# Indoor Antenna Recommendation?



## corn4ahead

I live about 25 miles away from the nearest CBS, FOX, and ABC stations. I verified this information on tvfool. I have tried two different OTA indoor antennas from Walmart. One was an RCA one and the other was a GE amplified one. They both pick up ABC but neither picked up the FOX or CBS station. Does anyone have any recommendations of indoor antennas that may do the job. I need to have an indoor one because I live in an apartment. Thanks for your help.


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## RBA

corn4ahead said:


> I live about 25 miles away from the nearest CBS, FOX, and ABC stations. I verified this information on tvfool. I have tried two different OTA indoor antennas from Walmart. One was an RCA one and the other was a GE amplified one. They both pick up ABC but neither picked up the FOX or CBS station. Does anyone have any recommendations of indoor antennas that may do the job. I need to have an indoor one because I live in an apartment. Thanks for your help.


Ok besides in an apartment, where do you live it helps to know what you are trying to receive. Can you post your TV fool or at least give us a zipcode? What is your building constructed of, 1st floor, 2nd floor etc. what direction are the broadcast towers from you? Are you by any chance looking to get signals through the walls of another apartment?


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## Cholly

Recently, Consumer Reports did testing on 10 popular indoor antennas, both amplified and unampliified. They found the RCA ANT1650 Amplified and Antennas Direct CSM1-XG amplified antenna to give the best performance. The Antnnas Direct antenna is available directly, on Amazon and at some club stores..


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## harsh

As RBA hints, line-of-sight is probably going to come into play. If you can't see a good distance out of any of your windows towards the broadcast towers, an indoor antenna (even the best one) probably isn't going to help much.

You may have to live with not being able to get most of your OTA channels.


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## KyL416

Cholly said:


> Recently, Consumer Reports did testing on 10 popular indoor antennas, both amplified and unampliified. They found the RCA ANT1650 Amplified and Antennas Direct CSM1-XG amplified antenna to give the best performance. The Antnnas Direct antenna is available directly, on Amazon and at some club stores..


All that testing is pointless and misleading since there is no one size fits all when it comes to antennas. There are way too many variables that can change from house to house in some cases, terrain issues, distance from the tower, VHF vs UHF, obstructions, multipath interference, co-channel and adjacent channel interference, airports, etc. Throw an indoor antenna into the mix then you have to deal with where the antenna is located, your roofing and siding material, how many floors you have, any potential sources of interference among other things.

Like RBA said, it would help if the OP would post a link to their TV Fool readout (hopefully they entered a height so it can account for which floor they're on), if their apartment is facing the towers or if its in the opposite direction as well as if their apartment is one of the taller buildings in the immediate area or if they're surrounded by other tall buildings.


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## Supramom2000

I use the HD Blade from Solid Signal.


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## corn4ahead

RBA said:


> Ok besides in an apartment, where do you live it helps to know what you are trying to receive. Can you post your TV fool or at least give us a zipcode? What is your building constructed of, 1st floor, 2nd floor etc. what direction are the broadcast towers from you? Are you by any chance looking to get signals through the walls of another apartment?


It's in 44240. The broadcasting towers are northwest of me near the Cleveland area. My building is aluminum siding and its on the first floor. Its actually a garage of a house converted into an apartment so its not in a complex. I have a relatively clear view to the northwest but the south is obstructed by trees and such.

Let me also say that with my current antenna, I am still picking up like 30 some channels, just not CBS and FOX which is rather troubling.

Tvfool link.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d46ae5a90b86740


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## KyL416

Cleveland's Fox and CBS affiliates are VHF stations, based on the TV fool output you'll have a hard time getting them with an indoor antenna, especially on the first floor.

Make sure your antenna is a combo VHF/UHF model and try putting it higher up like on a bookshelf if you can.


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## RBA

Aluminum siding will decrease your signal considerably, the higher the better your reception will be. Do you have access to the attic over the garage or even better the main house? If you do Try an Antennacraft HBU-22 UHF/VHF antenna it is less than 6ft and should be better than an indoor antenna. Should be cheap on the internet and also available from Radio Shack.


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## corn4ahead

No, I don't have any attic or anything like that. All I have is a tall shelf. I actually have a DirecTV dish but I'm trying to use an am21 off air tuner. So hypothetically I could get an outdoor antenna and attach it to the dish but then I would have to run another cable. Also, outdoor antennas are more than I want to spend. I'm trying to stay under $40 here.


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## RBA

corn4ahead said:


> No, I don't have any attic or anything like that. All I have is a tall shelf. I actually have a DirecTV dish but I'm trying to use an am21 off air tuner. So hypothetically I could get an outdoor antenna and attach it to the dish but then I would have to run another cable. Also, outdoor antennas are more than I want to spend. I'm trying to stay under $40 here.


A google search of HBU22 brought up ads from Summit Source $26.95 to Newegg.com $37.19 at least 5 under $40. There is most likely an attic over the garage but access is in main house. Take your current indoor antenna outside and extend the cable if needed then rescan to see how much signal you are loosing to the aluminum siding. If you have Directv Fox and CBS should be part of your programming package.


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## Jim5506

You have stronger signal from the ESE toward Youngstown than you get from Cleveland, even though Cleveland is about 10 miles closer.

Without a real antenna outside up about 20-25 feet your reception will continue to be spotty.

With an indoor antenna, just a person walking around the room can adversely effect your signal and cause drop outs.

With your aluminum siding, well, that makes things even worse.

Find a way to place an antenna outside, maybe on a 10' pole or the like.


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## kenglish

Also, on VHF, you are likely getting lots of interference from stuff indoors. Look at some of the inactive VHF channels (2-13) with the TV set for analog....you should see just "pure" snow. If you see jagged lines, chevrons, bars of darker/lighter static, you're seeing interference. Try eliminating the possible sources, one at a time. Most likely culprits are computers and their peripherals (routers, etc), and battery chargers and power supplies.
Some newer appliances may also cause interference.
Also, the TV itself can cause interference...try keepingthe antenna as far as possible from the set.


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## corn4ahead

RBA said:


> Aluminum siding will decrease your signal considerably, the higher the better your reception will be. Do you have access to the attic over the garage or even better the main house? If you do Try an Antennacraft HBU-22 UHF/VHF antenna it is less than 6ft and should be better than an indoor antenna. Should be cheap on the internet and also available from Radio Shack.


 Yeah, I see that. I just connected my antenna to a long coax cable and brought it outside and the stations came in so clear and crisp. All i did was hold the antenna above my head and that was the solution. So, I am thinking that the culprit is the aluminum siding.

So now here is my next question. What is a good, inexpensive outdoor antenna that is easy to install. (ie can just put it on a pole or screw into the side of the house)


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## RBA

corn4ahead said:


> Yeah, I see that. I just connected my antenna to a long coax cable and brought it outside and the stations came in so clear and crisp. All i did was hold the antenna above my head and that was the solution. So, I am thinking that the culprit is the aluminum siding.
> 
> So now here is my next question. What is a good, inexpensive outdoor antenna that is easy to install. (ie can just put it on a pole or screw into the side of the house)


Already told you HBU22 by antennacraft from $26


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## corn4ahead

RBA said:


> Already told you HBU22 by antennacraft from $26


Where can I install this? My landlord will not allow to be placed on roof.


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## RBA

RBA said:


> Already told you HBU22 by antennacraft from $26





corn4ahead said:


> Yeah, I see that. I just connected my antenna to a long coax cable and brought it outside and the stations came in so clear and crisp. All i did was hold the antenna above my head and that was the solution. So, I am thinking that the culprit is the aluminum siding.
> 
> So now here is my next question. What is a good, inexpensive outdoor antenna that is easy to install. (ie can just put it on a pole or screw into the side of the house)


Your last line sounds like you already have the idea.


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## corn4ahead

How large is the HBU22. I havent bought it yet but it seems to be rather large...


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## jimmie57

corn4ahead said:


> Yeah, I see that. I just connected my antenna to a long coax cable and brought it outside and the stations came in so clear and crisp. All i did was hold the antenna above my head and that was the solution. So, I am thinking that the culprit is the aluminum siding.
> 
> So now here is my next question. What is a good, inexpensive outdoor antenna that is easy to install. (ie can just put it on a pole or screw into the side of the house)


I used to use a cyclone fence top pipe for a pole and screw it to the side of the house with about 2 feet of it stuck into the ground.
It is about 15 foot long pipe and it is galvanized.

Edit: these are shorter or maybe I used 2 of them since they have one end that will slide into the next one.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/YARDGARD-10-1-2-ft-17-Gauge-Steel-Top-Rail-for-Chain-Link-Fence-328913DPT/100322532#.UjoF1L4o57g


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## corn4ahead

Anyone know anything about the RCA ANT700R indoor/outdoor amplified antenna. I can pick it up at Walmart and it looks very compact in size. What do you all think of that?


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## Cholly

A better choice would be the RCA 1650R flat panel antenna, currently on sale at Radio Shack for $49.99. It was the top rated indoor antenna tested at 12 different locations around NYC.


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## Jim5506

Best indoor antenna is a small outdoor antenna mounted inside.


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## corn4ahead

Jim5506 said:


> Best indoor antenna is a small outdoor antenna mounted inside.


I need to keep my antenna outside. I need something small and easy to set up. That's why I asked about the ANT700R.


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## RBA

corn4ahead said:


> I need to keep my antenna outside. I need something small and easy to set up. That's why I asked about the ANT700R.


Walmart has a liberal return policy buy 1 and try it if it doesn't work return it.


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## DirecTV

If you confirm that no indoor will solve your problem:
WineGard MS-1000
Omni-OutDoor-NonPowered-HiVHF/UHF:
Since you already have a dish installed, can be mounted onto the dish mast, and use one-half of a dual coax for a clean installation.

http://www.dbstalk.com/topic/203989-combining-antennas-aiming-opposite-locations/?p=3132903


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## sregener

I've heard good things about the Terk FDTVO.


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## RossW

I just joined DBSTalk and I'll give what I have found to be the best solution for me with indoor antennas. I live in Toronto on the ninth floor of an apartment building and I facing north. I found the Terk UHF indoor antenna to be the best for me as it is amplified and I get most channels from Buffalo NY with it. I was very surprised to be able to get almost all the Buffalo channels because I face north and Buffalo is almost directly south from me. The only problem channels I have is with channels 2–1,2–2 and 2–3 because of their transmitter location and power. It all depends on the time of day,where the sun is and types of weather on either side of Lake Ontario. I found the winter to be the best time to receive the stations with almost no dropouts until spring came and the sun's position seemed to affect the reception at certain times of day. I found that just after 1 PM the signal all of a sudden dropped out on me, but later in the afternoon I could receive the same channels with a stronger signal strength. Moving the antenna up or down or tilting at either direction sometimes would bring it back but other times the signal was completely gone. So I think my reception is due to a reflected signal because I am facing north and that reflected signal is more so affected by the sun than anything else. Overcast days seem to give me better reception and more reliable on these channels.


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