Digital Antenna Recommendations

The #1 community for Gun Owners in Indiana

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • Nugget

    Milsurp Enjoyer
    Rating - 100%
    10   0   0
    Jul 30, 2022
    719
    93
    Morgan County
    A lot of it will depend on how far you are from the Indy broadcast towers, the terrain/trees around you, where your TV/s are located in your house, the nearest window and which direction it faces, etc.

    We live about 22 - 26 miles southwest of the local stations, which are all up on the near north side of Indy. We bought a Mohu Leaf for $35...


    We stuck the thing near a window facing northeast. We get a really good signal from CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, and FOX, along with all of their sub-channels. The CW (ch.8) comes in sporadically, but who the heck watches the CW anyway?

    I would also recommend shopping for deals on streaming services. We just signed up for a year of Paramount+ w/ Showtime for half off ($60 = $5/mo), and a lot of the services have super cheap deals on Black Friday each year. We currently have Hulu w/ Disney+ for $3/mo and Peacock for $2/mo, both of which we got last year on Black Friday.
     

    Ziggidy

    Grandmaster
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    May 7, 2018
    7,765
    113
    Hendricks County
    I have 2 of these and works well. Certain times of the day the satellites seemingly change and I need to slide the antenna over a few inches but 90% of time, It stays clipped on top of tv. One for each tv.


    I have no paid subscriptions. Just OTA.
    71h5cXRmI0L._AC_SX679_.jpg
     
    Last edited:

    thunderchicken

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    5   0   0
    Feb 26, 2010
    6,529
    113
    Indianapolis
    Been in the process of moving the last few days. The wife and I are really tired of paying the cost for cable. Debating of we want to do the antenna/streaming/Roku thing or if we want to suck it up and do cable again.
    Some years ago we had DirecTV but we were never satisfied with how frequently we would lose signal. I mean a light shower or snow flurry and we had no signal. Their tech could never figure it out. Haven't had home Internet service in several years but I'm game to give it a go again it I don't have to watch the little wheel spin while it's buffering in the middle of a movie. That's why we always just bit the bullet for cable. Even if strong storms we always had signal.
    Good timing for this thread because it may help me decide what to do
     

    04FXSTS

    Master
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Dec 31, 2010
    1,873
    129
    Eugene
    I am pretty much in a desert when it comes to OTA TV reception. Tried a few different antennas and ended up with a "Channelmaster." I have it mounted 20 feet up and it does better than the original 15 feet. I also have one of their signal boosters which also helps. Jim.
     

    snapping turtle

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    7   0   0
    Dec 5, 2009
    6,748
    113
    Madison county
    The old antenna style still work well if you know where one is at. Within 60 mile range you’re pretty good. I live in Madison county and pointing to Indy from the attic inside the house (not be best idea but it was easy) I get great reception of abc cbs CW fox pbs . I also get Muncie PBS somehow and a few of the offbrand stations with QVC and weird MtV style programs. (Of which I removed from the TV’s memory of stations because I will not be watching those. I get bloomingtons channel 4 or 29 cbs also and I know that is further than 60 miles but it can be in and out at times. (Also deleted in memory as same as insy CBS) I also have an amp in the house that feeds splitters to all tv ‘s but my wife watching local news and my sports viewing is about all we use tv for.

    Eventually I will place the pole outside and get the newer style MESH setup which should be 75 miles omnidirectional(or so they say) but that will be a future project
     

    COOPADUP

    Accipiter
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    9   0   0
    Aug 8, 2017
    7,141
    113
    Hamilton County
    I am pretty much in a desert when it comes to OTA TV reception. Tried a few different antennas and ended up with a "Channelmaster." I have it mounted 20 feet up and it does better than the original 15 feet. I also have one of their signal boosters which also helps. Jim.
    Reviewed one of these on their site. $150.00
    Not sure about mounting an external setup off the roof.
    This may be a buy once cry once situation though.
     

    bigretic

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    72   0   0
    Jan 14, 2011
    2,408
    113
    NWI
    I've installed a couple of these (office, and family)
    low price point for high reward if you have a place to mount. Can go on side of wall or roof or pole.
    Personally, at the house I have a roof mounted 105" winegard or similar - been a long time since i put it up, but it was like $150, plus a tripod mount and whatever coax i needed.
    These little $50 on a pole are hard to beat though.
     

    Born2vette

    Norm, Team woodworker
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    23   0   0
    Jul 25, 2020
    4,395
    113
    Westfield
    Reviewed one of these on their site. $150.00
    Not sure about mounting an external setup off the roof.
    This may be a buy once cry once situation though.
    I have similar antenna, can’t recall the brand but I think it was $80 20 years ago at Menards. When we moved to Westfield 20 years ago I mounted it in my attic (single story house so its about 14 ft off the ground) in the southwest corner. Ran some coax to the basement, attached a cheap inline amplifier and ran coax to 3 bedrooms, living room and the main bathroom. All those tvs get most of the channels listed as strong and moderate, and a few of the ones labeled weak here: https://www.channelmaster.com/pages/free-tv-channels-westfield-in-46074

    That said, my garage TV has some rabbit ears sitting on top of my wall cabinets and it gets all of the “strong” signals.
     

    Brian Ski

    Master
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Aug 13, 2014
    1,874
    83
    Michiana
    I've installed a couple of these (office, and family)
    Amazon.com
    I had a couple... The coax that came with it disintegrated. It would not hold up to the sun. The rotor striped out from the wind. Plastic parts got brittle from the UV.

    I have installed a bunch of these... They have held up and worked really good. Only problem is the price keeps climbing. Channel Master

    Outdoor is the only way to go. The cheap ones with the built in amplifiers are not very good, they tend to over power a good signal if the amplifier is not needed. Attic will work, but not if you have a metal roof, and outdoor is always better.

    BTW there is no difference between a digital or analog TV antenna. If it says Digital, it is just a way to sell more.
     

    Brian Ski

    Master
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Aug 13, 2014
    1,874
    83
    Michiana
    Take a look at the ChannelMaster 4228.
    Then buy something similar.
    Make sure to also use a LTE filter.

    And....
    There are no Digital antennas, RF is RF
    I should have said that.... LOL

    I have not needed a LTE filter, but I did have a problem with tv interference. Some stations transmit on the same frequency. So there are some channels I cannot get. Since the digital switch, most stations changed what frequency they transmit on. Not sure if any transmit on VHF anymore.

    The CM 4221 is good for under 50 miles. I do have a CM 4228 and can pull in channels close to 100 miles away quite clear, except if a plane passes by or strong winds. That is also without an amplifier.

    There is a knockoff antenna that is similar, but has more plastic parts... generic 4 bay
    Kind of iffy on that one. For the work I would get a Channel Master.
     
    Top Bottom