Curious how others approach this situation:

1) New install, client is a DirecTV customer, so per my recommendation, we upgraded his dish to a triple LNB, and he went with the Samsung SIR160 HDTV DirecTV receiver (decent box, BTW - I had only used Zenith's SATHD520 until now).

2) Prior to purchasing any antenna for reception of OTA digital stations, I tested my trust Silver Sensor indoor antenna (it's a small, directional antenna). I hooked it up inside, directly to the antenna input on the SIR160. By inside, I mean in the cabinet, behind several walls, huge trees outside, etc. I was able to pull in 7 stations, including all our local network affiliates (this is the SF Bay Area).

3) Well, hell, I figured that since I could pull in 7 inside with multiple obstructions with a tiny indoor antenna, I'd be just fine w/just about anything outside on the roof, which has a completely unobstructed view towards the broadcasting towers in question.

4) WRONG! I tried to cut corners - I picked up a TERK 44 (the one that mounts on top of the dish), and got . . . ZERO stations!!!! I was stunned, although this was the 3rd time I'd been burned by the TERK 42/44.

5) Next try was the high-end Terk 55. Much better - now I got ONE OTA digital station !!!!!!

6) Finally got smart: bought a nasty, ungainly $35 clothes-line from RadioShack. Worked perfectly - 15 stations.

Yes, yes - I understand the diff in antenna designs - but really - should I be able to get 7 stations indoors w/a tiny antenna, but none outdoors, with no obstructions???

Love to hear how others approach the always-enjoyable antenna game for receiving OTA digital stations. Do you even try to use something small, or do you just always go for the same model, no matter how large, or ethetically unpleasing for the client's roof??

My approach is, don't mess around with crap. The new fancy-ass approaches to antennas will start to work when the radio waves start radiating in the shape of the Terk 44. Until then, the antenna theory and designs that have worked for 50 years are probably a pretty good place to stay.

Terk antennas have been promoted from day one as looking good. Well, they do. From the first FM Terk I ever saw, through to this email, look good is what Terk does. Kind of like Prince: his music is occasionally good, mostly uneven, sometimes totally boring, but man can he pose for a photo!

I used to be in charge of engineering for a small southern California audio/video chain. We grew to the point where I did not have to do all the work myself, and I hired a grizzled old guy named Howard, who was his own antenna installation company, to handle things. I learned from him:

I, with my corporate salary, where money comes in no matter what, can choose and try whatever antenna I want to, because I will still have an income if the first one or two tank on me.

He, in business for himself, had to have it WORK the first time, and he had little time to bother with the latest greatest variation on antennas.

His choice for most situations that were not in fringe areas became mine, the Winegard HD-7210.

Yes, it is a "clothesline." BUT it does UHF and VHF, and it does not have any sections that poke up or down from its main plane, so I have actually put one inside a flat roof, where there was only about 22" of height.

It is very directional, which works here in Los Angeles.

It has a higher front-to-back rejection ratio, so it picks up fewer ghosts than most antennas (it is nicknamed the GhostKiller; few of us realize that many ghosts come as reflections from BEHIND the antenna).

It is not too huge, either.

The only problem I have had is that the suppliers who used to stock it and sell it at a pretty good price have quit carrying antennas. The expensive guys still have it. And to get Winegard at a discount, you basically have to buy a truckload (which even kept those distributors from having stock sometimes).

Yep...

Nothing works better than an old clothesline. I've had it with esoteric antennas. If your client doesn't like the way it looks explain it this way... Having an antenna no longer means you are too poor to afford cable... it now means you and your HDTV are on the cutting edge!

Wait

I forgot

Terk Products that work

The AM Advantage antenna is an awesome item. It can pull weak stations out of the mud; it can even attenuate strong stations nearby to help you receive a station. It has the drawback that it has to be oriented and tuned for each station you want, so it is NOT for a consumer installation, but rather for a hobbyist. BUT IT WORKS.

I have heard that their multiswitches and dishes work, and I assume that is because these things are so straightforward that you can't screw them up by trying to make them look good first...so they look how they look, and people will only buy them if they work.

Try the Terk 55 without powering the built in amplifier. I did this last month with a Samsung box and found that the reception was so strong without the amp that powering it caused no signals to be received! Did not power the antenna and received all the stations perfectly!

One thing I didnt see listed, besides using a good antenna, if you are using di-plexers, you will might need a db gain amplifier to compensate for the db loss of the di-plexers. Holland Electronics makes a cheap CATV amp with a 15 db gain that works perfect for around 35 dollars

dcci, My input for what it is worth..Your small indoor antenna worked well because it was directional..The sat dish terk is not, and I have never seen an omni work well.(For HD/VHF/ or Uhf signals)..In the end it is all about not enough gain, and too much gain, then throw in ghosting..The best bet sometimes is to check out www.antennaweb.org they cane give you reccomendations on your zip code..


THXRick

I have been doing this for years and have never seen more than about a single dB lost through a diplexer. Being overcautious, two dB for mixing and separating... a 15 dB amp might introduce more problems that it solves unless the signal level is already marginal.

God bless whoever invented the signal level meter. It has made me able to SEE the levels in situations like this!