Cutting the cord

[manureman]

  I’m hunting for a really good tv antenna.   Several years ago we got tired of the big satellite tv bills and took down the dish and put up a digital antenna I picked up at radio shack . It’s not very big and puts me in mind of a cartoon ray gun it has a little remote that’ll rotate it and an amplifier it claims . 
    At the time it was about a hundred dollars, now I see them all over Amazon for $39.99 . 
   When I first put it up it did a decent job, we live a pretty good ways from any place with tv stations and our internet is what we can manage to get off of cell phones and that’s hit and miss at best.

  It seems the longer this antenna is up the worse it gets.

   I could be perfectly happy with out tv no more than I watch but the wife and grandkids seem to need it

[Dr.Hess]

With antennas, the bigger the better.  Look at the "gain" number, in decibels (dB) and ignore anything that says "miles."  A rotor on it would be good too. 

 

For your cell phone based stuff, you need a good repeater, or "range extender" thing.  I use a "weBoost" brand, but it's going to cost you and you need the top of the line one to do the 4G cell stuff for data.  Somewhere between 500 and a thousand dollars.  There is also a new satellite internet service out.  Costs like $80/mo, after you buy the $400 hardware.  Run by SpaceEx.  Very fast and unlimited data, from what my friend says.  I could dig up the name if you're interested.

 

[Horsefly]

I got a dandy for travel trailer. It’s a King I think bought at Amazon for 100.00. It’s got a cheesy little tripod  but can be mounted anywhere. I get 47 stations here in DFW Mexiplex with about a dozen channels in English. Where we camp at Kerrville in Tex. Hill Country we get maybe 6 channels with 2 watchable. In my hideout room at barn I have one of the flat cheapies and get lots of stations but all I watch is Grit and ME Tv. Old westerns. Just started watching old Adam 12 re-runs just for the cars. Cool to see old cars and peecups like I had that look almost new. 

[manureman]

   Ok thanks guys I appreciate it. Got a new son-in-law that’s an IT guy and I was able to sit down with him alone last night and order some stuff for my cell phone reception. 
   I love my wife but she is under the impression that if she pays a dollar and a half for something of the “as seen on tv” shelf at Walmart to improve cell service we should be able to run 37,000 devices off of 1 cheap wi-fi box at warp speed...... bless her little tight wad heart.

  I was thinking bigger was better for an antenna and years ago before satellite tv we had a rotor on a great big antenna , had to or you only got 1 of the 2 stations to be had. 

     Found a place last night called Denny’s TV antenna service that was saying same as you Doc .... big antenna and a rotor for rural areas, will probably do some business with him unless I can find something closer 

  I can sit at my kitchen table and see the flashing light on a cell tower about 5 miles away that they just put up last year, it helped a little but I’d think being able to see it I should have great service.

[Dr.Hess]

Yeah, I know a bit about radio.  Don't forget that I was a Radio Electronics Officer in the US Merchant Marine for 7 years.  If you're way out in the sticks, a big antenna on a rotor is the only way to go.  Put it up as high as you can.  Higher always costs more, a lot more for something that will withstand bad weather.

 

That tower might not have whoever you use for service on it.  If you can see a cell tower that has your carrier, you should have an excellent signal.  If you don't, your carrier isn't on that tower.

This is what we use:

https://smile.amazon.com/weBoost-Connect-4G-X-Signal-Booster/dp/B0741P5KVL

 

[manureman]

  I hadn’t forgotten about ya Doc.    Since they put that tower up I have service in a lot of places here on the farm I’ve never had it before and some I’d have bet I never would.... but the house not so much. It went from almost nothing to being able to make a call in most of the upstairs but most of that ain’t what you would like.

   New son-in-law says I should see a real improvement when he’s done .... time will tell I reckon. We got the same terrain you have , hills and timber.