# Switching to OTA



## kevinturcotte (Dec 19, 2006)

I'm highly considering switching to OTA and completely canceling Directv, but have some questions.
First, the Echostar TR50 OTA DVR appears to be what I want. Any idea when this will be released?
Second, antennaweb.org is basically telling me I need 2 different antennas to pull everything in. For 2 of the channels, they recommend a small multi-directional antenna WITHOUT Pre-Amp. However, some of the other channels require a large directional with pre-amp. What do I do in that case?
Third, stations are in different directions. Is this going to be a problem if I want it to operate like Directv does now? I don't want to have to remember to move the antenna when something is scheduled to record.
Last, I assume to ATSC tuner will pull in VHF? We have a couple of stations here that will go back to their VHF frequencies after Feb 17.


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## ziggy29 (Nov 18, 2004)

First of all, I'd recommend using TVFool.com and posting the results here -- perhaps both now and after 2/17/09.

Then we can see the channels involved, whether they will be VHF or UHF and what their direction and signal strength are.

You might also try over at avsforum.com; there are a lot of people over there who are helpful with new OTA installs.


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## Scott in FL (Mar 18, 2008)

I'll answer the easy question first: Yes, your ATSC tuner will receive both UHF and VHF.

A mix of strong and weak signals arriving from different directions is one of the more challenging scenarios, but it can be done successfully. If you provide your zip code I'll take a look at tvfool.com and try to help.


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## Scott in FL (Mar 18, 2008)

ziggy29 said:


> First of all, I'd recommend using TVFool.com and posting the results here -- perhaps both now and after 2/17/09.


Whoops... sorry. I didn't read all of Ziggy's post. This is a better idea: post the results from tvfool.com so everyone can help.


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## kevinturcotte (Dec 19, 2006)

This is what I got. First pic is current, and 2nd pic is post transistion.


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## ziggy29 (Nov 18, 2004)

They're all over the place. Is a rotor an option for you? 

Also, of the ones listed here, are there ones you could live without if it would simplify the configuration?


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## kevinturcotte (Dec 19, 2006)

HAVE to have 6 (NBC) 8 (ABC) & 23 (FOX). 51 (CW) would be nice. Others I don't particularly care about, but nice if I could have them.
I really don't want to mess with a rotor if I don't have to. I won't remember to move it when it comes time for the DVR to record a program.


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## ziggy29 (Nov 18, 2004)

Interesting that your Fox affiliate shows up as still analog-only.

To me it looks like you'll need two antennas -- a long-range UHF/VHF directional to pick up 23 and 10, and perhaps a medium multidirectional to pick up most of the remaining UHF stations. (Your PBS channel 10 is really on 17 now, but will move to 10 in February.) You can join these into one line and you may want to put the joined signals through a pre-amp, but you might want to test the strength of the signals before making the effort and investment.

When your ABC moves from UHF to VHF in February -- from 46 to 8 -- you might be able to just join a good pair of VHF set-top rabbit ears to the rest of the line with something like a jointenna for channel 8. If you don't like the aesthetics of the rabbit ears, depending on which outdoor antennas you select you may instead want to opt for a UHF antenna that has at least a little bit of high VHF gain, and that might be enough to lock in channel 8.

I'd leave the specific antenna recommendations to others. I'd put more emphasis on true multidirectional capability than absolute gain for the UHF multidirectional, since all the different directions in your situation can be a challenge for many multidirectionals. Better to have gain in all directions that can be increased with a pre-amp than have slightly better gain in some directions but little to none in others.


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## kevinturcotte (Dec 19, 2006)

23 (FOX) is another fun problem. They won't be digital until Feb 17th. Will the TR-50 pick up their analog signal, or would I be without that channel until Feb 17th?


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## Scott in FL (Mar 18, 2008)

The TR-50 will receive analog and digital. I had a look at the FCC data base and indeed Fox won't go digital until February.

I think what I would do is put up a good quality, but not huge or expensive, UHF antenna in the direction of Fox/CW/CBS. The Channel Master CM-4221 is a good choice with nice gain but not too directional. If you point it towards Fox and CBS at about 60 degrees it should pick up CW as well. This won't receive PBS on channel 10, so if you want PBS use the Antennacraft HBU22. This is a nice UHF/Hi-VHF antenna, but it's larger and more expensive than the UHF only Channel Master.

For ABC and NBC I'd use the Antennacraft AC9. I use this model and get great reception with VHF and UHF transmitters 30 miles away (no pre-amp, split 3 ways), so it should do very well in your case. It's small and cheap, and you can make it even smaller by removing the longest VHF element (you won't need it for channel 8). Point it roughly halfway between ABC and NBC (about 300 degrees).

With these two antennas I think you'll have sufficient signal strength that you can combine them (use a 50 - 900 MHz 2-way splitter/combiner that will pass DC) and not need any pre-amp(s). If you do need a pre-amp, you can try one at the Fox/CW/CBS antenna. The problem with putting one pre-amp after the combiner is the combiner loss will degrade the pre-amp's noise figure by about 3.5 dB. That's a lot, and unless you have a long cable run after the splitter, or spit the feed to multiple tv's, a pre-amp here is pretty worthless. I'm also concerned that the nearby ABC and NBC transmitters might overload the pre-amp, so try it without first.

Total cost for the two antennas and combiner will be about $75. You might have to play with it to make it work, but that's where I'd start.


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## kevinturcotte (Dec 19, 2006)

Anybody else have any antenna recommendations? I'll probably be purchasing them next week.
Nothing against you Scott. Just like lots of opinions.


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## jsk (Dec 27, 2006)

Too bad that E* isn't going to make DTV receivers that support Smart Antennas.


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