How do I improve my TV reception?

Question

I don't have cable, so I'm working with the good old rabbit ears here. How can I improve my reception to maybe get a few more channels.

Also, will things be different when it all switches to digital?

Answer 1

Just by switching to digital, you'll improve things immensely. The new digital tuners are sooo much better then analog tuners.

Get yourself one of the converter boxes ($60 or $20 after using the govt coupon). You should also get an antenna that brings in both VHF and UHF. Rabbit ears may not be good enough. Go to RadioShack and tell them you need a VHF/UHF indoor antenna and a converter box.

You should also check

http://www.antennaweb.org

to see what channels you can get and what kind of antenna you'll need. You may do better with a rooftop antenna.

Answer 2

get a terk antenna

Answer 3

To improve reception you need to do one or more of the following things:

-Adjust your rabbit ears

-Move your rabbit ears to find best location

-Get a better antenna

Indoor antennas are very sensitive to location. They are effected by things in the walls that you can't see. A length of coax cable is handy for trying different locations in the room.

Enter your location at the first web site below and find out how far and in which direction your local TV transmitters are. This may give you an idea of the best location for your antenna.

The best TV antenna for you is very dependent on your local area. If you ask about this, be sure to include your zip code and distance to your local TV transmitters.

There are already digital TV broadcasts in most areas. What happens on 2/17/09 is that most of the old analog transmitters will be shut down. It's a good idea to request a coupon now and get a converter now, that way you will have plenty of time to get used to it before 2/09.

Your experience with digital reception may be better or worst than analog. If you get a stable digital signal, the quality will be much better than analog and you will probably get a few more programs (called sub-channels) to choose from.

But if you have questionable analog reception, it's likely you will have breakups in your digital reception. The solutions for this are the same as for poor analog reception. The way to find out is to get a good converter and see for yourself.