I am thinking about dumping dish, just wondering if anyone uses the newer digital outdoor antenna's, I need one that can reach out near or over 100 miles, thanks, david
I've used one. They work well. Unless you are high on a tower (75' or more) and have no obstacles between you and the source, I don't think you will recieve any station 100 miles away. Digital doesn't do "snow". No weak, static-laden, ghosted images from a weak signal. If the signal is strong enough, you get a picture. If it's not strong enough, you don't. My antenna is on my roof, placing the antenna about 30' off the ground. The house is on a hill, not the largest in the area but there are no significant obstacles between the transmitters. The antenna was about $50 and I think the range color was purple or blue, it's been a long time. I get stations that are 30 miles away with no problem. Stations 45 miles away are hit and miss with the weather conditions. Your mileage may vary. I don't think a $200 antenna would do better in my conditions without signal amplifiers.
I have the most expensive one Radio Shack sells in the attic. At the shop I have the next one down and it is on top the roof. They are directional. We are fairly high. No way will either one pull in a station 100 miles away. 35 is close to the limit. Sometimes a couple of stations cut out. On my to-do list is adding an amplifier at the house.
It will depend on terrain more than anything else. Before we went to Dish, we got good reception from stations 60 miles away, but terrain was in our favor. We are on top of the highest hill around here(300'), and it is the first hill north of the coast. We were using an old-fashioned yagi-style antenna with an amplifier.
Digital TV antenna are the same thing as the old UHF antennas. Same frequency spectrum, same line-of-sight limitations...
We had a bunch of 70 - 80' trees between our digital antenna and the tower. Had horrible reception. Weather, wind blowing, etc, made it even worse. Like the other guys have said, clear line of sight is going to be a big deal. Any obstructions will greatly reduce effective range. I was a happy camper the day the cable company ran service to our area.
At the Cabin, I have the best antenna that Radio Shack sells, a 50' mast, & signal amplifier. I have a rotor so that I can "tune" in the different broadcast antenna directions. I watch stations up to 120 miles away.
I must be doing something wrong. In FL, the transmitters are about 10 miles away, over flat ground. Most stations are strong, but can be hit-and-miss in bad weather. Same thing here in SC, but made worse by the hills. I can SEE the towers from my antenna location, but don't always get signal. I'm so glad we were force-fed digital television; tell me the cable/dish companies weren't behind it. More and more, I'm learning to do without TV.
I put in an outdoor antenna a few years ago. I bought it on Ebay for $30. I lost a few stations when they went over to digital. The antenna didn't help. I couldn't get anything with indoor antennas and amplifiers. Like everyone else said, weather conditions are a factor. I also have a terrain factor with mountains to my north. But, at the end of the month, there isn't any bill. I've never had cable or dish.
When I go to hotels, I get to see cable. That's when I realize that there's more stations with nothing worthwhile to see. Most of the stuff you can pick up on the internet.
I got one from Newegg 3 years ago and it does well but not great. Line of sight is the main problem. It has the amplifier for it and I run it through my Dish receiver so I get both digital air stations and satellite local stations. It's funny seeing the 5 second delay from the satellite compared to the antenna.
Thanks for all the input, this has been the factor from the beginning, line of sight, which lead me to dish, the ridge west of the house is just a bit higher than a good tower would reach over, trees, trees, trees, my wife wants to dump the monthly bill, and I am with this, but, I am not the reader she is either, ;D I reckon if we do it, and it looks like it will happen, I might become a fantastic reader ;D I just like watching ball games, what can I say,, david
I'd been forced to use wireless for broadband internet too, until the cable company started servicing our area. For TV, we only have their local channels and such. But I do like having that high speed Internet.
Well It is a bitter/sweet day,, after over a year of, putting off the inevitable, I finally installed the Clear Stream 4.
The initial channel search came up with 5 crystal clear HD channels. So now I have to take it to the roof. Just wanted to let some folks know, and thank those of you who took time to offer suggestions.