I hope this is the right category for this. I’m hoping to get some advice from the community.
I’ve recently moved across the country to the Greater LA area. Specifically, area code 90731 and I’m having some trouble picking up the Big 5, as I call them, with my indoor antenna.
I have a Tablo Dual OTA DVR connected to a Mohu Leaf 50 amplified antenna. The antenna is mounted on a wall, near the ceiling and a window, with the flat side facing North. According to a scan of the area code on antennaweb.com the Big 5 are all about 35ish miles away at either 8 or 9 degrees. Some of the stations come in strong and clear. For example CBS (36 miles at 8 degrees), NBC and CW (36 miles at 9 degrees) I get perfectly. But ABC (36 miles at 9 degrees) barely comes in and Fox (36 miles at 9 degrees) doesn’t come in at all.
I’m no expert, obviously, but it seems to me that all of the stations ought to come in clearly. Hence, asking for advice. What does the community think?
I’m in Phoenix, closer to our towers than you are to yours, and I experienced the same issues when I placed a flat indoor antenna in the window. I think it’s a given that indoor antennas just cannot perform like an outdoor one, no matter the antenna claims (those claims are ALL overstated, imho). I finally gave up trying to fiddle with indoor and went the outdoor route.
ABC and Fox are both VHF for you. ABC on RF 7, Fox on RF 11. Those small antennas are not that good for VHF. You really need something that can pick up VHF. Any chance of an outdoor antenna?
What does www.tvfool.com indicate? Are both of these stations hi-vhf?
If so a flat antenna might not pick up hi-vhf at 38 miles. Does the mohu site indicate that this antenna supports hi-vhf and at what distance? But there are other antennas that might. Many of these don’t come with a power injector but you can buy an amplifier.
I’m not sure my landlord would let me install one of those. Any suggestions for something I can mount on the side of an outside wall, outside a window?
This photo is from an Antop promotional brochure. I do know one person who has done this successfully using flat coax to get under the door. I suspect that the success of the Antop antenna is in part due to the pleasing design of the antenna’s case which makes balcony mounting look fine.
It is a FAKE photo showing a poorly Photoshopped cutout of an Antop pasted to a stock photo of a balcony. Look no wires! Look at the shadow at the bottom of the Antop - Not real.
If you go to their website it seems all their photos are done this way “for illustration purposes.”
I did a reverse image search and here is that balcony shot without the Antop on multiple websites:
I do have a small landing at the back door of my apartment that leads down to the shared yard where I could probably install something like this. I actually would be perfect since it would face right at the broadcast towers. But it would entail a long cable run, which I was trying to avoid. So, more food for thought on the best way to install an antenna.
The Antop comes with a preamp so a 100 foot cable run would be nothing for it. Here’s an interesting video of someone trying it in several places including a garden patio. From Tablo to router, are you using a wired or wifi connection which would influence your antenna placement?
