Installing a rooftop antenna for HDTV?
I would like to install a rooftop antenna for HDTV service. (1) Does anyone have experience with what sort of antenna (Winegard, Terk, etc.) works best in the city? (2) Can anyone recommend an installer to run and properly ground the co-ax from my roof to the cable junction in the basement? (I have co-ax…
I would like to install a rooftop antenna for HDTV service. (1) Does anyone have experience with what sort of antenna (Winegard, Terk, etc.) works best in the city? (2) Can anyone recommend an installer to run and properly ground the co-ax from my roof to the cable junction in the basement? (I have co-ax outlets already set up throughout the house). Also any general advice or admonitions gratefully received.
Thank you, everyone, for the helpful feedback. I also heard from a friend that the Antenna King, in Bay Ridge, does a fine job with rooftop installs, and he’s reasonably priced. I just spoke to him and he seems to know what he’s talking about. Here’s the link for anyone who is interested:
http://www.antennaking.com/
An outdoor antenna was the first and easiest upgrade I made to my home when I bought it three years ago. I have a flat roof and an access door which helped make the project less dangerous.
I bought a 10 or 15 mile VHF and UHF capable antenna from Lowes. Get the ten foot pole and mounting brackets from Lowes too.
As for the grounding, just read up on the net. For example:
http://www.htmart.com/pages.php?pageid=14
Be sure you run a separate 10ga (or thicker) copper wire from the antenna to the grounding post in your basement to carry any lightning strikes to ground.
You’ll probably also need a masonary bit and a hammer drill to make holes for the bolts that will hold the brackets to your house.
I recently bought a terk antenna at J&R. As a temporary measure, I attached it to the t.v. and put it next to it. I now have perfect hd reception for all the channels. I used the antennaweb site to figure the direction to point the antenna.
What’s the digital changeover, in 2009?
In any event, I also get analog reception now, with an indoor antenna, but my understanding is that for HDTV you really have to go to the roof. Unlike analog, with a digital signal, it’s an all or nothing proposition — either you’re getting reception, or your not — and with an indoor antenna, I’m told, you can’t get a strong enough signal.
Uh-oh…does this mean that if one of the TV sets in your house is not hooked up to either cable or satellite then you need an outdoor antenna when the digital changeover happens in 2009? My one set that is not hooked up gets quasi-acceptable reception without a roof antenna…I’m wondering whether I’ll get a picture at all even with a digital converter box (if I don’t get a new HD set right away).
According to this website:
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx
the signals in my area of Brooklyn are viable, though we live fairly high up, near the highest point in Fort Greene, without major obstructions between us and where the signals are coming from. (plug in your own address on the site and try for yourself, it will give you a map with vectors for each channel, digital or otherwise) You can’t get HDTV from an indoor antenna, however, it’s got to be a directional antenna on the roof. Most of the major channels come from within a 15 degree spectrum, and apparently that’s enough for a directional antenna to handle. I’m just wondering whether anyone has experience with different brands of antennas. My electrician says he doesn’t do work “on the roof,” so I may be tackling this project on my own.
Unless HDTV has a much stronger signal than regular broadcast TV, I doubt that you can get acceptable signals in NYC since the destruction of the WTC antennas.