# cheapest antenna I can use to get HD OTA?



## hakaveli (Jan 24, 2007)

I want to get OTA locals, but the HD ones specifically. We have direcTV and do not get KUSI which is a local and exclusive channel to san diego. For some reason, KUSI OTA appears to require a MEDIUM-sized antenna even though its coordinates and distances are the same as other locals. All other locals appear to need a small-sized antenna, though. here are the coordinates and distances from 92126, my home zip code:

* yellow - uhf KGTV-DT 10.1 ABC SAN DIEGO CA 225° 8.5 miles
* yellow - uhf KPBS-DT 15.1 PBS SAN DIEGO CA 129° 18.1 miles
* yellow - uhf KNSD-DT 39.1 NBC SAN DIEGO CA 129° 18.1 miles
* yellow - uhf KSWB-DT 5.1 CW SAN DIEGO CA 131° 17.8 miles
* yellow - uhf KFMB-DT 8.1 CBS SAN DIEGO CA 224° 8.5 miles
* blue - uhf KUSI-DT 51.1 IND SAN DIEGO CA 129° 18.1 miles

blue= antennaweb suggests medium directional w/ pre-amp
yellow= antennaweb suggests small multi-directional


should i look for a small or medium antenna? should it be multidirectional or just directional? does it have to go outside the house? trying to spend as LITTLE as possible here and hope to keep everything indoors! but whatevers the best buy for me please let me know


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## kenglish (Oct 2, 2004)

Try something like a Silver Sensor. If that won't do it indoors, then I would go to something like a two-bay or 4-bay "bowtie and reflector" on a small (DBS Dish style) mounting bracket outside.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

> _"cheapest antenna I can use to get HD OTA?"_


 Rather than thinking "cheapest", why not look for the 'best', that is, the most _
suitable_ antenna for your purpose. After all we're talking HDTV here, not exactly
like watching tv on a 13" SD set. If you can afford HDTV, certainly you should
be able to justify the one-time cost of a good antenna.


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## nostar (Jun 22, 2003)

hakaveli said:


> KUSI OTA appears to require a MEDIUM-sized antenna even though its coordinates and distances are the same as other locals.


I think this is old info. KUSI was operating on low power STA, but is full power now.

I like the 4bay UHF that kenglish suggested. The stations are in different directions, however the stations that are only 8 miles from you may come in from the back of the antenna. Point the atenna towards the 129° location.

KUSI-TV Channel: 18 494 - 500 MHz 
Effective Radiated Power (ERP): 355. kW ERP

Antenna Height Above Average Terrain: 576. meters HAAT 
Antenna Height Above Mean Sea Level: 819. meters AMSL 
Antenna Height Above Ground Level: 52. meters AGL


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## hakaveli (Jan 24, 2007)

Nick said:


> Rather than thinking "cheapest", why not look for the 'best', that is, the most _
> suitable_ antenna for your purpose. After all we're talking HDTV here, not exactly
> like watching tv on a 13" SD set. If you can afford HDTV, certainly you should
> be able to justify the one-time cost of a good antenna.


i said WHATEVERS THE BEST BUY FOR ME is good... so THAT plus CHEAPEST means im looking for the best bargain that is _suitable_... just trying to not spend an outrageous amount.


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## Sharkie_Fan (Sep 26, 2006)

Your situation is a little different than mine, in that your stations are a little farther apart (roughly 90*, while mine are only 35*).

Here's what I'm using, I mounted it outside because I had a spare cable running into the house to that TV. I picked it up for about $20 (the auction link was just the first that came up in my search...). My stations are all roughly 20 miles from my house, and I get signal strengths of 100 on all of them.

I'm not sure if this antenna will give you a wide enough beam to get all your channels. I know a friend of mine who's using this same antenna in his house and gets very good results. Not sure how far he is from the transmissions, but he is in the SF Bay Area, so he has some buildings around him to contend with and still gets good results...

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-WINEGARD-GS...L-ANTENNA_W0QQitemZ200003647928QQcmdZViewItem


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## claymanhb (Mar 28, 2007)

hakaveli said:


> I want to get OTA locals, but the HD ones specifically. We have direcTV and do not get KUSI which is a local and exclusive channel to san diego. For some reason, KUSI OTA appears to require a MEDIUM-sized antenna even though its coordinates and distances are the same as other locals. All other locals appear to need a small-sized antenna, though. here are the coordinates and distances from 92126, my home zip code:
> 
> ** yellow - uhf KGTV-DT 10.1 ABC SAN DIEGO CA 225° 8.5 miles
> * yellow - uhf KPBS-DT 15.1 PBS SAN DIEGO CA 129° 18.1 miles
> ...


Which site is everyone going to for this info?


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## man_rob (Feb 21, 2007)

claymanhb said:


> Which site is everyone going to for this info?


http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx


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## dak0ta11 (Mar 12, 2007)

Just make your own!  I used the following link to make mine for under $10. It works better than any of the antennas I purchased.

http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9613&st=0&p=112709&#entry112709


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## Tower Guy (Jul 27, 2005)

hakaveli said:


> I want to get OTA locals, but the HD ones specifically. We have direcTV and do not get KUSI which is a local and exclusive channel to san diego.
> 
> should i look for a small or medium antenna? should it be multidirectional or just directional? does it have to go outside the house? trying to spend as LITTLE as possible here and hope to keep everything indoors! but whatevers the best buy for me please let me know


$20.59 http://www.warrenelectronics.com/antennas/4220.htm


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## 4DThinker (Dec 17, 2006)

I don't suppose anyone knows where I can find some antenna physics info? I have summers off as a college instructor and would like to see if I can make a better antenna for inside my attic than the radio shack monster currently there. If it's true that all digital channels will be in the VHF range then that's what I'm interested in finding out about.

I've been running some tests with a set of rabbit ears. Varying the length to see what length gets the better signal, then varying the direction, then varying the slope of the rods. When I have all the info I'll chart it up in a spreadsheet. I'd then like to know if my results line up with theoretical predictions.


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## kenglish (Oct 2, 2004)

http://www.amazon.com/Antenna-Engineering-Handbook-Richard-Johnson/dp/007032381X


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## 4DThinker (Dec 17, 2006)

Thanks, kenglish. 

Does anyone know where similar info is available online? Seems like it should be these days. I'll buy the linked-to book anyway, but it's always nice to reference many sources of info.


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## man_rob (Feb 21, 2007)

Here are some pages with antenna basics.

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/basics.html

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/DoubleBow.html

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/types.html


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## mxd (Jan 17, 2006)

Does anyone have any experience with the Winegard MS-2000? It is omnidirectional and looks somewhat like a flying saucer. It claims it is good out to 45 miles!(??) I am asking because I am about 30 miles from two cities in opposite directions, and if this antenna is as good as it claims (??), this would be almost perfect for my needs. Any advice will be appreciated, Thanks.


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## jdspencer (Nov 8, 2003)

Omnidirectional antennas aren't a good idea because of multipath.


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