Frankly I'm not optimistic about this, but I am willing to try an antenna to get local news and cut the cable. I live in a deep valley surrounded by treed hills 30 miles from the nearest transmitter. I could mount a mast on the one-story roof, but probably no higher than about 10 feet (so perhaps 25 feet total). An indoor antenna is out - we have a metal roof.

The tvfool site gives me no green and 2 yellow stations and 4 red stations, ranging from -67.8 to -95.2 dBm and 23.1 to -3.7 NM. The two yellow are in the same direction, the other 4 in the exact opposite direction (we live between two small cities, neither of which has all four networks).

Given that info, and that a small mast is probably the limit for me, any suggestions on a decent antenna?

Post the report image so we can have a look at it.

My base recommendation however is: Go Big or Stay Home. The Biggest, Baddest and Best option for dual-band reception is only 90 bucks:
http://www.amazon.com/AntennaCraft-HBU5 ... B003EAU3A0
If you can't get 'em on that - you probably ain't gonna get 'em.

Here are some pretty pictures:
https://www.google.com/search?q=hbu55&e ... 19&bih=851

Let me see the TV Fool image and we can determine if you need VHF High and UHF - the above option is the baddest girl in the stable. If UHF is all you need, there's another Bad Mamma Jamma.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LZ ... HWVGDA9GYS
100 Bucks - On Sale!

I can't figure out how to post an image. The two stations I most desire (which also happen to be the two strongest) are both VHF.

Right click on the image - select copy image URL - hit the Img button above the message creation window - paste the aforementioned and copied image url thusly: here's mine.

(you can see I have two annoying VHF High channels that happen to be CBS and ABC - dealt with via a Y10-7-13, not your 'everyday' indoor antenna and I will stipulate to the fact I am insane)
http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=y10-7-13



I also have a bunch of UHF channels and use a DB8 on a J-Pole screwed to the floor behind the entertainment cabinet stacked with the Y10-7-13 through a diplexer. Yea... I live alone. The cats don't mind my insanity and neither do the people I install antennas for. I watch WMPT with all green bars lit at 50 miles - because WETA (27) at 25 miles bounces off a foil clad building down the street and I can't have that.

http://www.amazon.com/Terrestrial-Digit ... B000EHWCDW

If the landlord would go for a little HBU33 on that chimney mount that's currently holding an old MUSAK antenna - doing nothing - I'd be good to go, but instead I have an antennae farm in my living room. That's fine... I get everything on my list and part of what's on somebody else's list (and on wash day I have plenty of places to hang my socks). lol

doesn't look too good.

on the bright note, you are in worse shape than me for signal. (well bright for me. )



If not a big, tall outdoor antenna, then unfortunately it will be netscape and hulu for you.

Yep, you're in a hole, but the worst you have are 2Edge... they are pretty close tho. With that big gun dual bander - the HBU55 - you might find some joy, especially with those VHF high banders as VHF tends to be more bouncy than UHF.

I'd certainly try it with a mast mounted pre-amp - the radio shack job would be fine and if you have a Radio Shack nearby you can take the stuff back if it doesn't work. Give it the best shot with some high quality RG6 coaxial and hope for the best. If you can't get 'em at 80 degrees, you can turn around and try 'em at 280. You'll need to be spot on so break out the Boy Scout compass - those phone apps are notoriously awful in that regard.

As with many things in life there are no guarantees.. the only thing to do is try, or you'll never know.... and that would drive me batty.

If all you want (need) are the two VHF channels that Y10-7-13 is the baddest dog on the chain. If that doesn't get 'em nothing will. I have gotten 2 edge signals when nobody else could, but it took all I had to give with the best gear available. Go Big, or Stay Home.

That is really the question - how much effort do I really want to put into going out on the metal roof and monkeying with this for little return, especially with a neighbor who has tried a variety of options with the same little (to no) return. My plan is Sling and Hulu along with Plex and the Amazon Prime we already have. Between those and my ability to stream from my PC to the TV I will be able to see all the shows I watch. I do have the option of the very basic no HD TWC 12 channels for $10/mo which includes the networks. Since I pretty much am only interested in local news/weather anyway, I could probably live with that - but free is always better. I suppose the real question, then, is free really free (with the effort to try to get free)?

Well... only the Shadow Knows... and you, of course.

That metal roof could work to your advantage - bouncing all those teenie signals right up onto your antenna - yea... it's a stretch... lol.

How long will it take to pay for the equipment if you're getting your stuff free? Not long I would imagine. It's a roll of the dice, for sure. If I were close I'd come right over and throw the best at the problem and see what happened. If it was a bust you'd be out a service call. I'm not close so it's all you. You have no professional installers in the area?

No pros that I'm aware of. I wouldn't even know how to go about finding if there is one.

Oh, and I meant to mention last time - there is a Radio Shack, but they're all going out of business from what I understand. I can probably purchase whatever I would need at Lowes or Home Depot or Amazon, though.

We have an outdoor antenna up in the attic under a metal roof so you might be able to get some channels since your pattern looks similar to ours. Where we get NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, and FOX from the 274-278 direction about 30 miles away:


We got the antenna from Home Depot years ago but it looks something like this http://www.homedepot.com/p/Channel-Mast ... /203763043 which was a hard fit with the 6-8 long poles at the end in a small attic. There is just the antenna and a good coax cable to the living room below while there are no amplifiers or other stuff attached.

Granted, we do lose the fox channel at times depending on the weather (Snow/rain/wind) since we are surrounded by trees as well.

Google for tv antenna installers in your area... it's NY for cryin out loud.

Anyway, the Radio Shack here just went belly up, but if you have one act fast. I doubt you'll find anything at Lowes or the like. I walked through one recently looking for something simple and was met with utter disappointment, but Amazon's return policy is pretty sweet. Take the box apart very carefully.

ACraigo wrote:

Google for tv antenna installers in your area... it's NY for cryin out loud.

I kept it simple: Unfolded the antenna in the attic facing 275ish, laid it on the attic beams, attached coax cable, and ran the cable down by the attic door to the tv. Just had to secure the cable some places so it got wife-approved.

I am sure that DarkJedi could do the same.

Edited:

No way... he's under a metal roof - no man's land. There will be no joy from the attic. The roof however is another story.

I'm under a metal roof too, but my signals are coming through the walls just fine. I can get some 2 edge signals, but the ones I need are LOS, but filtered through multiple foil-clad structures - and growing.

I see you edited your post with your fool image and that is pretty much like Jedi's... a lot of 2 edgers. The antennas I recommended are more powerful than your older model with higher gain so that's good news actually. The percentage for success seems to have risen a notch or two.

ACraigo wrote:

Google for tv antenna installers in your area... it's NY for cryin out loud.

The other New York. There's more to New York than New York.