Red Neck Antenna Fail

[StandUpGuy]

OK I built a RedNeck antena and tried it on a tv I have. I am getting only one channel and it is not all that clear. I am wondering if the TV is not digital compatible. I tried going online to see if I could find out and am having a hard time finding the info. If it was analog would I be able to get the one channel? I live in the outskirts of Charlotte, NC and not so very far from city center really. I would have thought I could get a number of channels.

Any thoughts?

[S. Heisley]

It's possible. You could call the station of that one channel that you are getting and ask them if they are still broadcasting in analog or if they are broadcasting in both analog and digital. Then, you might have your answer.

[StandUpGuy]

It's possible. You could call the station of that one channel that you are getting and ask them if they are still broadcasting in analog or if they are broadcasting in both analog and digital. Then, you might have your answer.

All I could find out so far is the manufacture date of the TV and it is June 2005 This is right in the cusp of the turn over. Could be either. Are there still stations broadcasting analog?

[Woodbutcher]

I think you need a converter box to run the signal through before the TV. If the TV had a digital tuner you should be all set. To be sure it is not the antenna find a newer TV to test the antenna on. If it works fine then you know your TV needs the converter.

[StandUpGuy]

I think you need a converter box to run the signal through before the TV. If the TV had a digital tuner you should be all set. To be sure it is not the antenna find a newer TV to test the antenna on. If it works fine then you know your TV needs the converter.

I found a website that shows what channels are broadcast within ones range based on house address. Lots of channels are shown but I had the option of filtering the results to just analog stations. When I did only three show up and two of them show as weak signals. The one that was stronger was indeed the channel 16 that I got. So yes it is not digital compatible. Bummer.

[Richard A.]

More simply ... if your TV is a tube job with a 4x3 ratio it is analog.

If it a flat screen with a 16x9 ratio then it is about a 95% (or better) chance it is digital.

[aggie79]

We have two redneck antennas - one connected to an analog TV with a converter and one a digital TV. The redneck antennas work well for us but the antennas are very directional. Aiming for one channel may decrease the signal strength for another. Overall we are quite happy with them.

[bobhenry]

I have run the entire house on red neck antennas since the changeover. No cable bills no satelite bills just free TV. I have picked up 2 converter boxes at Goodwill in the last month for about 5 bucks each. They are starting to phase out as more and more folks are replacing their older TV's. In my experience using the converter EVEN with the digital units is a plus. It seems there is a boost in the signal and gains you many channels you might not otherwise be able to get. In my opinion the older style TV and the converter still offers the best picture quality but thats because I only have a cheap Craig digital flat screen so maybe the bigger more expensive units are much better. The real nice older style TV's are going for under $10.00 at Goodwill these days. I picked up a magnavox AC / DC unit for the camper for under $5.00 last saturday. Coupled with the $5.00 converter it has an excellent picture and I can pick up 14 stations crystal clear. So right now it is possible to get great TV for literally less than $10.00 (TV and converter) build your free (except for the balum) antenna and have a real cheap form of entertainment for those rainy camping days. Yep an analogue TV without a convrter will get about 1 to 2 stations if the broadcast signal is almost next door