I live in Portland, ME and I have an HDTV with a cheap indoor antenna attached to it.
Right now there are a few tv stations that I want to pick up, but can’t. These two stations I want are northeast of me. Any antenna that can pick them up will be directional, and the other stations I currently get are to my west.
I have seen a few antennas advertised as having a range of 150-200 miles. If I got one of those, could I just point it south and pick up stations from Boston, about 110 miles away?
110 miles is a hell of a stretch for any antenna, unless maybe it’s on a 50’ tower in the middle of the Great Plains.
But for a serious way to calculate it, go to antennaweb.org and enter all your information.
When I was a kid, TVs in San Diego could pick up Los Angeles stations pretty well with rooftop aerials. That’s about 130 to 140 miles away. My friend’s grandparents had one with a motor so that it could be rotated for best reception.
Other than marketing and the ability to charge a higher price, is there any difference between a ‘regular’ rooftop antenna and an ‘HDTV’ one?
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There’s no difference between an HDTV antenna and a regular antenna designed for UHF channels.
With the move to digital transmission, most TV stations now broadcast on UHF channels, which cuts their reception areas, and the “all or nothing” characteristic of digital makes reception particularly questionable in fringe areas.
And not to be “that guy,” but most of the Los Angeles TV stations broadcast from from Mt. Wilson, which is 5,710 feet above sea level and has a972’ transmission tower on top.
go to
click on
Check Your Address for Free TV
enter your address and antenna height.
you will get a chart of stations expected and the direction needed. you can raise the antenna height and get new charts, then you will see how high your antenna has to be to get more stations or to have them stronger.
i have stations in two directions and use two antennas. i have a switch to select the antenna used. no need to rotate and aim.
to get 100 miles your antenna needs to be high.
Thanks for that link, that’s the best I’ve seen. And I like your idea of two antennas and a switch instead of a rotor motor, may just go that way myself. Just have to decide on an antenna now, amplifiers and tower height.
We use a RCA ANT702F indoors and get more stations than some websites indicate we should see. Reception is poor in some weather above channel 11.2.