VHF vs. UHF TV Bands - Antenna TV Viewers Should Know The Difference

[@AntennaMan]

🤔 Not sure which antenna to buy? Sign up for an antenna recommendation from me below 📡 www.antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html

[@dangeraghty6715]

Thank you Tyler, I installed Satellite & OTA Antenna's in the N.Y. market for 18 years. Your honesty, accuracy & integrity are refreshing in today's business environment. I know that generally the public doesn't understand it... but they are lucky to have your truthful expertise on there side. Keep on educating people and may you prosper at what you love for years to come :)

[@daveschmarder-US1950]

I didn't fall for this HDTV antenna hype. I bought a COLOR TV antenna instead!

[@tron3entertainment]

So _that_ is why all my HDTV comes in B&W. Thanks!

[@bobbartholomew85364]

lol!!!

[@villumschroeder1255]

Their marketing people must not even have OTA TVs

[@mikedoe6585]

I am still using my old Black & White TV antenna ! I only get to watch old game shows, Andy Griffith and "I Love Lucy".

[@atvalleau]

Oh, yeah? Well, I got a special antenna designed to receive TV signals with MTS !

[@MontrealMan1970]

Canadian fan here. Thanks Tyler for your tireless effort on everything T.V. Antenna related.

[@hectormiguelperezgomez6612]

When I was a kid, I remember receiving three analog TV stations that I couldn't identify where they came off. Three Fox stations on channels 25, 29 and 44. Since I live near the Tamaulipas coast in Mexico I believe channel 29 was KABB from San Antonio, TX. And a few years ago, I also received channel 7 (RF 7: KTBC, Fox Austin) with its subchannels in the same Tamaulipas area. It was very awesome.

[@ghenulo]

When I was a kid, we only received four channels total: ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS. It was funny that when I was 11, cable finally became available and mom was so excited to be able to watch reruns of "Green Acres", where now I can watch "Green Acres" on MeTV without cable (unfortunately though, MeTV extended Svengoolie by a half hour and no longer shows "Batman" on Saturday nights; we got cable shortly after Tim Burton's Batman came out and when we were getting cable, I thought the "Batman" in the listings was a continuation of the movie, but it turned out to be an amusing show from the 1960s instead). (On the flip side, shortly after cable became available, the video-rental place went out of business.) I get the NBC and CBS channels with my indoor antenna downtown, but supposedly, the signals are better up on the mountain on which I grew up. My aunt still lives on the mountain and has a huge rooftop antenna and I have no idea what she can still receive, and she's too much of a bitch for me to want to talk to her long enough to ask; I know mom says that my aunt watches CBS for news/weather, where when I was a kid, we always watched NBC (local news at 6:00, national news at 6:30), so I don't know if she can't pick up NBC or if she for some reason just prefers CBS (since getting my antenna in October, I just watch the local news on an NBC subchannel at 10:00, so I can go to bed before it's on the main NBC channel at 11:00; I get national and international news on the Internet, so I don't have to bear NBC's neoliberal spin on the national news (not that CBS's spin is any better)).

[@rricci]

Lower frequencies require a longer antenna element. The shorter elements are for higher frequencies. AM raido is called Medium Wave or MW in other parts of the world. AM is dotisted around 1 MHz or megahertz. CB radios operate at the 27 MHz. FM is between 87.9 and 107.9Hz. Interesting Note: Here in the U.S. FM flannels slways have an odd number after the decimal. So in shows, if you hear 102.6 FM it's fair. One last thing I want to mention: The higher the frequency, the more "line of sight" or the more straight the path from the transmitter to the receiving sntenna has to be. To test this out, get a AM radio and tune it during the daylight hours. Note what stations you get. Then try during the night time hours (after 11 P.M.) And see what you csn get.

[@toddstewart9070]

I miss analog tropo, especially during summer months. It was very exciting picking up stations from 1000+ miles away and trying to figure out where the signals originate. At least we still have FM to play around with when these events occur.

[@incorrba]

Why would you not still be able to do that? I remember analog but the difference now is the signal is more hit or miss instead of varying degrees of snowiness and clear picture.

[@toddstewart9070]

@@incorrba the signal would break up so often. At least with analog you could barely see it.

[@incorrba]

@@toddstewart9070 you're right. I always thought AM radio was pretty fun for DXing too.

[@toddstewart9070]

@@incorrba AM radio at those low frequencies is common at night up to 1200 miles away. With higher frequencies like FM and VHF/UHF it is very uncommon to see stations from those distances, but it does happen. Digital just make it harder.

[@NielsonLucas]

In March 2019, I was able to receive the Tampa Fox station, which is on VHF. And other FM stations from Fort Myers, Miami, and Tampa. I may have even picked up a FM station from Mexico. I almost picked up channel VHF-lo 5 from Mississippi even though I live in Orlando, Florida.

[@hwugh1]

This info used to be common knowledge as already inside the heads of all viewers when OTA was the only option. It never was "spooky" as in "The guy who understands how that works is so smart he's spooky." Good delivery as always!

[@granttaylor3697]

A very simple over view of the subject, there is also antenna polarization that is very important as well. You may have a VHF / UHF antenna, but you need to know your local TV channels polarization, is it set to horizontal or vertical? this can change with adjacent coverage areas. In locations where the signal is weak you may need to go to a single channel high gain antennas and combine them with a diplexer or triplexer before the TV set, unlike in urban coverage areas where you can get away with something basic. All this is without going into masthead pre-amplification which is another topic to it's self, where the configuration of the antenna and the pre-amplifier needs to be worked out for each installation.

[@richardfredell1013]

Tyler, this is probably one of your BEST videos ! Well done ! Where I live we have only 6 channels, and I get 5 ( have use rotator to get the 6th, then I lose a few … oh well ). Thank you for all your help for the " unwashed masses " who refuse to be extorted by cable companies.

[@beard78748]

My understanding of 3.0 is that it will allow a station that uses low power repeaters the ability to use 1 frequency instead of having to use different frequencies per antenna, thereby freeing up some of the frequency band.

[@jensman0185]

The one thing that you didn't mention that I would like to add is that the rf line of sight is much further on VHF than on UHF. Also most tv stations have antennas that are horizontally polarized and if you try to use a vertically polarized antenna you are losing half your signal. The reason why they use horizontal polarization is that they can use ground wave propagation to get the signal out further as the rf waves can hug the curvature of the earth a lot better than a vertical polarized signal can

[@Herlongian]

Fast forward to 2023. Haven’t seen an HD antenna commercial lately. Consumers have caught on.

[@bob4analog]

Again, thank you for explaining the antennas. Please do continue to explain it. I don't know how many times I've had to explain this that there's no such thing as a digital or HD TV antenna. And those ridiculous 'new technology' indoor tv antennas are so gimmick! Obviously these are so bogus and their advertising plays on the ignorance of the common people. Good job, great vids!

[@ItsVideos]

At 7:17 you say "soon-to-be 5G LTE bands". That' s the first time I've heard the term "5G LTE".

[@JorgeAngg]

I see, so that's how the spectrum works, I remember tuning a TV station on a FM radio (Zune media player) at 81.7Mhz back in 2007 in South Carolina and I always wondered why it happened. Is it still possible to tune TV stations with FM radios in the US? Thanks for sharing this information!

[@LouisSubearth]

It's no longer possible since TV broadcasts are now digital where FM and AM radio is analog. The digital nature of modern television broadcasts encrypts the audio and video into binary data where analog broadcasts are unencrypted by nature.

[@Allocated_Brain]

Over the air digital ATSC 1.0 TV is not encrypted. Back in the analog days, yes NTSC TV stations did transmit the audio carrier as analog FM but no because of the different encoding and modulation of ATSC TV can not be picked up with a standard FM radio.

[@1L6E6VHF]

There are a handful of low-power TV stations on Channel 6 that have come on the air that show something such as news crawls, weather radar, or silent movies with subtitles, but play music on the audio carrier, since many radios can tune just below the bottom of the band (87.7 MHz). In Chicago, one such operation pulled in more listeners than the 50,000-watt omnidirectional Class I talk station! Radio enthusiasts have nicknamed these "Franken FM" stations.

[@5roundsrapid263]

I think you mean 87.7. That was the audio frequency of analog channel 6.

[@1L6E6VHF]

Interesting that your radio also covered the international FM band. You were listening to a Channel 5 TV audio, rather than Channel 6.

[@petertrapani8701]

Great info Yes no such thing as a HD antenna. My antenna is a Radio Shack 11 element UHF has been up since 1998. I live in south CT. And receive over 60 channels the advantage I Have is the NYC channels are 60 miles from my home but the transmitter antennas are at 1000 feet. Plus I’m 140 feet above sea level. Happy New Year Tyler🇺🇸

[@4gauge10]

Back in the day,the old picture tube analog 📺 tv's have channel selectors that go up to channel 83.

[@Bandrosonk]

I know back in the days of analog cell phones if you had a tv that went high enough you could listen to people cell phone conversation on your tv set

[@videoluvr4204]

@@Bandrosonkwow that is very interesting

[@ghenulo]

I remember. My VCR goes up to 100, but I assume that's for cable. Even the old encyclopedias from the 1960s we had when I was a kid claimed that UHF was 14-69.

[@kmath50]

Thanks for the great explanation of VHF & UHF. For some reason, I had understood that VHF would no longer be used after the switch to digital. I was wrong.

[@AntennaMan]

That rumor keeps popping up and I don't understand where it came from. Yes some stations moved from VHF to UHF but the VHF band was never taken away

[@stevejohnson1321]

Some markets like greater Boston ran only UHF after 2009. Situations like this may have added to the misunderstanding. Here you only needed a narrow antenna for some time. Briefly WHDH tried RF7, but moved back to 46 because it didn't work. Oddly the Norwell shopping channel was VHF, as were some stations in Providence and Springfield. No local station seemed to use low-VHF until the repack got going.

[@1L6E6VHF]

What IS true was that the original plan for the conversion to ATSC 1.0 stipulated that ALL television in the USA was to be moved to the UHF band. This was later changed to add 7-13 to TV and cutting 42MHz off the top, with another rethinking taking more UHF channels away from TV and putting the low-VHF channels back in, with those pitiful low power levels. When the transition came, most people still thought that all digital TV was going to be UHF, and the antenna industry still believed that, too.

[@ghenulo]

It should have been the case. We should have given VHF to cellphone companies instead of cutting back on the number of UHF TV channels.

[@atvalleau]

Ah, tropospheric ducting! As a kid growing up outside Charleston, WV in the 60's and 70's, all we had was OTA received via a big multi-element antenna on our roof. The area is very hilly. We got 3 stations (at the time ABC, CBS and NBC, there was no Fox), and occasionally the PBS station on 33 from Huntington, WV. Channel 3, WSAZ, also in Huntington, would sometimes get almost completely drowned out by another station somewhere in Texas! Only during the summer and it was always the same station. Channel 3 was easily the strongest station in that market. So, for it to be completely covered up by a station so far away was amazing.

[@1L6E6VHF]

Your Texas catch would have been Sporadic-E skip as opposed to tropospheric ducting. Sporadic E is occurrs mainly in late spring and early summer, and favors paths of about 1000 miles (1600km), which is about the distance from WV to TX.

[@atvalleau]

@@1L6E6VHF Yeah, you're right, come to think of it. Thanks for the refresher!

[@canadianpsycho1867]

I wonder how far fm radio stations would’ve travelled between 1941 and 1945 when they used 42 to 50 MHZ. Unfortunately only people who lived in big cities like New York would know since fm radio didn’t become a thing in most other parts of North America until many decades later.

[@robertgaines-tulsa]

I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and we can get rain fade on UHF stations during heavy thunderstorms specifically when the heavy rain is between Tulsa and Coweta since the three main towers are situated in Coweta. From our vantage point, the three towers are close together so you can get all three towers just by aiming the antenna in that direction. There are also other towers in our area. They can be strong enough to receive it from behind the antenna. If you care about other stations, you'd have to get a rotor or antenna switch since both VHF and UHF stations come from those three main towers. A fixed antenna will get all the major stations from those three towers. The others have like religious programming.

[@ItsVideos]

At 2:06 you say "high VHF which consists of channels 2 through 13". Should say channels 7 through 13.

[@lklpalka]

Bobby pin? Tropospheric ducting? Looking forward. I'm all (rabbit)ears!

[@shaunosmorrison8385]

Certain 'analogue' TV antennas here in Australia still work perfectly fine once you add a new balun to them

[@ghenulo]

Whatever a balun is. An odd spelling of "balloon"?

[@OGMrWayne]

Love this channel, learned so much. Keep up the awesome work friend, much appreciated 👍👍👍

[@fjccommish]

The antenna I have is claimed to be UHF and VHF. It pulls in the UHF signals, but it doesn't get a good signal on the VHF stations - they're the same direction and distance as the UHF stations.

[@ghenulo]

Antennas tend to exaggerate to a degree dangerously close to false advertising. When I thought I had broken my antenna, I was looking on Amazon for a better one and some of the newer ones claim to be be able to pick up HBO. WTAF!? (The antenna wasn't broken; I just forgot to turn off my VCR, so I was getting "no signal" on all digital channels.)

[@victoryfirst2878]

Hello Antenna Man, a down to earth video on a subject used by all. Thank you for keep us all '"In The Know". One last thing, Make sure you have yourself a Happy New Year too.

[@raymondmartin6737]

Thanks for your informative run down on the TV channels, their relationship to each other, and the environtal effects on the various channels. A good example of this is with the repack in August 2019 for Boston, MA, whereby PBS channel 2, WGBH, went actually to Channel 2 on RF, and as my friend in Framingham, MA, West of the transmitter, now has trouble receiving that channel 2 because of hills and being in a valley, and his OTA antenna is only for UHF.

[@AntennaMan]

Very few antennas have low VHF capability. This one is an example of low VHF capability. Note the longer VHF low element: amzn.to/358rcSL

[@shousley5817]

I think I understand your reference to Digital TV Antennas, but you should check with the FCC.

[@pjfsr7024]

When I was younger I remember picking up Philadelphia Ch. 6, they had Elvira mistress of the Dark I think. I would add foil to keep it on.

[@bxdanny]

The nice thing about analog channel 6 was that you could pick up its audio on an FM radio.

[@jcamp9293]

This video continues to be a great learning tool.

[@hassansyed5661]

Very nice video. Your videos reminds me my childhood days. Back in 1995 up to 2000, I used to watch PTV, STN, DD 1 and DD Metro in Pakistan. Even though I was a kid at that time but used to design my own antenna to watch TV. Thank you for such wonderful videos.

[@jimtrue1465]

You have probably explained it before, but it amazes me that these days, stations prefer the UHF band, which you claim is easier for the consumer to receive and less subject to electrical interference. Back in the analog days, VHF was easier to pick up, even with a combo vhf-uhf antenna, which is one reason stations preferred to be vhf.

[@ghenulo]

Well, digital TV is much more sensitive than analog TV. With analog TV, if you got a weak signal, you'd get a snowy picture, and if you got multipath interference, you'd get ghosting, but with digital TV, the signal will drop. Tyler has done other videos about how before analog channels were shut down, you could get some analog channels (albeit with snowy or staticky pictures) but not their digital versions.

[@jimtrue1465]

@@ghenulo I know that well. Back in the analog days, I got TV stations from two different markets. Once digital took over, I can't receive anything. I even contacted Tyler with his antenna suggestion service, and he informed me there were no good choices for my location located midway between two top-50 markets.

[@montanablue7960]

I wish I had found your site before I bought my last two indoor antennas. What antennas would you feel are the top 5 indoor or indoor/outdoor antennas? Enjoy your videos. Keep them coming.

[@AntennaMan]

It varies depending on tons of factors. Antennas are not one size fits all model. That's why I review them separately so my viewers can compare and see which one works best for certain frequencies. I do offer custom antenna recommendations on my website if you wanted me to take a look at your specific reception scenario. www.antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html

[@SDS-1]

Gotta love tropoducting. Buddy used to pick up Tennessee sherrif on his 100foot tower listening to Houston poice back in the day

[@CT9905.]

Tyler…. A very informative and simple description of TV signals, thank you.

[@killer2600]

4:38 Those "little lines on the right" are directors not the UHF element. The UHF element is the elongated loop in the middle of that yagi antenna. VHF is the dipole behind the UHF and the longest dipole is the reflector.

[@raygromer]

Great video! I'm curious, what is the model antenna you show at 8:00?

[@AntennaMan]

Unfortunately that antenna is discontinued. It was a great model but no where to be fond now.

[@joerogers4227]

Originally UHF channels were 14 through 83. Through the years it has been gradually reduced to quite a fewer channels. . in the early days of UHF you hear stories of reception via indoor antenna that the channel would be a good picture then someone in the room moved and the picture would be less then perfect. In the 1970 or 80's when TV's RF interference rejection was poor that someone on the 6 meter band would bleed over to the tv. Not the Ham's fault but the TV's of the era fault. Joke was that people who used 6 meter band would get a WAN award, standing for Worked All Neighbors award.

[@EastAngliaUK]

I have never used VHF is uk we had uhf 21 to 69 but now only goes up to 50. I now have a full band modulator I will have to try VHF but not sure it will go on my TVs.

[@googleuser7202]

About your LTE filter you mentioned if you know you are close to a cell tower get the LTE filter. How can someone locate a cell tower? Edit where should you install the LTE filter in other words closer to the TV or closer to the antenna?

[@AntennaMan]

I have a video on this topic. Check out LTE interference

[@Ramesh-wv2sp]

In San Francisco East Bay area I used to get ABC 7.1 and NBC 11.1 on VHF, but now a days I am not getting these two channels. For VHF I have Antennas Direct Clear Stream 5 and for UHF Antennas Direct Clearstream 4 along with a preamp in the attic. Do solar panels affect VHF or UHF reception? Also it seems that in San Francisco area the FCC repack is going on which is scheduled to be completed by May 2020. Should I wait until May or I should get a new Channel Master preamp and try if that helps ?

[@williamstanley4692]

In the Chicago area, all over the air stations broadcast between 499 Mhz and 599 Mhz, except channel 2. They use 209 Mhz, and is almost impossible to receive, even close the the transmitter. This information was confirmed using a ViewTV converter box. All channels are 6 Mhz wide.

[@gregf438]

Dude, is the cs 4max any better than the cs 2max? Indoor set up. Thanks bro 😁

[@TonyPadgett]

For me, this was your best video thus far! I learned a LOT. Thank you. Question: So, is a "channel" just a simple way to denote a specific "frequency""? If that is true, couldn't they have simply told people to tune into a frequency rather than a channel, like radio does? And what are "sub" channels?

[@AntennaMan]

The virtual channel is just a number they are able to have shown on a TV set. The frequency is the actual channel they broadcast on. Stations did not want to tell people to "tune" to the frequency because it would confuse viewers. Some stations abandoned channel numbers in branding during the digital transition as a result ex. WBRE. I'll have a video on a subchannels in the future.

[@TonyPadgett]

@@AntennaMan Okay, so when I tune into virtual channel 2.1 in New York, (2.1 actually shows up on my screen), I understand that is the "virtual" channel. So, therefore, my tuner is "translating" this into the actual RF channel, right?

[@ghenulo]

Well, a TV channel is more of a frequency range. The TV signal can be modulated give or take a couple hundred megahertz.

[@ghenulo]

@@AntennaMan I really don't see why we have virtual channels. Cable companies often change channel numbers (even of local stations). So what would be the big deal of having to e.g. tune into channel 17 to watch channel 6 (or whatever may be the case in your area)? It might have actually been a better way to "ditch cable" by having antenna TV keep cable's quirks.

[@cjimcook]

Heck, back in the 1960s, we had TVs that received UHF channels all the way up to channel 83! (I deny being old.) Also note that channel 37 is missing due to astronomy.

[@AntennaMan]

Got that right!

[@JonesNate]

Did the frequencies change at the digital switchover? I was in a Networking class in high school, (in 2006) and the teacher said that the FCC wanted to use some of the UHF frequencies for cellphone towers. The reason given was that UHF frequencies are, apparently, the easiest frequencies to transmit/receive on with the least amount of loss, so the FCC wanted to prioritize some of those frequencies for cellphone usage.

[@AntennaMan]

They removed channels 52-69 during the digital transition but none of the bands were removed so the TV antennas prior to the digital transition would work fine. Yet you still see HD antennas

[@JonesNate]

@@AntennaMan Okay. That's one of the things that has bothered me since the switchover; at first, I thought the frequencies completely changed. I mean, since I can remember, I've listened to FM radio, and they always announce their actual frequencies. "This is Z93.3FM, La Crosse, Wisconsin!" That station is at 93.3MHz. But TV stations were more ambiguous. For example, WKOW, Madison, WI is channel 27, but they're *not* broadcasting at 27MHz; they're somewhere up there, and I never looked up the actual frequency. So three things combined. 1. I heard from my teacher that some or all VHF/UHF frequencies would be taken over by cellphone networks. 2. I didn't know what the actual frequencies for VHF/UHF were, before or after the switchover. 3. I saw antennas labeled as "Digital Compliant" or "HD Compliant." Because of the combination of those three things, I thought (for a short time) that everything changed frequencies, and that only the new antennas would be compatible with the new frequencies. I also assumed the new frequencies, in combination with the nature of all-or-nothing digital signals, was why we lost reception on so many channels. Prior to the switchover, we could receive signal from Madison, WI, (about 80 air miles) La Crosse, WI, (about 40-50 air miles) Dubuque, IA, (about 50 air miles) Rockford, IL, (about 90-100 air miles) and on rare occasions, Chicago, IL. (about 175-200 air miles) From those, we could receive channels: 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 13, 15, 19, 21, 25, 27, 31, 32, 40, 47, 57 After the switchover, we could only receive from Madison, WI and Dubuque, IA. Everything else was gone.

[@dj-bn1fj]

So yes I wasted money on an antenna that stated it supported VHF only to find out it was VHF High and I need RF channel 3 as PBS use it, to get s MFG to tell you the Freq's they use seems to be missing on every antenna today. Great channel btw.

[@AntennaMan]

Yes very few antennas have low VHF capability. I live in a market where 6ABC is on low VHF. Get lots of calls for help, some demanding I give them the antenna model instead of hiring me to setup the antenna.

[@1L6E6VHF]

I live in a market where one station actually transmits on RF channel 5. If you can score some old-fashioned twin-lead (what we used before coax took over), make a folded dipole out of it, a little longer than the one that was packaged with so many stereos. I have one in my attic for RF channel 5.

[@1L6E6VHF]

@Google User There could be a way to work around the problem - the magnetic antenna. Basically a coil around a ferrite rod. This worked on billions of inexpensive handheld AM radios, as little as 5" (12.5cm) high, receiving waves nearly 600m (660 yards) long. In practice, five such coils would be needed, one for each channel. The signal would certainly need an amplifier.

[@Scott_From_Maine]

WLBZ TV in Bangor ME broadcasts on channel two as it has for the past 65 years. It started out as WTWO, "The Mitey TWO"!

[@1L6E6VHF]

I never knew that. A channel 2 station in Terre Haute, IN picked up that callsign later. Casper, WY, has KTWO, and uses a "K2" logo. For years, Tulsa's channel 2 used KTEW.

[@diycarhome9151]

Before Canada 🇨🇦 changed over to Digital TV in 2011. USA 🇺🇸 changed to Digital TV 2 years earlier in 2009. Some remote areas in Canada are still broadcasting in Analog as I type this. Because the cost of a Digital Transmitter and small amount of viewers. I remember before 2009 if you had a TV set with a UHF tuner that had channels 14 to 83 you could crank the dial up to Channel 82 and listen to people on cell phones, cell phones back then where Analog. Retailers never told Customers of cell phones that people at home on UHF TV Tuners could listen to them as they drove down the street. To take it up a notch I would run the tv coaxial cable over to my Uniden Bearcat Scanner and get phone calls as far as Toronto. I would also record them to Cassette and play them back as I drove to work. Made it a very interesting commute.

[@flynhyer4445]

Antenna Man ive been on an antenna for 8 yrs. my cable bill hit $171 and i said "thats enough" i get bout 46 channels in my area (clev. ohio) but they r the 1's i like. (metv,comet,and retrotv

[@arrivedknight7632]

Is any start tv?

[@wakkywabbit5446]

If I keep xmas lights on my trailer all throughout the year, is there any way I can use them as a TV antenna? 🎅 BillyBob Izza Bottom Jr. Bucksnort, Tennessee

[@totallyfrozen]

Wakky Wabbit 🤣

[@hondotoo]

... nice!

[@jimanders6666]

Give it a shot and let us know how it turns out !!!!!!!!

[@keithbrookshire]

I drive past Bucksnort on my way to Nashville. I think the only thing visible from the interstate is a porno store.

[@murph9813]

What is the difference between RG6 and RG11 cabling. Is RG11 better than RG6 ?

[@AntennaMan]

RG11 is typically used for burial cable underground so it's better shielded.

[@ardithconley2628]

I have noticed as more channels come online. The problems I have seen is the new stations over power the old. How do you respond to this. I can not move the antenna to a neutral area.

[@sticks29pgm29]

Could you send me the links for the outdoor antennas. Are HOA is trying to restrict them to indoors only.

[@AntennaMan]

This is the link to the law forbitting HOAs from restricting outdoor antennas. www.fcc.gov/media/over-air-reception-devices-rule

[@SerranoECH]

In Chile, television is on channels 22 to 51 UHF, which is easier to get an antenna and uses the Brazilian Japanese standard. but being a long country they can only transmit up to 60 km and in many places they are mountainous, also it causes a lot of interference in 1 or 4 channels

[@progresspigment9593]

So glad I came across your channel. Keep up the great work!!!

[@cattigereyes1]

So if I wanted a pure VHF antenna and a pure UHF antenna what two models would I be looking for? Most antennas seem to have both integrated

[@AntennaMan]

This is the pure VHF model. I'd recommend. It's on back order but it's one of the best out there. Reply to my comment to let me know you got this link and I'll tell you about the UHF model I'd recommend. ebay.to/3i2KAqV

[@cattigereyes1]

Antenna Man interesting antenna on eBay, after checking most of my market seems on the UHF band. At least all the towers listed near me and 60 miles away were listed as UFH stations. Sorry just checked it out today

[@AntennaMan]

@@cattigereyes1 If your stations are mostly UHF you can try either the DB8E or this antenna below. Both are very good for UHF. amzn.to/30dqrs5

[@mikedoe6585]

7:13 How many of you are willing to give up your cellphone service spectrum ?

[@AntennaMan]

Exactly

[@tommyb.6064]

I was fine with 3G speeds? When my LTE shit, i just turn it off, it falls back on 3g and deer it goes

[@markchidester6239]

Back in the analog days, I was able to get channel 6 in Milwaukee on the very low end of FM. IDK if they broadcast it like that or if my FM receiver just picked it up. I don't believe it was in stereo, but it was cool to watch. This was in the 80s before home entertainment center and surround sound.

[@ghenulo]

That was how it was. I remember I used to watch "Saved by the Bell" on TV but listen to it on radio. It's because low VHF ends where FM radio begins.

[@bobclarie]

Tyler, Great TV band spectrum explanation . . . One of our favorite stations is currently transmitting on UHF channel 23, 25 miles to our north; due to the repack, they will change to VHF low channel 5. Currently, I have a dedicated 4 bay, bow tie UHF antenna for this channel. There are strong transmitters in the opposite direction (south) , I have a dedicated antenna for those channels; which are a mix of VHF high and UHF. Can you recommend an antenna that would favor the VHF low band, and have good front-to-back ratio specs? It will need to be able to fit in a small attic. Any suggestion ? Thanks '73 Bob

[@AntennaMan]

This antenna does very good with low band VHF: amzn.to/2Fnvuv7

[@bobclarie]

@@AntennaMan Thanks for reply Tyler ! I need a much smaller VHF low band antenna; my attic is very small. Could you give me your opinion of the Antennas Direct ClearStream 5 High Gain VHF TV Antenna ? Here is a link: store.antennasdirect.com/C5-Clearstream-5-vhf-uhf-long-range-outdoor-DTV-antenna.html Thanks 73 Bob

[@adrongarretson6195]

yep to meter radios do the same thing with tropospheric ducting and what you were talking about with picking up signals is called propagation

[@rayc325]

Anther great video Tyler. One question - is there a specific antenna made just for capturing VHF channels?

[@ghenulo]

6-foot-long rabbit ears. Of course, modern rabbit ears tend to have a loop between for UHF.

[@chaz1701]

I bought the televes 149484 dat boss mix...Weird thing is it's able to pick up low vhf. Said it only good down to 7. Also going to use a Jay Mount on the eave. Two spots to chose from 1 about 5 foot higher. Is 5 foot worth it?

[@thadgiannetti790]

Your comment about the customer's heavily wooded site is fact! Also I'm using a channelmaster CM3020 and after DTV happened, I had to reinforce the mast it was on, it's a pretty large antenna with alot of surface area, so in windy conditions it was causing the antenna to oscillate slightly and causing pixelation. With analog it didnt' seem to be an issue, with the exact same antenna. Love these general information style videos, even though I consider myself an experienced user/consumer I always gain valuable take-away from your info. Your no BS, plain english explanations are the best.

[@ricrousseau9683]

Tyler... its great to know we have a place to go to get this kind of info for cable cutters like me! Would you ever consider doing a video on FM radio antennas?

[@AntennaMan]

Yes at some point.

[@ricrousseau9683]

@@AntennaMan Thanks man !

[@andywhiteman7886]

Tyler, Thanks for the Links to reception analysis websites. I bookmarked them. What I don't understand is how a station can broadcast on one channel and the TV tuner will receive it on a different channel. My area's CBS channel is transmitted on CH 32 but received on CH10. How does my TV tuner know when I set it to CH 10 to give me CH32?

[@AntennaMan]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Program_and_System_Information_Protocol

[@villumschroeder1255]

@@AntennaMan Well said Antenna Man.

[@andywhiteman7886]

@@AntennaMan Thanks, the electronics are amazing! Apparently that is why analog TVs will no longer work without some type of a tuner.

[@Allocated_Brain]

Wait until June or July for your tropo videoing. It is fun around me I am over here in Cleveland near the lake where I have picked up FM from St. Catherines, Indianapolis and Port Huron. It is much more fun with analog radio rather than digital tv where I have picked up DTV from WXYZ Detroit and CHCH Hamilton. While there are few mountains around Cleveland, trees tend to be a bigger issue, in particular during the summer so having a high antenna does wonders in that regard. I do enjoy playing around with my RTL SDR just as much but that is another topic, and rabbit hole.

[@diycarhome9151]

Your picking up the CHCH Repeater Transmitter 51.1 southwest of London, Ontario, Canada. It's a Repeater station of CHCH 11.1 Hamilton, Ontario. I also get your Cleveland Stations of WBNX 55.1 to 55.6 and WQHS 61.1 to 61.5 every so often. If there is a southwest wind from the Cleveland, Ohio area. I'm 150 miles northeast in Brantford, Ontario.

[@Pinto-p5z]

If I had to buy a LTE filter and if my phone is LTE then will that interrupt anything phone service? When I walk through my living room the TV starts pixelating when the slightest walking through. I was thinking maybe it's because I'm walking on hard wood floors so vibrations is shaking the antenna, and if were carpeted might have absorbed the vibration of walking through, because it never happens when I'm upstairs in my bedroom, it's carpeted, but I'm probably wrong on that theory. Also when I go to a store like Walmart target or whatever looking to buy a radio I only see ones that only have FM stations. Is AM becoming extinct or already has? I was talking to someone one day and got to talking about radios and they just asked a question that was more of a guess question and knew I wouldn't know, a rhetorical question maybe. They asked me why do stations have a letter in front of the frequency numbers like Q102 and sometimes a whole word like South 107? And no...I didn't know the answer to that question and probably never will.

[@kb5ulp]

Tyler, are you aware of any antennas that have their UHF frequency response adjusted to meet current, or better yet near future channel allocation. I have yet to see one that states their coverage stops at channel 52, much less the new limit of channel 36. There would be no need for LTE filters if the antenna rejected (mostly) those frequencies. Thanks for all of your information. Ron

[@AntennaMan]

Not yet. Antenna companies are waiting because their antennas are sold worldwide and many countries will get up to 52 and maybe even 69.

[@ghenulo]

@@AntennaMan It really makes me want to move to another country, where cellphone companies don't have such a hold on the regulatory agency. Of course, it would be weird to watch shows that I'm used to in different languages. My brother was talking about his recent trip to Amsterdam and there being French TV shows with Dutch subtitles, when he knows very little of either language. Of course, I guess I could move to Germany/Austria, as I'm supposedly B2-level in German (angeblich habe ich B2-Stufe-Verständnis um die deutsche Sprache).

[@Rainer67059]

"UHF- and VHF-TV-signals. .. Personally I think, it's kind of cool to know how they work." When I was small, I thought, it's cool to know how TV-signals worked. I learned back then how they worked. Then some [add swearword] thought, it's a great idea to give TV new technologies that have little to do with the old technologies, and to throw the old tech away. Nowadays, those [repeat swearword] seem to work on making today's youth think, our old TV tech was really crappy, but old cinema tech was ok. But the VHF and UHF bands are still there.

[@tomschmidt381]

Great explanation of the different TV RF bands.

[@totallyfrozen]

Is the number of elements the primary concern? Is the number of elements more important than size? I’m looking at the Channel Master CM-3016 and the Winegard HD7694P. They have 24 elements and 28 elements respectively. The CM is about 7 feet by 5.5 feet, but has fewer elements. The Winegard is about 5.5 feet by 3 feet, but has more elements. So how should I judge which one is better?

[@AntennaMan]

It varies depending on where the signal is hitting the antenna. Roll the dice....

[@CalitranoN]

What channel do you tune to then? i'm up in Buffalo, NY so i want Channel 2 which i thought was UHF? what do i tune to? 33?

[@daphlavor]

Can radio coverage be a barometer as to what to expect what tv signal I can receive?

[@1L6E6VHF]

TV propagation can be simultaneous with FM radio propagation, as they are both affected by tropospheric refraction and the rarer Sporadic-E propagation (the latter NEVER applying to UHF). AM radio is a different creature. Its propagation is completely different. On the AM broadcast band, long distance reception - and harmful co-channel interference at night, are normal.

[@Resist4]

There are only UHF stations in my mountainous area, yet I pick them all up with my indoor antenna. I wonder why they aren’t using VHF for my area.

[@1L6E6VHF]

UHF works well where you are because there's a mountaintop, the signal flies over any obstructions. VHF is not used because too many people bought UHF-only antennas. It is also possible that VHF stations are feeding local UHF translators, and more VHF translators would cause interference.

[@sandhu49]

In Sacramento: About 26 miles from all the Major stations , using a Clearstream 4V antenna, can pick up the two VHF channels (6 and 10), but the UHF are hit and miss. It sucks.

[@AntennaMan]

You likely need a better antenna setup. Consider a custom antenna recommendation from me at the link below: antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html

[@H2OTOYS-90]

Tyler - didn't find a recommendation in your store for RV use. Which one was that again? I saw it in a recent review. Thanks.

[@AntennaMan]

amzn.to/2tmb1nS

[@Dratchev241]

little thing on VHF/UHF propagation. there is a lot more to it then just "tropo" VHF gets E skip and tropo. with E you will find RF channel 2 and then higher starts to "roll in" tropo its all at once. and from what I have seen in my RF time when its tropo it is a large part UHF VHF-HI to FM broadcast E-Skip from chan 2-6 sometimes as high as 7-13. you also have things like Diffraction,Refraction, and Inversion.

[@1L6E6VHF]

E-skip has occurred on channels 7-13, but it is *extremely rare*. Channel 7 is not adjacent to Channel 6. In fact, the space between the top of Channel 6 and the bottom of Channel 7 is only 2MHz less than ALL of the spectrum below the top of Channel 6. Expect to see a minute of Es on channel 7 for every 5,000 minutes of Es on channel 6.

[@Dratchev241]

@@1L6E6VHF idk where you are but in USA, its more then 80MHz that separate chan 6 and 7. top end of 6 is 88Mhz and start of 7 is 174MHz and while E about channel 6 is somewhat rare it does happen.

[@dfu1685]

Holy cow! You are a phd on this stuff. I am impressed x10. Thank You!

[@ZXC_ZXC1]

Will ATSC 3.0 require an adapter to be used on current ATSC 1.0 TV's? The flat antennas only work under ideal conditions such as being close to the transmitter and no mountains. Some of them were better than others and there is no way of knowing in advance.

[@AntennaMan]

Yes

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

@@AntennaMan Hopefully it would just be a box you can hook up through HDMI on your set if that's one way to help.

[@1L6E6VHF]

More likely you'll get a new set-top box for the new standard. It may take the form of a dongle (that looks like a flashdrive) you'll plug into an HDMI port, out-of-sight, behind the TV.

[@NoHandleNameScrewTube]

At nineteen miles I can pick up everything from eureka California but nbc channel 3 broadcasting on 60 mhz. Trying to catch the warriors game, I have built a dipole the exact length. The channel master 45 mile antenna with four large elements I thought would do it but no go. I want to build like a yagi 10 element but saving for a big antenna. I have also tried a radio shack booster with them. It is fun but can be frustrating as nbc blacks out ways the game can be watched

[@michaelszczys8316]

One thing I have noticed being around since the days of all tube tv is that everything is all about HDTV which doesn’t mean it’s a much better picture, it mostly means it’s high definition over the really bad picture you get without it. You need to have HDTV just to get the same picture you used to get. The main reason for digital tv is not so you get a better picture but rather they can cram 6 or more different channels on the same bandwidth that used to carry one.

[@michaelszczys8316]

My wife used to have a small amplified antenna and could get some local stations for news and such. Then we couldn’t get them anymore. I checked a website showing all the stations within 50 miles and found that the ones she used to watch changed over to UHF. They would make it on VHF but not on UHF

[@mra57]

Will we lose stations or need a different receiver for the "repack"?

[@AntennaMan]

You may lose stations. Refer to this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKLFqpeNbbFghZY

[@MrHominid2U]

Here in Central Iowa presently get the ION channels on 39.Xs, this means they'll be moving to 36s or something?

[@AntennaMan]

You are getting the virtual and RF channel mixed up. They will have to broadcast on a frequency below channel 37 but will still show up as 39 on a tuner. They may already be at a lower frequency.

[@MrHominid2U]

@@AntennaMan Yes thanks I see that now. The IONs' RF is apparently the 36s. Originally KAJR's virtual channels were the 36s and apparently its RF channel was 21 (it no longer is broadcasting or at least I can't get it). So I guess my ION reception won't change.

[@ronethridge9875]

Glad to know 😅😅 thanks much

[@elsemerepond521]

I noticed in the Boise Idaho example most of the stations are on the vhf band besides abc Also here's some tv station markets with a lot of mountains Colorado Spring CO Burlington VT-Plattsburgh NY Salt Lake City UT

[@dannypalmer7701]

I just build a homemad VHF tv outdoor long distance antenna! I get all Tv stations 100 miles away in from Casper Wyoming , watching here in Riverton Wyoming! 😂

[@ranger178]

interesting i remember reading that channel 1 on the old analog antennas was taken over for the aircraft and ham radio and all volunteer fire civil air patrol and that from 108 mhz up to 174 mhz i didnt know they had a tv channel down that low below fm radio

[@jefflaymon5674]

At home I get vhf and uhf stations up to 100 miles away over flat terrain with a flat antenna tacked up on an inside wall. Gets more than the outside antenna

[@daronwinsett4087]

Can you do a video on why some stations have 6 to 8 sub channels and others only have 3. What is a duoply? Why do stations broadcast in Low VHF in the middle of nowhere.

[@ghenulo]

A duopoly is where two companies control all of a market. It's like a monopoly, only with two companies instead of one. A pertinent example would be if all the stations in a given market were owned by either Sinclair or Nexstar. Subchannels seem to be the result of a station thinking they can make money by paying for the subchannel and get the money back and then some from commercials (I'm sure there's bidding involved and the highest bidder gets a contract to transmit the subchannel for a certain amount of time). Some stations have a lot of subchannels (like in my market, Bluefield WV, channel WLFB has 11 subchannels: its main channel (Living Faith Television) as 40.1, Scripps channels (Ion, Bounce, Grit, etc) as 40.2-40.10, and The Grio as 40.11), where others have few (e.g. WVNS has only two: 59.1 (CBS) and 59.2 (Fox)). Of course, the more subchannels a station has, the lower the quality for the subchannels (e.g. all of WLFB's channels are 480i). I'm not sure about the VHF thing. VHF does better in hilly areas (like where I live), so maybe that's it. Otherwise, maybe they just don't want the higher power bill to transmit as UHF.

[@danpete6623]

Yep on Saturday I was picking up all kinds of tv channels I even got a analog tv channel from Canada I had one from PA for a minute to and I live in mid Michigan

[@diycarhome9151]

If your in Michigan on the east coast, you would of got CKCO TV Channel 42 is a Repeater Tower for CKCO Kitchener, Ontario Broadcasting in (Analog) from Oil Springs, Ontario. The Transmitter is suppose to be going off the air in 2020 sometime. CTV owned by Bell did not want to up grade to a Digital Transmitter. I guess Number of viewers VS. costs.

[@diycarhome9151]

I was testing two antennas last Saturday night and got two Cleveland stations WBNX 55.1 to 55.6 and WQHS 61.1 to 61.5 at a distance of 150 miles to my southwest.

[@1L6E6VHF]

@@diycarhome9151 No. Bell owns commercial TV in Canada. It's about making Canadians pay for cable or satellite if they want to watch anything other than CBC.

[@danpete6623]

@@diycarhome9151 yep I got that analog channel for a little while I was thinking Canada switch all there channels to digital but guess e

[@danpete6623]

@@1L6E6VHF I got chch channel 51.1 to

[@tommyb.6064]

Is there such a ting as a LO-VHF(71 MHz centered) tuned antenna... and a HI-VHF( 195MHz centered) tuned antenna, and a LOW-UHF(539MHz centered) tuned antenna? I seriously wouldn't mind to get 3 antennas up there... that's not a big of a deal.

[@AntennaMan]

Not yet. Antenna companies know Americans are cheap, lazy and won't purchase separate antennas. There are several UHF only antennas but only one high VHF optimized antennas on the market.

[@kevinjones3224]

There a way that I can make a omni directional antenna from the one I have home made indoor antenna made of coat hangers

[@riod7559]

Thank you so much for sharing your wealth of information! I've been free from Comcast cable for over 6 months!!

[@AntennaMan]

I'm glad my videos helped you get better reception. Feel free to give a contribution at the link below as I spend a lot of time making the videos and responding to these comments: paypal.me/pools/c/8cwRt7M0g4

[@dnwklin]

Why a lot of TV stations, after digital transition, request to move to UHF from VHF?

[@AntennaMan]

Because VHF is very noisy and requires a larger antenna most people do not want to use.

[@davidknibbs9646]

I am picking up a channel master stealth with there amp package antenna amp cable for $99.00 I think it was a great price?

[@AntennaMan]

Yes if it's the right antenna for your area. It's too small for some areas. If you want a second look consider a custom antenna recommendation at the link below: antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html

[@kentmoran1149]

Antenna man just wondering your thoughts on this yesterday our channels 44.1 + 44.2 went out temporarily which is about 30 miles west of where I live. I have my antenna facing East but picks up all the channels that is West of me but usually when it's a clear night I can pick up about 18 channels that is about 80 miles east of me but yesterday during the day when them two channels was out I was able to pick up them channels so I'm guessing that 44.1 + 2 is overpowering the weaker channels even though the antenna is facing the other way. So I'm wondering if I want to watch some of the channels that is East of me and if there was some way to block the signal that is coming from the West I could watch them channels but I really don't know how that could work what about you just wondering? Kent Moran.....Richland,Ind. 47634

[@geoffdryer669]

Do you think that we are likely to see new UHF antennas released focusing on the narrowed UHF band or would that be only marginally better than what is available now? I currently have an Antennas Direct db8e.

[@AntennaMan]

I'm thinking eventually in a few years. I don't think companies are quite fine tuning them yet since many TV stations are still operating up to channel 51 especially in other countries