Ota, antennas and other cable solutions

I’ve had services with every channel in the world but have no use for tv in France or Nigeria . The service I’m using now gives me every channel in the USA , UK & Canada . The perfect balance of my primary language :+1: cheers :beers:
:pirate_flag: Pete :pirate_flag:

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Pirate,
How well a flat antenna (or any other type for that matter) works depends heavily on terrain, the locations of the broadcast towers, the frequencies broadcast, whether the broadcaster is depending on a single tower or multiple towers, etc.

In general, simple cheap Yagi antennas mounted completely outside at an appropriate height and aimed correctly will out perform any of the elegent looking flat antennas.

Also, brands really don’t matter as far as the antennas themselves. What can make a difference with the flat ones is the quality of the signal booster.

ALL antennas depended on sympathic electromagnetic vibrations induced on the antenna by the waves generated by the broadcast towers.

I already know this. What do you mean by elligant ? I don’t understand
:pirate_flag:Pete :pirate_flag:

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There is a very compelling reason to have some sort of OTA capability.

In many locales, local radio is largely just broadcasting national satellite feeds. In the event of weather emergencies, local TV tends to do a much better job of reporting on stuff that may be important to you & yours. OTA doesn’t depend on any sort of cables coming to your house or apartment. Small, modern LED TV’s don’t make much of detent on the current available on even small generators. In the past 3 years, we’ve had 3 occasions where had no power or internet ranging from 12 hours to 7 days. OTA was a godsend, along with some content which I had saved on a hard drive.

You know, the ones that look sleek with no elements (IE prongs) sticking out them and look pretty with some type of simple geometric design. Flat antennas, antennas encased in plastic, fall into the look-good at the expense of effectiveness.

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I never looked at them as elligant before. Just a flat plastic coated antenna made to match the wall. Mine works pretty good. I’m getting 85 channels in high def . Should I have not suggested it?

Where’s a good site learn to how to setup & install m3u s from github? TIA

I’m not sure. This is a section for OTA TV/Antennas, Not IPTV. Try using the search feature at the top of the webpage. Good luck .
:pirate_flag: Pete :pirate_flag:

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What type of terrain do you live?
Are you in a region with a lot of broadcast towers within your line of sight?

Your recommendation works well for you and your neighbors, no doubt.
But it’d be a very poor choice for my location.

The FCC has a website where you can fill in your address and get a good idea about the relative locations of the broadcast towers along with possible obstructions to the signals. Also, the type of signal (low uhf, high uhf, or vhf) is available. That data should be used to inform any decisions regarding the purchase and installation of an antenna.
Also, a decision about what is good enough should be considered. You may not need more than a few channels OTA… I definitely recommend at least one solid channel that does local news for emergency reasons.

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I tried one of those “flat” antennas. Absolute waste of money for me. No line of site to any broadcasting towers and living in the Rocky Mountains there’s no way you can get high enough with an antenna. So I had only internet to get my channels. My OTA adventure lasted a mere hour at best before futility set in.

I merely posted it as a suggestion . Of course terrains factors and yes there are multiple websites with online tools where you enter your zip code etc. . I’m sorry that you did not like the product. I will consult with you before posting any further suggestions. My apologies.

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Honestly, I’ve never seen someone so pompous in my life :person_facepalming:

The thing you need to do first is to get a signal strength test from where your proposed OTA antenna will be located on your property. That will let you know if there is enough signal strength to pull in OTA stations within 20 to 40 miles of where you live. Long range antennas are mostly a joke and will not work, especially in bad weather. If you can get a reliable signal, in addition to a good antenna, you will need a powered signal amplifier connected to your antenna. A roof mounted antenna will usually provide the best signal.

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The only app you need to help with antenna distance and location…

Antenna Point - Apps on Google Play

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I actually had an old long rabbit ears that I spliced into my coaxial cables outside that were connected to my main antennas and placed them outside attached reachable that I could rotate myself and was able to get 12 more channels mainly it was ABC that wasn’t coming in , it was a pain because I found myself re-directing them all the time,especially when the weather or wind was a factor, my neighbors thought I was nuts, now I rely on M3U’s, instead, but it worked,

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I agree 100% with everything here, except the amplifier.
They can help in some situations, but can also be a detriment in others.

interesting on the amp thing, until I hooked an amp in I didn’t get many,
the high def capability was great, but with all the channels you get with M3U’s I don’t really use the antennas, on my best day I got 85 channels,
With M3u’s I get thousands, I guess if my internet was sketchy , I would Antenna again, I still have them mounted,

An amplifier can help with weak, but unobstructed signals.
But they can actually add noise to signals which are already strong.

The one big reason from my personal experience to have a functioning antenna is for when internet and electricity is down.
Having access to local news is very important in emergency situations.

That’s true but if you don’t have a generator the TV wont work anyway, I would have to use my phones free radio signal and solar charger, unless you have any other choice, I thought of that, :slight_smile:

Yeah, you got to have a generator or one of those large lithium-ion power stations.
We do have a couple of generators.
I learned the hard way about 4-5 months after we moved to our present location when we had to throw away a fridge-full of food. It was a sunny, hot day with no wind events.
The power here is less reliable than many 2nd world locations.

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