[CTSARA] Off-Air TV-How to

[Jonathan Solomon]

Hi Everyone.

First, check out www.antennaweb.org .  This is a good reference and can help you towards a good decision.  You might need to massage the address to get a good listing of stations.

There is nothing very special about HD broadcast, other than it is digital and not analog.  So, just like every other digital signal, you either got it, or you don't.  Just like HF, an analog TV signal may come and go, but might be enough to get the information you need. Digital doesn't come and go.  It just is.

With that said, given our location in SW CT, a directional (Yagi) antenna pointed towards the Empire State Building will get you some good signals.  Or point towards Hartford.  /Most/ channels have been relocated to the UHF frequencies.  So, for exampe, "Channel 2" is really RF channel 33.

That RF channel number, frequency and and /overall/ bandwidth band hasn't changed.  At least not yet.

Like any RF reception, the better antenna, the better the signal.  You want something that covers at LEAST UHF channels 14-54, but 7-54 would be better.

Also, most new TVs have digital tuners built in, so you can receive true HD without the converter box.  BTW, you will see the best HD picture possible using antenna (assuming you have good reception!).  Better than cable, better than Dish.  HD channels contain multiple sub channels and are labeled by their OLD RF channel numbers.  So CBS-HD (what you would watch CSI on) is 2.1.  It's first subchannel is 2.2, etc.  When you scan the RF channels, the converter automatically detects the main channel and displays it as such.

For what it's worth, my 40m 1/2 wave dipole at about 25' gets WABC with no amp! 

Let us know how you make out, and if you need any additional help!

Jon
W3EIC

Sent from my iPad

On Dec 4, 2012, at 3:01 PM, bbwg1hm at earthlink.net wrote:

> Hi All,
> I'm fed up with the cable TV racket and would like to get back on an antenna. I would like to hear how others have done and
> what I'll need in the way of antenna sensitivity,etc. Ihave decoder boxes, but the old skyhooks in my junk pile don't seem to
> pull enough signal. I live in South Norwalk just north of the Manresa power plant.
>                                                                                   Bill  WG1HM  TNX
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