antenna/HD newbie question CT area

nog

sorry for the long thread but as you will see i think i need help.

I am another new member and my experience with the HD world is minimal at best. I am looking to enter into the HD world and I do not live in the best of areas. I checked the antennaweb.org site to see if I have any digital channels available and only two came back(my zipcode is 06374). I checked an area closer to Hartford(06106) and found about 6 or 7 digital channels and I was wondering, if I purchased an antenna like the channel master 4228 with the 7777 preamp would I be able to pick up the digital channel in the hartford area or would I only get the standard(non digital) feeds as seen in the listing below for my zip code?
yellow - uhf WHPX-DT 26.1 PAX NEW LONDON CT 233° 23.4 34
* yellow - uhf WEDN-DT 53.1 PBS NORWICH CT 244° 17.1 45
green - uhf WHPX 26 PAX NEW LONDON CT 233° 23.4 26
lt green - uhf WEDN 53 PBS NORWICH CT 244° 17.1 53
blue - uhf WPXQ 69 PAX BLOCK ISLAND RI 167° 14.7 69
* violet - uhf WPXQ-DT 17.1 PAX BLOCK ISLAND RI Currently Not Avilable 132° 16.6 17
violet - uhf WSBE 36 PBS PROVIDENCE RI 84° 24.4 36
violet - vhf WLNE 6 ABC NEW BEDFORD MA 113° 38.0 6
violet - uhf WTIC 61 FOX HARTFORD CT 287° 47.2 61
violet - vhf WTNH 8 ABC NEW HAVEN CT 266° 56.4 8
violet - uhf WTXX 20 WB WATERBURY CT 274° 58.0 20
violet - uhf WUNI 27 UNI WORCESTER MA 27° 46.2 27
violet - uhf WUTF 66 TFA MARLBOROUGH MA 39° 53.1 66
violet - uhf WNAC 64 FOX PROVIDENCE RI 82° 34.5 64
violet - uhf WGBY 57 PBS SPRINGFIELD MA 331° 53.8 57
violet - uhf WGGB 40 ABC SPRINGFIELD MA 331° 53.9 40
violet - uhf WUVN 18 UNI HARTFORD CT 293° 46.0 18
violet - uhf WEDH 24 PBS HARTFORD CT 293° 46.2 24
violet - uhf WYDN 48 DAY WORCESTER MA 16° 42.9 48
violet - uhf WVIT 30 NBC NEW BRITAIN CT 286° 47.2 30
violet - uhf WWLP 22 NBC SPRINGFIELD MA 319° 49.0 22
violet - vhf WPRI 12 CBS PROVIDENCE RI 82° 35.3 12
violet - vhf WJAR 10 NBC PROVIDENCE RI 83° 34.8 10
violet - vhf WFSB 3 CBS HARTFORD CT 293° 46.2 3
violet - uhf WCTX 59 UPN NEW HAVEN CT 266° 56.4 59


Also (this is where I will start to sound really ignorant) I have an HD compatible TV and I would like to purchase an HD receiver but I would like to know if I would be able to watch any HD channels without subscribing to any service like HD digital cable or a satellite provider?

Any help from you experts would be apprecited.

Thanks in advance.

johnp37

Yes, you do need an HD receiver(set-top box) to receive high definition/digital channels.No, you need not subscribe to either digital cable or a satellite provider to get free digital reception.That is, local digital stations and others you may be able to pull in with a good UHF antenna properly oriented-see AntennaWeb.com.However, if you are looking for premium HD programming such as HBOHD,SHOHD,ESPNHD,etc.,you must subscribe to either of the above providers. johnp37

starkelect

There are also some HDTV stations in Springfield you may be able to get but one CH22 ( analog) is on CH11 freq. in Digital
I do not think you will get anything from Providence but they also have a VHF HD channel 12 is 13

RonInBigEasy

Ok, as far as you network channels are concerend and your questions about the antenna and pre-amp. It's hard for me to give you specific advice since you gave two zip codes and I have no idea where your house is in relation to the majority of the digital stations are, so I'll give you some general advice.

First of all, before you spend money on a pre-amp which more then likely would be overkill for you, in my opinion. What you'll have to do is go back to antenneweb, sort on digital, then click on the "view street level map". This will give you the direction you'll need to point your antenna to receive the stations you are looking for. You DO have to actually point the antenna at the direction of the signal. Looking at some of the stations that came up on the second zip code, there is some spread on the compass orientation. This WILL affect your signal strength. So what you'll have to do is decide on what stations you are looking to receive. In your case, it only looks like you can get NBC, CBS and FOX, all within 10 miles. The ABC digital station is 26+ miles away and at a greater compass orientation then the other three. So, the decsion you'll have to make is can you be happy with just NBC, CBS and FOX. If so, the 4228 with a pre-amp is way overkill. You can easily get by with a 4221 with no pre-amp. Now if you want to try and get ABC as well, I would not go with the pre-amp, I'd go with a 4221 with a rotator so you can point the antenna in the proper direction according to the station you are looking to receive.

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"I don't see any difference" - Typical wife response

nog

thanks for the input guys.

I am still a little confused. my zip code is 06374 and there are only 2 stations that come up as digital using this zip code. but if i try another zip code like the one for hartford or the one for springfield i can see two or more digital channels. If I pointed my antenna(assuming I purchased an antenna that had a range of 60-100 miles) in the correct direction would I be able to pick up those channels or can I only get the channels listed in my zip code look up (which is PBS and PAX)?

RonInBigEasy

Sure, if you had a strong enough antenna you should be able to pick up those stations, but that's just a general comment. Reception also depends on the lay of the land, obstructions between your house and the transmitters etc etc.

I'll tell you how sensative the antennas are. I'm an average of about 40 miles from all the stations in the New Orleans area. The compass orientation for me for ALL my stations is < 10 degree difference from a grouping of 5 of my stations and 2 others. I can pick up the 5 with an average signal strength of about 75+ but cannot get the other 2 to lock on and stay locked. I can move my antenna that 10 degree difference ( 1/2 " rotation of the poll) and I can pick up those other two with enough strength to lock and hold the signal but then I lose some of the other stations. I have a 4228 and it's mounted about 20' off the ground. The only obstruction I have is a tree line that's about 50' from my house and might be about 20' wide. After that most of the signal travels over water.

As someone told me, this OTA reception is more of an art then a science. There is a lot of trial by error involved at times.

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"I don't see any difference" - Typical wife response

starkelect

a good comparison of many popular UHF antennas is found on
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html

nog

thanks ron. you are helping make this new world a little more clear. i will not bother you much more but i have one more question. i live in a wooded area but my house is on a hill and if i were to put an antenna on my roof it wooud be even with if not a bit above the tree line. most of the stations are anywhere from 40-60 miles away so based on that would i need an antenna powerful enough to handle that range and a rotator so I can adjust the postion to help pick up different groupings of stations? i guess what i am asking is that if i figure out the compass orientation of a station (or set of stations) and the distance from the tower to my house can I figure out what size antenna to get and hope that the antenna sales associates will make sure i purchase the correct accessories (ie: preamp, rotator etc. if necessary).

Thanks again.

RonInBigEasy

Yea, that would work. But I'd suggest before you go out and buy a lot of stuff you might or might not need, go to the Channel Master website and ask to talk to one of their techs. They are pretty good and will give you solid info. Like I said before, and now based on what you said. I think you could easily get away with the 4228 with a rotator and do the job. But seeing that the rotator is about 70 bucks, I'd get a more informed "second opinion" from them first.

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"I don't see any difference" - Typical wife response

hdtv4me2

At 40+ miles out you'll probably need a pre-amp for sure. I have a CM 4228 and added the pre-amp, CM7775, since poor weather conditions would cause problems for me, I'm about 40 miles from my transmitters which there is a lot of hilly wooded terrain between us. I'm sure up in your neck of the woods it's about the same, lots of big trees, hills and lots of wet/damp nasty weather at times.

Get a good high quality, high gain antenna, like the CM 4228 and a good pre-amp and mount it as high as you can. Keep your RG6 cable run to your receiver as short as possible and aim carefully. Decide if you want/need channels that are more than 20 to 30 degrees away from your primary channel(s) and get a rotator if the answer is yes.

tigerbangs

Plainfield has always been a problem for TV reception, even in the old days of analog TV: everything is at least 30+ miles from you. Yes, you should be able to see HDTV from Providence, and possibly Hartford, but you are going to need the right equipment. I would first get myself an HDTV tuner: Best Buy has a Samsung available for $299.00, and Wal-Mart has a USDTV model for $200.00. Both companies have liberal return policies, so if it doesn't work out for you, you have lost nothing more than your time.

Next: buy a Channel Master 4228 8 bay UHF antenna, a Channel Master 9521a rotator, and a Channel Master Titan 7777 preamp and install them on your roof, preferably as high as you can manage. The 4228 does a reasonable job with VHF high-band signals, so you will have no problem getting WPRI-DT from Providence on Channel 13.

Don't be afraid: DTV reception is much easier than you might think with the right equipment. Don't judge your potential digital reception based on antennaweb.org, as they are notoriously conservative when listing DTV stations: Rule of thumb: if Antennaweb list an analog station in your area in violet, and the station has built out a full-power DTV station, expect to see that station in digital if you are within 50 miles for the signal with the Channel Master 4228 and the preamp.

http://www.channelmaster.com
http://www.channelmaster.com/pdf/AntInstallGuide.pdf

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Real men don't use indoor antennas; neither do real women!

cableguy

Hey Nog,
I live in Montville , i have the antennasdirect.com longest range UHF/VHF combo , Channelmaster 7777 Amp , and a rotator.
I live on a small hill and point into a larger hill about 5 miles to my west(hartford),and large pine trees to my west(providence)....
The 1st number in the list is NTCS,2nd is ATSC that goes with it.
First Hartford/NewHaven Stations

Ch3/33.1WFSB : dont get it
Ch30/35.1WVIT: pretty good , weather depending
Ch61/31.1WTIC: pretty good , better than Ch 30
Ch8/10WTNH : very good

Norwich/Newlondon

Ch53/45WEDN:rock solid
Ch26/34WHPX:rock solid

Providence

Ch6/49WLNE : very little
Ch10/51WJAR:very little
Ch12/13WPRI:rock solid

Boston

Ch2/19WGBH : very clear nights
Ch5/20WCVB : 2 times over the summer
I get all those and more NTSC.
Hope this helps.
Oh , the tuner is a Samsung TX-P2670WH, Just ordered a Sony
KD-34XBR960 , I hope it does as well for the tuner.
Good Luck!

Jamesflames

So with a channelmaster antenna, rotor, and preamp I may be able to pull HD signals from Norwich, CT. 06360. I have a Sony HD300 as my HD receiver/ota receiver. I cannot pull in an analog picture with plain 'ol rabbit ears hooked straight to a TVbut can pick up sound on a few channels.

RSawdey

Rabbit ears work best for a rabbit's audio...

John C. Kosick

LOL.................... you are correct sir!

How can anyone even think about 'rabbit ears' on a 'HD
forum' ??? ...........

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JKnPA