So for the past 3-4 years I have been using a small antenna, with amplifier the powers 4 tv's I get about 15-22 channels depending on the weather (I live in the snow belt near a lake). I have it on the ground flour right outside my house. I found this on Amazon that claims 150 miles which would give me access to stations in Buffalo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh all are under 150 miles, do these really give you that coverage? If I can get the Cleveland locals that would solve my problem on being able to to watch the Browns games as I don't always recieve them where I live.
Vansky Outdoor Antenna Motorized 360 Degree Rotation OTA Amplified HD TV Antenna for 2 TVs UHF/VHF/1080P Channels Wireless Remote Rotation Control - 32.8' Coax Cable
Another at Home Depot
Plus 360-Degree Rotation UV Dual Frequency 45-860MHz 22-38dB 42.65 ft. cobble Outdoor Antenna
Very short answer: Antenna ads lie, the fancier the antenna the fancier the lies :-)
Short answer: TV broadcasts are at VHF and UHF frequencies, which are pretty much line-of-sight - your antenna needs to be able to 'see' the broadcast tower for good reception. Ground floor is worst case, go higher before you buy a new antenna.
Long answer: Looks like the Browns are on WEWS-TV, which according to this site (https://www.rabbitears.info/tvq.php?request=items&facid=59441&arch=Y) has its antenna at about 935' above terrain. You can see here (https://www.everythingrf.com/rf-calculators/line-of-sight-calculator) that the radio horizon for a 935' antenna is about 69km or 42miles. If you're farther than 40mi you need to elevate your antenna to peek over the earth that's in between you and the tower. If you can see the tower but need more signal, you may need a highly directional antenna - look for the word 'Yagi' in the description. Directional antennas are great for picking up low signals but if all the transmitters are far you'll probably need to rotate it towards the different towers when changing channels.
Roll your own!
Lots of plans out there. Mine is a variation on the "coat hanger" antenna in this video, but of course mine uses copper wire.
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/build-diy-hdtv-antenna/
Spend some time on Antenna Man's university of tubes channel- he reviews a ton of antennas and has a lot of recommendations.
trigun7469 said:
Vansky Outdoor Antenna Motorized 360 Degree Rotation OTA Amplified HD TV Antenna for 2 TVs UHF/VHF/1080P Channels Wireless Remote Rotation Control - 32.8' Coax Cable
I've had this exact one on my barn for a good 10 years. The rotor died after 2-3 years, but the antenna itself still works great. For the money, it's hard to beat.
Have you checked https://www.antennaweb.org/ ? That will give you a good idea of the direction and distance to your local TV stations. The range listed on the antennas is the maximum possible range under ideal conditions so depending on your geography, it might be a lot less.
