Best OTA TV Indoor Antenna?

[ls99]

Most any antenna with a reflector is directional. Dipoles are bi-directional, Unless the reflector is a solid sheet, there will be back lobes which are signals picked up coming through the screen.

Very few antenna designs are high gain and omni directional, ex. collinear verticals. They are very expensive. Don't know of any made for the happy homeowner.

[Al18]

If you have aluminum siding on your house, it will prevent the reception of TV channels with an indoor antenna. In this case, you should install an attic or roof mounted antenna.

[nvestysly]

I've never had cable/Direct/Dish/etc. always been OTA. There are many good things about digital TV but the directionality is a big problem for my location. I live in the center of an urban area and the TV signals come from multiple directions. So even though the transmitters are within 10 miles or so the signals are transmitted from 75, 270 and 320 degrees respectively. Depending on weather conditions (wind, humidity) and airplane landing patterns (yes, airplanes flying overhead affect the signal) I sometimes have to rotate the antenna to pick up a reliable signal. I also have some VHF and some UHF signals.

So whether you use tvfool.com or some other resource be sure to look at the direction of the transmitters. This may affect your decision on which antenna will work best for you. I'm considering an antenna rotator.

[easysurfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nvestysly I've never had cable/Direct/Dish/etc. always been OTA. There are many good things about digital TV but the directionality is a big problem for my location. I live in the center of an urban area and the TV signals come from multiple directions. So even though the transmitters are within 10 miles or so the signals are transmitted from 75, 270 and 320 degrees respectively. Depending on weather conditions (wind, humidity) and airplane landing patterns (yes, airplanes flying overhead affect the signal) I sometimes have to rotate the antenna to pick up a reliable signal. I also have some VHF and some UHF signals. So whether you use tvfool.com or some other resource be sure to look at the direction of the transmitters. This may affect your decision on which antenna will work best for you. I'm considering an antenna rotator.

I know what you mean about having to rotate the antenna. For my set up, I use a home built coat hanger antennna that's mounted on pipes. I get all the local stations except one (CBS) when the antenna is positioned parallel to the window pane. By trial and error I know what position to rotate the antenna (the pipes are loose enough to rotate without having to pick up the antenna) for CBS. I put a two white labels with a couple of black dotted marks to realign each time I need CBS, so it's a simple thing to rotate when needed.