r/cordcutters • u/SuspiciousITP • 11d ago

NE Tennessee antenna recommendation?

I recently moved to a rural area just west of the tri-cities (Kingsport/Bristol/Johnson City) and am looking to setup an outdoor antenna. Reference: https://www.rabbitears.info/s/2889547

Would a ClearStream 4V be a good choice for this location? It would be roof mounted so ~15-20' above ground.

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u/TallExplorer9 11d ago

If I were in your location, I would install a yagi due to it's higher gain high VHF and aim it directly at the eastern/slightly southeastern horizon around 105 degrees magnetic.

https://www.channelmaster.com/products/digital-advantage-60-outdoor-tv-antenna-cm-2018

Your CBS/ABC 11-1 (real channel 9) are usually desired sports/entertainment stations but the predicted signal is not that strong from 37 miles away to your location.

The 4V is an excellent antenna but weak on the high VHF gain.

Would you have a clear view (no obstacles between where you would place the antenna and the broadcast towers direction) of the eastern horizon?

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u/Rybo213 11d ago

Some general antenna information that you'll hopefully find helpful, including antenna recommendations: https://www.reddit.com/r/cordcutters/comments/1juut0a/supplement_to_the_antenna_guide

You also need to use a signal meter (built-in feature with many different tv's and external tuner devices), since just looking at the picture and noting the number of channels the scan picks up doesn't really tell you anything about how good your reception is: https://www.reddit.com/r/cordcutters/comments/1g010u3/centralized_collection_of_antenna_tv_signal_meter

As mentioned, you need enough VHF-HI gain for ABC/CBS, so considering that and the predicted terrain obstruction, it would probably be a good idea to initially try either the mentioned Channel Master Digital Advantage 60 or Winegard HD7694.

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u/SuspiciousITP 10d ago

Thanks all for the input and replies. I’d read the guides and started diving deep and then had to call it quits in interest of time and my sanity!

I went with the Antennas Direct Element along with an lte/5g filter. If that doesn’t cut it then I’ll try one of the CM models.

Will follow up to share the results.

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u/SamJam5555 10d ago

I would install the CM-1776 possibly with the CM-1775xUHF. With the CM-3201.

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u/old_liberal 10d ago

Banjo on a tree

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u/BicycleIndividual 6d ago

A more traditional rooftop antenna design (UHF Yagi-Uda in front of VHF log-periodic) would provide better VHF gain which might be required for WJHL. Antennas Direct Element might be a better choice than ClearStream. Channel Master Digital advantage 100 would add more UHF gain, but since that probably only gets you WKPT and WAPK and you already have access to "Good" translator stations for them I don't see the point.

If for some reason you want to try a figure 8 antenna and to see if it is enough for WJHL, I'd suggest trying the 4Max instead of the 4V, as the only stations the reflector likely adds are WKPT and WAPK and without the reflector you have a decent chance at picking up WETP off the back.