Antenna ideas for 12th floor apartment

Supposedly this one works better because it is a larger. I normally would recommend going straight to a big antenna like the Clearstream 4V, but that’s not really practical for apartment use.

http://store.gomohu.com/leaf-glide-indoor-hdtv-antenna.html

I thought the GE 33676 only has a ranger of 15 miles.

I’ve had a winegard fl5500a and it worked great for channels up to 30-35 miles away. It comes with a power amplifier. But it does come with a fixed length 5 foot coax that can be expanded if needed.

It looks like it might be on sale for $40 (with discount) at amazon. Stick it to the window with some duck tape and your in business.

I’m with Zippy on this one. I highly recommend the Winegard if you are looking for a flat antenna. It outperforms other flat antennas I have tried.

I might have missed it, but what direction is that window “pointing”? Be as precise as possible in your answer, please.

According to tvfool.com, in your Zipcode, best-case, you should be able to get excellent reception on 11 DTV channels, and 1 Analog channel, plus “marginal” reception on another 5 DTV channels, plus another 1 Analog channel.

And remember, that is the BEST-CASE. YMWV. (Your mileage WILL vary!)…

Also keep in mind that a few of your channels are actually STILL on VHF; so make SURE than any antenna you choose ACTUALLY HAS VHF Capabilities (MANY, MANY, MANY “DTV” Antennas are actually just UHF Antennas, and they will likely NOT pick up ANY VHF channels).

It looks like the majority of your strongest signals are coming from Cleveland, OH, which is NNW from your location. So, if that window has a nice SOUTHERN view, you might as well FORGET IT!

http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=90

I still have to put my “vote” in for an Antop 400-BV (make sure you get the 400BV, because it has two VHF “dipoles” that stick out the sides. It is a bit pricey (~$125 from Antop-Direct, with no tax and free shipping), but comes with an Amplifier, 30 ft. of RG-6 Coax, and best of all, it has an integral BASE, which makes it able to STAND ON A TABLE or SHELF. But, as I said, if that window faces South, and you have a whole BUILDING’s worth of Apartments (in YOUR building) to the North, then the whole thing is probably an exercise in futility, sorry!

Disregard the Price. They NEVER charge that Direct. But they do on Amazon… :wink:

They are highly regarded on this forum (and many others). Just do a little searching for 400BV or Antop, and you’ll see what I mean. By the way, my personal research let me to the 400BV even before I knew it was so popular!

The user lives on the 12th floor of an apartment. This probably means the living space is surrounded by concrete which significantly reduces reception. Maybe to the point where signals are only available close to the window.

There are many more expensive antennas that might pick up more stations. It’s all a matter of what you are willing to pay and what additional stations the higher price will receive.

Here’s one that works great. I guess it depends on a lot of things but this works really great for me.

Which is why I asked which way the window was FACING!!! And why I said (rightly), that if their window was facing AWAY from pretty much 100% of the Towers to the NNW of their location, that it was unlikely that ANY indoor antenna would pick up squat.

You’ve got to consider ALL of the conditions; not just some of them.

Friend said North with a hint of east, but how do I find out? Never got satelite because I was told wrong side of building.

The TV also happens to be on that side of my livingroom.

Well, do you have a Smartphone? If so, I know that iOS has a BUILT-IN “Compass” App. Here’s how to use it:

https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/compass-iph1ac0b663/ios

I would imagine that Android either has a similar Built-In App, or a Free one on the Google Play Store…

Here’s a free one that gets good reviews:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vincentlee.compass&hl=en_US

With the Compass App Running (duh!), Just walk over in front of the window, facing it, then, holding your phone flat (horizontally), in front of your chest, with the top edge facing the window. Now read the direction off the Display.

Or, if you don’t have a smartphone or tablet, then any place that sells Sporting Goods (Walmart?) will have a real compass you can purchase for $5 or less (probably far less).

That’s what coax cable is for… As long as you stay at about 30ft or less for the total cable length, you will be fine as far as signal-loss through the cable (especially if you get an antenna with an Amplifier). If the antenna already comes with a non-detachable cable, you can buy an adapter to hook up two pieces of coax together at Walmart or anyplace that sells electronic stuff. The adapter will cost < $5 too, and will look like a short ( about 1/2 inch) long threaded rod (but with the center-piece for the center-conductor of the Coax)…

BTW, if you friend was right (N with a hint of E), then that would work out, because, if you have a freestanding antenna, like the Antop you can “angle it” to point more “West” inside the window. But if the window is instead pointing generally SOUTH, make sure you save the sales receipt for ANY antenna you buy… :wink:

So despite being marketed at a new-fangled HD Antenna, it’s only Some HD antenna? If you get a TV antenna …you have to confirm it is capable of getting any possible DTV channels?

You have to confirm it gets the channels that are used in your local market. Not any possible.

That’s one of the dirty little secrets of “Digital TV” Antennas: Because the frequency-bands being used are a subset of the original VHF (High Band) and the UHF Band, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING “different” about a “DTV” antenna and that 30-year old Yagi on the rotator in your Grandpa’s house.

Nothing. At. All.

But, because MOST of the channels moved to UHF when ATSC was adopted, MANY (far too many, IMHO) “DTV” antennas simply IGNORE (or really poorly serve) the VHF and FM bands (FM broadcast in the U.S. actually lies BETWEEN old-skool VHF channels 6 and 7), and so, you MUST check a website like tvfool.com, and see if any of the “DTV” channels in your area still remain on VHF, BEFORE you go shopping for a brand-new “DTV” antenna.

Or you can just use that nice old Yagi up on its 30-foot tower…

UHF goes back to the early 1950’s. The problem was that the 3 major networks already occupied the VHF spectrum. PBS didn’t exist and any (UHF) independent TV stations could only exist in large cities because of limited programming and ad revenue.

Of course it didn’t help that UHF tuners weren’t required to be in each new TV until the early 1960’s. And even then to tune UHF you had to get up and go to the TV then set the VHF tuner to UHF mode and then use the UHF tuner to select a channel.

If the possibilities are binary… it’s really an over-expectation that a new antenna would be able to pick up any DTV channel I may possibly receive? UHF and/or VHF

Yes, that’s an over-expectation for a generic “new antenna”. There are antennas that will do all current frequencies, but it’ll be pretty large. Most people look for smaller antennas, so you need to be aware of the limitations.

I"ve got one myself! That’s why I was surprised that “new” ones wouldn’t necessarily receive all your channels.

That is an EXTREMELY vague and ambiguous comment. It also implies, many, some or at least a few have not.
Requiring someone to research channel frequencies (understand virtual channels vs RF channels) seems a bit over the top. Personally I think some, research is a good idea.

It’s only ~25’ near the woods - despite all the modern info and data saying it’s not adequate… it continues to work

M[quote=“djk44883, post:26, topic:19242”]
That is an EXTREMELY vague and ambiguous comment. It also implies, many, some or at least a few have not.
Requiring someone to research channel frequencies (understand virtual channels vs RF channels) seems a bit over the top. Personally I think some, research is a good idea.
[/quote]
It SEEMS like a “vague and ambiguous comment”… when you remove the rest of the sentence, and I also didn’t “imply” that some channels did not move [to UHF from VHF], I simply stated it. Why the drama?

I also not only advised to use a site like tvfool.com, I provided a clickable link to the proper page on that site!

LDepending on your location, for example, an apartment dweller within 25 mi of most transmitters, they don’t have to be large.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HKGK9I/

Yep, Rabbit Ears. And no, I’m not kidding. Not one bit!

I was helping a friend set up his new Samsung TV and new Apple TV. He lives a good 30 miles from the major antenna farm in our area.

I had one of those antennas (link, above) that I had never unboxed, so I brought it there, hooked it to the TV, and unceremoniously pointed it in the general, GUESSTIMATED direction of those towers, and ran a channel scan…

33 Channels (IIRC).

So there it was, a slightly updated version of good d rabbit ears!

But, YMMV. I’m just sayin’, lotsa snake oil in the “Digital Antenna” business…

Were any of them VHF? It not, your friend got lucky.