If you want long distance, and even that is probably far below 500 miles, then you need antenna like this.



And each link had two high power (10kW) transmitters in each direction being picked up by four receivers with a combined output.

https://www.subbrit.org.uk/features/ace-high-nato-communications-system/ and the DEW Line had similar communications.

OTA here does mean Over The Air reception of Television signal.

A lot has changed with DTV // HDTV - High Definition TV since the US mandated switchover on June 22, 2009.

I've used this antenna here and this antenna here with 2 amps and an extra 15' of rg6 cable and an rg6 connector. The 1st one has a better magnet than the 2nd, both promise 1080, both deliver at most 480p and I live about 3.0-3.5 miles from an OTA signal in UHF with thick walls. The second amp works with both antennas. I do need to get that 9.8' usb extension cable in so I can get the Magic Stick in the window as the Stick's amp is usb powered.
$39.99 vs $20.99(Magic Stick)+14.99( the 2nd amplifier)+11.49(15' RG6 cable & connector) + (9.8' usb cable) $8.91=$56.38 plus sales tax if your state has this tax. I get a sharp tv picture and I can read most of the text on the tv.

A 55" TCL 2017 TV in the living room @ 4x mag with a Winegard Squareshooter antenna which does 480p 24/7/365.25 and Quad shielded RG6 coax, the antenna is mounted like a picture on a wall facing a window in my front door, the Winegard is almost too strong as it has a coax filter added by the county to tone down the amp, take out the amp and no UHF signal, UHF is all there is here.

A 55" Vizio 2021 TV in the bedroom @ 2x mag.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

I agree that the wording digital is complete marketing bunk. A antenna is anything that will reliably pick up a signal. Now I take some recommendations from this YouTube channel. Antenna Man. Now another problem you may have is the channel you want is not broadcast on that channel. I wanted METV but couldn’t find it on the channel 5 subchannel 2. Turns out it is broadcast on channel 7 with the station identification of 5.2. The Antenna Man explains this on one of his videos. I do suggest keeping the hopper adapter for now and change antennas if needed.

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3-6-2023 at 3:56 AM - PST

OK, I did a search on KTLN 68.2.... I find it is being broadcast from Palo Alto, BUT I also find that there MAY be
a repeater in Novato, just North of me, with a 1000 KW transmitter/tower.... The signal being broadcast is listed
as UHF, which is what the antenna that I've bought picks up best. Apparently, (for future use), MOST Digital Antennas
are NOT coming with BOTH UHF AND VHF receiver capabilities.

Through Admiral's suggestion of Antenna Man, I find that in his Amazon Store, he has an RCA Amplified UHF/VHF
Indoor Antenna, a little cheaper than what I've already purchased.... IF the one I got DOES NOT get me MeTV,
I will return it for the RCA UHF/VHF Model.

Also, apparently, KTLN 'SHARES' Digital 22 with KAXT, so IF KTLN 68.2 is NOT available to me in my area, MOST
LIKELY the KAXT Digital 22 will be, and I will still get the UHF MeTV Channel off KAXT's broadcasting....

I got all this here: Is KTLN 68.2 UHF or VHF in the SF East Bay Area?

So, I may be OK, after all.


TL

[EDIT:]

AND, Palo Alto is QUITE far South of me, think Stanford University....
My surrounding hills MAY be a real obstacle in getting the true 68.2 from Palo Alto
directly. So, the KAXT Digital 22, (MOST LIKELY from the Novato transmitter), WILL
be able to come through.


TL

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TimeLord04
Have TARDIS, will travel...
Come along K-9!
Join Calm Chaos

3-7-2023 at 7:38 AM - PST

Thanks to DrWhoFan, and the Admiral for the Links. I've learned a lot from both of you.
I agree that the antenna I've chosen WILL NOT pick up "480 Miles" in area signal; but,
it 'SHOULD' pick up AT LEAST 27.6 Miles, which is where the Novato KAXT/KTLN
transmitter is, on Mt. Allison.

Again, if the antenna I've chosen DOES NOT work, I'll be exchanging it for the RCA
Indoor Antenna from Antenna Man, the Link that Admiral provided.

NOTE: The Mt. Allison transmission tower broadcasts into SF, as well as into the East
Bay area.


TL

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TimeLord04
Have TARDIS, will travel...
Come along K-9!
Join Calm Chaos

Just another reason to BAN TIKTOK:
Another “Blarney Blowout,” the annual unsanctioned St. Patrick’s-inspired party, has come and gone at UMass Amherst

Each year, the celebration that kicks off spring break is filled with rowdy drinking, but this year nearly 30 students were taken by ambulance to the hospital, in part due to the consumption of “borgs.”

Made popular by TikTok, “borgs,” short for blackout rage gallons, are the latest binge drinking trend. Often labeled by marker with names like “Somewhere Over the Rainborg” or “My Parents Diborg Papers,” the gallon jugs contain a mixture of water, alcohol and flavored energy drinks.

The label clearly states not to drink alcohol and energy drinks together in excess.

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Extra big booboo.

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Grant
Darwin NT

Is that a Airbus A380? Oooer!!

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While following random links i came across this someplace.

Companies and institutions that need to be bailed out by the government when they fail, should be owned by the government.
You can’t privatize the profit and socialize the losses.

It's pretty much along the lines of how i feel about executive bonuses.
If they're not going to take responsibility for when things go badly (there's no way anyone could have foreseen this...), then they shouldn't take credit when things go well (We deserve this multi-million dollar bonus because it was our foresight that made our present financial position possible).



Am i feeling somewhat butter and twisted? Hell yeah.
After 2 weeks on holiday leave, this was my first week back at work. No matter how much i was dreading going back, it was way, way, way worse than i had been dreading.
No matter how bad things might be, they can always get worse.

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Grant
Darwin NT

+1

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

3-12-2023 at 9:49 AM - PDT

[Digital Antenna Update:]

OK - Here we go! ;-)

I received the DISH OTA Adapter EARLY!!! :-O :-D It was scheduled to arrive by the 17th, but came on Friday, the 10th. :-)

The DISH OTA Adapter easily plugged into the USB 2.0 Port on the back of the Hopper3. I then added a USB to Wall Power
Adapter to the USB Connector on the Digital OTA Antenna, and plugged that into the APC SurgeArrest Pro-8 strip. Then
connected the RG-6 COAX Cable from the Digital OTA Antenna to the DISH OTA Adapter at the COAX Port on the DISH
OTA Adapter.

I immediately received a Popup Prompt from the Hopper3, recognizing the DISH OTA Adapter and the new Digital Antenna.
I told the Hopper3 to Scan for signals.... OK - I didn't get what I wanted; STILL NO MeTV.... :'-( BUT, I did pick up 18 Channels
off the OTA Antenna! Some were duplicate channels in Spanish which DISH already provided us in our Local Channel Lineup,
and some were duplicates of other local channels. I eliminated all duplicates, and found 6-8 Channels that we were NOT
originally picking up. One of which is 'Decades'. Through the 'Decades' Channel, I now can watch old reruns of the Odd
Couple with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall. :-)

I had a feeling that DrWhoFan would be right, (along with my suspicions), that our 'HILLY' area surrounding us would be
a real detriment to my endeavors. AND, as unfortunate as this is, DrWhoFan was right! So, NO MeTV via OTA for me.
This same 'HILLY' issue is also preventing me from gaining more than the 18 Channels that the limited Indoor Antenna
is picking up currently. With all this knowledge, I think it unwise to return the existing Digital OTA Antenna for the
RCA Indoor Digital Antenna, as it MOST LIKELY WON'T make a difference. ONLY a TALL Outdoor Antenna will make
a real difference, BUT dad WILL NOT want to put up an Outdoor Antenna on the house, nor in the back yard. Further,
we live in a STRICT HOA area that restricts such Outdoor Antennae in our neighborhood of 200+ Homes in the HOA.
So, as proof of concept DOES work with this existing Indoor Digital OTA Antenna, I can't justify returning the thing, as
it DOES work, as specified by the seller, AND the seller is NOT responsible for me being in a HILLY area. Therefore, I'm
keeping the DISH OTA Adapter, and the Digital Indoor OTA Antenna, and keeping both connected to the Hopper3.

HOWEVER; since DISH Network DOES provide us, (in our Local Channel Package), KTLN 68.00 - Heroes & Icons,
(H&I), I plan to contact DISH directly to see IF they can just 'Flip A Switch' and provide us with the KTLN Sub-channels
of KTLN 68.2 for MeTV and/or 68.4 for MeTV+. (Both in HD.) I will keep you all updated as to my potential progress....

OH!!! AND, the picture quality of the Digital OTA Antenna with the 6-8 Channels that I've added to our Lineup ARE
in HD 1080 format, and are just as clear as the DISH Network signals picked up on our DISH Satellite Antenna. :-)


TL

---

TimeLord04
Have TARDIS, will travel...
Come along K-9!
Join Calm Chaos

Time Lord thanks for the update on your adventures in trying to get ME-TV via OTA reception.

Yea, HOA's are a real P.I.T.A.

At least you can get some station via the indoor antenna.

I forgot to provide you a link to another great Digital TV reception / transmitter locator website Rabbit Ears Info.

It provides a tool that lets you put in your street address or GPS coordinates along with a few other tweakable parameters and it will plot a circular radar type graph with your location in the middle and color coded lines based on estimated signal strength radiating toward the transmitter sites https://www.rabbitears.info/searchmap.php .

Time Lord thanks for the update on your adventures in trying to get ME-TV via OTA reception.

Yea, HOA's are a real P.I.T.A.

At least you can get some station via the indoor antenna.

I forgot to provide you a link to another great Digital TV reception / transmitter locator website Rabbit Ears Info.

It provides a tool that lets you put in your street address or GPS coordinates along with a few other tweakable parameters and it will plot a circular radar type graph with your location in the middle and color coded lines based on estimated signal strength radiating toward the transmitter sites https://www.rabbitears.info/searchmap.php .

2:11 PM - PDT

[@DrWhoFan:]

My area of Danville, in Shadow Hills HOA Development, shows I 'SHOULD' get KTLN - MeTV!!!

SO, while I won't return the existing Digital OTA Antenna, I WILL save up for the RCA OTA Antenna after all!!!!! It just MIGHT make the difference. ;-)

[EDIT:] Or, is 'rabbitears.info' assuming I'm going to use an external, roof mounted OTA Antenna?????


TL

---

TimeLord04
Have TARDIS, will travel...
Come along K-9!
Join Calm Chaos

I used on the 2nd tv, a Magic Stick MS-50A antenna which has its own signal amplifier in white(I saved a $1 over the black version), a 15' RG6 coax cable and coax connector, plus a HiDB 25db signal amplifier.

To get a signal, I needed these parts to get the antenna to the window on the opposite wall from the Vizio V555-J01 tv, this does about as well as the amplified Winegard Squareshooter UHF antenna in the living room. Youtube comes in perfectly on an 802.11ac connection @ 5GHz via my TP-Link ac1750 router's wifi connection. The antenna has a 16.5' coax cable and the HiDB amp has about 0.5' of coax. Both amp's get power from a USB phone charger that I have here 24/7/365.25.

It's connected as follows: TV, HiDB amp, 15' coax, coax connector, Magic stick antenna.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

[EDIT:] Or, is 'rabbitears.info' assuming I'm going to use an external, roof mounted OTA Antenna?????

I think all the various " find my TV station" websites assume an outdoor antenna with an unobstructed straight line view of the transmitter at 20 feet or higher off the ground.

Like Zoom says if you can get the amplified antenna near/in a window or on a inside wall pointing to the transmitter you have much better chance to receive the signal.

The drawback is running a extra length of coax between the receiver and antenna, which is not always possible.

I was in that situation when the switchover to digital kicked in and could only get three main stations of which two were only Spanish broadcast.

Where I'm at now I am lucky enough to be closer to the majority of transmitters and live almost at the top of a hillly region of the DFW metrplex. One of my TV's gets almost all local stations with just a pair of rabbit ears hanging on a wall pointing towards the transmitters.

[EDIT:] Or, is 'rabbitears.info' assuming I'm going to use an external, roof mounted OTA Antenna?????

I think all the various " find my TV station" websites assume an outdoor antenna with an unobstructed straight line view of the transmitter at 20 feet or higher off the ground.

Like Zoom says if you can get the amplified antenna near/in a window or on a inside wall pointing to the transmitter you have much better chance to receive the signal.

The drawback is running a extra length of coax between the receiver and antenna, which is not always possible.

I was in that situation when the switchover to digital kicked in and could only get three main stations of which two were only Spanish broadcast.

Where I'm at now I am lucky enough to be closer to the majority of transmitters and live almost at the top of a hillly region of the DFW metrplex. One of my TV's gets almost all local stations with just a pair of rabbit ears hanging on a wall pointing towards the transmitters.

3:22 PM - PDT

The Digital OTA Antenna that I have purchased DOES have an amplifier. I got MORE channels through it putting the amplifier on low rather than on high.
I've also moved the antenna as close as I can to the outside wall. NO windows exist in the Attic/Office, which is just 'reclaimed' space following dad's
remodeling of the home back in 95/96. The Attic/Office IS at least 20' off the ground, above the garage.... HOWEVER; being INDOORS with walls,
electrical, and various metal bits in the area ALL reduce reception....


TL

---

TimeLord04
Have TARDIS, will travel...
Come along K-9!
Join Calm Chaos

TL. Can you receive Bay Area - MeTV - KBCW (Over the air) 44.3?

Edit: Did some hunting and found that channel 68.1 is broadcast on channel 22. And 44.1 is broadcast on channel 28. So try adding 22 and 28 to your channel list. Can’t say it will help but it is worth a try.

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I have some stick on cable clips, though so far they've not sticking easy on a painted surface,
I used 13 out of 25 cable clips, 8 here and 5 elsewhere. A knife blade was needed to expose the sticky pad.

The black cable is a usb 3.0 extension cable which goes to the desk on the left where a
laptop is at, the white cable is an RG6 cable and usb cable for power for the signal amplifier,
the amplifier is above the closet door with a green led. Here MeTV is on 23.4.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's