> It all depends on what you are trying to receive, VHF or UHF, how far you are, what kind of terrain, etc. Then all it takes is an inferior connector/connecton to screw you up. I would be curious to hear more specifics on the antennas and amplifeirs that are up on that tower, how far you are from the broadcast tower, etc. The pro could have selected the wrong antrnna or had a bad connrection. There are a lot of variables. Regardless, some of RS gear is fine SOME of the time because they are merely reselling one of the name brand manufacturer's gear and it's hit or miss because of that. If you buy Channel Master, etc. you know what you are getting. That's all I am saying.
Well, I guess it's a matter of YMMV. I had the exact opposite experience. > My father-in-law and I had installed a high end Radio Shack combined VHF > and UHF antenna, and it performed quite well, for years. However, I live > a long way from the broadcast towers, love TV, and had the money, so I > paid some professional installers to put a large tower in place and > install the best separate VHF and UHF antennas money could buy, > supposedly. It worked almost as well as my old Radio Shack antenna, but > not quite. I've always resented the slight loss in signal quality for the > not so slight loss in money and convenience (I could just climb on the > roof to service the Radio Shack antenna; I don't feel comfortable scaling > the tower to work on the fancy system). FWIW. > > I'm annoyed at Radio Shack for being so expensive, and they probably sell > some junk as well as some good stuff, but by and large they've been pretty > reliable for me. And though I know people who swear by Winegard, I > wouldn't hesitate to use RS antennas, given my experiences. > > - larryy > > At 5:00 PM -0800 11/25/07, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >> > When I mentioned that I don't recommend Radio Shack gear, I was not >>referring to everything from RS just antenna equipment, I do not feel >>after having used Channel Maaster, Winegard, Blonder-Tongue, Jerrold, >>and Radio Shack over the years, that there is any good reason to use RS >>because it is inferior in comparison to the industry leaders. While I >>have an opinion regarding other RS items my comment is specific to >>setting up an antenna system for high quality digital reception in a >>"fringe" location. Their antennas are inferior and their mast >>amplifiers are terrible and failure prone. Their mounting gear is OK >>and is sourced typicallly from one of the other manufacturers I >>mentioned above. For years their rotors were made by channel Master >>although they were sold for at least as much as CM list price unless >>there was a sale. RS has its place but if I were installing an antenna >>system for optimal performance that I wanted to last for years I'd go >>with cM or Winegard. Proven performers. >> >>Thank you Bruce . Your advice is absolutely correct . Here is one place >> I >>> buy equipment . I also enjoy fantastic digital TV and it is free ! >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: thegrod<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>> To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> >>> Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2007 11:58 AM >>> Subject: Re: [TVRO] Antenna Question >>> >>> >>> Gary's advice about an 8 bay bow-tie UHF Channel master antenna would >>> be >>> your best choice, and you should get a mast amplifier for the UHF >>> antenna because of your distance from the broadcast towers. One thing >>> I >>> would suggest is googling to find all your Digital TV stations in both >>> Washington and Richmond just to make certain that none of the channels >>> you want are in the VHF Ch 2-13 range because then a UHF only antenna >>> might be a mistake You will need a rotor if you want both cities as I >>> suspect that they are in opposite directions but you could go with the >>> antenna pointed at Washington and forego Richmond stations. You would >>> be looking at around $150 for the antenna and amplifier if you do it >>> yourself. you may need some new mounting hardware. Don't buy Radio >>> Shack stuff if you want the highest quality and if you are unsure >>> about >>> how to do this hire a professional and have them do it right.....A >>> digital tuner for OTA channels is very good advice and you won't >>> believe >>> the quality of OTA digital and HD if you have an HD tv. Very shortly, >>> inexpensive digital tuners will become available as part of the >>> digital >>> transition. Perhaps by next February. >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: morningglorydesigns >>> To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> >>> Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2007 8:23 PM >>> Subject: [TVRO] Antenna Question >>> >>> >>> Because our antenna (and amps?)was damaged in a hurricane Isabel >>> and >> > we no longer get local stations well, we considered going to >> small >>> dish or cable. However, we decided that we want to keep the 4DTV >>> and >>> replace the antenna. I realize that these antenna questions are >>> not >>> directly related to C-Band, but for most of us with C-band, our >>> systems involve having an antenna for local channels. >>> >>> Is it better to have an antenna professionally installed or are >>> the >>> results of installing it yourself usually good? My husband was not >>> able to loosen and turn our present antenna because it has been on >>> top of our house for 13 years. We had it installed with our C-band >>> system. We have a 2 story house and the antenna is at the edge of >>> a >>> gable. >>> >>> There are supposed to be 3 amps or boosters, but my husband has >>> not >>> been able to find them. Is it best just to replace the whole >>> system? >>> I don't want to spennd unnecessary money, but I want to be happy >>> with the results. >>> >>> We are 40 miles from Washington DC and 65 miles from Richmond. We >>> have an omni-directional antenna and focused on the DC channels. >>> Is >>> it expensive or complicated to add a rotor? >>> >>> Comment on pizza dish and cable: They advertise lots of channels, >>> but to get the simple programming we want (like DIY, SCI, HGTV), >>> we'd have to get an expensive package. Truthfully, looking at the >>> Dish Network 100+ package made me angry. Most of the 100 channels >>> were useless. With either pizza dish or cable, we'd have to pay >>> ~$60 >>> a month. Although they have a couple of sports channels we'd like, >>> it's not worth switching - and I feel like they arrange their >>> packages so that you pretty much have to get an expensive plan to >>> get anything good. >>> >>> Serena >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> Yahoo! Groups Links >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >>> >>> >> >> >> >> >> >>Yahoo! Groups Links >> >> >> > >
