Video Asylum

Posted by petew (A) on March 20, 2002 at 14:00:53

In Reply to: Local HD signal--Chicago????? posted by Bill O'C on March 07, 2002 at 11:07:40:

go to this site : http://www.antennaweb.org

and punch in your location to see what kind of antenna you need and where to aim it

i used a simple "bowtie" antenna and picked up 4 digital stations with no problem. after refering to the map i was able to "dial in" the exact location of the digital broadcast antennas in my area and now I get 7 digital signals off the air FREE! The PBS stations broadcast in 1080i all the time, while the major networks only do it occasionally in the evenings, or for special events like the Olympics. It's fabulous!

I have the "regular" dish so I can't get High Definition broadcasts. You need the 24" oval dish (with two antennas per dish) so you can get the signal from two (or three) satellites. As far as I know, only HBO and HD tv are sending high definition programing over the satellites, so you'd be crazy not to at least try putting a UHF (bowtie is good, but a YAGI corner reflector is much better) antenna up and aiming it at the towers (careful aiming makes a big difference!)-- IT'S FREE!

Sears has a nice Maganavox array for about $30. I was using a bowtie just laying flat on the roof (it works in the house too), but I got the Magnavox display model for $15 and just put it in the attic suspended from the rafters with string. I spliced the feed into the house coax (disconnect from the cable TV service and feed the antenna output into the cable TV imput at the splitter box). Using a simple compas I aimed the corner reflector directly at the broadcast towers and WOW!

perfect picture, all the time! AND IT'S FREE!

• locate your DTV broadcast towers