Digital reception?

[chris63]

Now that the switch to digital has been in place for a little while,I'm wondering which antenna/(s)I need to get the best reception.I know satellite is the way to go but I just want local weather and possible news at night etc,etc.thanks for any/all replies.P.S.think ICE!c63

[Whoaru99]

Depends if your stations are VHF or UHF or both.

The antennas are nothing special, meaning a "digital" antenna is marketing hype. Plain old VHF or UHF antennas are 100% fine.

Check out antennaweb dot org for info on your local stations.

[chris63]

Are there any models/makes of brands that work better than others.My analogy would be xbrand disposable razors that save you some $ compared to say Gillette brand name razors that after two or three shaves don't leave you bloodied and bruised.c63

[Jeremy airjer W]

I bought the cheapest wall mount I could find. It had a lot of interference issues until they switched off the analog signal. Since they shut off the analog signal I rarely get any interference and couldn't be happier with the HD broadcasts.

[pisces]

Well,first, are you talking about an interior (like tabletop) antenna or an external (rooftop) antenna? I'll tell you that I needed one for the cabin, like you said just to get a news program,etc. and I was 51 miles from the tv station transmitter. I bought an exterior antenna from radio shack, with some rg6 cable total about 100 dollars and it was just what I needed (actually got two stations: one is an ABC affiliate, the other is NBC, so all is good. As said above, go to antennaweb dot org for more info.

[LMITOUT]

As far as antennas and which one to use, it really depends on your location and distance from the broadcasting towers. KARE11 and FOX9 are in the VHF band while essentially the rest of them are in the UHF band. To be safe and flexible it'd probably be best to get a VHF/UHF combo antenna if you're not sure.

The size of antenna and mounting height also depend on your location. If you're in the metro area you can get away with a smaller indoor type antenna. Otherwise you'll probably going to run into reception problems and need something larger or mounted higher.

[7outof10]

i put a crank up antenna on my ice house 2 years ago and when i got a digital tv last year i got 2 more stations then before lol

[chris63]

I have a large Uhf/Vhf on the House at Mille now and really only get 3 stations.I haven't tried since the digital switch so it will be interesting to see if I get more stations/channels now. c63