You're not the only ones, Clare. I don't have one but several of my sisters do. They're like you, no cable anywhere near them, but have one of the satellite systems with their antennas for local/backup.

Shirley

We do.

We also have satellite TV. We get the locals on the Dish, but it is nice to get them off air also.

We now NEED the rooftop antenna to get the HD signal for our locals. The dish does not carry the HD locals, just digital. We have an HD Dish receiver, and the antenna signal goes into the Dish HD receiver, so we get the onscreen guide and all for them. Mucho complicated, lol!

We can't get any of the new digital signals (terrestrial) without an antenna. Used to be able to get great reception with just rabbit ears - but with the new and improved better digital signal - nothing... Still can get OK terrestrial signal with the big rooftop antenna, but not as good as the analog signal...and very poor to no signal in bad weather.

Yup, I have an antenna, too -- although mine is on one of my DS's ham radio towers, high above the roof. I was perfectly happy with the reception I got before installing one of the new converter boxes last month. Now I get more channels, but most of them don't interest me. And my NBC station comes and goes now, whereas it used to be one of my best.

Cable came to my road a few years ago. But by then I was so used to doing without TV that I didn't jump at the chance to get it. When my son offered to put up an antenna instead, I took him up on it. I'm glad I don't have to pay a cable company every month.

My neighbor has one. He uses it as a back up to his satellite system.

Well, in another month, you should have LOTS of company. From what I'm hearing, the digital converter boxes are going to be useless, in most cases, UNLESS you have an exterior antenna as well. So anyone who doesn't choose to be blackmailed monthly to watch their own TV, will no doubt be adding an antenna as well.

Shame, really--I can remember how hideous the skyline was when I was a kid, and every house had one of those unattractive antennas growing out of it. Guess we're going back to the 50's, and not in a particularly good way.

We use ours as back up too... but it's in our attic and not on the roof.

We choose to not use cable or a dish and have just bought a new digital tv, which seems to work fine with the antennae on our roof. The only possibility is that our SF pbs channel (9) may not work when the switchover occurs-- this will be a problem for me!

We have satellite on all our TVs in the house. When I was a kid, we had the antenna on the roof and there was an iside box you cpould use to rotate the antenna to catch the signal better. We watched TV stations broadcast from Buffalo, Toronto, Hamilton, and Rochester.

You won't see an outside antenna at our house because we are using rabbit ears. This prodcues a 25 mile raange for us which pulls in all the local channels. However, when i swithced to a digital set, I had to purchase an amplified "rabbit ears". Apparently, amplification of the front-ends of the new sets are not as great as the old amalog sets. However, this id difficult to compare because the way digital sets operate. Its an all or nothing proposition whereas the old analog sets would get nosiy with a weak signal, but there was a picture of sorts. Under the same condition with a digital signal, the picture breaks up and reception pauses with a weak signal. I am not thrilled with the result.

To add misery, I am having bad luck with the so called amplified antennas. Two out of three that I have bought in the past 5 months have gone bad. For some channels, a plain antenna works as well or better. Two of these were made by Phillips. I thought their products were better than that.

We have an antenna on our roof with an amplifier in our attic and have had it that way for years. The new converter box on our old television did not do well, so hubby bought a new television last night. So far so good with the channels.

If I could get help installing a roof antenna, I sure would.

I'm using the new digital converter boxes..one with a tv using old rabbit ears and the other has a new amplified indoor antenna. I'm not impressed with either one cause I still have to hold my breath and move things around a certain way or I will lose the digital signal.

It's a real pain, so I'd like to think my problems might be solved with a roof antenna.

granlan_tx I know what you mean. And this "cliff effect" that they talk about isn't here. I have a snowy, grainy picture now. I get a clear picture on analog, but just figure I might as well get used to it since it's coming. I'd like a roof antenna too but don't suppose I'll get one. But I won't be hijacked into cable or satellite either.

We have a roof antenna. We live out in the country with no cable access. Satellite seems like a waste. We have a rotar plus a booster and now the converter box! It's kind of weird. We don't get the most local channel from Rochester, which is 17 miles away, but we get tons of other channels. It's a pain with the new converter box becaues we have to use two remotes now. The picture is better, I guess, but not amazingly so.

The only reason we are not using one right now is because Eric HAS to have SEC games (cannot get them in WV on the antenna) and the local channels come in fine with the rabbit ears we have in the living room. I hold out hope that one day we can drop the satellite!