to pick up HDTV broadcast ?

I read HDTV over the air is much less forgiving than analog TV. Do we need antenna rotator to pick up HDTV over the air ?

[edDV]

Are you using this to pick up HDTV broadcast ?

I read HDTV over the air is much less forgiving than analog TV. Do we need antenna rotator to pick up HDTV over the air ?

It all depends on your local (at your street address) situation. Local topography can make reception differ one block to the next.

www.antennaweb.org factors topography, transmitter power, distanceand direction to predict reception at your house with various antennas. This site is an Intel-TitanTV (major player) service.

Everyone in the USA should keep in mind that in 2009 when analog is shut off, many stations will be changing real (not virtual) channels and upping transmitter power. This will happen in other countries as they make the change to all digital.

[redwudz]

Verna. that looks like a good compromise and will certainly work better than most any of those small settop type antennas. If your HDTV receiver shows signal strength and you have some stations that 'almost' come in, then maybe a amplifier would help also, but I would try it by itself first.

SingSing, It depends on where your HDTV stations are located if you need a rotator. That's what the Antennaweb site will tell you. The flat type of antennas have a wider pattern than most of the Yagi (Long type) of antennas. But they do have good rejection from signals coming from behind the antenna.

HDTV usually works or it doesn't. You don't get 'snow' with a weak signal. At best it just comes in for a few seconds then drops out if you have a marginal signal. It also doesn't have problems with 'ghosts' or reflections. With my HDTV card in my computer, I need a signal better than 50% strength or I get nothing. But our local transmitters aren't running full power at present, so it should improve. My local stations don't have much true HDTV format, so I watch DVDs more than I do the HDTV channels.

[Verna]

Any thoughts on this?

http://www.amazon.com/AudioVox-HDTVO-HDtv-Antenna-Amplified/dp/B0009W9WHQ/ref=pd_lpo_k...outThisProduct

Thanks for everyone's help.