Over The Air TV Antenna

[DCMY #92]

I'm planning to install a new broadcast TV antenna. Any advice on the actual performance of the various models available would be appreciated.

 

[season]

DCMY#92,
I have a background with consumer electronics and HD digital antennas. What type of range are you looking for? Is this going to be mostly a dock and close coastal set up or will you need it to work 30 to 50 miles offshore?

 

[DCMY #92]

Dockside and near coastal. Small size and low weight are preferred unless these overly degrade performance.

 

[Vincentc]

DCMY#92,
I have a background with consumer electronics and HD digital antennas. What type of range are you looking for? Is this going to be mostly a dock and close coastal set up or will you need it to work 30 to 50 miles offshore?

Just wondering. Does it matter whether you are at the dock or 30 miles offshore if your dock is 30 miles from the TV tower?

Regards

 

[season]

Dockside and near coastal. Small size and low weight are preferred unless these overly degrade performance.

There are two ways you can proceed with this. If you are in an area with lots of television stations within 30 miles or less from your dock and you will be watching TV mostly there you really don't need an outside antenna. You can use one from someone like Antennas direct. I get 25 hi def channels here in Raleigh in my house off their inside unit that is available at BJ's, Best Buy etc. It has a swivel mount that allows you to either table mount it or wall mount it a 90 degree position. If you are not close enough to the broadcast towers or plan on extensive coastal cruising outside of your home port an outside unit would be more effective. I am providing links to Antennas Direct for inside and the Glomex marine exterior mounted models. You can pick up the inside unit and connect it without any installation work to the antenna connection on your TV and the TV menu should have a antenna channel set up search that will let you measure how many stations it can see at the dock. If it is good, install the unit where you want it. If not, you can return it and you are looking at the marine unit for outside. Antennas direct makes several outside units but they are not prescribed for marine environments and are not very marine looking even if you attempted to improve their corrosion protection.
Randy
http://www.antennasdirect.com/store/Frequency.html
http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|344|2028695|2029063&id=2280717

 

[Robby]

I'm planning to install a new broadcast TV antenna. Any advice on the actual performance of the various models available would be appreciated.

We love out dish tailgator.It relitivrly inexpencive and we get the same reception you would at home. Call Dish and ask for the R/V folks.

 

[bostonhatteras]

I have the Glomex Altair dome. works excellent. mount on a straight antenna mount and youre golden.

 

[Capt Paul]

I have the Shakespeare unidirectional marine unit. Works great, looks cool. I didn't want to get a Best Buy indoor model and have to secure it, maybe tune it and then wonder if i was getting as good a reception as a marine unit. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

 

[34Hatt]

I have the Glomex Altair dome. works excellent. mount on a straight antenna mount and youre golden.

Please tell me more do you get digitizing does it stay the same when moving from harbor to harbor.
Do you know how far away you can still pickup signals have you tried it on the hook while swinging.

With mine some days good most day suck it gets so bad its not worth watching anymore in most palaces. But I am still using my old Shakespeare unidirectional round dome that's 13 years old so its not made for H.D. I been wanting to find something better and will spend a few hundred if it works. Most people I have talked to haven't had much better reception.

Good thread hope more tell us what Antenna works we know Sat works but just not worth the dollars don't watch enough TV on the boat!

 

[Beckytek]

I had a omni directional Shakespere antenna that came with the boat( 20 years old), and the reception in my area was marginal. I bought a new Glomex system from defender with all the bells and it was no better.
After seeing Robbys thread about RV sat, I spent the $850.00 for the dish and love it. I get all the same cable stations I get at home for $6.00 a month from dish. In the winter I call dish and have it turned off. I wouldn't waste any money on an antenna system if the one you have is marginal.

 

[bobk]

I had a omni directional Shakespere antenna that came with the boat( 20 years old), and the reception in my area was marginal. I bought a new Glomex system from defender with all the bells and it was no better.
After seeing Robbys thread about RV sat, I spent the $850.00 for the dish and love it. I get all the same cable stations I get at home for $6.00 a month from dish. In the winter I call dish and have it turned off. I wouldn't waste any money on an antenna system if the one you have is marginal.

Tell us more about how you got dish for $6/month. My DirectTV is almost ten times that for really basic service.

Bobk

 

[Beckytek]

The sat receiver on the boat is just an additional tv on my dish system. It's as if I added another tv to my home.

 

[bostonhatteras]

Please tell me more do you get digitizing does it stay the same when moving from harbor to harbor.
Do you know how far away you can still pickup signals have you tried it on the hook while swinging.

With mine some days good most day suck it gets so bad its not worth watching anymore in most palaces. But I am still using my old Shakespeare unidirectional round dome that's 13 years old so its not made for H.D. I been wanting to find something better and will spend a few hundred if it works. Most people I have talked to haven't had much better reception.

Good thread hope more tell us what Antenna works we know Sat works but just not worth the dollars don't watch enough TV on the boat!

We are home berthed in Boston harbor proper so there is considerable interference with a couple buddies dish antennas but I have no problems to regularly receive the four major networks and a lot more UHF channels than I could ever want to watch. There are the ever increasing number of pure digital spectrum channels too so reprogramming the available channels occasionally will be helpful. Moving anywhere from around the Boston harbor islands to north in nh and southern me to cape cod the antenna works fine. Admittedly boating ...and drinking...is the priority, not watching tv but I've never been disappointed with the performance of this antenna. Underway it doesn't loose signal like dish does.