HDTV Forum

First of all, forgive my ignorance ahead of time, as this is my first post on this website, and I am all of 2-weeks young to the world of HDTV. For Christmas, I went out and purchased a Samsung SIRTS360 after not being able to stand having my Samsung HD 30" CRT monitor anymore and watching NFL Sunday Ticket without High Def. I understand the issues around receiving off-air signals, and the questions seem to far outweigh the answers in volume. However, here is my situation, I hope someone can share some insight:

I live approx 40 miles west of Washington, DC. There are no mountains to speak of, I would call it pretty much line-of-sight as far as reception is concerned to the broadcast stations for all the networks in DC. I went ahead and purchased a Terk TV5, what I could see as the best off-the-shelf indoor OTA I could find at Best Buy (the package said 40db gain with the built-in amp; I really tried hard to find a great antenna, didn't I?). Actually, my thought was to start with something simple, and work my way up based on my results. The results were pretty amazing. With very little adjustment, I am able to receive CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX all with that antenna (although, admittedly, signal just randomly drops now and again, causing me to make frequent trips off of the couch and adjusting the antenna by nano-inches). I was surprised I would receive a signal at all from such a crappy little antenna, but, it was almost good enough to get me by until the possibility of DirecTV putting the locals in HDTV comes to pass sometime this year. Also, so you are aware, I have run the signal strength meter that the receiver has, but the signal bounces around like crazy and I can't come up with a clear reading (it goes back and forth between the 30's and the 70's... nothing in between, just "32, 74, 31, 76, 28, 69," etc)
Alas, the signal isn't quite good enough. But, this got me thinking... I live in a two-level townhome, what would the results be if I put an antenna up with my dish??? It would HAVE to be leaps and bounds over what I am currently using (based on getting the antenna almost 30 feet higher in the air, no walls to transmit through, no equipment to deal with interference from). So, without hesitation (or waiting for feedback from the wonderful people from this board), I have just received a Terk TV42 from Ebay, along with a two-piece amplifier (Radio Shack-brand, I know it's one of their better ones, HighGain 30DB model). I can't imagine, based on the reception I'm getting with my TV-top model antenna, that I wouldn't get at least a little better reception with that little dish-mounted version. And, a little better is all I need.

I guess I'm looking for feedback on my situation, maybe a little validation for my thoughts on it all. But, I do have one other question, based on the specific antenna I purchased. The Terk TV42 is amplified, and I guess it powers itself by the 75 ohm cable it is connected to. Does anyone know if I will be able to run the Radio Shack amplifier as well with this antenna? I don't know the ramification of attaching an in-line amplifier to one of these types of antenna. Your help is greatly appreciated, and I look forward to future posts and information. Thanks for having such a great forum!!!

Regards,

Rick Canton

Rick
Terk antennas are not very highly regarded. I doubt you would be able to amplify an already amplified antenna, but you can always try it. Do you have an attic? The best solution would be a channel master 4228 with or without a 7777 pre-amp mounted in the attic on a rotor. That assumes none of your digital OTA stations are lower than channel 10. The 4228 pulls in channel 10 very nicely even though it's UHF only.

Winegard also makes good antennas and pre amps but the channel master seems to be the defacto gold standard, at least in the Atlanta area.

Thanks for your quick input! I actually have an attic, and considered it for antenna location, but, I I haven't reached that point yet in my "antenna need" scale. The roof-mount, using the same line that comes into the house already, was the next-easiest application. I may yet go with an attic install.

Regarding the quality of the Terk antenna, I would have thought the same thing, except for the unbelieveable luck I seemed to have with the Terk TV5 indoor model. After reading a few other posts, it seems the "Silver Shooter" from Zenith would have been the way to go for indoor applications, but, who knows. The TV5 does a horrible job with analog signals, but, as we all know, the digital signal is a whole different animal.

I'm gathering information almost exponentially since writing my original post about amplifying an already-amplified antenna, although it's just a mountain of mess trying to figure out. I'll have to wait to read the instructions provided with the antenna and/or the amplifier to maybe get some clues to sort out the facts. My guess is that I won't be able to, and stay optimistic that I won't really need to. Thanks again for the reply!

I recommended attic because that's usually easier than on the roof. But rooftop is much better if that's easy for you.

Heck, you could even try your Terk in the attic. Won't hurt anything.

A 4228 on the roof would probably work without the pre-amp and it only cost $60. You can add the pre-amp for another $60 if you need it.

Canton,
You're going in the right direction. Higher is almost always better. Three feet higher than the tip of the roof is a common "best" location. I will try to bite my tongue regarding your choice of antenna...



I really don't like Terk...

But if it works, great. Yes, it should be better than what you have already. If you're still not happy, there are dozens of other amplifiers and gimmicks you can try.

Or, just put up a 4228 on the roof and go watch TV. It works.

Rick- The TV42 is a worse antenna than the TV5, so even with a higher elevation I don

Ken - trying to learn here. Why would a 4 bay be better than a 8 bay? Or is it that the 8 bay is better but not required in this case?

An 8-bay is decidedly stronger than a 4-bay, but it is also more complicated:
> It is bigger and more unsightly.
> It is heavier and more likely to come down in bad weather.
> It requires precise aiming. A 4-bay doesn

Makes sense to me. Thanks!