Antenna selection

[arande2]

Hello.

Here's what I have to deal with. (Go to the bottom if you don't want to read this much).

I have 4 [digital] stations all within 20 degrees (40 to 60 Azimuth) of each other that are all 6-8 miles from my house. Then there's one station that happens to be at 294 degrees and is 13 miles away.

What I want to do is get a TV antenna to pick up stations on one TV. I already have an indoor antenna on another TV and the converter box (I have 2) on that TV shows all stations except one at 100 signal (the other one is around 40-50). If I readjust the antenna, I can get 100 on the (used to be) weakest channel, but then I completely lose another - and the one I lose is my most wanted station. The indoor antenna is on the opposite side of the house relative to the transmitters and is against the wall.

The station that is at 294 is not a station I watch at all, and no one else in the family does either. I was considering installing the MS-1000 in my attic, but am not sure if I'd be able to get all the stations well. I only have one Band III VHF station on 10, and that's the only one I have any real reception trouble with.

My house walls are brick and the roof is some sort of composite I believe. There's also a chimney that might be in the way of the antenna for receiving the station located at 294.

The Bottom Line: Would the MS-1000 in the attic be able to pick up all the stations without a problem? Our HOA is not fond of antennas and I'd like to minimize costs (no rotor).

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Also, there are 2 100,000W FM Transmitters 5 miles North of my house. I am wondering if this might mess with the converter box. It doesn't seem to with the indoor antenna. I have been right between the transmitters in a car and the car radio was acting funny. It wouldn't pick up any stations near those 2 stations or any weaker stations in my area until I got farther from the transmitters.

Side Note: I also plan to purchase an FM antenna from Winegard, but am not sure if I should post it here or not since this is HDTV Home Antenna and not FM. The situation with the FM antenna is actually more important to me than the TV antenna. It has to do with whether or not to get a directional antenna (HD6000) because most of the stations I want are in the general direction West (Including SW and NW) and some are pretty far away (the far ones are Directly West). I was hoping to be able to pick up the 100kW stations on the side of the antenna, but there are 2 others that are weaker (but still close). Then on the front I was hoping to get all the far and lower power stations which are directly west or a bit Northwest, and 1 SW. Basically, I think I could get away with pointing the antenna W-NW. I have a chart I made on where they are, but I don't know if I should post here or E-mail instead.

Sorry for the length
Thanks!


EDIT: Oh, and my zip is 65742. I noticed on Antennaweb that zip gives red blue and violet, although if I enter my address and everything I get three yellow and one blue (ABC is blue). CBS is the only one I can't get a full signal on (the signals do vary a lot, sometimes they're all down in the 60s and I do get dropouts, especially if someone walks by the antenna).


EDIT2: To give you more information about my reception, I unhooked the indoor antenna from the TV and I still got one channel (3.1 KYTV) at a signal level of 50. I was surprised by this. More about my current reception, I took the indoor antenna to the other room and I get 100 signal from 3 transmitters and 40 from the other 2 without even positioning the antenna or plugging it in. I'm starting to think I don't even need an MS-1000, something along the lines of a Sensar III might do it. I'm hoping you guys can help.


SIMPLIFIED VERSION

--- Okay, if you read all of the above and it made no sense to you, here's a simpler version that should get my question across.


I want to make sure I have reliable reception. There are 5 DTV stations in the area, the farthest being 13.5 miles away. With the kitchen antenna (set up right), all stations are normally 90+ signal on the converter box, while one is around 40-50 most of the time and occasionally drops out.

At first I was thinking of getting an MS-1000, but I found that USING A PAIR OF SCISSORS AND A BATTERY AS AN ANTENNA, I got 100 signal on 4 stations, and 80 on the other station. With that in mind, I am doubting I really need an MS-1000, or even any other antenna. In fact, do you think I could get by with a wire (cut for an average of the frequencies from channel 13 to 44) lying on the floor? The reason why I'd like to minimize costs is so I can focus (more budget) on an FM antenna, as that's much more important to me.

[winegard]

Good morning arande2 -

I have sent your post to our Technical Services Manager for further review. I will post back soon.

Thank you for being a part of our community.

[arande2]

Thank you for the help.

[winegard]

Winegard recommends the MS-1000 antenna because of the spread between your TV stations. Trying to use apiece of wire is going to be difficult since you will to deal with VSWR and impedance issues with a number of different frequencies.



As for the FM questions you are correct in that the HD-6000 would be your best choice to try and receive both the distant and local stations.

[KNP 2516]

There is laws that says that no one can prohibit you from putting up a outside antenna on your property.

The FCC and the federal government guarantee's you that you are allowed to put up a antenna to receive television broadcasts. Basically if you want to put up a antenna, there is nothing that they can do about it.

After doing some research on TV fool, it says that you can receive as many as 8 stations by just putting a antenna on your roof and could probably receive 4 more by adding a pre amplifier and doing some work.

http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option= ... &Itemid=90 65742 - Rogersville, MO

http://www.antennapoint.com/

Sign Affiliate Analog Digital Band Power City Distance Heading
Total results: 15 KYTV NBC 3 44 UHF 1000.0 kW Springfield 7.07 mi 66.57°
KOZK PBS 21 23 UHF 100.0 kW Springfield 7.07 mi 66.57°
KSFX-TV 27 28 960.0 kW Springfield 8.63 mi 43.41°
KOLR CBS 10 10 UHF 19.6 kW Springfield 8.63 mi 43.41°
KSPR ABC 33 19 UHF 1000.0 kW Springfield 8.63 mi 43.41°
KWBM 31 31 191.0 kW Harrison 29.01 mi 180.26°
KWFT 34 34 87.1 kW Eureka Springs 69.49 mi 226.94°
KNWA-TV 51 50 1000.0 kW Rogers 70.15 mi 225.08°
KOZJ PBS 26 25 UHF 55.0 kW Joplin 81.85 mi 268.05°
KODE-TV ABC 12 43 UHF 1000.0 kW Joplin 81.85 mi 268.05°
KSNF NBC 16 46 UHF 1000.0 kW Joplin 82.40 mi 268.07°
KOAM-TV CBS 7 7 VHF 4.2 kW Pittsburg 91.28 mi 274.43°
KFJX 14 14 182.0 kW Pittsburg 91.28 mi 274.43°
KSBN-TV IND 57 39 UHF 316.0 kW Springdale 94.74 mi 227.06°
KHOG-TV ABC 29 15 UHF 180.0 kW Fayetteville 95.47 mi 216.81°