About 6 years ago , got tired of constant price increases and really not very good service with DirectTv , I canceled it and put a big antenna up in my attic , due to where I am located between two larger towns I then received IIRC about 20 channels , FFW to now , I think I normally get about 50 .
We had a extremely dry and windy winter and spring due to La Nina' and my antenna worked ..awful but, most recently it has been much better ..
Yesterday it was working lousy so,
I scanned my TV last night and now, 71 show up but, most you can't view yet , apparently they are adding more , what was the weirdest thing , I got a station from Des Moines ? ( and I CAN'T get my local channel in SIoux Falls ) lol
Yes, there is some redundancy .. two of most of the major networks , 3 PBS channels but for free and i only watch just a little bit a day, mostly for weather and maybe cartoons on Saturday morning on MeTv
The lips of fools bring them strife, and their mouths invite a beating.Proverbs 18:6
Re: Over the air television
[Re: bigdad]
#3068065 08/15/2208:36 AM08/15/2208:36 AM
I did the same thing about 6 years ago. I did put a cheap booster in line with the attic antenna and get I'm guessing about 80 channels but I delete the shopping and spanish stations. Along with Prime and Netflix my TV bill is about 30 bucks a month.
My antenna is still in the attic,(30 years) tell me what to hook up, I’ll try it again. Our cable bill is up to $150. I only watch the golf and weather channel.
When I got divorced 9 years ago, my Satellite bill was the first thing to go, to help save money. I don't miss it one bit. My TV is rarely on these days. No way, no how will I spend $100+ a month to watch TV.
69 GTX
68 Road Runner
Re: Over the air television
[Re: JERICOGTX]
#3068100 08/15/2210:07 AM08/15/2210:07 AM
I tried it for awhile several years back, but missed not having a lot of choices. I’m retired and don’t leave home much, so yeah… I’m a TV hound.
History Channel, American Heroes (Miltary), Financial feeds, Smithsonian, News channels (or should I say editorials), Law and Orders, yada yada. I subscribe to extended basic, but no premium channels.
When I was over the air, I had multiple TiVo’s for recording, but that was kind of a technological pain here and there.
Spectrum recording boxes much more user friendly,
I have four recording DVR boxes, and two feed only boxes.
I am set for over the air during house power loss, running off generator.
I also have a couple Roku sticks, mainly for travel when needed.
My issue is that you pay for channels you don't want with cable/sat/hulu/etc.
Not interested in paying for ESPN, MTV, etc but to get what I want to see I have to. Starting to get to the point where I don;t want to pay for stuff I don't want more than I want to pay for stuff I do want to see.
There really is no reason they can't offer channel packages that go something like this. You pick a 10 channel package that consists of whatever 10 channels they offer and you want. Then I can get what I want and not pay for what I don't want.
Re: Over the air television
[Re: Sniper]
#3068115 08/15/2210:49 AM08/15/2210:49 AM
My issue is that you pay for channels you don't want with cable/sat/hulu/etc.
Not interested in paying for ESPN, MTV, etc but to get what I want to see I have to. Starting to get to the point where I don;t want to pay for stuff I don't want more than I want to pay for stuff I do want to see.
There really is no reason they can't offer channel packages that go something like this. You pick a 10 channel package that consists of whatever 10 channels they offer and you want. Then I can get what I want and not pay for what I don't want.
This is my main complaint about cable, 300 channels and I only watch between 20-30. With existing technology it should be simple to let the customer choose the channels he wants and pay only for those but that would cut into their profits...it's all about money.
The INTERNET, the MISinformation superhighway
Re: Over the air television
[Re: formula_s]
#3068154 08/15/2201:01 PM08/15/2201:01 PM
An antenna works best outside but it's not easy to set one up outside. I did a gable end antenna mount with a reputable outdoor antenna. I drilled a hole in the side of the house just under the eave for the coaxial cablefeeding into the attic. From there it splits to the two TVs. Reception is excellent- I live 44 miles from the broadcast towers. That being said..........Much of what's broadcast is not interesting- to me. But I like having crystal clear local news and the miss likes her daytime /afternoon shows. If you have robust internet you don't have to be a paid subscriber to anything to enjoy decent stuff. Youtube is free as well as Pluto TV, The Roku Channel and several others. They are free because you will watch commercials. But the combination of an antenna and the ability to internet stream provides great entertainment. YouTube has documentaries and movies along with individual creators who are fantastic
If my wife didn't watch TV, we wouldn't even need one. Fortunately, she likes those old TV shows we can get off that cheap antenna I have mounted on a 10' piece of conduit screwed into the back porch railing. Between the antenna and the Roku, we have my wife's TV covered. The internet is what kills me. Pretty crappy connection for what we are paying for it.
Re: Over the air television
[Re: bigdad]
#3068387 08/16/2208:40 AM08/16/2208:40 AM
For indoor use for UHF channels 14-60 the older Radio Shack “double bowtie with reflector” and Terk log periodic in my experience are superior to what is currently for sale but since they are discontinued you have to buy them off eBay
For UHF channels tower or pole mount outdoors the 20 element Yagi antennas from Japan are best but expensive