Reddit reviews Antennas Direct VHF Kit, Indoor, Attic, Outdoor, Add VHF Capability (Channels 7 - 13) to Your TV Antenna, 3 ft. Coaxial Cable - VHF-1

ABC11 is VHF, and I think it's the only one locally. I couldn't get it at all until I got a VHF antenna to pair with my UHF antenna.

Source, under "Antenna Issues":

> Must be designed for VHF plus UHF (Note: ABC11 is the only VHF channel in the area)

Most HD antennas are probably only going to pick up UHF signals.

I have this in my attic, and had to attach this to get ABC.

KARE 11 is a VHF station and you're attempting to tune it in using a UHF antenna. The antenna elements simply aren't long enough. On the typical "rabbit ear antenna with a little loop" the long elements pick up VHF while the little loop picks up UHF. Something like this would likely help. It's a VHF Dipole with a UHF/VHF Combiner

KMSP 9 is also a VHF channel but they simulcast on UHF and it shows up as 9.9.

Most of the other stations broadcast entirely in the UHF range: Digital channel 2 is actually broadcast on RF channel 34, WCCO 4 is broadcast on 32, KSTP 5 is broadcast on 35, etc.

Compared to me, you have a lot of stations with a pretty strong signal. It might be worth trying out a simple flat indoor antenna that is easy to put up discreetly indoors. Channel 2 WESH is a VHF high station so you may have trouble getting that without a VHF antenna.

If that does not pull in enough stations, You could try what I use on one of my TVs that I have had great luck with. I use a DB2e with a VHF retrofit kit Mounted on a Paper towel holder that is placed on a shelf above my TV. Those antenna's would also work as outdoor antennas someday if you ever move somewhere else. Also, I know the paper towel holder thing sounds crazy, but it looks pretty good and has worked great for me for years.

Antennas Direct DB8e with a VHF Retrofit kit. Point one panel to 82 degrees magnetic, and the other to 140 degrees magnetic. Put the VHF combiner on the panel pointing to 140 degrees. As always, the higher the better.

As far as the wiring goes, yes, you can reuse the existing DirecTV coax and splitters. But if you have an 8 way splitter in, and want to use that many ports, you'll need to replace it with a 4 way distribution amplifier, and terminate the unused ports to prevent RF leakage.

That antenna should work reasonably well. In case it doesn't quite get WABC or WPIX, the VHF Retrofit Kit should help. WJLP may be iffy as well on low VHF 3. That would be a shame to miss with all its subchannels. For VHF low you'd probably want a different antenna. There aren't too many antennas that claim they work well on low VHF. The monster-big 8200U is one. Also this copycat?

Antennaweb.org shows a less optimistic report from your zip and 30 feet. Maybe you are on a hill?

I am a similar distance away from the NY towers in a different direction (NJ) and use the CM-4228HD antenna with the VHF retrofit kit from Antennas direct, and the UHF channels are rock solid, plus I can get channel 7 reliably. I am still unable to get channel 11 and their weak-ass signal.

Thank you everyone for your insight.

I will be ordering the DB8e- I like the lifetime warranty. We get pretty strong winds and a lot of of snow where I live so I could see the warranty eventually being needed.

For VHF I am thinking about added the VHF retrofit kit. It seems to have great reviews despite it being so small.

https://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direct-VHF-1-VHF-Retrofit/dp/B00LHFRCMG

Lastly should I add a LTE filter? I realize after the spectrum transition a lower frequency LTE filter will be needed

this is not the best price but its a good picture of it
http://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direct-VHF-1-VHF-Retrofit/dp/B00LHFRCMG

ClearStream VHF addon antenna has a Coax Connection .. you run your UHF to this and then the out side connector goes to your TV

It should get you channel 7 and above within that 25 mile range but not any channel lower than that...

Low price is like $19 but that may require shipping .. so

You can easily pick up vhf with an indoor antenna. It's just some consumer antennas don't have vhf elements any more. It's not hard to get a vhf antenna.

https://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direct-VHF-1-VHF-Retrofit/dp/B00LHFRCMG/ref=mp_s_a_1_17?keywords=vhf+antenna&qid=1573424711&sprefix=vhf+ante&sr=8-17

Hi anime_daisuki,

You’re in the right subreddit for this topic, by golly! Per chance have you found the sidebar guides, and particularly the Antenna Guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/cordcutters/wiki/antenna

It mentions some about VHF and UHF. I’ll add that for High-VHF reception (what is listed in TVFool’s “Real” column as values 7 through 13), an antenna needs one or more elements 3 feet wide. UHF wavelengths (“Real” 14+) are narrower, and smaller antennas do okay with those.

<br />
Thanks for the insight you’ve offered, in particular regarding that it’s only a 12’ coax feeding the HDHR alone.  That means you’re not losing much signal—and there’s no need to try adding a pre-amp nor any amplification.<br />
<br />
By wanting to stay in the attic, I’m like the others in being concerned about going too small, since the antenna’s gain and incoming signal strength have to overcome the roofing and construction materials density.  Hence the mention of possibly losing 50%.  To that end, I’ll second the suggestion of the 30-2475 added in via UHF/VHF combiner (note it’s not just a typical splitter).<br />
<br />
However, if you’re up for experimenting, realizing that these two options may not work, I’ll offer the possibilities of:<br />
<br />
*  VHF add on ~$20:  https://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direct-VHF-1-VHF-Retrofit/dp/B00LHFRCMG<br />
<br />
It has a UHF/VHF combiner already integrated.  So you’d feed your existing antenna into it, then hopefully find a sweet spot in the attic to place/mount this VHF dipole to lock in ABC.  Notice how it’s a single element, so it doesn’t have any gain.  But might do better than the VHF capabilities of what you currently have.<br />
<br />
*  Replace with or add this ~3’ x 3’ RCA &amp;lt;$50:  https://www.amazon.com/RCA-Mini-Yagi-Outdoor-Antenna/dp/B01N4UASN0<br />
<br />
You’d point the narrow end toward the towers.  This aerial does okay for many people, and has a better VHF design than what you currently have.  If you try it alone and lose some channels, then link this to your current antenna with one of those special UHF/VHF combiners.  (And if you’re going to stay under a roof, this combiner or similar would work, since weather won’t reach it:  https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-vhf-uhf-gold-plated-splitter-combiner .)<br />
<br />
~~~~~~~~<br />
<br />
Lastly, a roof installation might not be hundreds (plural) of dollars.  Perhaps call this service and see if the &amp;lt;$150 package would cover the channels of interest to you:  <br />
<br />
https://www.airtv.net/antenna-installation/<br />
<br />
Good Luck!  ~~  Statmanmi

Thank you for the detailed reply. I think you might be correct with the placing the DVR is the attic. While the house is a cape style so more a crawlspace then attic it is still pretty hot in the summer. The recast is expensive but it seems to be a pretty good solution as I hate station guide charges and already have firetv's on my tv sets and Echo's throughout the house. Going with a HDhomerun and Plex or Tablo might save some money but an integrated solution might save a few headaches.

​

There are no close neighbors with antenna's but the ones in nearby neighborhoods are aiming them at Canada or south. I will say though that the antenna's I usually see are the old style and large. I wonder how many are just up there for historical reasons.

​

What do you think of the option of DB8e with retro kit for VHF pointed south and other side directed toward Canada? I would rather go a little overkill and install once, maybe get away without an amplifier.

https://www.amazon.com/Element-Bowtie-Indoor-Outdoor-Antenna/dp/B00C4XVOOC/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1537636619&sr=8-7&keywords=Clearstream+4

https://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direct-VHF-1-VHF-Retrofit/dp/B00LHFRCMG/ref=pd_sim_23_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00LHFRCMG&pd_rd_r=6905f674-be8b-11e8-8775-61087e003d3c&pd_rd_w=aQg5l&pd_rd_wg=XMnOL&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf_rd_r=7TKQZWJ7M6FH8BVARK7G&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=7TKQZWJ7M6FH8BVARK7G

ZippyTheChicken, thanks to you pointing out that it would be a VHF problem I did some digging and the Clearstrem 4 does not have that good VHF reception but the Clearstream 4V does. After a little bit more digging I found that there is a retrofit kit that will turn my 4 into a 4V for less then $30 and not take up any extra space as it attaches to the reflector.

Clearstream 4V:

https://www.amazon.com/ClearStream-Indoor-Outdoor-Antenna-Mount/dp/B00SVNKT86/ref=sr_1_9?s=audio-video-accessories&ie=UTF8&qid=1474565280&sr=1-9&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_three_browse-bin%3A6025776011%2Cp_n_feature_keywords_two_browse-bin%3A6025771011


VHF Retrofit:

https://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direct-VHF-1-VHF-Retrofit/dp/B00LHFRCMG/ref=pd_rhf_eetyp_p_img_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VTZC39PHC0GTKBWXA4N9

I bought an antenna from amazon but I didn't get the vhf attachment for it, so i picked up this one. http://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direct-VHF-1-VHF-Retrofit/dp/B00LHFRCMG?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

I have that antenna. It works well for me at 65 miles with edge 1 and 2 signals on UHF. But it does not pick up VHF at all ... I needed to get the retrofit VHF kit as well ... https://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direct-VHF-1-VHF-Retrofit/dp/B00LHFRCMG/ref=pd_sim_23_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=Y0QHPA5YPG445Z8270Y4

With the VHF kit it worked fine outdoors. It did not work in the attic at all. It is going to my brother in law this weekend as I upgraded to a larger antenna for higher VHF gain.