On Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:57:20 -0400, Bill Horne wrote:

OK, the cutover to HDTV is coming up, and I want to have a good antenna

on the roof long before February, so I'm in need of advice. I'm using a

converter box to feed my current TV set, but rabbit ears don't work wel
l
at all.

I know I need a rooftop antenna, but the available commercial literatur
e
is more hype than help. I'm hoping that someone out there has expertise

on the new antennas being offered for HDTV.

I know this depends a lot on what the signal strengths are at my QTH,
but assuming that all-other-things-are-equal:

* Are flat-panel units worth the price?
* Can I get by with an old VHF-UHF combination antenna?
* What's the tradeoff between feedline length and antenna gain?
* Do masthead preamps perform well, and is the cost and maintenance
worth it?

What market are you in, and how far are you from the local towers?

I would suggest you can get away with an old combination antenna if it's
still in decent shape. You may want to think about replacing the
feedline, it ages less gracefully than the antenna...

My personal experience has been that masthead preamps are pretty reliable
..
However, I'd be slow to use one unless you're in a fringe area. They ca
n
easily overload and make reception *worse*.