95062 Large Multi-Directional Antenna suggestions?

[ibjaime@hotmail.com]

When I go to AntennaWeb.org it recommends a Large Multi-Directional Antenna. I used the "Show All Stations" button. AntennaWeb shows a total of 10 Channels:

DTV/Ant.Type/Call Sign/Channel/Network/City,State/Compass Heading/Miles/RF Channel

DTV yellow vhf KCBA-DT 35.1 FOX SALINAS, CA 105° 31.1 13
DTV yellow vhf KSBW-DT 8.1 NBC SALINAS, CA 105° 31.1 8
DTV yellow uhf KSMS-DT 31.1 UNI MONTEREY, CA 105° 31.1 31
DTV green uhf KION-DT 46.1 CBS MONTEREY, CA 132° 36.8 32
lt green uhf KMUV-LP 23 UNI MONTEREY, CA 105° 31.1 23
lt green uhf KTEH1 54 PBS SAN JOSE, CA 27° 12.3 54
lt green uhf KMCE-LP 43 AZA SAN MARTIN, ETC., CA 105° 31.1 43
lt green uhf KYMB-LP 27 TBN MONTEREY, CA 145° 31.4 27
blue uhf K56AA 56 PBS SAN FRANCISCO, CA 132° 36.5 56
violet vhf KMMD-CA 3 IND SALINAS, CA 132° 36.9 3

I'm confused about the UHF and VHF thing, and which channels are worth going after.
On WineGard's antenna selector I entered:
Yellow, Green and Light Green in the Color Code section. (not trying for blue or violet.)
High VHF and UHF for frequency type. (8 & 13 in High VHF. 23,27,31,32,43,54 in UHF.)
40 degree's for station angles. (I figured I'd go for 105 to 145 degrees.)
40 miles for max. distance.

Antenna Selector recommends:
HD7694P
Multiple Antenna System or Rotor Recommended
Maximum Mileage: 50 Miles
Channels: 7 - 69

I don't want to mess with a rotor.
I'd like to stick with a single antenna.
Is there a decent Multidirectional Antenna out there that will be the best bang for the buck?
I live in a 2-story home, in an area without local stations.
What do you recommend???
PLEASE HELP!!!

[winegard]

Good afternoon ibjaime -

I'm confused about the UHF and VHF thing,

VHF channels are channels 2 - 13 while UHF channels are channels 14 - 51 (currently). They require a different style antenna to receive the signals. You have 3 VHF channels in your list.

and which channels are worth going after.

This part is fairly simple, especially for your area. When some people look at their list they see 2-3 ABC stations all in different areas. They really only need to acquire one of those signals so they do not enter the data for the other stations into the selector. From your post you are doing this right as long as you do not care about receiving PBS or IND stations at the bottom of your list.

Antenna Selector recommends:
HD7694P
Multiple Antenna System or Rotor Recommended
Maximum Mileage: 50 Miles
Channels: 7 - 69

I don't want to mess with a rotor.
I'd like to stick with a single antenna.
Is there a decent Multidirectional Antenna out there that will be the best bang for the buck?
I live in a 2-story home, in an area without local stations.
What do you recommend???
PLEASE HELP!!!

What the selector is telling you is fairly accurate. I will say we built that selector to error slightly on the conservative side and we feel that is still correct because the DTV signals have been found to not travel quite as far as they had originally planned.

The HD7694P also has a chance of pulling in all of the channels you wish to receive without a rotor, but it may be needed. The beamwidth is around 38 degrees so you are right on the boundary and may or may not be pulling in enough signal. The multidirectional antennas are all rated closer to 30 miles and would not be recommended.

There are 2 other options including the HD-1080 and the GS-2200 with Wingman add-on. These have a lower mileage rating than the HD7694P, but have a larger beamwidth so they have a better chance of not needing a rotor, but a lesser chance of pulling in all of the signal you need.


Please let me know if you need any further information. Our goal is always to provide as much knowledge as we can in making an antenna buying decision instead of just blindly stating to go buy such and such.