http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/ Engadget HD Comments for Ask Engadget HD: What's the best long-range OTA antenna? http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/01/30/ota-hd-demystified/

Enter your address and they tell you what kind of antenna and what sort of reception you'd be able to receive.
http://antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx]]>Jul 16th 2008 12:25PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/Jul 16th 2008 12:51PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2348191&cp=2032057.2032187.2032189.2032205&parentPage=family
I'm about 45-50 miles from the sources and pulling in 90-100% signal strength on all but a few...]]>Jul 16th 2008 12:57PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/Jul 16th 2008 12:58PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/
I will say it is a decent size. And if I could get it to pick up one more channel I would be happy (planning on crawling into the attic this weekend).]]>Jul 16th 2008 1:10PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/Jul 16th 2008 9:59PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/
I personally live 12 miles from the antenna farm and use a $25.00 75 mile yagi from radio shack that works great. It's also mounted below the roof line and point directly at a tree so it's hardly ideal placement.

Depending how close you are from transmission and how close the towers are together the 4228 is a safe bet or maybe a 4-bay version if you are close enough. If your towers are with in a few degrees of each other I'd try an inexpensive yagi.

]]>Jul 16th 2008 1:21PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/Jul 16th 2008 1:16PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/
http://www.jr.com/terk/pe/TRK_HDTVS/

Bought mine at JR for the low price. They had fast shipping and product was new.]]>Jul 16th 2008 1:25PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://www.antennasdirect.com/C2-Clearstream-DTV-antenna.html They make some big claims and the size is something I would consider putting on the roof. Has anybody tried this one yet? http://www.antennasdirect.com/C2-Clearstream-DTV-antenna.html ]]>Jul 16th 2008 1:39PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=ANWGS2200

Bought it from SolidSignal too.

And forget antennaweb, it's owned by the cable companies and not very good. Use TVFool.com instead, much more accurate info and includes directional info.]]>Jul 16th 2008 1:44PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/Jul 16th 2008 10:14PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/
The Terk is 50 miles or less!

I have a Winegard HD-9095P, it works great but I am only 40 miles fro my Signal (TV Towers in Dedham) [Boston Area]..
]]>Jul 16th 2008 1:50PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/02/17/antennas-direct-unveils-clearstream2-long-range-ota-antenna/. Read about Antennas Direct's newest antenna line.

They offer a "no fault" 90 day gaurantee and a full purchase price refund, if this antenna does not knock your socks off.
]]>Jul 16th 2008 2:03PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://www.tvfool.com/

Look for the version 2 Gray Hoverman designs.]]>Jul 16th 2008 2:06PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://www.amazon.com/Philips-MANT940-Digital-Outdoor-Antenna/dp/B000VL1QF6
]]>Jul 16th 2008 2:11PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/
The specs for the 4228 indicate that it is a UHF antenna. Would I have to change my antenna?]]>Jul 16th 2008 4:46PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/Jul 16th 2008 6:25PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/
Installation was time-consuming. I screwed 2x6s under the roof where the lag screws from the tripod penetrated, since the roof decking was too thin for the lag screws to have adequate engagement.

Grounding of the tripod/mast/downlead must be carefully considered by referring to National Electrical Code. There is A LOT of wrong information about this, not only in forums, but even in the installation guides that some manufacturers publish.

You cannot simply attach the ground wires to a stake in the ground. The ground wires MUST be electrically bonded to the ground system for your house's power outlets. Be sure to reference the electrical code to see the various options for doing this.

Then there's running coax through the attic, to the wiring panel, out to the various rooms and down the walls, and installing outlets.

Also, I might add that antennaweb was way too small on the required antenna size. It appears they assumed the wrong output power for the local PBS broadcast.]]>Jul 16th 2008 4:57PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/04/13/cea-gets-official-with-smart-antennas/ You would need a compatible standalone tuner though.
]]>Jul 16th 2008 5:27PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/ ]]>Jul 16th 2008 6:25PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/Jul 16th 2008 6:51PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/
If you want to build your own, the Gray Hoverman mentioned above works the same per square foot as a 4228, and the designs on the net include a version almost twice the size of the 4228. Just notice when you look at the comparison charts they give that they make incorrect comparisons, the Gray Hovermans are each compared against ChannelMasters that are half their size.

In my experience, even for 50 miles away, you don't even need a ChannelMaster 4228, you could use the half-size ChannelMaster 4221 instead.

One note, antenna signal amplifiers don't do what you probably think they do. The problem with picking up channels isn't just signal, it's signal to noise ratio. And no amplifier can improve signal to noise ratio. Thus the only things an amplifier are good for are if you are going to do a lot of signal splitting or if you have a long cable run where more noise would creep in and drown out the signal. In both cases, you must put the amplifier upstream of the split or long cable run. So the best move in this case is a mast-mount amplifier. But you likely don't need anything at all.

If as TVFool mentions above, OTA channels move back down to VHF, the 4228 wouldn't do so well.]]>Jul 16th 2008 10:52PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/
My homemade version cost me about $4, using a 4x4, ~10' of 10AWG Romex I had laying around, and 3'x4' of chicken wire fencing for the reflector. About an hour was spent making it and putting it up in my attic.]]>Jul 23rd 2008 9:35AMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/Aug 5th 2008 10:29PMhttp://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/http://enghddev.weblogsinc.com/2008/07/16/ask-engadget-hd-whats-the-best-long-range-ota-antenna/Aug 9th 2008 12:03AM