tv in the garage

[jose's garage]

cant run a cable line into the garage because its to far away. I bought a rabbit ear antenna that need electric to work from radio shack. it work ok but I constantly have to move the rabbit ears to get a picture.
my question is, what kind of antenna do you guys have in your garage. someone told me that there is one that I can make out of coat hangers that works well. looking for something that I can hang on the wall or outside that I don't have to adjust all the time.

 

[Pathfinders]

I hate to say it, you do not need a HDTV ant. The signals are broadcast over the same freqs that analog TV was broadcast. Any old ant will work as long as it will pick up UHF and VHF signals.

I have a old set of rabbit ears I picked up at a flea market on a 20 year old TV. I get around 22 channels without moving them. It depends on how close you are to a broadcast center or repeater tower.

 

[elav]

Start here: http://www.antennaweb.org/ This will provide you with the size of the antenna and direction it needs to be in to receive the desired stations. Most OTA signals are over UHF although we have one station that is still VHF (and having VHF is good for FM radio too). I live in the Bay Area. I have a UHF/VHF antenna pointed in the middle of San Francisco and Oakland to get stations North of me and I have a UHF antenna pointed to San Jose for the stations South of me. I use a combiner so that I never have to adjust the position of the antennas. Good luck!

 

[jkwilson]

I go to the garage to escape TV.

 

[Falcon67]

How far is too far - RG6 with a RF booster should go 300+' easy.

 

[58Yeoman]

I go to the garage to escape TV.

^^This^^

 

[NUTTSGT]

How far is too far - RG6 with a RF booster should go 300+' easy.

I was wondering the same thing. We have an amplifier in the basement that boosts the signal and one run that goes out through the yard into the garage.

Jose, have you talked to your local cable company about the lack of signal or about running it to the garage ? You may be able to get them to knife in a cable for you.

 

[Bib Overalls]

My wife has informed me that we will be replacing the big screen, early model plasma TV in the living room with something bigger and better. It works fine, so I am going to put it in my detached shop. Don't know if I will run a cable out or just play old hot rod movies on the DVD player. Better than sitting around the house and watching "The View."

 

[Stevie-Ray]

I have an extra 37" LCD 720p that will be idle when it comes up here. It's going into the garage. I'll run a cable from the crawl-the cable guy has already left me a port for it. Already have a nice stereo in there, why not a TV also?

 

[The Frisco Kid]

This gets about 30 channels in my garage and office. 75-300ohm balun & a coat hanger - BOOM!


___________________

Posted via tappy tap taparoo.

 

[bczygan]

The answer on antennas is the more aluminum, and the higher you can get it.

VHF and UHF are line of sight, so higher (With no obstructions) is better.

Omnidirectional if your stations are close and in all directions.

Multi-element YAGI with rotator if your stations are far and in more than one direction.

Standard TV antenna is a YAGI type that is good for UHF and VHF. More elements equals more range and directionality.

Vertical whip is omnidirectional.

Anything outside and higher will be an improvement.

But how about that cable hookup?

 

[neel2008]

I bought this and stuck it on the roof, did pretty good, I wasn't getting any channels from inside the house and was getting them 40+ miles away outside.....It is slightly amplified, doesn't look too bad, and was pretty cheap really. http://www.walmart.com/ip/RCA-Outdo...t-Terrestrial-with-Amplified-Antenna/20976675

 

[jose's garage]

This gets about 30 channels in my garage and office. 75-300ohm balun & a coat hanger - BOOM!

___________________

Posted via tappy tap taparoo.

yes, it was like that but it had like eight coat hangers and i hung it on the wall.

 

[jose's garage]

i had to get a digital converter box a few yrs ago when they changed the frequency’s. Like i stated before i bought an antenna at radio shack that has rabbit ears i need to adjust all the time. I’m looking for something that i don’t have to adjust all the time.

 

[The Frisco Kid]

A lot of it depends on your location and the antenna design. I found that this simple bowtie worked just about as well as a full blown DIY panel, so I just stuck with it.

Digital is pretty easy. You either get the station or you don't. There isn't a lot of tuning involved once you get it aimed toward the towers you are trying to get signal from.

 

[nicksnothereman]

cant run a cable line into the garage because its to far away. I bought a rabbit ear antenna that need electric to work from radio shack. it work ok but I constantly have to move the rabbit ears to get a picture.
my question is, what kind of antenna do you guys have in your garage. someone told me that there is one that I can make out of coat hangers that works well. looking for something that I can hang on the wall or outside that I don't have to adjust all the time.

Do they still have those "dish type antennas"? That's probably what you should use.

 

[brucer]

I hate to say it, you do not need a HDTV ant. The signals are broadcast over the same freqs that analog TV was broadcast. Any old ant will work as long as it will pick up UHF and VHF signals.

a regular antennae will only work if the tv your using has a digital tuner in it.. if you are using an older tv you have to have a converter box for a regular antennae to work.. I went through this last year when I hooked up my 10yr old television out in the garage, I hooked it up to my old regular house antenna and had to go buy a digital tuner box to get it to work..

 

[NUTTSGT]

Don't know if I will run a cable out or just play old hot rod movies on the DVD player. Better than sitting around the house and watching "The View."

That's exactly right, it's nice just to go to the garage and have peace of mind to relax. Sitting down watching the tube can fit the bill at times.