Help me get rid of my cable

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Originally Posted By: eljefino
All you have to do is call your provider at the end of your promo price and say you're thinking of switching. They'll almost always put you on another promo.


This is definitely possible.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: eljefino
All you have to do is call your provider at the end of your promo price and say you're thinking of switching. They'll almost always put you on another promo.


This is definitely possible.


Time Warner did not play ball with me when I moved from an area where they had a monopoly to an area where I could choose from several more providers. I told them I wanted their current (cheaper) rate for customers in that area, that there were several other providers offering better rates than theirs, and that I'd cancel if I couldn't get a new rate. They told me to pound sand. The CS rep acted shocked when the next words out of my mouth were to cancel my services. Needless to say, Time Warner will have to work extra hard if they ever want me as a customer in the future.
 
Over the last two months I have gotten my home prepped for no cable. I installed an antenna in the garage attic, bought a used Tivo with a lifetime service agreement off eBay, ran fresh coaxial through the entire home, and even hooked up a digital converter box on our 27" tube TV in the family room. The result...we get NBC, CBS, FOX, and PBS in a razor sharp picture. The picture on our 46" LCD is amazing. The Tivo records the few late-night shows we enjoy, and so far we are very happy. I also switched our home phone to Ooma, and that works great as well.

I cancelled our Tv and phone service with TWC, and kept only the Internet service. I am saving about $120 per month and get to enjoy a better picture and a superior DVR.
 
Originally Posted By: Rob_Roy
Over the last two months I have gotten my home prepped for no cable. I installed an antenna in the garage attic, bought a used Tivo with a lifetime service agreement off eBay, ran fresh coaxial through the entire home, and even hooked up a digital converter box on our 27" tube TV in the family room. The result...we get NBC, CBS, FOX, and PBS in a razor sharp picture. The picture on our 46" LCD is amazing. The Tivo records the few late-night shows we enjoy, and so far we are very happy. I also switched our home phone to Ooma, and that works great as well.

I cancelled our Tv and phone service with TWC, and kept only the Internet service. I am saving about $120 per month and get to enjoy a better picture and a superior DVR.


Excellent, glad to hear it!
 
Update:

I wanted to watch the F1 race in Canada on Sunday. I have no cable, just streaming video, so I thought I'd buy myself an antenna. I hopped down to the local Best Buy and bought an RCA indoor antenna for 40 bucks, just to see what I could pick up. I was busy Saturday, so this was Sunday after church, so time was tight. Well, turns out, it only picked up a local PBS station broadcasting in town. I took it back that evening, but I missed the race.

I did some more research on antennaweb.org and decided I needed a much larger antenna, and at least mounted in the attic, if not outside. So I ordered an Antennas Direct DB4e from Amazon on Sunday night, and paid all of $50, just $10 more than the RCA indoor unit from Best Buy. On Monday, I installed a double connection coax plate in our living room to replace the single connection plate. I fished another coax line down, so I have one coax connection that is true cable (for the cable modem that sits there also) and one coax connection that is a feed for the antenna.

I installed the antenna last night in the attic. I hung it with a "mast" I made out of 2" ABS drain waste vent. It works fantastic. We now receive at least 20 channels over the air, and we receive all of the networks we wanted to get. ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CW, PBS, etc. Most of the "good" affiliates around here are out of Raleigh, which is about 50 miles away and at 35 degrees east of north from our house. Although the antenna doesn't appear to be a directional antenna, I did install it in the attic facing that general direction.

Couldn't be happier. After paying thousands of dollars a year for cable TV, it feels like I'm stealing TV, watching it for free over the air. And it's quality TV, too...our TV reports the signal as 1080i, and the picture is far clearer than it was with cable. Our ol' 720p television has never looked better.

IMG_0650.JPG
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Update:

I wanted to watch the F1 race in Canada on Sunday. I have no cable, just streaming video, so I thought I'd buy myself an antenna. I hopped down to the local Best Buy and bought an RCA indoor antenna for 40 bucks, just to see what I could pick up. I was busy Saturday, so this was Sunday after church, so time was tight. Well, turns out, it only picked up a local PBS station broadcasting in town. I took it back that evening, but I missed the race.

I did some more research on antennaweb.org and decided I needed a much larger antenna, and at least mounted in the attic, if not outside. So I ordered an Antennas Direct DB4e from Amazon on Sunday night, and paid all of $50, just $10 more than the RCA indoor unit from Best Buy. On Monday, I installed a double connection coax plate in our living room to replace the single connection plate. I fished another coax line down, so I have one coax connection that is true cable (for the cable modem that sits there also) and one coax connection that is a feed for the antenna.

I installed the antenna last night in the attic. I hung it with a "mast" I made out of 2" ABS drain waste vent. It works fantastic. We now receive at least 20 channels over the air, and we receive all of the networks we wanted to get. ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CW, PBS, etc. Most of the "good" affiliates around here are out of Raleigh, which is about 50 miles away and at 35 degrees east of north from our house. Although the antenna doesn't appear to be a directional antenna, I did install it in the attic facing that general direction.

Couldn't be happier. After paying thousands of dollars a year for cable TV, it feels like I'm stealing TV, watching it for free over the air. And it's quality TV, too...our TV reports the signal as 1080i, and the picture is far clearer than it was with cable. Our ol' 720p television has never looked better.

IMG_0650.JPG



Glad it's working out for you. There comes a point where we get tired of paying boatloads of money for networks we never watch and programming that isn't very good most of the time.

Nice placement of the antenna. We mounted ours on the mast for the previous owner's DirecTV dish, and took the dish down.
 
Originally Posted By: yesthatsteve
Nice placement of the antenna.


Maybe.

It worked like a charm the other night after I installed it. I came home last night and turned the TV on and most of the farther-away channels were very pixelated and would come in and out. I found this odd as there was no wind yesterday and no storms. The only thing different, environmentally, was the temperature. It was HOT. And it's HOT today (about 100*F outside), so I'll see if it's also screwey tonight.

As near as I could tell, there is no operating temperature range associated with this antenna; it's completely passive and there is no amplifier. It simply plugs into the television. I may consider shortening the coax cable in the attic (I have a coax connector toolset, so I can do this easily), but that's all I could do short of moving the antenna. But I'm not sure why the reception seems (at least so far) to be dependent on temperature. There is a very small plastic box on the antenna where the coax connection is; the very basic instructions that came with the antenna call this a "transformer". I suppose something in there could be sensitive to temperature, but again, there is no maximum operating temperature associated with this model. If reception is poor again this evening, I will contact the antenna manufacturer to see if they have any ideas.

Edit: this is the model I purchased; the description specifically mentions using it in an attic space.

http://www.antennasdirect.com/store/DB4e-extended-long-range-outdoor-dtv-antenna.html
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: yesthatsteve
Nice placement of the antenna.


Maybe.

It worked like a charm the other night after I installed it. I came home last night and turned the TV on and most of the farther-away channels were very pixelated and would come in and out. I found this odd as there was no wind yesterday and no storms. The only thing different, environmentally, was the temperature. It was HOT. And it's HOT today (about 100*F outside), so I'll see if it's also screwey tonight.

As near as I could tell, there is no operating temperature range associated with this antenna; it's completely passive and there is no amplifier. It simply plugs into the television. I may consider shortening the coax cable in the attic (I have a coax connector toolset, so I can do this easily), but that's all I could do short of moving the antenna. But I'm not sure why the reception seems (at least so far) to be dependent on temperature. There is a very small plastic box on the antenna where the coax connection is; the very basic instructions that came with the antenna call this a "transformer". I suppose something in there could be sensitive to temperature, but again, there is no maximum operating temperature associated with this model. If reception is poor again this evening, I will contact the antenna manufacturer to see if they have any ideas.

Edit: this is the model I purchased; the description specifically mentions using it in an attic space.

http://www.antennasdirect.com/store/DB4e-extended-long-range-outdoor-dtv-antenna.html


What you've got there is a bowtie. Nice UHF antenna. Next time you're up in the attic, I'd reroute the coax behind instead of in front of the antenna.

Also check the signal strength on each of your channels and make a chart over time. I sincerely doubt heat has anything to do with it.

A range of 65 miles sounds too-good-to-be-true for the antenna, so count me skeptical. Unless it's high enough to be line-of-sight to the transmitter. Height always helps antennas. Mine is mounted about 16' up a pole on top of the roof. The UHF section is a small corner reflector. But I can see the transmitter towers from the roof!

If you're 50 mi. to the transmitter, you may need an amp, bigger antenna, or more height to get a consistently strong signal.

You didn't metion the type of coax you're using, but it should be RG-6QS for best performance. Be sure it's properly terminated with none of the shield exposed.
 
I made a tiered bowtie antenna several years ago, which is great for the UHF channels, but the VHF High channels were missing, so I added two sets of Rabbitt ears and now get each and every channel broadcast on 7 to 13.

I point my Antenna toward LA 92 miles away, yet still get all the San Diego stations from the backside of the antenna. The broadcast towers are up a couple thousand feet 92 miles away, and many of those stations come in at full strength. My Autoscans usually reveal 50 to 90 stations, but of course many of those are in a foreign language, and some are unwatchable due to religious content.

When we get Santa Ana's, the dry winds from the deserts, even cooler ones mid winter, I will lose half those LA stations.

In Foggy weather, I am almost guaranteed to get all the available stations and doing an autoscan in foggy weather I've even received stations from Santa Barbara.

Still get some analog stations from Tijuana too, and a few analog local college broadcasts.

TVfool.com is much more in depth than antennaweb
 
After another day of testing, it appears that my signal strength on the television has a direct correlation to the temperature in the attic. A strong cold front came through last night. Before the front came through, it was 100*F outside (and probably 20 degrees hotter in the attic) and reception was very sketchy. I can receive closer channels (~20 mi) fine, but the channels further away (~50 mi) become scratchy, and will sometimes drop out. A long line of powerful storms swept through, preceeded by a gust front of cold air. As soon as the gust front came through and the attic started cooling down, the reception started improving. My reception in the midst of a thunderstorm was better than it was an hour earlier, during the heat of the humid afternoon.

I called Antennas Direct last night and spoke with someone from their tech support department. She had not heard of my problem before. In fact, she said that people usually report better signal in the evenings; I get best signal in the mornings before noon (before the attic heats up). I asked what is inside the little "transformer" black box where the coax connects. She said there's a small computer chip in there. I asked if there's a possibility that the chip is faulty or is somehow being affected by the heat. She said that it's possible, and that she will check with an engineer on it. She seemed to be helpful; I'm awaiting a call back.

I will check the type of coax. I think it's RG-6, but I'm unsure of the 'QS' part. It's a 500-foot spool of it that I used to re-wire my entire house a few years ago. I still use it to make smaller patch cables if I need to, or to do a job like this. The connectors are the Data Shark weather proof compression connectors.

Would an amplifier improve this type of symptom? Intuitively, one would think that an amplifier would simply amplify bad signal on the coax line, but I may not understand how antenna amplifiers work.
 
I live in Wake Forest and the heat/atmosphere does affect reception. The antenna farm is South Of Raleigh. Last year when I was painting my house I moved my antenna outside. Put it as high as I could facing the direction of the antenna farm. It is now much better. I would put it outside as high as possible directed towards Garner.
After I moved the antenna I was then able to pick up WITN from the coast. Not much of a channel.
 
Last edited:
Thanks. Yes, from me, Garner is 35 degrees east of north, and that's where my antenna is, albeit in the attic. Reception is fantastic in the morning or very late evening. It seems that during the heat of the afternoon is when it's the worst. I can move the antenna outside, though I'd prefer not to if I don't have to. If it looks like I'll have to, I will.
 
Originally Posted By: sleddriver
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: yesthatsteve
Nice placement of the antenna.


Maybe.

It worked like a charm the other night after I installed it. I came home last night and turned the TV on and most of the farther-away channels were very pixelated and would come in and out. I found this odd as there was no wind yesterday and no storms. The only thing different, environmentally, was the temperature. It was HOT. And it's HOT today (about 100*F outside), so I'll see if it's also screwey tonight.

As near as I could tell, there is no operating temperature range associated with this antenna; it's completely passive and there is no amplifier. It simply plugs into the television. I may consider shortening the coax cable in the attic (I have a coax connector toolset, so I can do this easily), but that's all I could do short of moving the antenna. But I'm not sure why the reception seems (at least so far) to be dependent on temperature. There is a very small plastic box on the antenna where the coax connection is; the very basic instructions that came with the antenna call this a "transformer". I suppose something in there could be sensitive to temperature, but again, there is no maximum operating temperature associated with this model. If reception is poor again this evening, I will contact the antenna manufacturer to see if they have any ideas.

Edit: this is the model I purchased; the description specifically mentions using it in an attic space.

http://www.antennasdirect.com/store/DB4e-extended-long-range-outdoor-dtv-antenna.html


What you've got there is a bowtie. Nice UHF antenna. Next time you're up in the attic, I'd reroute the coax behind instead of in front of the antenna.

Also check the signal strength on each of your channels and make a chart over time. I sincerely doubt heat has anything to do with it.

A range of 65 miles sounds too-good-to-be-true for the antenna, so count me skeptical. Unless it's high enough to be line-of-sight to the transmitter. Height always helps antennas. Mine is mounted about 16' up a pole on top of the roof. The UHF section is a small corner reflector. But I can see the transmitter towers from the roof!

If you're 50 mi. to the transmitter, you may need an amp, bigger antenna, or more height to get a consistently strong signal.

You didn't metion the type of coax you're using, but it should be RG-6QS for best performance. Be sure it's properly terminated with none of the shield exposed.
Welcome to the world of UHF propagation. Bending of the signal takes place at the intersection of layers of air at different temps. A preamp might help by compensating for the loss in the RG6. You can also buy larger, .405 diameter cable with lower loss and type "F" connectors which will fit it. Preamps have a weakness in that they tend to overload when a strong local signal is present, and the overloading masks the weaker, more distant signal you want. The problem with digital is there is no graduation in observed signal strength, its' either there or gone. The signal "meters" in the TV software are next to useless for anything other than aiming an antenna on a rotator. It's interesting that to make these new HD TV's work we are going back to what was needed in the good old days when " living out in the woods" meant you needed a high gain antenna, a rotor, low loss feedline, and a preamp. The service maps for stations moving to UHF for HD almost always show a coverage loss, and the FCC has been pressed to allow some stations to retain their VHF allocation so coverage - which directly affects market share. If you really want to take advantage of what's out there in UHF TV, you need a higher gain antenna, mounted outside, better feedline, and unless EVERYTHING is in the same direction, a rotor. There's no free lunch with antenna gain, when it "hears" better in one direction it is at the expense of "hearing off the back and sides.
 
Allow me to clarify the influence of heat. Heat does cause weather and weather patterns WILL affect reception. No doubt. However, 100°F+ temps in your attic, on your antenna, should not affect it at all.

The "little transformer black box" probably has a balun (BALancedUNbalanced) transformer in it. It's simply a small, wire-wound unit that matches differing impedances from the antenna to the coax. Heat could affect it if it's poorly made, has a poor internal solder joint/connection, etc.

QS stands for quad shield: two layers of foil and two of metal mesh (foil/mesh/foil/mesh).

Re: Amps. They DO need enough signal to amplify to be of use. If the signal is in the noise floor, an amp won't help. In that case you need to move the antenna, increase the height, aim it better or get a larger antenna with more gain. Not all of those are needed, most of the time just one or two. Then again it all depends...

An amp WILL help if the downstream coax is lossy at the frequency being used, if multiple splitters are used, poor connections, multiple sets, etc.
 
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Originally Posted By: sleddriver
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: yesthatsteve
Nice placement of the antenna.


Maybe.

It worked like a charm the other night after I installed it. I came home last night and turned the TV on and most of the farther-away channels were very pixelated and would come in and out. I found this odd as there was no wind yesterday and no storms. The only thing different, environmentally, was the temperature. It was HOT. And it's HOT today (about 100*F outside), so I'll see if it's also screwey tonight.

As near as I could tell, there is no operating temperature range associated with this antenna; it's completely passive and there is no amplifier. It simply plugs into the television. I may consider shortening the coax cable in the attic (I have a coax connector toolset, so I can do this easily), but that's all I could do short of moving the antenna. But I'm not sure why the reception seems (at least so far) to be dependent on temperature. There is a very small plastic box on the antenna where the coax connection is; the very basic instructions that came with the antenna call this a "transformer". I suppose something in there could be sensitive to temperature, but again, there is no maximum operating temperature associated with this model. If reception is poor again this evening, I will contact the antenna manufacturer to see if they have any ideas.

Edit: this is the model I purchased; the description specifically mentions using it in an attic space.

http://www.antennasdirect.com/store/DB4e-extended-long-range-outdoor-dtv-antenna.html


What you've got there is a bowtie. Nice UHF antenna. Next time you're up in the attic, I'd reroute the coax behind instead of in front of the antenna.

Also check the signal strength on each of your channels and make a chart over time. I sincerely doubt heat has anything to do with it.

A range of 65 miles sounds too-good-to-be-true for the antenna, so count me skeptical. Unless it's high enough to be line-of-sight to the transmitter. Height always helps antennas. Mine is mounted about 16' up a pole on top of the roof. The UHF section is a small corner reflector. But I can see the transmitter towers from the roof!

If you're 50 mi. to the transmitter, you may need an amp, bigger antenna, or more height to get a consistently strong signal.

You didn't metion the type of coax you're using, but it should be RG-6QS for best performance. Be sure it's properly terminated with none of the shield exposed.
Welcome to the world of UHF propagation. Bending of the signal takes place at the intersection of layers of air at different temps. A preamp might help by compensating for the loss in the RG6. You can also buy larger, .405 diameter cable with lower loss and type "F" connectors which will fit it. Preamps have a weakness in that they tend to overload when a strong local signal is present, and the overloading masks the weaker, more distant signal you want. The problem with digital is there is no graduation in observed signal strength, its' either there or gone. The signal "meters" in the TV software are next to useless for anything other than aiming an antenna on a rotator. It's interesting that to make these new HD TV's work we are going back to what was needed in the good old days when " living out in the woods" meant you needed a high gain antenna, a rotor, low loss feedline, and a preamp. The service maps for stations moving to UHF for HD almost always show a coverage loss, and the FCC has been pressed to allow some stations to retain their VHF allocation so coverage - which directly affects market share. If you really want to take advantage of what's out there in UHF TV, you need a higher gain antenna, mounted outside, better feedline, and unless EVERYTHING is in the same direction, a rotor. There's no free lunch with antenna gain, when it "hears" better in one direction it is at the expense of "hearing off the back and sides.

Ah yes, the short lamda domain....where hardline rules but doesn't bend.

The "meters" are what most people have to use as proper aiming is critical.

I've used nothing but antennas for nearly 30 yrs. No cable/satellite/$$$$$ (bills). I don't have a rotor though...it would be interesting to see if I could receive signals from San Antonio to the S about 65mi, Houston to the SE about 185mi. and Frt. Worth to the N about the same as I currently tune about 8 channels of the 15 or so I'm capable of receiving (no habla espanol).

It's amazing some receive 40+ stations...but of what? I prefer to watch movies or via internet as broadcast TV (that I receive) is aimed at a much younger audience.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Thanks. Yes, from me, Garner is 35 degrees east of north, and that's where my antenna is, albeit in the attic. Reception is fantastic in the morning or very late evening. It seems that during the heat of the afternoon is when it's the worst. I can move the antenna outside, though I'd prefer not to if I don't have to. If it looks like I'll have to, I will.


That's the problem I was having. The higher the better with a clear view towards Garner.
 
For what it's worth, the cable I'm using is RG-6 (no QS), listed as 18 ga.

I watched golf all weekend on NBC. And reception was perfect. But I couldn't get CBS at all (WRAL for those local). It's like their transmitter was off; I got a blank screen. Before, I'd at least get a scratchy signal (or a great signal, if in the morning).

I plan to re-locate the antenna to outside the attic. I will mount it to the side of the house, up near the peak of the roof gable. I can route the coax through the louver vent so there are no roof penetrations. And that should be about as good as I'll be able to get without a larger aerial on a pole (which my wife does not want).
 
Lots of the RG-6 cabling, the central conductor is copper clad steel.

Not sure how much better solid copper would be, but some cables are advertised with solid copper conductors and I presume there would be less signal loss. All cables are shielded, some are just better than others. If there is little interference from nearby wiring or devices than the quad shielding might not be needed, but it does not seem to be much more $$, so why not.

Having a channel break up mid program is infuriating.

The weather will always be an issue with reception. Some stations do have issues and stop broadcasting, and some seem to turn down he wattage at certain hours though I don't know if that is legal.

I have found that Nearby LED lighting kills some channels broadcast on VHF high (7-13)
 
We only get cable when our local provider (Shaw) calls us and begs that we take some of their extra (TV) bandwidth.

Last promo was free cable (sports HD channels too), PVR box, free long distance and an upgraded internet speed for 3 months. We take it back before it ends. They'll assume we can't live without the crack (TV) and cave in and purchase. It's a rip, not worth the $40/monthly.

So I use my coat hanger antenna to watch Stanley Cup playoffs.
 
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