Digital TV antennas

[Cooper]

Does anyone have any experience with these ?We heard about them but when we looked a ton of options .We are looking for most strength . We plan to be staying off the everglades the most so I think we would pick up Miami ? Any info would help . Thanks

 

[Goldenstar38]

I use an externally mounted one in the Los Angeles area on my boat, but do not recall the name brand and it was installed 3.5 years ago and is used daily. It was supposed to have a 60 mile reception range and actually works very well. I receive over 65 channels, although many are Spanish/Korean, etc, language stations, but I can delete these on my smart tv.
It uses an antenna which is easily mounted and included a power adapter to boost range. However, the power adapter which failed, but I never replaced it. The antenna actually works better without it.
Hope this helps.

 

[catalinajack]

Antennae that pick up digital TV signals are no different than antennae that were used to pick up the old analog signals. We use an omnidirectional antenna with a signal booster on our boat which is berthed about half-way between Baltimore and Washington (45 miles from each). We get many , but not all of each city's offering. What one must remember is that TV signals are line-of-site. Boats are at the lowest point anywhete so buildings, trees, sailboat masts, boats on the hard all can block a signal. Plus, unlike analogue signals, digital broadcasts are all or nothing. Last year, before the fall haul-outs littered our parking lot, we got great reception of the Baltimore stations. Afterward, not so much. The antennae do work but the limits vary on location and more clear lines of sight and distance, of course. TV signals do not follow the curve of the earth.

 

[ranger58sb]

Does anyone have any experience with these ?We heard about them but when we looked a ton of options .We are looking for most strength . We plan to be staying off the everglades the most so I think we would pick up Miami ? Any info would help . Thanks

The antenna doesn't know "digital" from "analog" -- it only knows frequency range. The tuner (in the TV, or a converter box) is what selects specific frequency ("channels") and analog vs. digital, etc.

Any decent "TV" antenna could work, including cheap rabbit ears from the Whatever-Mart.

Amplified omni-directional antennas mounted high would generally work better.

Two big names are Glomex (what we have, works OK) and Shakespeare (I think).

Jack's comments about line of sight are germane. He's actually just down the road from us a bit, but we often receive slightly different channel sets probably just due to blockage...

-Chris

 

[diver dave]

The conversion in the US to digital broadcast also involved a lot of frequency shifts. Very few TV stations are in the VHF band. Therefore many "digital" antennas now ignore the VHF band and do a better job in the UHF band.

 

[seasalt007]

Based upon my experience in Marathon I would say that picking up Miami from the SW side of the Everglades might be a problem. You might try calling the marinas in Goodland and Everglades City.

 

[aboatman]

As a couple people have stated, there is no such thing as a "digital" antenna. The name is advertising hype and dishonest. An antenna just intercepts a signal and delivers it to a receiver. It has no idea what is contained in the signal.

As for VHF and UHF, the FCC did something a little stupid. Instead of moving all TV transmission to the UHF band, they moved the low band VHF to UHF but left the stations on the high VHF band (7 - 13) as they were. You still need an antenna capable of picking up the high VHF stations as well as the UHF stations.

That said, a TV antenna you buy today will have that capability. The important thing to remember on a boat is, the boat will be moving and even if anchored, it will be moving and swinging on the hook. If you buy an "omnidirectional" antenna (picks up in all directions), you will be fine. A "unidirectional" (picks up in one direction) antenna will have to be aimed at the station you are trying to watch and as the boat moves, you will have to reorient the antenna. That's going to be a PITA.

Your best bet is to buy a marine TV antenna. It will be round and weatherproof and usually comes with a powered amplifier, either internal or external. In any event, with digital TV (not a digital antenna), it's all or nothing. No snowy picture that's barely watchable. Realistically, you can't expect to get reliable reception of a station more than 30 - 40 miles away.

There are websites on the Internet where you put in your location and get a list of what stations you can expect to receive.

 

[AlaskaProf]

Okay! Here's a chance to answer something I've been wondering for the two years I've owned my present boat.

My favorite FM station (KNKX for you Washingtonians) broadcasts on many low-power repeaters and I often find myself in a location where I feel like I should be able to receive but don't.

I'm no engineer, but I know enough to know that FM broadcast sits just above the TV-low band And below the aircraft band (localizers, to be specific).

So the question: TV is something I go boating to escape, but, would one of the little disc antennas improve my FM radio reception? What about a quarter-wave aircraft band antenna?

 

[Fletcher500]

In SoCal my digital antenna picked up a lot of stations but only 3 were English and the rest were from Mexico. A lot of ways to do this. I am no AV expert, but if you google Roku and hot spot streaming there are other options depending on how bad you want good Tv, including the dish which has excellent quality.

 

[ranger58sb]

So the question: TV is something I go boating to escape, but, would one of the little disc antennas improve my FM radio reception? What about a quarter-wave aircraft band antenna?

It could. We can't receive too many FM radio stations around here without our amplified (AM/FM/TV) antenna at least turned on.

BTW, I dunno that all TV antennas are "disc" type. Ours is, sorta, but I dunno if other brands are the same.

-Chris

 

[aboatman]

Okay! Here's a chance to answer something I've been wondering for the two years I've owned my present boat.

My favorite FM station (KNKX for you Washingtonians) broadcasts on many low-power repeaters and I often find myself in a location where I feel like I should be able to receive but don't.

I'm no engineer, but I know enough to know that FM broadcast sits just above the TV-low band And below the aircraft band (localizers, to be specific).

So the question: TV is something I go boating to escape, but, would one of the little disc antennas improve my FM radio reception? What about a quarter-wave aircraft band antenna?

Many of the marine antennas have an output for FM radio on the amplifier. Check the specs or descriptions before you buy.

 

[NightCrawler]

We inherited a Shakespeare disc style when we bought the boat. It picks up a ton of stations in HD and doesn't seem to mind swinging on the hook.

 

[aboatman]

Just to be clear, the antenna has nothing to do with HD (high definition) either.

 

[sbu22]

No experience in your area. My Glomex + amp gives me a raft of stations wherever we are. Sometimes stations 50 miles distant.

 

[aboatman]

In my travels, I have been able to receive anywhere from zero to 50+ TV stations. Unfortunately in the places with 50+ stations half were not in English and half the remaining ones were attempting to save my soul.

My Glomex has a cable TV input on the amplifier so all I have to do is plug in the cable and re-scan at marinas with cable TV.

 

[sbu22]

Only commenting on signal reception. Like Newton Minnow said: vast wasteland.

 

[SeaMoose]

The round “disk shaped” Shakespeare is actually a loop on the inside. Buy the one with the amplifier, I’ve had both and the amplified one is the best.

Band conditions matter! Scan for channels regularly, scan during the day and at night, under certain conditions we’ve watched stations over 100 miles away for over an hour.

Internet access gives you more to watch than an antenna... An 8TB hard drive holds a lot of video.

The TV puts me to sleep, it’s a worthwhile accessory.

 

[psneeld]

we watch over the air TV from NJ to Florida...sure there are thin spots like eastern NC and the Florida Keys near Marathon...but there are many areas with dozens of stations.

Sure some are non english and sure some are religious...but even cable is a wasteland depending on your plan...and tastes in TV.

If you want to watch stuff you like when you want, be prepared gor internet downloafs or sat TV...and even tben a DVR would help.

 

[FlyWright]

I inherited my Shakespeare 12V powered UFO antenna on my boat 10 years and it's never skipped a beat. My best guess is that it's 20 years old on a 40 year old boat.

My waters are between San Fran and Sacramento. I often receive both cites at once, but not all stations. Oddly enough, the only 2 places with NO reception are Sausalito (Richardson Bay) and Angel Island (Ayala Cove). Must be a line of sight issue with San Fran.

I have no onboard recording capability but can tap into my Xfinity DVR cloud storage and on-demand menu through internet, but that's a different system.

Here's a version of my antenna from this millennium. Seems like a good price.

https://www.hodgesmarine.com/Shakes...lkid=xq9C1Mebsj19&ppcsu=xhg7f5djqeniramsegdoh

 

[AlaskaProf]

Okay. Now I'm really curious. Shakespeare offers three sizes, 4", 15", 19". They say the bigger the antenna, the greater the range. But antenna size is supposed to be about frequency (says Herr Hertz). So what's up?

 

[FlyWright]

Best guess, mine is just 9-10 inches. It might have something to do with amplifiers or gain. Just a wild ass guess on my part.

 

[ranger58sb]

Okay. Now I'm really curious. Shakespeare offers three sizes, 4", 15", 19". They say the bigger the antenna, the greater the range. But antenna size is supposed to be about frequency (says Herr Hertz). So what's up?

It's not size per se, but rather size relative to wavelength. I've forgotten all the formulae, but it was common to see antenna sizes like quarter wave, half wave, etc. -- length relative to frequency bandwidth -- and I'd guess (without doing any math) that those sizes are useful fractions of wavelength. IIRC, a "loop" is just a "whip" bent into a circle, with a bunch of tech stuff to get the functional length right...

-Chris

 

[diver dave]

path loss/quick review.

It is true that a dipole gets shorter as the resonant frequency goes up.
However, it is also true that path LOSS goes up with frequency also. So, to reduce path loss, antenna GAIN may need to increase. This might mean more elements, so, the antenna gets larger.
The desireable antenna property is more about an affect called capture area.

 

[aboatman]

TV signals, like VHF signals are "line of sight". Unlike a marine radio in open waters, you never know what's between you and the transmitter.

Sitting alongside Savannah, GA at the dock, I get no TV stations at all. Anchor eight miles away on the ICW and I get twenty or so. Savannah and Charleston and a couple others. Savannah is on a hill and it blocks the signals.

We stayed at a marina in Jacksonville, FL and couldn't get the FOX station. We went up the St. Johns River and back and were given a different slip on a different pier. The FOX station came in fine.

 

[Mule]

I am in Fort Pierce. I have Direct TV, piling mounted Dish. We are going to start using the boat for more than a condo so I installed an antenna feed. ABC is it..that’s all worth watching the rest is either non English or snake dancers whining for donations to ensure everlasting life with a money back guarantee. “Just reach over, get out your checkbook make it out “Preacher Bobby needs a new Jet” and I will promise....” we’ll you get the idea.

I suspect if we went south it would be a different story because we are on the reception edge of West Palm. Some where in the Keys would lose it. Going North I think it would be a wasteland until the Daytona-Jacksonville market.

I just got a MyFi stand alone modem that delivers over 15mbps consistently. Hopefully between the Antenna and internet based will suffice. I really do not want to buy a dome-Dish. The writing is on the wall that program distribution is moving to net based.

 

[bayview]

I am surprised nobody mentioned raising the antenna on a temporary mast.

 

[Hamrow]

Okay. Now I'm really curious. Shakespeare offers three sizes, 4", 15", 19". They say the bigger the antenna, the greater the range. But antenna size is supposed to be about frequency (says Herr Hertz). So what's up?

Yes, generally frequency is inverse to antenna size, so the higher the frequency, the smaller the antenna needed.
If you're talking about Tacoma KNKX 88.5, then it radiates on the lowest end of the FM scale at 88.5 MHz.
If a person is interested in focusing very specifically on one channel, one can design or "tune" an antenna specifically for that channel.
Wavelength = lightspeed/frequency, so for 88.5, wavelength = 133.4 inches
a 1/4-wave monopole antenna then would be 133.4/4 = 33.35 inches. this is why most car radio rod-type antennas are around 30 inches tall because 1/4-wave monopoles are cheap and effective.
By comparison, the top end of FM radio at 108 MHz, wavelength is 109.3" and a 1/4-wave would be 27.3 inches.
Marine VHF up at 156 correlates to a wave of 75.6 inches so these are not ideal for FM radio.
All that said, likely a practical solution would be just getting a FM or AM/FM monopole somewhere in the ~ 30-inch length range mounted fairly high, then also using good quality low loss coaxial cable from the antenna down to the receiver is also important.

 

[aboatman]

Sailboaters sometimes make a TV antenna from a bicycle wheel. They don't like to spend money.

 

[Delta Dog]

I can physically see the broadcast tower for most of the Sacramento stations in Walnut Grove, but sometimes the stations black out. I think it's because they are broadcasting over me? My antenna is up on my mast so it's above the levee even at low tide. I don't get any of the bay area stations, I think that's because Mt Diablo is between us and them.

Coming up the coast we tried several times to check TV weather reports and couldn't get a signal between Pt Conception and Monterey.

 

[Hamrow]

Yeah for TV, the new web tools for deciding what direction to point your antenna are pretty cool, like "Antennas Direct".
These guys also have an app for smart phones. Even if you have an omni-directional antenna, the web tool could help you see where the nearest broadcast stations are.
For example in Delta Dog's situation, the stations are pretty sparse between Pt Conception and Monterey. You plug in a zip code for something in the middle like Gorda, and there's only a couple of stations; way down at Paso Robles, then way up at Salinas...