Antenna use inThe Villages

[Md girl]

Is anyone successfully using an outside antenna? If so what type is it and how many channels do u receive? Thanks in advance for your input

[BobnBev]

They are becoming very popular here. I'm thinking about getting one myself.

[keithgerri]

I live by Bonifay CC and I have a small digital antenna in attic and I receive around 70 channels out of Orlando, some religious,spanish but clearer than cable.Was under $30 from amazon. Have it working on 5 tvs.Has a booster and remote antenna rotation.Suppose to be good for 150 miles

[villagetinker]

I would love to know what antenna you have, I am about 1 mile from you in Pinellas, tried 2 antennas, both name brands, with amplification and get very marginal results. On a good day I get all 65 channels, most of the time 10 or less.

OP, it seems to depend on where you live in TV and of course the equipment installed.

[biker1]

I believe I have a DB4e mounted in the attic. I pull in about 50 channels from Orlando.

Is anyone successfully using an outside antenna? If so what type is it and how many channels do u receive? Thanks in advance for your input

[JerryP]

I’m in Lake Deaton, I have attic mounted antenna with a signal amplifier, points SE., great reception. I’m also noticing a lot of roof mounted antennas, probably would get much better reception then attic mounted but not very attractive.

[UpNorth]

Inside the attic is fine, but it may reduce your signal strength up to 30%. An amplifier may help in some cases. If you have radient barrier lining to the inside of your attic (metal foil), your signal strength will be cut back even more. Best results are with a roof mount, but be sure to ground your antenna if you do that. It can build up enough static electricity to damage your TV tuner.

[billethkid]

Related to OP request....for those who are using roof/attic
antenna, what/how do you record programs....current/future?

[villagetinker]

Db4e did not work for me, as well as another amplified antenna, I gave up...….

[biker1]

You are a bit north or me so a longer distance to Orlando. Perhaps you are at a lower elevation also?? My DB4E is mounted at the the peak of the attic. We pull in NBC, the hardest station to get, nearly all the time. Occasionally we can't get it.

Db4e did not work for me, as well as another amplified antenna, I gave up...….

[Dan9871]

Related to OP request....for those who are using roof/attic
antenna, what/how do you record programs....current/future?

There are a number of DVR devices for OTA (i.e. over the air, antenna). You can search for OTA DVR to find them. Most have a subscription fee in addition initial equipment cost.

Here is an article about some of them.

The Best OTA DVR for your Antenna | Grounded Reason (https://www.groundedreason.com/ota-dvr-without-cable/)

These days though if you have internet anyhow streaming might cost less and be more convenient.

[jeriteri]

[QUOTE=keithgerri;1595127]I live by Bonifay CC and I have a small digital antenna in attic and I receive around 70 channels out of Orlando, some religious,spanish but clearer than cable.Was under $30 from amazon. Have it working on 5 tvs.Has a booster and remote antenna rotation.Suppose to be good for 150 miles[

You guys could start a successful business installing those things if their going to work as good as yours.

[Dirtracer49]

Just curious if there are restrictions on outdoor antennas??

[Dan9871]

Just curious if there are restrictions on outdoor antennas??

There are no restrictions.

There are no restrictions even if your deed covenant restricts them. The FCC has ruled that outdoor antenna can be used even if there are agreements that restrict their use.

[village dreamer]

I have a Walmart antenna , ematic model $29.98 on line. works great in the attic.

[itzfun]

keithgerri, would you mind telling me what antenna you have? It sounds great!

[John_W]

...

[JoelJohnson]

I have the same one, but I live in CCH and the reception is sometimes good, sometimes bad.

[lewie]

We live 2 blocks behind Bonifay and use Model# C4-CJM, mounted in attic, amided toward the East and can get NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, FOX and other stations, about 40 in total. Not using a signal amp but a signal splitter for multi sets. It also depends on weather conditions and you get better reception at night

[camaguey48]

Channel master. 66 Channels include network channels. Had it installed and never looked back. Check to see how many channels you watch on DirecTV or other satellite tv companies and how much you pay. Not a good investment. With antenna you will recover your initial investment ($550) in less than 6 months.

[GregP]

Time I add my two cents
I live in Summerhill in a Villa.
I have put a, "Antennas Direct ClearStream 4V Indoor/Outdoor HDTV Antenna with Mount - 70 Mile Range - C4-V-CJM" up in the space above the garage.
According to Antennasdirect.com my antenna should face 110.18. I have a signal booster on it. I have a top of the line compass ( used to compete in Orientation contests) AT first I got 42 channels All but the one I really wanted MeTV. So I played with it and ended up now only getting 12 and still no MeTV.
I might add at this point my MAJOR want was, MeTV, COZI, LAFF, Decades,Antenna TV, yes all the old programs. Anything else was a plus. It is for the TV on my Lani only.

Would a second antenna pointed in another direction with a signal combiner help?

[Tom Grooms]

Height is the key to success in over the air antenna reception. We're 60+ miles away from the transmission towers. The Earth is round and the curvature at 60 miles comes into play. The higher up in the air you can get the antenna, the better the performance, every foot counts. Villas are tough for attic installations because of their extremely low roof lines.

[kja966]

Here is another option for pointing your antennas especially if you are in the northern villages. Ocala has three translators or re-transmission towers. All three are easily receivable if you point the antenna toward Ocala. They are only 20-30 miles away. Fox 35 from Orlando transmits on channel 51. The programming is almost the same. WESH and WKMG (NBC and CBS) have translator towers which are received with no problem. For ABC the Gainsville station on 20.1 comes in fine as well as their PBS station. Orlando is 60 miles away from me and this made it easy. I don't get the religious or Spanish channels but not interested. Give this option a try.

[John_W]

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[RoadToad]

Is anyone successfully using an outside antenna? If so what type is it and how many channels do u receive? Thanks in advance for your input

Yes, Vansky, $35, Amazon, 60+ channels, 25 ft high, must clear tree view, lots of religion, spanish, old movies

[xlhig]

For $48/month, I get a bunch of channels with little to no commercials. I can watch live tv, all major networks and if I wanted, I could add extras like HBO and Showtime, but I don't need those. I can watch this on any of my tv's, laptops or cell phones, anytime, anywhere. And with this plan, you get cloud DVR recording included, to record your programs. Hulu does offer less costly plans, starting at $7.99/month. And if your tv doesn't have the Hulu app, you can buy an Amazon Fire stick for $29 and plug that into your tv, then you can get Hulu. Check it out!

[maxmolly]

According to all the reps at Best Buy, it's a waste of money here. We are just too far away for good reception. I've tried because I would love to ditch Direct TV

[LynnWM158]

For those of you who use an antenna, do you mind saying who installed the antenna and how to get in touch with them?

Thanks for your input

[biker1]

Where are you located? There are plenty of people (go back and read all of the posts in this thread) who have no problem with pulling in the Orlando stations with an antenna, including myself. I wouldn't listen to the reps at Best Buy. I would listen to Tom Grooms at TheVillagesAV.com. BTW, there is really no longer the concept of "good reception". You either get the station or you don't. If you get the station then the reception is perfect since it is digitally encoded.

According to all the reps at Best Buy, it's a waste of money here. We are just too far away for good reception. I've tried because I would love to ditch Direct TV

[biker1]

Tom Grooms at TheVillagesAV.com.

For those of you who use an antenna, do you mind saying who installed the antenna and how to get in touch with them?

Thanks for your input

[LynnWM158]

I believe I have a DB4e mounted in the attic. I pull in about 50 channels from Orlando.

Who installed your antenna? I need to get rid of a couple of my cable boxes connected with tv's that get very little use.

Thanks for your help

[Tom Grooms]

Who installed your antenna? I need to get rid of a couple of my cable boxes connected with tv's that get very little use.



Thanks for your helpHi Lynn, Xfinity and Spectrum both have Streaming apps that you can use for free with your paid subscription service. As an example, I use XFinity and I have 6 TVs in my home. I only have two cable boxes. The rest use the Xfinity stream beta app on Roku. I can watch live TV, recorded programs, on demand, just like I had a cable box except they don't cost me $10 per month per TV. The Xfinity stream beta app is only available on Roku and a few new Sony Android TVs.

[Misbehavin22]

We just moved into Buttonwood and I purchased a G.E. power amplified, HD antenna in an attempt to "cut the cable." I planned on the antenna, advertising a 50 mile radius of reception, and Roku to get me everything needed. After multiple channel scans, the antenna proved worthless. I called G.E. for help. They checked their tower locator and told me there were no towers within those 50 miles. I returned the antenna. A larger, attic or roof mounted antenna may be somewhat better but it's not worth my time or effort. Roku is working great!

[HiHoSteveO]

Here is another option for pointing your antennas especially if you are in the northern villages. Ocala has three translators or re-transmission towers. All three are easily receivable if you point the antenna toward Ocala. They are only 20-30 miles away. Fox 35 from Orlando transmits on channel 51. The programming is almost the same. WESH and WKMG (NBC and CBS) have translator towers which are received with no problem. For ABC the Gainsville station on 20.1 comes in fine as well as their PBS station. Orlando is 60 miles away from me and this made it easy. I don't get the religious or Spanish channels but not interested. Give this option a try.

Tom Grooms, as kja966 wrote in this post #23,
Have you had the same experience when doing attic installations south of 466A?

I wonder if 2 of the 4 antennas of my Db8e pointed towards Ocala/Gainesville would be helpful?
(2 pointed to Orlando, 2 pointed to Ocala/Gainsville)

[LOMDtrainman]

TABLO DVR for over the air recording they make a 4 tuner model so you can ecord 4 programs at same time

[LOMDtrainman]

If your attic has Aluminum Reflective insulation your antenna may not work as well

[Geri J.]

I would think outside antennas wouldn't be allowed.

[biker1]

Tom Grooms at TheVillagesAV.com installed my antenna. It works great but we have recently started streaming YouTubeTV, because it offers several stations that aren't available via an antenna, so the antenna doesn't get much use anymore.

Who installed your antenna? I need to get rid of a couple of my cable boxes connected with tv's that get very little use.

Thanks for your help

[Daisy]

BTW, there is really no longer the concept of "good reception". You either get the station or you don't. If you get the station then the reception is perfect since it is digitally encoded.

Not quite true. I get quite severe 'pixilation' if that's the word on weaker stations.

[biker1]

There is no need to nitpick. If you are getting pixilation you aren't pulling in the station and it is not watchable. It is not like the old "analog" days when you could be watching a station just fine but it could be of generally poor quality.

Not quite true. I get quite severe 'pixilation' if that's the word on weaker stations.

[villagetinker]

I would think outside antennas wouldn't be allowed.

FCC rules override any and all HOA or equal (in our case covenants), outside antennas are allowed. i have personally called Community standards about this.

[shighsmi]

We are in Hadley and get 70 channels . Tom from The Villages AV installed the digital antennae in our attic.

[kcrazorbackfan]

Everyone wanting to put up an outside antenna, remember we live in the lightning capital of the US.

[JimJohnson]

How about a HAM Radio antenna. An old hobbie I used to do that I now have time for.

[biker1]

A properly installed outside antenna will be grounded.

Everyone wanting to put up an outside antenna, remember we live in the lightning capital of the US.

[villagetinker]

How about a HAM Radio antenna. An old hobbie I used to do that I now have time for.

FCC rules are for OTA (over the air) television reception only. There is a ham radio club, contact them for suggestions on antennas, i have seen some pictures of cleverly concealed antennas.

[GregP]

FCC rules override any and all HOA or equal (in our case covenants), outside antennas are allowed. i have personally called Community standards about this.

If there was a problem with TV antennas being eye soars as some have suggested and stated, then why is there no problem with all the Satellite dishes? Which I might add are as big an eye soar as the TV antennas if not more.

[John_W]

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[Dan9871]

As far as single family homes, hiding them behind a fenced yard would be harder since only fences installed by TV are permitted.

Dishes can be placed on the ground between houses on a short, 4 ft, pole much as AC units are placed between houses. It's very hard to notice them from the street when they placed this way.

However DirectTV charges extra to do this. They will do a placement on the edge of the roof for free.

Also on the ground placement is subject to being hit by lawn mowers which, unless you are very handy, would require a service call to DirectTV to re-align. However we've had ours installed this way for 6 years without any issue.

[kcrazorbackfan]

A properly installed outside antenna will be grounded.

Yeah, but a lot of people will go cheap and try DIY and have no idea about grounding it. ⛈

[biker1]

Yep. If they don't RTFM, and follow it, then they will be at risk.

Yeah, but a lot of people will go cheap and try DIY and have no idea about grounding it. ⛈

[Pinball wizard]

Dishes can be placed on the ground between houses on a short, 4 ft, pole much as AC units are placed between houses. It's very hard to notice them from the street when they placed this way.

However DirectTV charges extra to do this. They will do a placement on the edge of the roof for free.

Also on the ground placement is subject to being hit by lawn mowers which, unless you are very handy, would require a service call to DirectTV to re-align. However we've had ours installed this way for 6 years without any issue.

DirecTV did not charge me for ground installation last March.

[Harry Gilbert]

For those who are unsure about restrictions on antenna use
here is a link to the FCC rule on antennas

Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule | Federal Communications Commission (https://www.fcc.gov/media/over-air-reception-devices-rule)

[ffresh]

Who installed your antenna? I need to get rid of a couple of my cable boxes connected with tv's that get very little use.

Thanks for your help

This might be a good option for you. "For those wanting to cut cost of several cable digital adapters
Silicondust is the innovator of the HDHomeRun® line of network connected TV tuners. We offer global solutions to Live TV streaming in homes, businesses, hotels, education facilities, or anywhere Live Linear TV will be streaming to multiple viewing devices within a connected network."

I use the "HD HomeRun Connect DUO" in my streaming setup (two integral tuners) and the picture quality is excellent!
Consumer - Silicon Dust (https://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/)


FredF

[ffresh]

Would a second antenna pointed in another direction with a signal combiner help?[/QUOTE]

YES
Combine two antennas for even better reception:
TIP: Combine two antennas for even better reception - The Solid Signal Blog (https://blog.solidsignal.com/tutorials/tip-combine-two-antennas-even-better-reception/)

FredF

[ffresh]

(possibly) Interesting info:

Make This Powerful HDTV Antenna Out of Cardboard
Make This Powerful HDTV Antenna Out of Cardboard | HubPages (https://hubpages.com/art/make-this-powerful-hdtv-antenna-out-of-cardboard#slide12752585)

The Ultimate Guide to Cable TV Alternatives
The Ultimate Guide to Cable TV Alternatives | Grounded Reason (https://www.groundedreason.com/cable-tv-alternatives/#dvr)



FredF

[wlasowicz]

Hi
I have a antenna outside at my home in Rochester NY which I set myself and works well but more on the high end setup than what I would install in the villages . I would like to at some point install one at my rental patio villa. Comcast seems to raise my rates with taxes included about $10.00 a month every year since I have had the service in 2016 just for basic TV. Just to put this out there I spoke to someone a couple of years ago from the TOV that the new units being built ( mine late 2015) they have some sort of reflective material in the roof or attic. So those of you that are thinking of putting a antenna in your attic just understand your signal may not work well if you have reflective in the attic/roof.

[villagetinker]

Here is another option for pointing your antennas especially if you are in the northern villages. Ocala has three translators or re-transmission towers. All three are easily receivable if you point the antenna toward Ocala. They are only 20-30 miles away. Fox 35 from Orlando transmits on channel 51. The programming is almost the same. WESH and WKMG (NBC and CBS) have translator towers which are received with no problem. For ABC the Gainsville station on 20.1 comes in fine as well as their PBS station. Orlando is 60 miles away from me and this made it easy. I don't get the religious or Spanish channels but not interested. Give this option a try.

Thank you for the info, just took may 2 antennas out of the attic storage and tried them. I will be putting the Db4e along the side of my house over the nexrt couple of days, I was able to get 10 channels with it clamped on to a ladder in my driveway.

[EdFNJ]

Dishes can be placed on the ground between houses on a short, 4 ft, pole much as AC units are placed between houses. It's very hard to notice them from the street when they placed this way.

However DirectTV charges extra to do this. They will do a placement on the edge of the roof for free.

Also on the ground placement is subject to being hit by lawn mowers which, unless you are very handy, would require a service call to DirectTV to re-align. However we've had ours installed this way for 6 years without any issue.


Ground mounting won't always work if you have an obstruction (like your home or a tree) between dish and direct view of sky from the sides or back of your home as I did. Also as for mowing issues with ground mounts just put a 3' diameter circle with flowers or stones around it and it won't get hit. I once weedwacked my wire in half before doing that up north. :P

[Dan9871]

Ground mounting won't always work if you have an obstruction (like your home or a tree) between dish and direct view of sky from the sides or back of your home as I did. Also as for mowing issues with ground mounts just put a 3' diameter circle with flowers or stones around it and it won't get hit. I once weedwacked my wire in half before doing that up north. :P

You can put the pole inside the planting bed about 3 feet from the house and have the dish pointing in the direction house because the satellites are higher in the sky than they are up north in, say, New England. Also DirectTV routes the wire under ground that leaves the wire protected even on the bottom 1 foot or so of the pole.

Still I wouldn't put it past a landscaper to weed wack the pole a foot off the ground or to bump into the pole while spraying the bed. But in 6 years here our pole dish hasn't moved, knock on wood:)

[mtoneff]

Here is the antenna to buy in this area. McDuory HDTV Antenna Amplified Digital Outdoor Antenna 150 Miles Range with Mounting Pole. Look up this product number - WA-2608+POLE

[John_W]

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