Tek2000.com and its affiliates have started to sell high-quality, terrestrial, over-the-air antennas for the reception of uncompressed, pure master HD local television! Most HDTV local tv markets consist of anywhere between 10 - 50 channels. This makes OTA the perfect complement to TVRO which delivers hundreds of uncompressed, pure master channels for national reception. Is it any wonder that millions of people continue to cut the overcompressed cable/dbs cord for subscription-free programming of a superior quality?
First off, a bit of basic information about OTA antennas. Like with c band, size matters here too. Don't be fooled into buying a flat OTA HDTV antenna the size of a sheet of paper (like the one advertised on late night cable tv by the guy cruising in the Gulf of Mexico
) because such small antennas have a range of not more than 10 miles. Remember, the amount of radio energy available for extraction by an antenna is never more the the physical volume occupied by that antenna. With c band dishes, everyone can visually see the difference in volume between an 8ft reflector and a 10ft reflector (i.e the bigger reflector will hold more water). With OTA antennas consisting of many elements, the best way to visualize things is to imagine the smallest cardboard box that the antenna would fit into when deployed. The volume of such a box will give you a rough idea about the gain when compared to other antennas. Ok?Second, like with TVRO, for best results you should try to separate the bands. Instead of c and ku bands, we have VHF and UHF bands when it comes to long-range/fringe OTA reception. You can't expect a VHF/UHF combo antenna to perform as well as one that that has been optimized for a particular frequency band.
Third, use a resource like tvfool.com to find out what locals are available in your area and how far away you are from the transmitters. Use common sense when investing in an OTA antenna. If you are located in a valley where broadcasters resort to using mostly VHF, buy a high quality VHF antenna. If you are located in a place where both VHF and UHF transmitters are within 50 miles of your location, invest in a VHF/UHF combo antenna with a 75+ miles range. If you are trying to receive a signal from another city or town that is more than 100 miles from your location, you will need to invest in a highly directional VHF or UHF antenna with 100+ miles range.
Fourth, install your OTA antenna as high as possible. You can purchase either a telescoping mast or tower to do this properly. Remember, like with TVRO, reception is mostly line-of-sight and any obstructions will limit your reception.
We will be offering a variety of VHF and UHF antennas, rotators, amplifiers, telescoping masts, towers and much more in the coming months. Our focus will be mostly on long-range, fringe antennas. Our prices are very competitive and we try to discount our antennas 25-50% in comparison to equivalent Channel Master antennas. All our antennas are tested against transmitters in Toronto, Barrie, Hamilton, Buffalo and Syracuse.
You can check out our current (more are coming) selection of OTA antennas here:
http://www.tek2000.com/cgi-bin/web.cgi? ... 20Antennas
