Does the Dish 811 HD box work well with an OTA HD Antenna???

oh-bee-one · 11-03-2005, 11:44 AM

I am a newbie in the HDTV game, and I have the Dish 811 HDTV box. The specifications of the box say you can use a OTA HDTV Antenna to pick up local HD signals.

How well does this box work with an OTA Antenna?

In addition, the antenna I purchased can mount with the satalite on the same mast. Is there anyway I can plug in to an extra outlet on the satalite dish instead of running new cable?

Suomi · 11-03-2005, 12:07 PM

I use an OTA antenna with an 811. It seems to work quite well. It really depends on the quality of the antenna.

As far as mounting the antenna on the dish's mast: I believe you will need to run a separate cable to the box because the 811 has one port to plug the dish into and another for the OTA antenna.

**rbinck** · 11-03-2005, 12:48 PM

There are OTA antennas that will piggyback on the Dish mast, depending on what size antenna you need. Give us your zip and we can advise better.

An OTA antenna can be combined into a satellite downlead by use of a diplexer at the dish end and another diplexer at the receiver end to split the OTA band back out.

oh-bee-one · 11-03-2005, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbinck

There are OTA antennas that will piggyback on the Dish mast, depending on what size antenna you need. Give us your zip and we can advise better.

An OTA antenna can be combined into a satellite downlead by use of a diplexer at the dish end and another diplexer at the receiver end to split the OTA band back out.

So it's just a matter of a Diplexer at the dish and another before the box? I thought there was more to it.

THe antenna I bought is the Terk Amplified HDTVo antenna, and acording to antennaweb, I'm about 28 miles from the Philadelphia towers. The antenna instructions say not to use the aplification box if plugging the unit into the Satalite cable.

**rbinck** · 11-03-2005, 07:02 PM

The amplifier is actually in the antenna and the box is a power injector. When used with a satellite receiver, the satellite receiver will supply the power to the antenna through the diplexer. Let us know how that antenna works out.

pedrohead · 11-05-2005, 07:11 AM

Can anyone point me to where you can find the antennas that directly mount to the dish? I haven't seen those before.

Also, what and where do you pick up a diplexer? Thanks again.

daleb · 11-05-2005, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pedrohead

Can anyone point me to where you can find the antennas that directly mount to the dish? I haven't seen those before.

Also, what and where do you pick up a diplexer? Thanks again.

You can find them at Wally World among other places. The more 'sophisticated' (?) ones have diplexers built-in. They seem to do a decent job on fairly close locals according to my neighbor.

pedrohead · 11-05-2005, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daleb

You can find them at Wally World among other places. The more 'sophisticated' (?) ones have diplexers built-in. They seem to do a decent job on fairly close locals according to my neighbor.

Wally World? when I did a "wally world" search on google, all i got was a warning about explicit adult material....

any links you can shoot me or further explain what wally world is?

daleb · 11-05-2005, 01:37 PM

WalMart.. Wally World came out of "Family Vacation" and had nothing to do with porn. Or KMart, CC, BB, or Target..or on the net..yada yada yada...

Do a search on 'clip on antenna'.. hopefully it will be porn free.

RSawdey · 11-05-2005, 04:24 PM

You REALLY need to avoid those clip-ons that follow the dish contour... they work horribly! First, they are sheilded from half the world by the dish itself, and second they are oriented to the satellite, not to the transmitters.

If you must use the dish's pole, at least use a standard antenna.

jldhawk · 11-05-2005, 05:29 PM

I HIGHLY recomend this antenna:

It is what I am using to get ALL of my locals. In digital and HD

daleb · 11-05-2005, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RSawdey

You REALLY need to avoid those clip-ons that follow the dish contour... they work horribly! First, they are sheilded from half the world by the dish itself, and second they are oriented to the satellite, not to the transmitters.

If you must use the dish's pole, at least use a standard antenna.

I agree, but for our neighborhood (and many others, I'm sure) they are actually well oriented for local pick up with satellite dishes pointed towards the southern hemisphere.
Just works out that way. I don't really like Terk products anyway, that's why if my Silver Sensor (or a RS UHF indoor) antenna did not work, I would opt for a real outdoor antenna.

oh-bee-one · 11-07-2005, 07:54 AM

Well, my Terk has a mast and mount that I can bolt on to the Mast of my satalite. I temp mounted the antenna on the deck just to see if it was worth using. I did get it hooked into the OTA port on the back of my 811 box and followed the instructions in the manual for setting up the stations.

I found that I only have a few Digital Stations (4) and the quality isn't any better than the local feed I get from Dish. Thankfully, my local radio shack and place I got the antenna have great return policies

Just sticking with DISH.

RSawdey · 11-07-2005, 08:27 PM

If the quality of your local HD digital stations is only as good as the SD locals via Dish, you've got something setup wrong. You should easily tell the improvement.

daleindenver · 11-07-2005, 08:34 PM

I used the 811 for ota and it worked good, till I unsubsribed to dishnetwork. Does any one know if i can convert it to ota without subsribing to dishnetwork.
Thanks

11-03-2005, 11:44 AM	#1
oh-bee-one What is HD? Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 3	Does the Dish 811 HD box work well with an OTA HD Antenna??? I am a newbie in the HDTV game, and I have the Dish 811 HDTV box. The specifications of the box say you can use a OTA HDTV Antenna to pick up local HD signals. How well does this box work with an OTA Antenna? In addition, the antenna I purchased can mount with the satalite on the same mast. Is there anyway I can plug in to an extra outlet on the satalite dish instead of running new cable? Last edited by oh-bee-one; 11-03-2005 at 11:47 AM.

11-03-2005, 12:07 PM	#2
Suomi blah Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Lansing, MI Age: 30 Posts: 130	I use an OTA antenna with an 811. It seems to work quite well. It really depends on the quality of the antenna. As far as mounting the antenna on the dish's mast: I believe you will need to run a separate cable to the box because the 811 has one port to plug the dish into and another for the OTA antenna. __________________ • Toshiba 52HM84 • Onkyo TX-SR701 receiver with 6.1 surround • Sony DVP-NC875V 5 DVD/SACD carousel • Harmon/Kardon T20 turntable (circa 1983) • Technics RS-TR 252 cassette deck (you remember tapes right?) • Toshiba W528 HiFi VCR (for my few remaining video cassettes) • Dish Network with 211 receiver (HDMI and component video for when the HDMI doesn't work and digital optical audio)

11-03-2005, 12:48 PM	#3
rbinck Administrator Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Katy, Texas Posts: 12,967	There are OTA antennas that will piggyback on the Dish mast, depending on what size antenna you need. Give us your zip and we can advise better. An OTA antenna can be combined into a satellite downlead by use of a diplexer at the dish end and another diplexer at the receiver end to split the OTA band back out. __________________ www.highdefinitionblog.com www.BlogOfHawaii.com

11-03-2005, 07:02 PM	#5
rbinck Administrator Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Katy, Texas Posts: 12,967	The amplifier is actually in the antenna and the box is a power injector. When used with a satellite receiver, the satellite receiver will supply the power to the antenna through the diplexer. Let us know how that antenna works out. __________________ www.highdefinitionblog.com www.BlogOfHawaii.com

11-05-2005, 01:37 PM	#9
daleb High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Clovis, CA Posts: 7,582	WalMart.. Wally World came out of "Family Vacation" and had nothing to do with porn. Or KMart, CC, BB, or Target..or on the net..yada yada yada... Do a search on 'clip on antenna'.. hopefully it will be porn free. __________________ Samsung PN50A650 plasma, Arcam AVR350, Dali Ikon6 (Vokal2&OnWalls), Outlaw Audio LFM-1EX sub, Anti-Mode 8033B, Oppo Digital BDP-83SE, Roku Digital, Furman Elite power conditioner

11-05-2005, 07:11 AM	#6
pedrohead High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 110	Can anyone point me to where you can find the antennas that directly mount to the dish? I haven't seen those before. Also, what and where do you pick up a diplexer? Thanks again.

11-05-2005, 04:24 PM	#10
RSawdey Mr. Wizard Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Ferndale, Michigan Age: 62 Posts: 5,981	You REALLY need to avoid those clip-ons that follow the dish contour... they work horribly! First, they are sheilded from half the world by the dish itself, and second they are oriented to the satellite, not to the transmitters. If you must use the dish's pole, at least use a standard antenna.

11-05-2005, 05:29 PM	#11
jldhawk Give me the NHL in HD Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Sioux City, Ia Age: 45 Posts: 277	I HIGHLY recomend this antenna: It is what I am using to get ALL of my locals. In digital and HD __________________ 52" JVC HD-ILA LCoS TV Dish Network 180HD Gold HD Package with Dish 411 Reciever Dish1000 antenna Pioneer 5.1 DTS Surround System Toshiba DVD/VHS with HDMI Upconversion for DVD's Off-Air Terk HDTV-s Rooftop antenna (2 HD Channel NBC off-air, 3 DTV from the off-air antenna) Dodge Ram (Ya, it's got a HEMI) Infinity Sound System

11-07-2005, 07:54 AM	#13
oh-bee-one What is HD? Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 3	Well, my Terk has a mast and mount that I can bolt on to the Mast of my satalite. I temp mounted the antenna on the deck just to see if it was worth using. I did get it hooked into the OTA port on the back of my 811 box and followed the instructions in the manual for setting up the stations. I found that I only have a few Digital Stations (4) and the quality isn't any better than the local feed I get from Dish. Thankfully, my local radio shack and place I got the antenna have great return policies Just sticking with DISH.

11-07-2005, 08:27 PM	#14
RSawdey Mr. Wizard Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Ferndale, Michigan Age: 62 Posts: 5,981	If the quality of your local HD digital stations is only as good as the SD locals via Dish, you've got something setup wrong. You should easily tell the improvement.

11-07-2005, 08:34 PM	#15
daleindenver What is HD? Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 1	dish 811 I used the 811 for ota and it worked good, till I unsubsribed to dishnetwork. Does any one know if i can convert it to ota without subsribing to dishnetwork. Thanks