Need some TV reception suggestions

[gsmittle]

My mom just moved out of her falling-apart mobile home into a new condo. She doesn't want to pay for cable or satellite, and the condo PTB won't let her put up an outdoor antenna. I've tried a Radio Shack amplified rabbit ears with pretty poor results. Any ideas for a better-quality indoor antenna or some other alternative?????

g.

[cwithboat]

You might check out the digital TV adapter boxes. There is a $40 rebate. The reception should be improved.

[Thalermade]

Is there access to an attic? My $60 Radio Shack antenna is in my attic and it works great.

Russ

[gsmittle]

Charlie, she has a TV with a digital tuner, so the box won't help her. When she can get them, the digital channels come in great. Problem is, they come and go several times an hour.

Russ, there's no access to the attic. I keep calling her new place a condo, but it's really a Little Old Widow Lady Apartment Building. There are a number of restrictions, mainly that you can't hang anything on the building or put anything on the roof.

I think I'll just have to talk her into one of the satellite dishes.... Of course they are the exception to the nothing-on-the-roof rule.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

g.

[messmaker]

You have tried most of the easy fixes. They did make an outside antenna that looks almost like a Dish network dish. You might get that and with a well placed Dish sticker get around the rule.

[jrnewhall]

I copied this from Antennas Direct Website. It still might be less agrguing if you pick an antenna that is small and compact like the Lacross on the same site.

~JRN

In 1996, The FCC affirmed the rights of homeowners to place antennas on property they own or control.* Check out the FCC ruling here: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html. The law basically states that homeowner association covenants cannot prevent you from installing antennas or dishes. The rule "prohibits restrictions that impair the installation, maintenance or use of antennas used to receive video programming."
*Masts higher than 12 feet above the roofline may be subject to local permitting requirements.

[Slik Geek]

My $60 Radio Shack antenna is in my attic and it works great.

Russ,

What is your "line of sight" distance to the transmitters?

[Ed62]

Try the following link. I haven't really got into it, but I've heard others say it is real good. http://antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

Ed

[rjwaldren]

Are the majority of the channels in the VHF band or UHF. They do require different antennas. If it's mainly UHF you may be able to find an outdoor grid antenna that can be hidden indoors. Most box store set top antennas are geared more toward VHF (rabbit ears) and only have a simple loop for UHF.

Again, www.antennaweb.org, is the best place to get good recommendations for your area.

[Thalermade]

Russ,

What is your "line of sight" distance to the transmitters?

Pretty reasonable. I am located about 25 miles north of downtown Cincinnati and about 20 south of downtown Dayton. Our neighborhood is on higher ground as well.

While I can get all the stations from both cities, my best antenna location provided me with all but one Cincinnati station, but I am able to pick up a Dayton station that carries the network.

My goal was to be able to get all four networks, which I achieved. Someday I may put a pole and rotor up their. My TV is in the basement, so it was a lot of steps to adjust the antenna, then run down and redo the TV channel set-up.

I used http://www.antennaweb.org to help with my set up and it was worth the time.

Hope this helps.
Russ