Question About "Old Fashioned" VHF/UHF/FM Ante

[WildBoar]

My parents live a two story house in NJ.
Most of the buildings in the area are
residential, with a few scattered low rise
office and industrial buildings.<p>They pay almost $50.00 per month for what
Comcast calls "basic cable." They receive
channels dedicated to golf, food, hunting,
hollywood gossip, etc. Even if they received
HBO, Showtime, and all the other premium
channels free, they wouldn't watch them
anyway. So, they're paying $50.00 a month
to watch the news channels and a few sitcoms.<p>I've been into electronics for decades and
I keep thinking, what if I attached a 30 or
40 foot telescopic mast to the side of their
two story colonial, topped off with a high
quality VHF/UHF/FM antenna. Added a good
amplifier and a wireless rotor system. The
whole setup might cost $500.00. It would
pay for itself in ten months!!<p>The antenna would be up around 60 feet in
the air (maybe 65-or-70) so they should pull
in an incredible number of east coast TV
channels.<p>Whenever I discuss this with my parents we
always agree it sounds like a good idea in
theory, anyway.<p>Are there any overwhelming negative factors
that would justify my folks continuing to
pay $50.00 a month for their "basic cable?" <p>WildBoar

[josmith]

Did you check with the cable company to see if they offer mini basic? It's usually around $12 for local channels and a few extras.

[Edd]

Wild Boar ?
Theres nothing "old fashioned" about saving $600
a year is there? Responding as per paras:
Para 1. Hopefully you won't have a trailing"ghost" problem from hi metallic sky scrapers/ LARGE radio ant towers/tall metal water towers in your reception path or approximate area.<p>Para 2. Hopefully they're not acclimated to even one channel that they would not be able to receive by off air,or otherwise that they might be able to get to watch at a neighbors at times.<p>Para 3. Put that 30 or 40' up against that typical 2 story ~28' roof peak thats just 2-12'
above it .More logical to use a roof mt at the peak center and use that "free" 28' height advantage and go up 20-30' telescopically with 4 guy wires at each 10 ft level.How ??? By the
technique of guying the first 10' then roping a
6' ladder to the 10' and getting all ur guy sets laid out then climbing up and telescoping out the pole,and then plumbing up with ur guys. In the past I've done up to a 50' telescopic pole roof top with its 20 guys all by myself....but a dead calm day is imperative! Recommend a brand..
Winegard-Finco-Jerrold-Channel Master -Antennacraft multi element VHF-UHF-FM multi-element outdoor antenna in about the $75-100 range and if required, a lo-noise antenna mounted preamp ,like a ..Winegard 8700 series. Reception of stations in diff directions?
Would still prefer wired rotor motor.<p>Para 4. Since TV is line of sight,the formula for line of sight on FLAT table land is d=1.2h
so if you have a pole up 50' expect 50x1.2=60mi
eyeball contact to the point of earth curvature.
Correlate in the same for the transmitting TV
tower and the resultant overlapping. Complete
different story in up and down terrain. You might
be located in a low site and go to all the effort and expense, only to have Granny Goodknockers TV with her set- top rabbit ear antennae outperforming you because she's at the top of a hill.In my metroplex area I receive 18
free stations all from one direction no rotor
required.<p>Final: You should scope out your immediate area
to see what off air reception is possible by others that have already invested in it .Inquire
and hopefully ones would let U examine their
systems results and reception quality.
I see now that Jo suggested investigating "bare
bones" Basic cable. Here we get 96 sta for $48
but the least amt is $32 for 24 sta,not quite free!
Hope to been of some help. 73's de Edd

[dave8976]

I had a similiar situation with my parent. I purchased a hgih gain antenna just as you mentioned. I mounted on a 40 foot tower along with a rotor. Instead of a wireless type it was wired to a set mounted control box. I never used a video amplifer. When I experimented with a video amplifer the signal gain was too much for the TV. I found the picture to be excellent without one. The only disadvantage is the antenna needs to be turned to the station when teh channel on the TV is changed. This is minor given the amount of maney that can saved over the years. Also a few stations are received that are not avaliable on cable.