Antenna advice needed...

pr4424

Hello all,

I currently have Dish w/622 receiver. I live in between Hershey, Pa and Harrisburg, Pa...where local HD's are not available. My zip code is 17036. I started out with the DB2 where my reception was okay...then I got the DB4 and it got better but still not good enough....then I got the DB8 thinking I would have no problems...but my reception is no different then the DB4.

Am I buying the wrong type antenna? Help! Thanks

Patrick

smdp1

I thought my digital outlook looked bad...well part of your problem might just be that they are in all directions and you are using a semi-directional antenna...also one of your channels is on low band vhf...well for now anyway...post transition it looks like you will have two vhf high band channels...I can't really tell much without an exact location, but if you will go to tvfool.com and put in your exact address you can find out just how far and in what direction all your channels are in...but just so you know the db8 is not a vhf antenna so if its channel 21.1 or 27.1 your after, you will need a vhf antenna as 21.1 is broadcasting on ch 4 right now and 27.1 is on 10...nbc is going to channel 8 after 2/17/09 and 21.1 is going back to ch21...other than those little snags all channels digital is on uhf and going to stay on uhf so the db 8 should do ok for them...might just need a rotor and a good vhf antenna.....a hard to get vip305 or 306 from wade delhi would do it for vhf, but don't know if there is a easier option.

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my antenna is bigger than yours...lol couldn't resist

pr4424

I live on Creekside Drive but that address isn't in their database. I live right off of Deer Run Drive....which I put in but I'm not really sure how to read it. Am I okay with the DB8? Is that the best antenna for my area? I watch FOX, NBC and ABC the most...

Thanks for the quick reply!

Patrick

smdp1

currently your abc station is on channel 10 for its digital transmission so you will need a vhf for optimal reception on it....and nbc is going to be on channel 8 after the 2009 transition along with abc being on 10...remember just because the box will display a virtual channel number (ex. 27.1) doesn't mean that the channel is actually being broadcast on that channel....often the virtual number is the same as the analog channel number, but the actual channel will be different...27.1 is actually on channel 10....so short answer no the DB8 isn't likely to get it all by itself....if it is 27.1 you are having trouble with then you will need a vhf antenna to solve this problem...
maybe this will help in reading the channel list from tvfool
2-6 is vhf low 7-13 vhf high 14 and up is uhf.......the little circular plot shows the direction of the channels from the location entered so that you can aim your antenna easily...also on the list below is a compass reading for fine tuning if it is needed....using the list you obtained for your exact location see if the channels are in different directions from you....if they are then you might need a rotor too so that you can reposition your antenna without having to go outside and turn it by hand (I did that for years)

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my antenna is bigger than yours...lol couldn't resist

scblogs

good information!

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I'm also scblogs over here!