Antenna for Reception of Broadcast Television Signals

[Jefecinco]

Have you considered a LEAF-brand brand television antenna?

We use a boosted one and our television reception is far better than when we used an antenna located in our attic.

[jimh]

I have not used a LEAF-brand amplified antenna for reception.

At our cabin I use a very high-gain, very directional, very long Yagi antenna for the UHF television band to get excellent signals from the nearest transmitters which are located at distances of 40 to 47-miles away

At our condo, I use another specialized long Yagi antenna designed specifically for the Hi-VHF TV band, a special filter, and a preamplifier in order to receive a distant station on TV Channel 9 from Canada (in order to get Hockey Night In Canada on Saturday evenings) at a distance of about 35-miles but through very urban (tall buildings) terrain. This antenna also produces good signals on local stations whose transmitters are all less than eight miles away.

[Jefecinco]

We have had what is, to me, extraordinarily excellent long range reception with a "Leaf" boosted antenna. From our location in Gulf Shores, Alabama we receive signals from Pensacola, Florida and Mobile, Alabama, as well as dozens of the Channel 100 and higher broadcasts, what ever they are. We are unable to receive signals from Biloxi, Mississipps.

Unfortunately our home construction to withstand hurricane force winds discourages using the attic spaces so we are unable to use the attic mounted antenna we used in our previous home.

ASIDE: with the exception of PBS Masterpiece programs we no longer watch OTA programs except for news programs which we record on a "Tablo" DVR controlled by an Amazon Fire Stick device. We now watch all other television by streaming the programming.

[jimh]

Regarding long-distance reception: the intervening terrain is very important in reception of UHF band signals. I think your coastal area in the Gulf of Mexico is probably rather flat land without too much urban development. That helps reception a lot.

Re: recording over the air signals to view them later: I have been using a Channel Master DVR+ for about 15-years. The major use of the Channel Master is to record football broadcasts, which I then begin to watch about an hour or two after they start. In that way I can fast-forward through all the commercial breaks, the half-time show, and other non-football interruptions.


The reception of ATS 1.0 digital high-definition signals requires a minimum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of about 15 dB. Most receivers offer a diagnostic function that will show the received signal strength on a 0 to 100 scale and the signal to noise ratio on a deciBel scale. About the maximum signal-to-noise ratio will be 32 dB, as that is about the best that an ATS 1.0 transmitter can actually transmit. If you diagnostic display shows the SNR as a number between 0 and 100, you can deduce the ratio in deciBels by taking the log of the number to base ten. For example, the it shows the SNR as 100, then the decibel version is 10*LOG(100) = 20 dB. Better SNR values (above "100") cannot be deduced. But a solid 20 dB SNR will produce a very stable and excellent picture.

[jimh]

Regarding alternative antennas for reception of Broadcast Television signals that are not large Yagi antennas, I would consider getting a physically smaller antenna such as the TELEVES Dinova Boss Mix UHF/VHF Outdoor HD TV antenna model 144282. It sells for about $100.

That antenna is a very well-engineered, very up-to-date design. In my opinion, Televes antennas (made in Spain) are perhaps the best quality and most modern designs available.

Here is a source from a very good vendor:

https://www.solidsignal.com/televes-din ... nna-144282

User reviews on that website for the Dinova Boss Mix antenna a uniformly positive.

Another even smaller antenna designed for indoor use is the TELEVES Bexia. More on that model at

https://www.solidsignal.com/bexia-Indoor-TV_Antenna