Discussions

[Mary9124]

I followed the procedure to set up antenna and then went to the channel guide.  It said I got 31 channels but I don't see my three local news channels.  I bought an antenna with a 80 mile range.  That is more than enough.  I looked everywhere and did searches.  I even ran the set up antenna procedure a second time.  Should I go back to store and exchange for another antenna?  I live in Baltimore County region.

[Streamer317]

Indoor antennas rarely work due to obstructions. This has nothing to do with your Roku TV by the way. You can try moving the antenna to the window. Some actually stick to the window.  Is this a TCL? Hisense or Sharp? Before you got an antenna did you see what was available in your area? An outdoor or roof mounted antenna are usually the best. But again it all depends where you live and what is blocking your signal. Even if you bought an 80 mile range unless it has a clear line of sight it will be useless. Similar to a cell phone signal. In the end antennas don't work for most people. You could look into a live TV streaming service such as YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, DirecTV Stream and FuboTV. Yes those aren't free like OTA channels. But if you live in an apartment, condo or have an obstructed view for your antenna it won't work. I also know you can manually enter channels into your line up. 

https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps

https://support.roku.com/article/115005469427

[DBDukes]

@Mary9124 

Dirty little secret. Many antenna companies will lie about their reception range. There is no way an indoor antenna will pick up 80 miles. A good outdoor antenna 30 feet above the ground will not reach over 70 miles.

Also, there are three frequency bands on which station broadcast: Low VHF (2-6), High VHF (7-13), UHF (14+). Many indoor and outdoor antennae are simply UHF, but you can find combination antennae. Additionally, many stations, as part of the channel repacks, actually moved their true radio frequency, but still identify as the old frequency.

In Baltimore:

WMAR channel 2 is actually broadcasting on channel 27 (UHF).

WJZ channel 13 is actually broadcasting on channel 11 (High VHF)

WBAL channel 11 is actually broadcasting on channel 12 (High VHF)

None in your area actually broadcast on their commonly known channels (virtual channels) but their true channels are all either UHF or High VHF. If you antenna doesn't pick up High VHF, you won't get good signal from those stations.

Most of the towers are in Woodbury, so that's the location from which you must measure distance.

Here are a couple of Websites that will help you determine what to expect.

https://www.antennaweb.org/

https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps

And none will give you a straight answer, because of the number of factors involved, including but not limited to height, distance, obstacles, house wiring, and many many other things.

[Streamer317]

@DBDukes  Exactly. Those ranges and available channels are ONLY "in a perfect world". If you live in an apartment and your signal is blocked by another building then no antenna will work.