Important

[seanR]

My aunt who is 70 is in first place in a NCAA bracket contest put on by a local TV station.
She randomly picked the teams!
She has won Hockey tickets and has won some Avenge 7 Fold tickets.
I doubt she will use them, so I am hopping she gives them to her favorite nephew.
I should take her to Vegas with me!

 

[seanR]

Anyone tried to watch TV at the badlands? I know...no comments from the peanut gallery...Anyways the Final Four games are this saturday during/after wheelin and the TREC race. I have a TV and an antenna and a converter box I can take...just wondering what the reception will be like from Attica. I'm guessing the closest CBS station is in Layfatte...how much antenna would I need to have good reception?

mac 'i know, screwed up priorities' gyvr

Good luck, we didn't get Jack, never have.

 

[terrehautian]

Okay, without me looking at every link.... Nate, are you telling me this bad boy is worth leaving up?

I would love to cancel cable if I could still get some news channels. Can this big beast do that?

Thanks

Does this have a rotater on it? If so, it possibly could the work, the only way to find out is to unhook your cable and plug the end into the tv and do a scan. HD signals are very directional and you might be able to get one station while your family on the other end of town might not be able to.

If it has a rotater, you might be able to rotate it to get all the channels. Adding an amplifier will help a ton. Depending on how long the cable is, it loses strength. Where I live, I got a simple pair of rabbit ears hooked into my tv and I got all three channels (three channels and one channel has 2 sub channels {a music station Kool TV and a radar station}).

Like I said, best way to find out is to hook it up and see what you get.

Also, this site should help you.
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

and for the record, if I get my own place where I can get a tower, I will have one. I know some people around where I live pull in the local Terre Haute stations, plus some Illinois stations and some Indianapolis stations.

 

[87manche]

Okay, without me looking at every link.... Nate, are you telling me this bad boy is worth leaving up?

I would love to cancel cable if I could still get some news channels. Can this big beast do that?

Thanks

Hell yes!

Here's your local TV stuff to the city of Columbus center.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id=8d17195b15f09b

Looks like you've got a bunch of stations with good noise margins. You should be able to get all of the major networks. Most of the stations now have a secondary channel (the local PBS has 4 channels+an audio only) that's straight radar or weather as well, or alternate programming. and it will all happen in HD.

With your location I'd point it at 338 magnetic and try to get all of the stations with a fixed antenna. Unless you have the controller and power adapter for the rotator. If there's an amplifier in line up there you'll need to take it out or replace it unless you can get a power injector for it, otherwise it will attenuate the signal.

So climb on up there and see what it is, the power adapters and such can all be had pretty cheaply. I see a mast mounted amp and a rotator, so you could be all set with some power adapters.

 

[87manche]

this bit is for Mac

The signal in attica is all 1 or 2 edge, so the higher you can get the antenna the better. I ran the numbers at 10 ft of antenna height and it would be iffy, at 25 the signal strength is double and the noise margin is tripled, at 50 ft it doubles and triples again. So take something to get it into the air. Or climb a tree.

 

[Big Hank]

Hell yes!

*SNIP*

So climb on up there and see what it is, the power adapters and such can all be had pretty cheaply. I see a mast mounted amp and a rotator, so you could be all set with some power adapters.

I'll probably try to climb up there this weekend and snap some pics of the pieces. I do know we used to have a small box we used to aim the thing. The last time it turned under its own power was 1996. You think this thing would turn again? Or are you saying I should just try to aim it at an average direction?

Thanks guys for the help. This is going to be a large chunk of money back in the pocket.

 

[Big Hank]

this bit is for Mac

The signal in attica is all 1 or 2 edge, so the higher you can get the antenna the better. I ran the numbers at 10 ft of antenna height and it would be iffy, at 25 the signal strength is double and the noise margin is tripled, at 50 ft it doubles and triples again. So take something to get it into the air. Or climb a tree.

Sounds like the stripper pole:worship: will be making another appearance... At least it's a good start on gaining some altitude.

 

[87manche]

yeah, 10 ft is not enough elevation, the signal will bring the suck.
25 ft is better
50 ft makes it money.

We should get the campground to put up a tower and amplify it out to the campground.

 

[terrehautian]

yeah, 10 ft is not enough elevation, the signal will bring the suck.
25 ft is better
50 ft makes it money.

We should get the campground to put up a tower and amplify it out to the campground.

To send a signal to all the campsites, it would cost a ton for a distribution system (since the signal gets weaker the longer you go). Better just to have them add a cable feed or Sat. feed and just add a little to camping int he electric sites.

 

[87manche]

I'll probably try to climb up there this weekend and snap some pics of the pieces. I do know we used to have a small box we used to aim the thing. The last time it turned under its own power was 1996. You think this thing would turn again? Or are you saying I should just try to aim it at an average direction?

Thanks guys for the help. This is going to be a large chunk of money back in the pocket.

if the rotator is stuck I would just rotate it to the middle of 324 and 347, those are your two major antenna clusters and would give you all the major stations.

You're going to need to get that amp working or replace it. You've got numbers similar to mine (mine are a bit lower on my worst stations) so that mast mounted amp needs to be working. Luckily those pretty much all use the same power supply if it can be power injected.

If it's really old the addition of some new cable can really improve the signal as well. Shouldn't cost more than a hundred bucks to put it back into 100% service. Distribution amps are cheap if you want to send it to more than one room.

Then you'll just have to get a computer and a tuner card and go all nerdy with your own DVR media center machine.

 

[Big Hank]

if the rotator is stuck I would just rotate it to the middle of 324 and 347, those are your two major antenna clusters and would give you all the major stations.

You're going to need to get that amp working or replace it. You've got numbers similar to mine (mine are a bit lower on my worst stations) so that mast mounted amp needs to be working. Luckily those pretty much all use the same power supply if it can be power injected.

If it's really old the addition of some new cable can really improve the signal as well. Shouldn't cost more than a hundred bucks to put it back into 100% service. Distribution amps are cheap if you want to send it to more than one room.

Then you'll just have to get a computer and a tuner card and go all nerdy with your own DVR media center machine.

I've got the full Windows media center with remote and stereo, coax, rca plugs in and out, etc... I've just never used it. I'm sure the antenna has to be from when the house was built in 1987. I'll keep you informed. Thanks!

 

[Pat]

Big Stank...is that thing sturdy enough to climb? That has to be one of the bigger ones still around. (TWSS)

Nate...I would like you to travel to my house and go all nerdy setting up some TV capabilities on the bus.

 

[Big Hank]

Big Stank...is that thing sturdy enough to climb? That has to be one of the bigger ones still around. (TWSS)

Nate...I would like you to travel to my house and go all nerdy setting up some TV capabilities on the bus.

Single Flag pole the length of the bus on a pivot. Then we can fly the flags at the Indy 500 and have the TV antenna.

There's no doubt I still have one of the biggest ones around :laugh: I may take some supplies to make it sturdier when I get up there. I'm guessing it's 35 ft.

 

[poorboy87]

We used to use ours as a ladder. Mom got dish so we took it down. It had one leg that was completely rusted in two.
The top of it came to a point and there was a length of pipe at the top. It was complelty packed full of accorns. Some squirel though he had a awsome winter plan until he realized he couldnt get them out of the tube.

 

[w_howey]

For fans of Goose Island.....

Inbev/AnheuserBush has bought out Goose Island. They've had a stake for some time as part of a craft brewer's alliance, they now own everything. Hopefully, they'll continue to run it as a hands-off operation.

Right... do you really believe they won't take the opportunity to really screw up Goose Island...

 

[87manche]

Big Stank...is that thing sturdy enough to climb? That has to be one of the bigger ones still around. (TWSS)

Nate...I would like you to travel to my house and go all nerdy setting up some TV capabilities on the bus.

I've got no problems climbing a tower, but I'm only @ 132lbs.

I would certainly hook the pearl necklace up with some of my pole.
I've got bulk coax and ends and all the tools. Next wheeling event we're at you'll have to bring all the bits and we can hook that up. I'm going to make it out more this year, Redbird trail cleanup? The Uhaul is definitely getting OTA TV with a serious pole.

Single Flag pole the length of the bus on a pivot. Then we can fly the flags at the Indy 500 and have the TV antenna.

harbor freight 2K lb winch to raise and lower it? I think we should figure out a pneumatic one like the TV trucks have, those are sweet. Now I'm going to have to figure a way to do it myself.

 

[REWSTER]

now why didnt i think of this.....

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/rvs/2282967542.html

 

[WrenchMonkey]

now why didnt i think of this.....

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/rvs/2282967542.html

I also have a porta potty to go with .Its like new to .

Out.

Friggin.

Standing.

Robert

 

[REWSTER]

(insert jeff foxworthy)

if you ever put a shed on a 8x10 trailor and called it a camper, you might be a red neck.

(end jeff foxworthy)

 

[XJ&CHZ4ME]

Painted the flat bed for the chore truck last night....paint fumes+beer=good nights sleep. Too bad I can not formulate that mixture into a legal sleeping pill!