Looking for best TV antenna for me.

[vtcramennoodle]

We have recently cut the cord with cable tv, but we want to get our local stations. So we are looking for an antenna to pick those up, but there are so many choices and I can't find one that has everything we need.

According to antennaweb.org we have 5 stations in our area that are all about 30 miles away. It says one station is "blue" which means we need a medium directional antenna with pre-amp. The other four channels are their "violet" color which calls for a large directional antenna with pre-amp. We plan on mounting the antenna out side either on our roof where to old cable dish was or on a pole that had a different old cable dish on it.

I have searched for hours, but am totally lost at this point. What do you guys suggest? Also so if this isn't the correct place for this question.

 

[kanewolf]

OK, first good for you for starting with antennaweb.org. You now know what the direction to point the antenna is. An amp may or may not be required depending on how many TV sets you want to connect. The amp will overcome the loss from the splitter(s). I worked for a small TV service company that installed antennas a long time ago. My boss always used Channel Master antennas. The Digital Advantage antennas are intended for HDTV. Something like the Advantage series adds longer elements to pick up FM radio also.

Mounting as high on your roof as possible is the best choice. Be sure to run a ground cable to protect the house and equipment.

 

[vtcramennoodle]

OK, first good for you for starting with antennaweb.org. You now know what the direction to point the antenna is. An amp may or may not be required depending on how many TV sets you want to connect. The amp will overcome the loss from the splitter(s). I worked for a small TV service company that installed antennas a long time ago. My boss always used Channel Master antennas. The Digital Advantage antennas are intended for HDTV. Something like the Advantage series adds longer elements to pick up FM radio also.

Mounting as high on your roof as possible is the best choice. Be sure to run a ground cable to protect the house and equipment.

We have 3, maybe 4 tv's that we will be hooking them up to and I figured an amp was a good idea just in case we ever decided to add more. It looks like the CM-4228HD would be the best for my place as it covers the violet color that we need while also being multi directional as we have a few different stations coming from different directions, Im assuming this will help.

 

[kanewolf]

OK, first good for you for starting with antennaweb.org. You now know what the direction to point the antenna is. An amp may or may not be required depending on how many TV sets you want to connect. The amp will overcome the loss from the splitter(s). I worked for a small TV service company that installed antennas a long time ago. My boss always used Channel Master antennas. The Digital Advantage antennas are intended for HDTV. Something like the Advantage series adds longer elements to pick up FM radio also.

Mounting as high on your roof as possible is the best choice. Be sure to run a ground cable to protect the house and equipment.

We have 3, maybe 4 tv's that we will be hooking them up to and I figured an amp was a good idea just in case we ever decided to add more. It looks like the CM-4228HD would be the best for my place as it covers the violet color that we need while also being multi directional as we have a few different stations coming from different directions, Im assuming this will help.

How much angular difference is there in the pointing direction? If it is 20 degrees or less I bet it won't matter.

 

[vtcramennoodle]

OK, first good for you for starting with antennaweb.org. You now know what the direction to point the antenna is. An amp may or may not be required depending on how many TV sets you want to connect. The amp will overcome the loss from the splitter(s). I worked for a small TV service company that installed antennas a long time ago. My boss always used Channel Master antennas. The Digital Advantage antennas are intended for HDTV. Something like the Advantage series adds longer elements to pick up FM radio also.

Mounting as high on your roof as possible is the best choice. Be sure to run a ground cable to protect the house and equipment.

We have 3, maybe 4 tv's that we will be hooking them up to and I figured an amp was a good idea just in case we ever decided to add more. It looks like the CM-4228HD would be the best for my place as it covers the violet color that we need while also being multi directional as we have a few different stations coming from different directions, Im assuming this will help.

How much angular difference is there in the pointing direction? If it is 20 degrees or less I bet it won't matter.

4 of them are within 10 degrees but one is about 60 degrees off.

 

[kanewolf]

My recommendation would work great for the 4 sources. Not too good for the fifth. My guess, with the one you chose you will have to "split the difference" in pointing angle. Start half way in between and check your TVs. Use good quality RG6 coax (Belden is a great brand) and a 1Ghz 4 way splitter. You want any amplifier before the splitter. The proper order would be antenna -> amp -> splitter -> TVs.