[Cider Jim]

Mrs. Cider wanted a flat screen TV for her birthday, so I bought her one and plugged it in tonight. We have DishNetwork upstairs, but the new flat screen is in the basement, and we were hoping just to get local channels on it, but I couldn't find a single channel, not even WSET.

What's my problem? Do I need an antenna? I tried an old pair of rabbit ears, but that didn't help at all. Should I be able to pick up local channels on a new flat screen without my Dish hooked up downstairs?

[Hold My Own]

Dont you have to have a converter box now?

[LUconn]

only if it doesn't have a built in tuner. I think all new TVs, at least flat panels have digital tuners built in. You should be able to get it with rabbit ears.

[flamehunter]

All new TV's have to have digital tuners. As for the antenna, Rabbit ears will do the trick, and you may have to try a number of different positions to get the signals. Our TVs vary on channels picked up depending on location in the house. We do get pretty good reception for all the basics - 7, 10, 13, 21/27, 38, and 43 (Liberty Channel). Occasionally we can get 15(PBS). An outside antenna would be best, but we didn't want to bother. And I found that plain old rabbit ears are about as good as the "digital" antennas you can buy that plug into an outlet and supposedly pick up the signals better. Little to no improvement with those for our location.

One beef I have, at least with the TVs we have (Sanyo and Phillips, I think) is that when you scan for your channels, your channel list is set. If you move your antenna, scan again and pick up another channel but lose one from your first scan, you can't pick up the one you lost without scanning again and again losing the other channel. Maybe some else out there knows the answer to that.

[PAmedic]

Mrs. Cider wanted a flat screen TV for her birthday, so I bought her one and plugged it in tonight. We have DishNetwork upstairs, but the new flat screen is in the basement, and we were hoping just to get local channels on it, but I couldn't find a single channel, not even WSET.

What's my problem? Do I need an antenna? I tried an old pair of rabbit ears, but that didn't help at all. Should I be able to pick up local channels on a new flat screen without my Dish hooked up downstairs?

had the same problem with "rabbit ears".

spent 50 bucks on an "outdoor antenna" that I mounted in my attic: voila! 40 (+) OTA digital channels without moving it. Add a booster and you may even get more.

Good place to start looking: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

I now watch the network broadcasts (NFL/golf/Nascar) OTA in HD rather than on DirecTv

[LUconn]

40+?? That's bananas.

[HenryGale]

Rabbit ears will not be strong enough here to pick up the digital signal. This is the antenna that Fumble recommended to me when I got my HD tv. it is the one he had. I put it in my attic, hooked it up and works great (except for Fox...sometime get some pixelation). I watch all my locals through the antenna so they are in HD, and have DTV for everything else.

I picked it up here at the local Radio Shack, the dude there working flat out told me it would not work, and tried to sell me a much more expensive one, so be careful.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=3740644

[PAmedic]

40+?? That's bananas.

I know.

Then again, I live directly between NYC and Philly, and @ 20 m. East of Allentown.

you get the networks, independants, and all the alternates from each (-1, -2, and -3 channels)

add in all those Mind channels, JCTV/TBN, spanish channels and something called Qubo, it adds up.

[Sly Fox]

I pick up close to 30 OTA signals at my house and they are all from the same city. I could watch TV in quite a few languages if I so desired. But probably half the OTAs are en Espanol.

And to answer CJ's original question, the basement location is the issue. You essentially have concrete and earth insulating you from quality signals. As Medic indicated, just about any antenna on your roof or attic will have you good to go.

[blwall1416]

Just get Dish hooked up downstairs with the HD package. Your flat screen is useless without it.

[Cider Jim]

So many good suggestions. Thanks, guys. Yea, Sly, my basement is cinderblock walls on the inside and bricks on the outside, but it is a walkout basement with windows & a door. I tried my 1986 rabbit ears and and scanned the channels like the TV manual said, but it couldn't find a single channel.

I'll swing by Best Buy where I bought the TV and Radio Shack to see what they recommend and have in stock. Fumble's idea sounds like a great one.

The new downstairs TV is supposedly for "working out" on Mrs. Cider's treadmill, so I don't know if I want to pay the extra bucks for DishNetwork downstairs; plus my installer a few years ago said I couldn't get an HD signal because of the tall trees in my backyard.

[olldflame]

So many good suggestions. Thanks, guys. Yea, Sly, my basement is cinderblock walls on the inside and bricks on the outside, but it is a walkout basement with windows & a door. I tried my 1986 rabbit ears and and scanned the channels like the TV manual said, but it couldn't find a single channel.

I'll swing by Best Buy where I bought the TV and Radio Shack to see what they recommend and have in stock. Fumble's idea sounds like a great one.

The new downstairs TV is supposedly for "working out" on Mrs. Cider's treadmill, so I don't know if I want to pay the extra bucks for DishNetwork downstairs; plus my installer a few years ago said I couldn't get an HD signal because of the tall trees in my backyard.

Fumble with the good advice, even now!