Actually, a lot of it depends upon the topography. If you have a clear line of sight to Philly, then you might be OK. Also, many smaller towns now broadcast digitally in HD, so there might be something closer than Philly. Our amplified antennas do a pretty good job of picking up fairly weak signals and making them work just fine.

Check out our OTA page to get some more info. There's a link there where you can enter your zip code and get a list of how far each local broadcaster is from you. It'll also give you the city, and you can probably make a pretty good guess if those cities are close enough for decent reception. For example, if you are on the west side of a hill, then look for cities to your west for best results.

Okay, I went to antennaweb and got some info. If I move my location as little as a few hundred feet, the results vary considerably. Again I'm making assumptions. Is the order of colors green, yellow, red, blue, violet, going from green=definately to violet=forget it with red=probably and blue=maybe? It looks like most of the stations are about 35 miles from me. There are closer ones, but I'm on the wrong side of a hill to be able to get them.

I live in the woods, so am also assuming that I'll get better reception now that the leaves are gone, and it will deteriorate in the spring? Except for the trees I think its a pretty clear shot to the Philly stations. (I'm at about 600 ft. elevation)

Are Terk antennas (and Radio Shack) just relabeled Winegard units? Are they multi-directional? It doesn't look like they belong on a rotor.

Thanks, James

If you're 35 miles, then you've got a shot. You should definitely try an amplified model. The leaves are probably not too big an issue given the power of the broadcast waves.

We like the Winegards for a bunch of reasons - and since we've been selling them we've had a lot of success. We generally like Terk products also - we're pretty sure they're different. Haven't really seen what Radio Shack has to offer in this area.

Well, I got my HDTV today (TiVo should arrive tomorrow). I pulled my old rooftop antenna out of the shed (looks the same as the Terk TV38), wired it to the TV, and just laid it on the ground facing south. It works! So I set it up on the porch, and I can get all the Philly digital stations.

But the power levels seem to fluctuate quite a bit. NBC for example can go from 50-95 (mostly around 85), and every now and then picks up errors. I don't mind the video artifacts, but when the audio stutters, it is very frustrating. I plugged an amplifier into the antenna output but it didn't help at all. But most of the time the HD picture was perfect, so if I can just get rid of those occasional errors...

Given these results, do you think the Winegard Squareshooter would give better service, and not cut out?

If I tried one from WK and didn't work as well as the one I've got, would I have to pay a restocking fee to return it, or just shipping charges? How much would that set me back?

Is the Series 3 going to list the OTA stations just like with the Cable Card? So I can record one show from the OTA, and one from a cable card at the same time? And watch a recorded program (or one of the ones being recorded) at the same time?

TIA, James

Besides the networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX), the only other digital channels are spanish or religious (PBS is in the wrong direction), except for one independant.

Yes, the Series3 will list the OTA channels right next to the CableCARD channels. You can tell what the channel source is if you care, but if you don't, it's really a transparent distinction.

Yes, we do charge a restocking fee on the return of that antenna, largely because we offer free shipping to you and we need to recover that (and these aren't small).

Could your issue be grounding or that the antenna is actually moving, maybe in the wind?

I haven't set the antenna up properly yet, so it isn't grounded. I'll try that. So far it seems the tuner in the TiVo may be less finicky than the one in the TV, so that may help, too.

I may try and see if I can get the square format antenna from Radio Shack, and if it works, return it and order the Winegard from WK. Not nice, but I'd rather buy from WK. And Radio Shack can afford to absorb the return.

How strong is the amp on the SS-2000? Can I buy an SS-1000 and add the amp later if I need it? The antennas are the same, right? The only difference is the amp?

James

Thanks!

We really don't have the specific amp specs, but we also don't have it as a separate part to potentially buy later. Otherwise, yes, the antennas are the same.