outdoor antenna

[hemi_newman]

I live in a rural area..duluth,mn is about 70miles away,twin cities are over a 100miles away and eau claire,wi is 90miles away. Does anyone know of an outdoor tv antenna that works?We used to get channels from Duluth and eau claire until digital came out and i refuse to pay $100 a month for tv. How do those 150mile range ones works? Thanks

 

[whitedust]

You can pay a lot less than $100 per month for TV just depends on if you want NFL ticket movie channels or just basic TV......just guessing but maybe 30 a month for basic maybe less. Check out Dish as always very inexpensive up front & Direct TV. Plus they throw in free DVRs which you will use all the time. Cable is a rip off & cable I have seen not true HD.

 

[hemi_newman]

We can not get cable were i live so its direct tv or antenna..im just trying to avoid another bill...a one year old daughter is damn expensive!

 

[whitedust]

Dish & Direct are Satellite TV. They own all equipment do free installation for $30 maybe less a month introduction may be $19 a month for year then about $30 a month. I'm about 100 miles from Wausau & antenna installers would not even discuss signal quality. Response was might work might not ...yea right forget it. All you going to get on antenna is network & maybe not all of them. I know what you mean about paying for TV but pretty much the way it is now days so find your best deal & may include hi speed internet too. You are quite a distance out to pick up anything without a tower so Satellite more competitive where cable sees you as captive. Really no ROI in antenna as too limiting to what is available for entertainment out there with History ,Disocovery, Nat Geo, Weather & all the kid stations + radio stations. Then PPV is much cheaper than going out to movies see whatever when ever. More things to consider than network TV.

 

[98panther]

My place is about 30 miles SE of you, and I tried a few antennas. None of them work with the new signal.
Even talked to a guy about a tower, said it wouldn't work either.

I have Dish with locals and the "Welcome package" for 15 a month. Bought my equipment.
Heard this package is no longer available but also heard some have been able to talk them into it away.

 

[GTL]

Outdoor antenna

Check out "jack tv for free" It's a small antenna originally designed for RV's and they sell a pole mounted one. My cabin is south of Motley and we now pull in 11 channels. (all of the metro, Alexandria and Duluth) You just need a newer TV or the converter box. It should retail for about $50.00.

 

[98panther]

You can look at this website and can see if anything is even possible.
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

It will show where and how far the signal is coming from.
Motley is getting signals resent from somewhere.

 

[booondocker]

We can not get cable were i live so its direct tv or antenna..im just trying to avoid another bill...a one year old daughter is damn expensive!

You want TRUE high def? Get an antenna.

Problem is that when they went to digital, those folks out in the boonies sort of got screwed. VHF, though perhaps snowy...at least traveled far and wide, where as UHF stations are sort of like the difference between AM radio and Fm radio. They work better in the short areas, but suck for long distance.

However...having been in the same situation and having a problem with giving up my FREE tv for TV which keeps on costing you...just like the ever ready bunnie...the bills just keep coming and coming....I found that you CAN get some decent antenna's out there. Remember there really isn't much on TV worth watching anyway so saving on that stuff adds up.

Digital became very very sensative to direction and for me getting up to turn the rotor every time you want to change stations is not very much fun.

Here is my suggestion. Get an "omni directional" antenna and call it a day.

Get one that is fully amplified...you will need all the boost in the signal that you can get because you are DEEP fringe....

An omni is what you often see on an RV or Boat. They look like a saucer on a stick. They cost about 75 bucks or more but they will gain signal and don't need to be rotated as they pick up signal almost 360 degrees..almost.

I found out that they are sensative to angle tho...so before you mount it...spend some time finding the best place so that you can change the angle the saucer is tipped.

Don't mount it in the attic....you loose too much signal there. And I would put a rotater on it so that you can fine tune it cause under some atmospheric conditions it will be required. Don't scrimp on amplifiers cause they are not all created equally and you will need all the boost possible.

You then get FREE tv with FULL digital High DEF qualities. And every month you can save money....enough eventually to buy a brand new sled because you DIDN'T go for the super duper package that ended up costing you $400 to get installed and a monthly fee of $75.

 

[mjkaliszak]

I don't find the 2 big satellite companies very cheap. Yes Dish is cheaper than Direct but it seems that Direct TV's bill is getting as bad as the Phone Company. Way back in the early 80's there was something called a " Beam Box " I believe it is similar to what " Booondocker " it referring to above. My budd used to use it to pick up radio stations from other large cities. I seem to be in dismay when I look at my DIRECT receipt every month that gets charged against my CC. That is only permitted to access their " FREE HD " for life .... which isn't exactly free. You still have to rent the HD reciever then when I add 3 additional TV's and a premium package just to watch the " SCIENCE CHANNEL ".... it adds up quickly.

I like what 98panther said about a tower.... I think the satellite Tv thing is getting out of hand, along with the wireless phones, internet providers ect... When I add all that up in this house it is a chunk of money.

Enough of my whinning.... it's Thanksgiving !

 

[Team Elkhorn]

Starting to see more and more antennas going up on our street. We started with Direct then switched to Dish. We rarely even turn the TV on. Its hard to justify paying that bill every month. Called an antenna guy. (I really don't have the time to experiment with this on my own). He said I was in a good location, with a 15 foot tower, (I'm in a low area by a lake), a good antenna and a rotator, I could pick up stations from Chicago, Rockford, Madison and Milwaukee. And all it would cost is about 500 dollars. I told him I would think about it. After two years, I'm still thinking about it. Anyway, its Thanksgiving, one of the few times the TV will be on to watch the games. Gotta get my moneys worth today, don't ya know.

 

[yamaholic]

I put two antennas up this summer my house and another, bought both from RadioShack around $80 each also installed antenna booster on both they work great. Antenna booster is a must have.

 

[xcr440]

Get a buddy.

Tell DirecTV you have a cabin you want a second dish to set up for yourself, and split the bill.