brian drust

I live in Northeast PA and I attempting to get my OTA HD channels. I
have tried a Terk TV44 that clips on my dish and it just doesn't work.
Next I went to Radio Shack and they gave me an "Amplified Digital HDTV
Indoor TV Antenna" and a "Bidirectional Signal Amplifier". They
gaurenteed this would work for me but it didn't. I consider myself a
pretty technical person and I have been reading some posts here and I
have a few questions.

1) The smucks at the Shack sold me a Bidirectional signal amplifier, is
this the same as a pre-amp?

2) I have a Hughes HD Directtv receiver. Should I see some sort of
signal strength when I go into the menus to see what my reception is?
My friend gets the OTA channels but the same receiver gives him 0
strength for an antenna input and and the channel he gets the signal on.

What are some good places to get the equipment I need(online and
physical stores)? I would prefer to go somewhere and speak with someone
in person who knows what the hell they are talking about. Hell, the guy
who put my dish up argued with me throughout the installation that HDTV
was available OTA and looked at me like I had 6 heads. If I need to
venture to the roof thats fine but I would prefer to try some other
configurations and see if I can get away with something else before
that.

Thanks,
Brian

brian drust

I live in Northeast PA and I attempting to get my OTA HD channels. I
have tried a Terk TV44 that clips on my dish and it just doesn't work.
Next I went to Radio Shack and they gave me an "Amplified Digital HDTV
Indoor TV Antenna" and a "Bidirectional Signal Amplifier". They
gaurenteed this would work for me but it didn't. I consider myself a
pretty technical person and I have been reading some posts here and I
have a few questions.

1) The smucks at the Shack sold me a Bidirectional signal amplifier, is
this the same as a pre-amp?

2) I have a Hughes HD Directtv receiver. Should I see some sort of
signal strength when I go into the menus to see what my reception is?
My friend gets the OTA channels but the same receiver gives him 0
strength for an antenna input and and the channel he gets the signal on.

What are some good places to get the equipment I need(online and
physical stores)? I would prefer to go somewhere and speak with someone
in person who knows what the hell they are talking about. Hell, the guy
who put my dish up argued with me throughout the installation that HDTV
was available OTA and looked at me like I had 6 heads. If I need to
venture to the roof thats fine but I would prefer to try some other
configurations and see if I can get away with something else before
that.

Thanks,
Brian

bb

The Zenith Silver Sensor is a good indoor antenna, but don't expect it to
do a lot beyond 10-15 miles from the towers. Channelmaster sells some good
UHF-only antennas, but you need to first verify that your stations are
UHF. You can get the stations and directions from antennaweb.org, and the
exact locations of the towers from http://www.fcc.gov/mb/video/tvq.html.

A preamp helps some, but its better to get a good antenna before you start
messing with preamps.

--
-BB-
To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)
"It's a shallow life that doesn't give a person a few scars" - Garrison Keillor

qz

I think it is recommended for up to 30 miles.
I have read of it working up to 50 miles for a few people.

magnulus

The Radio Shack HDTV antenna seems to be picky. I tried it. It picked up
some stations, but only with the pre-amp off. Some were a pain to get at
all, and the signal strength was always low (75 percent or more is good to
keep the audio in synch and avoid stutters, 80-90 is even better.)

You can get a Silver Sensor antenna at Sears. It's very good, if a bit
pricey (but hey, if you are into HDTV, you probably have the money, right?).
Also, a basic VHF/UHF antenna with rabbit ears and loop should work OK (I
have tried this, works OK, but the Silver Sensor got better signal
strength). The Silver Sensor is highly directional, and tends to only pick
up stations well within about 10-33 degrees in the front or back, then
there's a quick cutoff of the signal.
With newer set-top-tuners, the basic antennas should be getting better and
better.

I've had mixed results with any kind of pre-amp. Some of them with weak
pre-amp will work OK and actually give better reception (such as the
rabbit-ears loop type), but that Radio Shack, the pre-amp just killed the
signal. The Silver Sensor doesn't come with a pre-amp and seems to work
great without one, but you could add one onto the cable, I suppose.

If there are any tall hills in your area that are high, it might block
some of the signals for indoor use, you might have to aim it in a direction
other than the station (I have to do this with a few of the channels in my
area), or you might have to have a rooftop antenna (I think the Yagi UHF
type is the preffered) with a rotor, or an antenna in the attic.