Anybody had good results after installing one of the hdtv antennas? Have had one for several years at the farm, directional model with motorized rotation but no way to tell direction it is pointing w/o having someone stand outside to watch it turn. Sometimes it works good, other times poor reception, enough height is not a problem. Put up an omnidirectional unit last week, only got 3 channels off one tower at first, then got a bunch of channels from 4 market areas, then it went to crap again. so it went back to HD and the old antenna went back up. The farm is in a rural county and about 50+ miles from all but a PBS tower (ain't saying exactly where cause I can go hide there if Shameless tries to hit me with that machine). Can't really justify the cost of sattelite or internet there but would like to watch the news and sports at night when I am there. Thanks in advance.

I do the same a Greg... Got an antenna that is about  8 ft long on a 20 ft tower... Coax comes into the house, then a BOOSTER, then to the TV.. Stations are about 50-60 miles away... all in the same city.... pulls in about 6 channels including 2 networks.. Never rotate it.

Same here as with Shameless, Tried all manner of them even the NEW small units 'As Seen on TV', have NOT put one up high on the roof yet with no intent to do so where was kind of informed by one of those marketers I would also NEED a signal enhancer or intensifier as the signal would be too weak where we are. So in basic terms they need to sell more Stuff to make it seem like works when doesn't. Unless can get high enough(High Mast 40+ feet) to clear most every surrounding structure and into clear air space the signals will be weak, if the antenna is not HUGE here will not receive enough signal to be worth having and all sort of atmospheric interference will affect any of them unless within 15-20 miles of sources.

Cable, Satellite or Internet connected TV is about the ONLY way to achieve a Strong enough signal to be worth having. The REA and my previous employer are contemplating internet across Power Lines, transposed signals on the 'Grid' which could be the Next Evolution in internet, Communication and TV services as ALL thru ONE line with power.

Edited by DMiller - 29 Oct 2019 at 5:37am

Greg, that looks very similar to the one I have been using but mine is not the same brand. Interesting brand name "pingbingding", bet I can guess where it was made. I may give it a try. Thanks.

I will say that for my antenna, i did use a spool of "cable tv company quality" coax which i had come across, and since i was no longer connected to cable, i tied it in to the cable lines already in the house which the cable company had replaced within the last couple of years, so I'm sure that helps my reception over those that buy coax from Walmart.

The old gal bought 2 of those pingdingding things. If ol shameless misses us tomorrow i guess I get to crawl up on the roof and put 1 up there. The other goes on the motor home.

Excellent info Lou. It is what makes this forum the best period..... Helping each other.

Edited by chaskaduo - 30 Oct 2019 at 7:35am

I understand the pain installing one of those hdtv antennas, I have been trying to do it myself a couple of years back but sadly it did not work out as planned. Luckily one of my older friends is working for a tv cable company back in Ohio and with his help we managed to do it. I have been trying using one of those antennas for my RV but the FPS signal and the frequency is terrible low, I was not able to watch anything on the road as the channels kept crushing up. Once getting tired of it i've decided to apply to https://www.palmgear.com/best-rv-tv-antenna-reviews/ and thankful to them I am now constantly on the road enjoying all my favourite TV channels. 

Edited by PatrickC007 - 22 Nov 2020 at 11:35pm

We put the ping ding ding one beside the trailer on a 20' PVC pipe. I'm sure glad I never crawled up on the roof and installed the other one. I get 28 channels on a Walmart antenna. This ping ding ding thing gets 6-8 channels, it is 20' lower than the Walmart unit.

Finally threw in the towel as to antennas, tried the last one on a twenty foot pole(Temporary) where winds here beat it to hell and gone in matter of weeks.  Swapped to a 'Smart' TV in the living room as added the new wall shelving, that and the old TV received a ROKU device downstairs, Both Wireless Connections.  Takes some bandwidth on the DSL but pictures clear with loads of free channels.  The Smart TV had to buy service on HULU to gain local stations.  That part is hilarious as when have power surges or reboot the modem if server slows can swap from COMO(Columbia MO) to STL Local Stations or vice versa.

House sits on a hill and the antenna is on a metal antenna pole fastened to the chimney so it is about 15' above the roof but  I do have a large pecan tree that is between the tv transmitters  and the antenna. Sometimes I get good reception on a number of channels and sometimes for apparently no reason the reception goes to crap. It is not weather related and is worse on the higher frequencies. Adjusting the direction of the antenna is a pita because there is no way to tell which way it is pointing unless you have a second person standing outside to watch it. I have climbed up on the roof and loosened the pole brackets and adjusted it that way but that means dragging out an extension ladder and a step ladder.

Thanks, Dave. That explains where at least part of my problem is coming from.