# Need advice please



## airplane1 (Sep 17, 2005)

Hi all,

I am wanting to buy a new TV 27''-36'' Flat CRT and want to know what I need to look for to be ready for all the changes taking place.I believe from what I read on here I will need a UHF antenna if I understand correctly cause VHF is going away but then I hear when the stations are finished with analog there going back to old channels so will I need VHF too?

Any way I want to know what I need to be ready, I have no problems with mounting anything on my house cause i`m in the country and dont have any rules to follow.

I just want to get it right the fist time because of limited funds.

I also have a 40ft tower to mount an antenna on. 

Please help me, I am new to this and dont understand all this vast info. 

Thanks,
Roger


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## Jeff McClellan (Apr 22, 2002)

First thing I would do is go here. 
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

Type in your address and look for what direction your stations are and the distants to them. Based on tht it will help to dtermine what type of antenna you need, if a rotor is required. So start there and lets us know.


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## airplane1 (Sep 17, 2005)

Here are the stations It shows, these are VHF and UHF.

I wanted to get WB17 from Philly PA but it dont show up on here When I type in my street address but when I type just my zip 17038 it shows up.



red - uhf WLYH 15 UPN LANCASTER PA 190° 10.5 15 
* red - uhf WLYH-DT 15.1 UPN LANCASTER PA 190° 10.5 23 
* red - vhf WHP-DT 21.1 CBS HARRISBURG PA 268° 21.6 4 
red - uhf WHTM 27 ABC HARRISBURG PA 266° 26.2 27 
* red - vhf WHTM-DT 27.1 ABC HARRISBURG PA 266° 26.2 10 
red - uhf WITF 33 PBS HARRISBURG PA 268° 21.5 33 
* red - uhf WITF-DT 33.1 PBS HARRISBURG PA 268° 21.5 36 
red - uhf WHP 21 CBS HARRISBURG PA 268° 21.6 21 
blue - uhf WTVE 51 IND READING PA 109° 30.3 51 
blue - uhf W35BT 35 FMN HARRISBURG PA 266° 29.3 35 
blue - vhf WGAL 8 NBC LANCASTER PA  208° 27.4 8 
* violet - uhf WGAL-DT 8.1 NBC LANCASTER PA 208° 27.4 58 
violet - uhf WGCB 49 IND RED LION PA 201° 35.7 49 
violet - uhf WFMZ 69 IND ALLENTOWN PA 90° 55.1 69 
violet - uhf WJAL 68 IND HAGERSTOWN MD 257° 86.9 68 
violet - uhf WPMT 43 FOX YORK PA 206° 27.7 43 
violet - uhf WLVT 39 PBS ALLENTOWN PA 90° 55.3 39 
violet - uhf W24CS 24 PBS READING PA


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## Jeff McClellan (Apr 22, 2002)

If you are going digital only:
red - uhf WLYH-DT 15.1 UPN LANCASTER PA 179° 12.6 23 
* red - vhf WHP-DT 21.1 CBS HARRISBURG PA 262° 19.9 4 
* red - vhf WHTM-DT 27.1 ABC HARRISBURG PA 261° 24.5 10 
* red - uhf WITF-DT 33.1 PBS HARRISBURG PA 262° 19.8 36 
* red - uhf WGAL-DT 8.1 NBC LANCASTER PA 202° 28.6 58 
* red - uhf WPMT-DT 43.1 FOX YORK PA 200° 28.9 47 
Then a roof mount with a Channel Master 4221 or Antennas Direct DB-4 would work. NBC will be your toughest based on frequency assignment. Would also use a preamp. From there, you will need to use RG-6 cable down to a ground splitter and then into your home.


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## Jeff McClellan (Apr 22, 2002)

Actually I would try it without the preamp first and add it later if needed.


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## Jeff McClellan (Apr 22, 2002)

Are you using your on tuner on a Dish receiver.


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## Jeff McClellan (Apr 22, 2002)

and for the best advice, go here.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=121763&highlight=lancaster


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## airplane1 (Sep 17, 2005)

All I have now is a 20'' plain old tv with rabit ears and get ch8,15,21,27,33,43 and 51. I want to get a new tv so I can get all digital channels and be ready for the complete change over. 

So I need help on what to look for in a tv to be ready. Do I need a digital box or can I buy a tv without getting a box?

I want a tv in the 27'' or a little bigger range.

Thanks,
Roger


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## Jeff McClellan (Apr 22, 2002)

Are you going with DBS, cable or just the antenna.


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## Jeff McClellan (Apr 22, 2002)

If it is just a tv, I would suggest you go to your local Best Buy or Circuit city and talk to them. They can show you all the different display types and in the price range you are seeking.


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## airplane1 (Sep 17, 2005)

All I want is ota broadcast(antenna).

If cable/ dish would ofer a person to choose the channel they want I would go back.

I`m just tired of paying high cost for 50 channels I dont watch.

Thanks for the help,
Roger


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Roger -- since you plan to go exclusively with ota broadcasting, look for a receiver with built-in ATSC tuner. Realize if you go with a CRT based receiver, you'll have a heavy beast (30 inchers weigh over 100 pounds. My Sony 32 inch HD monitor weighs in at 176 pounds). Expect to pay $800 plus for most major brands. However, you can find Sanyo 32 inch receivers with integrated HD tuners at Wall-Mart for under $700 as I recall.
You might want to look at LCD TV's as well. If you are a member of Sam's Club or Costco, you can find 32 inch receivers by Vizio and Maxent for around $800. Also, the current issue of Consumer Reports has reviews of TV's. Definitely worth looking into.


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## KKlare (Sep 24, 2004)

Commenting on DT only. The channel number quoted include 15 and 15.1 and thus are the remapped channels. Also 8 and 8.1 for NBC makes "NBC will be your toughest" by Jeff McClellan, may be incorrect as it is on channel 58 at 27 miles but it is on a different line--so he may be right.

The vhf-DT signal especially channels 2-6 will be tough on a UHF-only antenna. To determine UHF vs VHF antenna for OTA-digital you need the un-remapped numbers, listed last on the line like 58. But because 58 will be going away, they are likely to revert to 8 for the digital. (Edit: may be wrong on that number.) You need to check local AVS boards for your area to see where the broadcaster will end up, or call the b'casters.

They may be suggesting high-gain (red and violet) antennas if you said one-story house. A different story for that tower or even a second story. You should get by with a lot less for 10-20 mile sources. 87-mile is not do-able, probably. Certainly without the full tower and a serious preamp, which would be overloaded by the others. At the distances below and with a little elevation the sizes below are too much unless they are at very low power and will stay there, unlikely. I'm at 49-mile line of sight and get all the DT well. Well, it helps that their towers are at say 10000 ft (4500 Albuquerque elev) and I'm at 7300 and most are up to power, al least for evenings.

With unmapped channels 4.1 and 10.1 you will need a UHF-VHF antenna.

-Ken

Your current DT list:
* red - uhf WLYH-DT 15.1 UPN LANCASTER PA 190° 10.5 23 
* red - vhf WHP-DT 21.1 CBS HARRISBURG PA 268° 21.6 4 
* red - vhf WHTM-DT 27.1 ABC HARRISBURG PA 266° 26.2 10 
* red - uhf WITF-DT 33.1 PBS HARRISBURG PA 268° 21.5 36 
* violet - uhf WGAL-DT 8.1 NBC LANCASTER PA 208° 27.4 58


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## arxaw (Jul 13, 2003)

A UHF antenna will probably work fine for the ABC station on highband VHF ch 10, but not the CBS station on lowband VHF ch 4.

So yes, the OP needs a VHF+UHF antenna.


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## airplane1 (Sep 17, 2005)

Thank you everyone for all the great advice/help for my OTA setup. I am getting a uhf/vhf antenna so when the change to vhf in 09 I will be set. I am getting a sanyo 32in from wal-mart and just need a Digital tunner? I dont know of a good one because I am new to all this so any help in this area would be great. 

I dont want anything real expensive but I want good lower cost receiver.

any ideas?

thanks,
Roger


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## arxaw (Jul 13, 2003)

airplane1 said:


> ... I am getting a sanyo 32in from wal-mart and just need a Digital tunner?


If it's this TV, or similar one that says it comes with "integrated digital ATSC tuner" you don't need anything else, since it comes with analog & digital tuners built in.

Just run RG6 coax from the antenna to the TV, aim the antenna toward the towers ( per antennaweb.org ) and follow the TV's instructions to scan for OTA channels. Make sure you properly ground both the mast and the coax to your electrical ground source, to meet codes and lower the odds of a lightning hit to the antenna. You'll need a coax grounding block to ground the coax.

If you have a very long coax run, you may need to add a LOW NOISE preamp like this one by Channel Master.


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