My syndicated Super-Couponing Tips column for the week is entitled “Angst over TV antenna visibility.”
Here’s an excerpt:
“Regarding the comments about the aerial antennas and HOA, it does not surprise me that the materialistic younger generations whose life importance is nothing more than money and superficial affluence, would write such selfish, demeaning comments against anyone who chooses an antenna over cable.”
Read this entire column at the LaCrosse Tribune.
My Super-Couponing Tips column appears in newspapers around the country to a weekly readership of over 20 million people! Learn more about my column’s syndication at this link.
Miss a column? Here’s an archive of all of my past columns I’ve shared on the blog.
wolverine70 says
Great column as always, and it goes beyond tips just dealing with antennas. For example:
–HOAs have a cost. In addition to dues, any prospective homeowner must understand what is restricted and if, and how, that might impact what one likes to do.
I hope the column continues for a long time to come. I keep haranguing my local paper to bring it back. It is how I found about Jill and her tips after all and that makes it an amazing resource!
Coupon Maven says
Thank you for reading (and reaching out to your local paper to bring it back! I unfortunately rarely find out when a paper drops the column as that info goes to my syndicator.)
Regarding the HOA issue, I agree that there are so many things we do that are no big deal in our neighborhood that would likely violate a myriad of codes in others. For example, we’ve had deer eating our bean plants from the garden. We have a pond in back, so they come to drink, but then they get in the garden eating our green beans and trampling other plants. The rabbit wire fence we have around the garden (to keep the rabbits out too, which are plentiful here) does not keep the deer out. So, I retaliated by tying a few foil pie pans to the bean poles. They blow in the breeze and (so far, anyway!) have kept the deer out of the garden since.
While this is all in the backyard, I’m sure some bylaws somewhere would prevent the wire, the pans — probably the garden too. I had several readers write saying they can’t have gardens at -all- due to appearance codes. The restrictions on what you can plant are so crazy to me..!
I’m sure the mere presence of our kids’ wooden swingset/climber would violate codes in pristine-backyard neighborhoods too. Part of the joy of owning a home is doing what you want to do with your property. (Lest there be any confusion, I’m referring to decorating, landscaping, enjoying your yard, etc — not letting weeds grow knee-high, etc.)
J.R. says
Regarding the comments about placing the antenna in the house or garage attic:
When I installed mine, I avoided attic installation for 2 reasons. First, the attic installation will reduce the signal by 40-50%. This was my primary concern.
Second, I have a rotor so I can get signals from other locations, and that would be impossible in the attic. Modern prefabbed truss attics are not at all antenna friendly.
The same FCC rule that guarantees homeowners the right to install a satellite dish also guarantees the right to a conventional broadcast TV antenna and mast. I am still the only house in our development with an outside antenna, although it is hidden behind the house and can only be seen by my 2 immediate neighbors from their back yards.
https://www.fcc.gov/media/over-air-reception-devices-rule
Gene Sky says
Here is FCC Federal Communications Commission , Federal Antenna Law.
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html
That says –>YesReliable Reception<–.
Can be installed and Maintained.
The Federal Antenna Law Overrides All HOA's and any and all other , federal , national , state , county , local and any and all other rules and regulations of any type or kind.
The Federal Antenna Law also Provides Certain Antenna Reception Rights for those that are living , apartments , condos , and other types and kinds of multi-tenant buildings.
And Provides Certain Antenna Reception Rights for and not limited to rented and leased property and buildings.
Here are some and not all Help With Reception web sites where you find the Real and Actual Truth , not misinformation and Lies.
http://www.tvfool.com , Go to Help With Reception part of web site.
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/dtvmaps
http://www.antennasdirect.com/antenna-selector.html
http://www.channelmaster.com/Antenna-Selection-a/134.htm
Coupon Maven says
Thanks, Gene. I actually included this FCC info in two previous columns too regarding HOAs preventing antennas from being installed. I didn’t want to keep repeating that, but judging from my email, MANY people’s HOAs still put written restrictions on antennas into their covenants..!
Gene Sky says
It would be nice if you will reinstate the the first part of the information I provided because it provides continuity to the flow of the article.
Or provide for me a way and I will reinstate the information.
Coupon Maven says
Gene, I’m not sure what you mean – I haven’t deleted or edited anything you’ve posted. The blog does have an automated spam filter that strips spam links out, but it isn’t showing any edits on your posts.
Gene Sky says
Looks like the first part of information I submitted did not appear in my post. Gene Sky
Gene Sky says
Here is the first part of information , if I did not put it in , I thought I did.
Here is the FCC Federal Antenna Law that says Yes On and Not Limited to Private Owned Property or Private Owned Homes and Private Owned Mobile Homes and Yes Travel Trailers and Motor Homes.
The Federal Antenna Law goes on to explain about Rented and Leased Property and Building Structures.
The Federal Antenna Law Says Yes Broadcast Tv Antenna of any size , Big , Medium , Small , indoors or outdoors up to 12 feet above the highest peak place of the roof , so as to have and here is the main point–>Reliable Reception<–.
Can be installed and maintained.
Then goes on to say , The Federal Antenna Law Overrides All HOA's , and the rest of the information —–
Gene Sky says
One must be Crystal Clear about the issue of Yes Tv antennas can be install outside and No You Do Not Have To Hide Them.
The Federal Antenna Law is written in a way that is Crystal Clear and Direct to the Point and Covers All The Ways that People Will Try To Get Around the Federal Antenna Law and Make Other Peoples Lives Miserable.
There are Many Antenna Haters Out There , They Are In the Same Class as Clothes Line Haters.
These People are Dangerous Wackos.
They hide behind rules and regulations and cleaver misleading information.
I have had contact and observed and listened to them many times. Do not be fooled , They Really are Dangerous Wackos.
Debbie says
Jill would you please tell us the brand of the antenna you have and where you can purchase it? Thank you
Coupon Maven says
My current antenna is an old, element-style Winegard that was purchased in 1994! (You know, the kind that some of my readers profess to hate.) It is not one of the newer, smaller HD antennas.
Based on this column, though, an antenna manufacturer has reached out to me and offered new HDTV antennas for review. I will be reviewing both an new indoor and a new outdoor HDTV antenna later this summer :)
Annie says
Jill,
Are you saying that my old antenna mounted on the roof would work with my new TV ?
Thanks, annie
Coupon Maven says
Oh yes — try it! The antenna we’re currently using for all of our HDTV TVs in the house is 22 years old – it is not an HD antenna. You do not *need* an HD antenna to receive HD signals — the newer-style antennas are simply optimized for them.
This is a picture of the HDTV channel guide on our TV coming over the air with our old-style antenna. You can see all the HD subchannels under the regular channels:
Annie says
Oh My Gosh,
I’ve got to give it a try. I am not able to get up on the roof and hook it up. But I will find someone who can do that for me. Will I need any special connections, cable wire etc ? Oh I am so excited to give this a try. Please let me know if I need anything special to do this and I will let you know how it works out.
Jill, Thanks so very much !
Annie
Coupon Maven says
Annie, if the antenna was ever hooked up in the past, it’s possible the original coax is still there and connected. I don’t know if you can see your antenna well from the ground, you may be able to see the coax running from the antenna down to the roof. If you can see it, it’s likely that the antenna’s connection into the attic may still be live.
Our antenna coax extends from the antenna into the attic, where it drops down a wall to a panel in the basement. From there, we have a signal amp and a splitter that connects to all of the rooms in the house that have TV coax jacks.
How long ago did you use the antenna?
If you can figure out if the original coax exists and you can reach it where it enters the house, AND it has a coax end attached to the cable, you can try it out – just plug a TV into it and scan for channels.
If the antenna is up there but is not connected, you will need someone to connect it, of course, then run the wire into the room(s) you wish to watch TV in.
Also see what kind of condition the antenna is in. Ours has had several elements break off of it over the years, but it is still working — I can only surmise that the elements that have broken corresponded to parts of the broadcast spectrum that are not currently in use with the HDTV signal. Good luck!
Annie says
Jill,
Yes I can see my antenna and where the wire goes into the attic. We haven’t used this antenna since probably about 1989.
I will keep you updated on my progress.
Thanks
Annie
Annie says
Oh Jill,
I tried my out door TV antenna. What a shock ! The channels came in crystal clear. They even looked better than my cable TV channels. I am so Happy, one less big bill to pay. The only down side I see is that there are a couple of channels I can’t pick up with my roof antenna. That seems funny to me because I could pick them up with one of those new flat antennas.
When my son comes over this weekend he’s going to take a look and see what we might be able to do to get those channels.
Do you think an amp booster would help ? Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You So Much and Have a Happy and Safe 4th Of July.
Annie
Coupon Maven says
Annie, that’s wonderful! Isn’t the HD signal amazing — crystal clear by me too! If there are channels you aren’t getting with the old antenna but are able to with the the new flat antenna, you could try rotating your antenna a little in either direction and seeing if things improve. With the age of it, it’s possible that some of the elements (those round prongs that stem from the antenna) have bent or broken over the years, and if so, the antenna may not be able to pick anything up on the frequency that corresponds to the broken element. (Then again, it may not be a factor – as I wrote above, ours has some broken elements and is still working fine.)
A signal amp CAN help – we are using one with our antenna and it did improve our reception vs. not having one, so it’s something you can try too. I know some of the new flat HD antennas have a built in amp, which could be why you’re pulling in more channels with that too.
I’m so glad it works! :)
Annie says
Jill,
It really is INDEPENDENCE DAY… My son and I worked on the TV antenna today and we hit the Jackpot. I am now getting
12 crystal clear over the air TV channels. We used a signal amp and the rest of my channels just came right in. I couldn’t be happier.
I know some people will say but you don’t get so and so channel. But I get the ones I watch and isn’t that what really matters.
I want to Thank You so much for your column on this subject. There are more ways to save than just couponing and I am so glad you share that with the rest of us.
I hope you had A Happy and Safe Independence Day. I know I did !
Thanks Again,
Annie
J.R. says
Where do you live that you ONLY get 12 channels? I’m in the far NW Chicago suburbs, not too far from Jill, and get almost 100 from Chicago! I haven’t even tried yet to see what I can get from Rockford, Milwaukee, Madison, et al.
If you haven’t done so since upgrading the antenna / amp, tell your TV to re-scan the channels. It might find new ones that it didn’t see before. This is a good thing for everyone to do occasionally.
And for those still playing with hardware, remember that while an amplifier strengthens the signal, a splitter reduces it. A 2-way splitter sends half the signal out each output. A 3-way sends half out one, and only a quarter out the other two. And a 4-way sends a quarter of the signal to each of the 4 outputs. Even an unused splitter in the signal path throws away signal, so only use them where necessary.
Coupon Maven says
Annie, are you in Chicagoland or somewhere else? Like JR said, I think you should be getting many more channels than 12 if you are in Chicago or the suburbs. Most of our main channels should have multiple subchannels too (5.1, 5.2, 5.3, and so on.)
His advice about splitters and an amp are worth noting too – you only want to split the signal as many times as you -need- to. We do have an amp in our line between the antenna and the house’s splitter, which also helps keep the signal strong in all the rooms.
Here’s a list of what you should be able to get in Chicagoland with an antenna:
https://www.tvchannellists.com/List_of_over-the-air_television_stations_in_Chicago
Depending on the weather, I get more than these too — 66.3 is Grit TV (action movies), 22.6 is Rev’N (classic cars & motorsports), 22.7 is Retro (classic television.) Rev’N is the one I wish came in better for me. My dad gets it very well & raves about all their great car-enthusiast programming — for me, channel 22 comes and goes . I also pick up all of the Rockford affiliates for NBC, CBS, ABC & Fox.
Annie says
Hi Again,
No I’m not in Chicago. I’m in a small town in Tennessee, ( Blountville, Tennessee) I also have several trees around my property, which probably block a lot of signals. I do wish I could get as many channels as you all do. If anyone has other suggestions for my area please let me know.
Thanks to Jill and all of her readers.
Annie
J.R. says
I put your zip code into TVGUIDE.COM and still got about 3 dozen stations listed.
Gene Sky says
Gene Sky , Date 07-07-2016
Go to , http://www.tvfool.com , Help With Reception .
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/dtvmaps , also shows locations of Tv transmitters.
Here is the updated FCC Federal Antenna Law web site , http://www.fcc.gov/media/over-air-reception-devices-rule.
Here are some and not all OTA Program Guides , What is on When.
http://www.zap2it.com , http://www.titantv.com
Here are some USA web sites that sell Tv antennas and have help with reception.
http://www.channelmaster.com
http://www.antennasdirect.com
http://www.winegard.com
http://www.winegarddirect.com
Annie says
Thanks everyone for the website, links and suggestions about my TV antenna. I’m checking them all out and I really do appreciate everyones help.
Tanks Annie