"Solomon_Man" wrote in message
...
All,
Some History...
My home, previously owned by my parents, has approximately a 30' Tower
and has a channel master antenna (whats left) attached to it. It was
used for TV/Radio reception originally. If I remember correctly it was
around a $100-$125 bucks for the antenna alone and had a range
(supposedly) of around 100-125 miles. I live in the suburbs of Toledo,
Ohio. The current antenna had a bumpy start when the original
installer (a professional) dropped the antenna from about 25 feet up.
A few things were dented and broken. It was cleaned up and then the
antenna was still installed. The decision was based on the fact that
we are in the surburbs and the antenna was an overkill. From memory
the unit had a cracked chunk of plastic and a bunch of dented\bent
rods. We had no problems with the unit reception wise so it really did
not affect its use. The antenna tower was second hand, but the rotor
motor, antenna, all wiring and the control box was new. The rotor
motor and its control box since installation has been used maybe 3
times. Once installed we had really good reception and picked up
Detroit,Toledo,Some Cleveland (Good Day) and some single channel in
Indiana. I do not remember any Columbus channels as some channels were
really fuzzy. (not sure if it was columbus or not)

Any Ways...Fast Forward ...a few years.....

Then about 6 yrs ago, a year before I took posession of the house and
when my parents were cable TV subscribers, the antenna broke
basically in two and a large chunk of the antenna came crashing to the
ground. The remaining antenna chunk and tower is still standing to
this day. Its a eye sore to say the least.

My goal is to replace the antenna and I need some advice.

Would you keep the tower? The only thing I can see wrong with it is
that it has a large bunch of vines growing up the middle. There is
little to no rust. The vines have been recently chopped down but the
higher section of vine is still intangled in the tower. I have tried
to climb the tower and got about 15 feet up and it swayed a little so
I came down. I am a little to heavy, or chicken, to be climbing
towers. The vines should not affect climbing the tower.

Or would I be better off/the same to get a roof mount antenna?

I liked the range of the previous antenna, so what would everyone
suggest for an antenna with a range of around 100-125 miles that could
be mounted to a 30 foot tower and will be used for radio and TV
reception I have made a few phone calls and everyone locally pushes
the Channel Master but I am little nervous about having to have to do
this every 7-10 years based on the last antenna. Has anyone had better
experience with Channel Master?

As its been used like three times, would you replace the rotor motor?

What should I expect to pay to have a new antenna and rotor motor
installed in my home?

Anyone know a good antenna dealer in the Toledo, Ohio area?

Thanks,
Chris

I used to live about 10 mi east of Toledo off Ohio Rt2, and my experience
was similar to what you are seeing. I was about 4 mi from the Toledo antenna
farm; so, anything more than a bent paper clip was overkill for the Toledo
channels. Got Detroit, Flint, Cleveland. Never Columbus or Dayon.

After the digital switchover all the Detroit stations will be on UHF. Flint
will have 2 UHF plus CH12. Toledo stations will be on 5, 11, 13, 29,, 46,
and 49. Cleveland will be all UHF, except for CH8. If you live on the east
side, you will be able to get by with a UHF only antenna. Else, I would wait
until the CH7 - CH51 antennas get more common. No sense getting a CH3 - 69
antenna because they are 3X as big as a 7 -51 antenna with the same
performance. Also, people here claim the big ChannelMaster 8x bow tie UHF
antenna works well on the higher VHF channels.

Keep the tower and rotator, but make sure the tower is not rusted out at the
base before you let anyone climb it. If you don't want to save the rotator,
just point at Detroit and hope.

Tam/WB2TT