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- Thread starter 74DartSport
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why did you need a part? My el cheapo antenna tossed in the attic gives crystal clear sound and video quality like streaming HD content.
My antenna mounted on roof is about 45 miles to a tower i get great single for the most part. Running boosters and pre amp
I get poor or not great single on one local channel. Researching many directed to this part i thought why not for 15 dollars seriously a 15 minute job on roof done.
Flipping the TV back on yes it helped with the one channel but the biggest thing I was blown away and others in the house said what you do to the TV colors and crispness were so enhanced. Like said did nothing else but replaced this one single part many reviews have had similar experience for whatever that's worth but I cannot deny the difference it made.
That is not an amplifier or booster. It is a passive balun to convert a 300 ohm antenna (with two wing nuts to attach the feedline) to 75 ohm cable. If your antenna has a coaxial connector already, the balun is built in and this part will not do anything for you. Most external baluns are really lousy quality, and if mounted outdoors are prone to take on water and degrade. So this $15.00 miracle does look like a nicely made part from a reputable brand, but it's only going to help if your existing balun is faulty.
An over the air digital TV signal too weak to use presents as the picture freezing or breaking up into little squares, or going to a black screen with a "no signal" error message from the TV. Improving the signal will stop those things from happening but it does not enhance anything about the brightness or color.
I get what it is I was stating i run a pre amp and channel amp on the system.
Again the only thing swapped was the part.
My experience and that's it.
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I tried my best to go over the air broadcast, Installed an antenna in my attic with booster and then tried the outside option on my 2 story house. I even sent a email to my CBS station engineer asking for suggestions.
Unfortunately, after researching station antenna locations my house is in the worse place possible!
Strange as I live in a high populated resort area on the East coast but I am 100 yards from the ocean ( so NO TV stations to my East only ocean ) and the big three CBS, NBC, ABC antenna locations are all exactly a 2 hour drive from my house the closest CBS being 56 miles away! Even stranger is that CBS station moved its studio from 2 hours away to 6 miles from my house but his antenna is still 56 miles from me and my research suggest over 50 miles can become a issue.
I did use this cool website ( TV FOOL ) www.tvfool.com to know the antenna locations, and how to aim your antenna and what signal strength you should get. I now use SLINGTV but my family only stream free websites, Wish I could get the big 3 over the air and then I added a metal roof so I gave up.
www.tvfool.com
Unfortunately, after researching station antenna locations my house is in the worse place possible!
Strange as I live in a high populated resort area on the East coast but I am 100 yards from the ocean ( so NO TV stations to my East only ocean ) and the big three CBS, NBC, ABC antenna locations are all exactly a 2 hour drive from my house the closest CBS being 56 miles away! Even stranger is that CBS station moved its studio from 2 hours away to 6 miles from my house but his antenna is still 56 miles from me and my research suggest over 50 miles can become a issue.
I did use this cool website ( TV FOOL ) www.tvfool.com to know the antenna locations, and how to aim your antenna and what signal strength you should get. I now use SLINGTV but my family only stream free websites, Wish I could get the big 3 over the air and then I added a metal roof so I gave up.
www.tvfool.com
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I know a lot of people that cancelled cable but then they subscribe to every streaming option available so not saving much as some of these streaming options getting pricey. I'm not a huge TV guy and if ya wait for certain times of the year a lot of them do half price deals.
As of right now I do Netflix with commercials $7.99, Starz $1.99, Disney+ comes free with my cell phone plan and I bought Paramount+ with Showtime half price for $59.99/year so currently my monthly cost is $14.98 and that includes NetFlix, Starz, Disney+, Paramount+ and Showtime. I use an OTA antenna for my local football game but not a huge sports fan outside of local where I need cable to see every game known to man. Paramount+ has local news and some NFL games so sometimes I don't even need the antenna to see my news or football I can stream through them. My internet/cell phone is $65 for 5 years combo with my current $14.98 for my streaming options so basically $79.98/month for everything.
As of right now I do Netflix with commercials $7.99, Starz $1.99, Disney+ comes free with my cell phone plan and I bought Paramount+ with Showtime half price for $59.99/year so currently my monthly cost is $14.98 and that includes NetFlix, Starz, Disney+, Paramount+ and Showtime. I use an OTA antenna for my local football game but not a huge sports fan outside of local where I need cable to see every game known to man. Paramount+ has local news and some NFL games so sometimes I don't even need the antenna to see my news or football I can stream through them. My internet/cell phone is $65 for 5 years combo with my current $14.98 for my streaming options so basically $79.98/month for everything.
I'm with the crew in this thread. Don't watch much TV, and have fast internet. Just bought one of those Channel Master things, in part, because the one on my antenna is in poor condition. Buying direct from Channel Master was cheaper than Amazon. My biggest TV problem is the hassle of programming the TV for surfing. There are a surprising number of foreign language stations, and garbage stations in general that my TV picks up. The channels change more often that I would have thought also.
Most all TVs you do a channel scan, you can then delete the channels that you do not want. If I am understanding your post.
We have an older Channel Master DVR and Program guide. Great unit works EXACTLY like a traditional pay cable box. All OTA program guide with recorder. No fees for the program guide. Example. Americas Got Talent. It's set to record new additions only and we can watch whenever we want.
Same thing with events like the Olympics or anything, Super Bowl etc. full forward, reverse still frame, etc ... sad that they stopped making/selling them. Guess it wasnt profitable. Not enough of the country cares to put in a little effort for a properly set up OTA system.
Many years now, still working perfect though, there isnt much on TV as their used to be.
We do stream almost all the time now Netflix $20, Paramount+ (free with Walmart plus, I would never pay for Paramount though) Peacock a few dollars is really good and recently Starz (on special at the time one year for maybe $24) For some really once in a while really GOOD movies. Total monthly TV cost less than $30 Using Roku players on all our TVs the free stuff is endless, including news channels etc. Literally hundreds (?) of apps you can choose from and add to Roku.
The Channel Master OTA DVR ... it's a shame, just not a sustainable product with too few interested in these devices. (oops, that's our puppies 3 baby teeth on top. *LOL*)
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Yes, scan, and it picks up 3X more channels than are usable for me. And my TV interface isn't great, so to delete a channel, there are a few different key punches needed. It's a fair hassle.
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- Jul 28, 2024
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most newer tv sets will even record, all you have to do is plug in an external hard disk or removable media (SD card). Roku sets will do this.
Fair suggestion...although, I suspect, many antenna users aren't getting all techie when it comes to their TV's.
Maybe it was partly due to corrosion over the years?
My wife and I had Spectrum home phone, cable TV and internet.
Two years ago we dropped the home phone and cable TV.
Today we have two cell phones (different carriers to ease my redundancy addiction), pay for Youtube and Prime. Still have Spectrum internet and watch very little OTA TV.
We've been saving a little over $115 per month for these past two years, for phones, internet and entertainment.
There are hardly any cable TV programs we miss at this point.
Two years ago we dropped the home phone and cable TV.
Today we have two cell phones (different carriers to ease my redundancy addiction), pay for Youtube and Prime. Still have Spectrum internet and watch very little OTA TV.
We've been saving a little over $115 per month for these past two years, for phones, internet and entertainment.
There are hardly any cable TV programs we miss at this point.
Im sorry I should have added a line to the last sentence. They stopped selling them years ago.
I rate it a 10 because it still works the way it was intended and that is EXACTLY like a pay TV box. it has a full schedule of all channel programming in a pay TV box menu out to a few or more days. You can set the program recording just like you do a pay box. However, what is in the menu guide is picked up by what the TV stations publish/release. So it can be a little hit or miss but not for major events.
Anyway. Channel Master is the go to source for all things OTA related. https://www.channelmaster.com/
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- Mar 13, 2024
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We've never had cable, done the OTA thing for decades in numerous locations we've lived.. I find OTA provides plenty of stuff to watch, but then I'm not a huge TV/movie person so I'm fine with what's available. I wish we could find a cheap solution for internet too, but unfortunately I think we pay $75 a month for it. No way around that apparently. Oh and we have Amazon Prime so occasionally watch a movie on there. Holiday movies, anyone? 
I've got a friend in Walport OR. He wants to use OTA but based on the Channel Master website, signal strength is very low for all networks.
He does not want Netflix or anything like this. Just OTA networks to see news and whatever they broadcast. Any ideas? I believe he has internet through "Spectrum".
Thanks!
He does not want Netflix or anything like this. Just OTA networks to see news and whatever they broadcast. Any ideas? I believe he has internet through "Spectrum".
Thanks!
