Antenna help/reccomendations for the Short North

[phooka]

I live right off High in the south end of the Short North.

I have tried the following antennas:

Old Radio Shack UHF "phaser" (with and without a 10dB amp)
Jensen Low Profile Set Top Amplified Antenna (30dB amp IIRC)
Terk HDTVi (with and without the 10dB amp)

The only antenna that has pulled in WOSU was the Jensen. The problem was it could not consitantly pull in WBNS or WCMH. I think it was getting confused by multipathed signals.

I am using a LG-3510A as the tuner.

Any suggestions?

[nakedeye]

go with an outdoor antenna, preferably one that is omni directional in your area

[frenchophile]

I think you should try a non-amplified antenna before going to outdoor. I live just north of cmpus and get all the channels with a $7 model I bought at Meijer. The signal for WCMH and WBNS is very strong in the city, and you can cause more interference/multipath by amplifiying. Just a thought.

[Jakebert]

I just hooked up a Terk HDTVs from Best Buy to the same the same LG tuner. With the antenna laying on my floor on the southwest side of Columbus, I am picking up 9 HD channels. The antenna is NOT cheap - 150 bucks but it works just fine. I too went through several antennae before giving up and getting HD through Wowway cable but at an extra 20 bucks a month for 4 channels. The HD cablebox is going back today.

[whitllam]

I live in the Short North (corner of High & Buttles) and have an indoor antenna (Philips). I've found that if you turn down the gain on the UHF signal, it pretty much reduces any signs of multipath from WCMH, WBNS, and WTTE (I'm getting about 95% on all of them).

I have the gain turned up slightly on the VHF side to pick up WSYX cleanly, but the signal strength on 13 is even jumpy from multipath even when the amp is turned all the way down.

We're so close to the towers that multipath IS a definite issue, and even more so if you live in a multi-story building that may be constructed of steel frame or metal studs. As for WOSU, I also have TWC, so my only concern OTA is picking up 6 and 28, but I haven't been able to get a decent lock on 38 to pick it up without adjusting my current UHF loop position.

EDIT: by the way, thanks to all of the moderators for getting this site back up to replace hdcolumbus.org. It's great to be able to discuss issues like this and help everyone out. I hope that we can get everyone back on board that was involved over on Jon's site.

[seibu1]

I also live in the short north (right above Gallery V). I'm picking up my HDTV tomorrow and I'll obviously want to get an antenna as well for ABC and FOX. Do you guys have any suggestions?

[O2C]

If you're stuck with an indoors antenna, I'd say try a Silver Sensor (I'm using a clone now). You can pick up an attenuator at Radio Shack for $10 or so. Some people really like their 15-1880 -- I think I'll pick one up tonight while they're still out there.

[seibu1]

Thanks, man.

[seibu1]

I ended up picking up a $10 antenna from Radio Shack and it works great! I've got a good signal on all the local HD feeds, and most importantly SYX and TTE.

I'm going to watch MNF with it tonight, so I'll let everyone know how it responds over the course of 3+ hours, but so far, so good!

[Gimpy McFarlan]

If you're stuck with an indoors antenna, I'd say try a Silver Sensor (I'm using a clone now). You can pick up an attenuator at Radio Shack for $10 or so. Some people really like their 15-1880 -- I think I'll pick one up tonight while they're still out there.

Hi O2C,
Do you recommending the adjustible attenuators from Radio Shack? I'm looking for something to make my reception more relianble.

I have the Directv H10-250 receiver and use a Terk HDTVi antenna for local HD channels. I live in Gahanna (on Johnstown Road between Hamilton & Morse) and most of the time I don't get stable HD reception from any of the local channels.

[O2C]

If you've got a strong signal and if you're experiencing multipath issues, an attenuator might help the problem. But I'm guessing that's not what's happening for you.

The Silver Sensor and clones are extremely directional. In Gahanna, you're only 11 miles out from most of the towers. So long as you have a clear line of sight to your southwest, you should be able to get a stable HD signal on the major networks. Of course if your TV room is in the northeastern most room in your house, you'll have issues with an indoor antenna.

[Gimpy McFarlan]

So long as you have a clear line of sight to your southwest, you should be able to get a stable HD signal on the major networks. Of course if your TV room is in the northeastern most room in your house, you'll have issues with an indoor antenna.

Thank you for the advice O2C. I don't have a great line of sight to the SW since I'm in a condo community but it isn't terrible either. I've tried extending the antenna to several rooms (both 1st and 2nd level) with the same result. Perhapts I need to convert to an outdoor antenna?

What is frustrating is that occasionally the reception will be perfect on just about every local channel. However, most of the time, the picture will be perfect for 30-60 seconds and then the video freezes and audio drops briefly event though the antenna hasn't been touched.