Re: OT: What is the best antenna for getting Phoenix area TV channels?
Again MythTV officiados swear by the cheap bowtie models. Whatever you get, you have to keep it away from metal and other wiring -- at least twice the width of the line. This is because the electromagnetic field extends into the air around the conductors, whereas with coax it's contained within the shield. Also, twinlead is prone to ingress problems, signals that exist in the air will get into the twinlead and cause interference, front-end overload of the receiver and other problems. This sort of problem is somewhat reduced by phase cancellation of a signal which ingresses into both sides of the balanced twin lead equally, but it's still a problem. Coax, being shielded, is resistant to the ingress of outside signals. Generally twinlead works well in quiet electromagnetic areas like rural areas, but is problematical in urban areas with a lot of RF floating around the environment. So, it's safe to say, that the whole antenna installation needs to be evaluated for signal loss, rather than a simple replacement, where you probably will find that the same interference and electromag RF causing grief? On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 3:12 PM, mike Enriquez myli...@cox.net wrote: Try an $8.00 antenna! Search the internet and you will find instructions on building an HD antenna for $8.00. I live in the west valley and gave up cable t.v. about 3 years ago. I have rabbit ears made by Phillips which cost me about $70.00. I purchase all the parts for my $8.00 antenna but I have yet to build it. I have Rabbit ears on my t.v. up at Sedona and that works better without the HD converter box? Here I use the convert box and its ok. But I am looking foward to my $8.00 wonder. Good luck Mike Enriquez Josef Lowder wrote: What is the best antenna for getting Phoenix area TV channels? I gave up cable years ago (too much money for too little worth watching). Tried dish and it was no better. For a long time, we were getting excellent reception from a simple $4.95 top-of-set antenna, even when we got a new Vizio HD TV a year ago. But recently, the signal for some channels ... especially channel 15 ... has become unreliable. Sometimes the signal breaks up and sometimes it goes away entirely. So, I purchased a $50 Philips outdoor antenna and mounted it on a 15-foot tall pole outside. It gets even worse reception than my little old $4.95 indoor top-of-set antenna. I've tried moving it to several different locations and tried rotating it to every degree of 360-degrees with no success. So what would the collective PLUG intelligence recommend? --- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss --- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss -- (623)239-3392 (503)754-4452 www.obnosis.com http://www.obnosis.com/motivatebytruth/gnu-people.jpg --- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
Re: OT: What is the best antenna for getting Phoenix area TV channels?
Josef Lowder wrote: What is the best antenna for getting Phoenix area TV channels? I gave up cable years ago (too much money for too little worth watching). Tried dish and it was no better. For a long time, we were getting excellent reception from a simple $4.95 top-of-set antenna, even when we got a new Vizio HD TV a year ago. But recently, the signal for some channels ... especially channel 15 ... has become unreliable. Sometimes the signal breaks up and sometimes it goes away entirely. So, I purchased a $50 Philips outdoor antenna and mounted it on a 15-foot tall pole outside. It gets even worse reception than my little old $4.95 indoor top-of-set antenna. I've tried moving it to several different locations and tried rotating it to every degree of 360-degrees with no success. So what would the collective PLUG intelligence recommend? Why do you presume it's the antenna? I'd bet it's the wiring you're using. RG6 is best, preferably quad shield, although some dual shield is impressive. RG59 won't deliver digital signals effectively, only analog. You might find that your set top antenna works fine with RG6 cable. The antenna simply needs to receive traditional VHF and UHF frequencies (channels 8,10,12 are back in the VHF spectrum now). -- -Eric 'shubes' --- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
Re: OT: What is the best antenna for getting Phoenix area TV channels?
hulu.com ? :) Jim On Mon, Sep 7, 2009 at 3:26 PM, Josef Lowderj...@actionline.com wrote: What is the best antenna for getting Phoenix area TV channels? I gave up cable years ago (too much money for too little worth watching). Tried dish and it was no better. For a long time, we were getting excellent reception from a simple $4.95 top-of-set antenna, even when we got a new Vizio HD TV a year ago. But recently, the signal for some channels ... especially channel 15 ... has become unreliable. Sometimes the signal breaks up and sometimes it goes away entirely. So, I purchased a $50 Philips outdoor antenna and mounted it on a 15-foot tall pole outside. It gets even worse reception than my little old $4.95 indoor top-of-set antenna. I've tried moving it to several different locations and tried rotating it to every degree of 360-degrees with no success. So what would the collective PLUG intelligence recommend? --- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss --- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
Re: OT: What is the best antenna for getting Phoenix area TV channels?
Two important things 1) Where are you located? Many TV channels broadcast from South Mountain (east side). If you have a directional antenna, make sure its pointed in the correct direction. 2) Make sure you are using the correect cable. Improper matching will kill you signal. If your antenna requires 75Ohm, use 75Ohm, etc. Eric On Mon, Sep 7, 2009 at 3:46 PM, Eric Shubert e...@shubes.net wrote: Josef Lowder wrote: What is the best antenna for getting Phoenix area TV channels? I gave up cable years ago (too much money for too little worth watching). Tried dish and it was no better. For a long time, we were getting excellent reception from a simple $4.95 top-of-set antenna, even when we got a new Vizio HD TV a year ago. But recently, the signal for some channels ... especially channel 15 ... has become unreliable. Sometimes the signal breaks up and sometimes it goes away entirely. So, I purchased a $50 Philips outdoor antenna and mounted it on a 15-foot tall pole outside. It gets even worse reception than my little old $4.95 indoor top-of-set antenna. I've tried moving it to several different locations and tried rotating it to every degree of 360-degrees with no success. So what would the collective PLUG intelligence recommend? Why do you presume it's the antenna? I'd bet it's the wiring you're using. RG6 is best, preferably quad shield, although some dual shield is impressive. RG59 won't deliver digital signals effectively, only analog. You might find that your set top antenna works fine with RG6 cable. The antenna simply needs to receive traditional VHF and UHF frequencies (channels 8,10,12 are back in the VHF spectrum now). -- -Eric 'shubes' --- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss -- Eric Cope http://cope-et-al.com --- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
Re: OT: What is the best antenna for getting Phoenix area TV channels?
Right. And that's 75 Ohm, not 750 hm (whatever an hm would be!). :) Eric Cope wrote: Two important things 1) Where are you located? Many TV channels broadcast from South Mountain (east side). If you have a directional antenna, make sure its pointed in the correct direction. 2) Make sure you are using the correect cable. Improper matching will kill you signal. If your antenna requires 75Ohm, use 75Ohm, etc. Eric On Mon, Sep 7, 2009 at 3:46 PM, Eric Shubert e...@shubes.net mailto:e...@shubes.net wrote: Josef Lowder wrote: What is the best antenna for getting Phoenix area TV channels? I gave up cable years ago (too much money for too little worth watching). Tried dish and it was no better. For a long time, we were getting excellent reception from a simple $4.95 top-of-set antenna, even when we got a new Vizio HD TV a year ago. But recently, the signal for some channels ... especially channel 15 ... has become unreliable. Sometimes the signal breaks up and sometimes it goes away entirely. So, I purchased a $50 Philips outdoor antenna and mounted it on a 15-foot tall pole outside. It gets even worse reception than my little old $4.95 indoor top-of-set antenna. I've tried moving it to several different locations and tried rotating it to every degree of 360-degrees with no success. So what would the collective PLUG intelligence recommend? Why do you presume it's the antenna? I'd bet it's the wiring you're using. RG6 is best, preferably quad shield, although some dual shield is impressive. RG59 won't deliver digital signals effectively, only analog. You might find that your set top antenna works fine with RG6 cable. The antenna simply needs to receive traditional VHF and UHF frequencies (channels 8,10,12 are back in the VHF spectrum now). -- -Eric 'shubes' --- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us mailto:PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss -- Eric Cope http://cope-et-al.com -- -Eric 'shubes' --- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
Re: OT: What is the best antenna for getting Phoenix area TV channels?
The square grate with the bowties on top. Sold under many names with 2, 4, or 8 bowties. I have a $23-or-so delivered from Amazon one with 2 bowties, and get all Phoenix channels (incl. 7.x) from near Red Mountain. It IS position-dependent. Put a nail or two on the wall and slide the antenna around til you get the best match. -Original Message- From: Josef Lowder j...@actionline.com To: plug-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us Sent: Mon, Sep 7, 2009 3:26 pm Subject: OT: What is the best antenna for getting Phoenix area TV channels? What is the best antenna for getting Phoenix area TV channels? I gave up cable years ago (too much money for too little worth watching). Tried dish and it was no better. For a long time, we were getting excellent reception from a simple $4.95 top-of-set antenna, even when we got a new Vizio HD TV a year ago. But recently, the signal for some channels ... especially channel 15 ... has become unreliable. Sometimes the signal breaks up and sometimes it goes away entirely. So, I purchased a $50 Philips outdoor antenna and mounted it on a 15-foot tall pole outside. It gets even worse reception than my little old $4.95 indoor top-of-set antenna. I've tried moving it to several different locations and tried rotating it to every degree of 360-degrees with no success. So what would the collective PLUG intelligence recommend? --- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss --- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
Re: OT: What is the best antenna for getting Phoenix area TV channels?
The square grate with the bowties on top. Sold under many names with 2, 4, or 8 bowties. I have a $23-or-so delivered from Amazon one with 2 bowties, and get all Phoenix channels (incl. 7.x) from near Red Mountain. It IS position-dependent. Put a nail or two on the wall and slide the antenna around til you get the best match. -Original Message- From: Josef Lowder j...@actionline.com To: plug-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us Sent: Mon, Sep 7, 2009 3:26 pm Subject: OT: What is the best antenna for getting Phoenix area TV channels? What is the best antenna for getting Phoenix area TV channels? I gave up cable years ago (too much money for too little worth watching). Tried dish and it was no better. For a long time, we were getting excellent reception from a simple $4.95 top-of-set antenna, even when we got a new Vizio HD TV a year ago. But recently, the signal for some channels ... especially channel 15 ... has become unreliable. Sometimes the signal breaks up and sometimes it goes away entirely. So, I purchased a $50 Philips outdoor antenna and mounted it on a 15-foot tall pole outside. It gets even worse reception than my little old $4.95 indoor top-of-set antenna. I've tried moving it to several different locations and tried rotating it to every degree of 360-degrees with no success. So what would the collective PLUG intelligence recommend? --- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss --- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
