Rabbit ears

[Peggy Day]

Does anyone know anything about rabbit ears for TV? My cable bill is set to go up, and I'm considering having the whole thing shut off. I will miss some of the shows like Current among others, but I'm going to school, and have to work less, so less money.
The cable co keeps giving me deals, so I go for it, but now the deals are over, so to get what I now have will cost me double.

I was thinking that maybe to go to rabbit ears (my friend in Ohio did this and got about 5 channels).

Are there any high quality rabbit ears I can purchase? It would be nice to get something between rabbit ears and a dish.

Can't figure out how to post in General Discussion-sorry

[Ian David]

1. Try an outdoor aerial TV antenna on your roof instead.

Back in the 1970s, we used to get 7 channels on VHF and 2 UHF channels that way.

Plus, we had an electric actuator so my father could turn the antenna to pick up hockey games from Philadelphia.


Or...


How to Make a TV Antenna With a Potato
This guide will show you how to make a TV antenna with a fruit or vegetable and an aerial lead.
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-TV-Antenna-With-a-Potato

[SheilaT]

2. Several years ago we let

our cable subscription lapse, and got some kind of rabbit ears. They are nothing like the ones of yesteryear, and work fairly well. the main problem is that you will ONLY get whatever channels are actually being broadcast in your area, which will probably mean ABC, NBC, CBS, probably a PBS channel or two, maybe an independent station or two. And that's it. Most of what you get on cable is broadcast on cable only. But with the new (and I think they worked in some sort of digital fashion) rabbit ears, your reception of the broadcast channels will be pretty good.

[Ian David]

3. Not to mention how much content is available via internet, youtube and netflix. n/t

[Benhurst]

4. A lot depends on how powerful the stations are where you live and the

geography of your area. As I understand it, television signals travel in a straight line, so if you live in an area such as Illinois, you are in better shape than if you live in a mountainous one.

Buy or borrow an inexpensive pair of rabbit ears and give them a test. VHF and UHF signals are different. If you have UHF channels (VHF : # 2- 13, UHF #14 < ) get an inexpensive UHF antenna and test that as well.

I have tried the more expensive types of rabbit ears and UHF antennas and have found they don't work much better than the basic models.

Good luck!

P.S. I've been off cable since the 2000 election and can get CBS better than I was getting it on cable, as well as PBS, NBC and one independent station. Reception on ABC is pretty poor, but I was able to watch the debate last night. I love life without cable, and am still watching a bit more than I should, even with my limited resources.

[fenriswolf]

5. if you have high speed internet

you should start checking out net tv, their are lots of websites with tv channels, free tv shows, movies, etc. heck i wanted to watch clone high and in five minutes of surfing i found all the episodes of this old obscure tv show free for streaming viewing. So i dont even have cable anymore. also most major channels have their show with episodes just check out nbc.com abc.com and *gulp fox.com (simpsons, family guy, american dad)

[Peggy Day]

12. Thanks, I'll check out net TV I do get some of my "cable" news online

sometimes I work 12 hr days, and don't bother to record unless it's really special, but I like to come to the internet to get special moments like Keith Olbermann and others. I use
Politics TV
Go left TV
Raw Replay

[fenriswolf]

13. you tube is rife with politics, their is one person with

all of KO's special comments, alot of debate clips, really good for famelerizing yourself with candidates stances, what they have said, etc.

[Bonhomme Richard]

6. We went to Basic "Basic" (24 channels) and our bill dropped to $12.00/month.

We would only get one channel if I went to an antenna so I am stuck but I don't miss all the other channels at all. We set up with netflix with the savings and can watch all the shows we want.

[BlueJazz]

7. I get 357 Channels.....I actually watch about 22 of them.

:) :(

[Wilms]

8. You'll want to factor in the transition to digital.

The date been pushed off a few times but eventually it's likely to occur.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2609357

[Ruricolous1]

9. rabbit ears

Hi Peggy

This page does a good job of locating the local stations and their distances in our area.

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx


just click on the choose an antenna button then enter your zip and address and it will give you a list of local stations and the distance from your location.


Don't spend to much on rabbit ears, and make sure you can take them back if at all possible. Put them near a window and as high as possible.

I don't want cable or satellite until they make it a-la-carte!

No $ to Fox News & CNN from me.

Larry

[Peggy Day]

11. Thank you Larry

Welcome to DU. I am honored that you posted with me first.
I just read posts for quite awhile before I ever wrote anything. To see what is going on, I come here first. I like the Latest and the Greatest.
Anyway thanks again for that awesome site. I have 2 wks before I have to really do something, so I think I'll go get one and try it out.

[SheilaT]

10. I wish I could remember more

about the rabbit ears we used the summer we did without cable. Several other posters don't seem to think much of rabbit ears, so I wonder if they have simply used the old ones that were available in the 50's. We eventually threw out the rabbit ears we used that summer, so I can't tell you much about them, other than they did give quite good reception and that there was some sort of digital component to them.

As someone else has noted, what's available to you on the internet makes up for a lot.

I am planning to relocate to another part of the country some time next year, and my current thinking is that I will do without TV entirely. I'm not sure how I will do without my daily fix of Keith Olbermann, however.

And if you want to see breaking news, such as a bridge collapse in Minneapolis (just to name something at random) there is nothing quite like cable.

Good luck to you.