looking for advice on modem and tv antenna

[newloginuser]

Hey there great community,

I'm looking for help on two things; first does anyone have their own modem they use with internet?

I am an Xfinity customer and I thought they were only charging $8 a month for the modem but it's actually $18. We don't use internet for much, just two phones, a tv for Netflix, and a laptop (occasionally). Not sure if anyone could recommend one.

The other thing I am looking for is some sort of tv antenna. We don't watch a lot of TV but with football coming, I'd like to get the local channels to watch the team when they play on CBS, Fox, ABC, or NBC. Also looking for any recommendation here.

Thank you!

[markbike528CBX]

Get the biggest antenna you can fit in your attic or lifestyle***.

A " bow-tie"
https://winegard.com/products/hdtv-digital-antennas/outdoor-antennas/freevision/

Or bigger "yagi" style.

Tvfool.com will show you were to point it.

In our case all the local stations are aligned with the centerline of the house, so that made pointing excessively easy.

***If tvfool.com indicates that all the major stations are all around (360 degrees) you, a simple rabbit ear+ UHF ring should do OK.

Edit to point out that the most expensive antennas are about 1(one) months cable.

[chemistk]

You should always bring your own modem. Always. Here's one that probably the grand majority of modem owners have some version of: https://www.amazon.com/MOTOROLA-Certified-Comcast-Spectrum-BrightHouse/dp/B01A1E6BA2/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_147_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=P9XED1QV7Z7XXTQ3TA5J.

I have a 6 year old version of this and it works a-ok!

Echoing markbike - look at tvfool or other station locators and figure out how strong of a signal you're going to get for the channels that are important to you. Many people are fine with an indoor antenna but for the best reception, you'll want one that's mounted in your attic or on the roof.

[Nightwatchman9270]

I have tested a wide variety of indoor antennae; ranging from 15 to 45 dollars and they all work about the same.  As you probably know there is no such thing as an HD antennae.  An antenna is an antenna.  Can't speak to externals That's above my pay grade.  If you are just going to mount it on top of your tv I'd just get the cheapest one.

[newloginuser]

Thanks everyone for the replies, I'm going to look into this over the weekend. One thing I am wondering is I have a metal roof, is that going to cause any issues if I need to put the antenna in the attic?

[markbike528CBX]

If you are pointing at the roof in addition to the station signals, yep.

While higher is usually better, not getting blocked is best.  If you have an "open end" to the roofline, I'd point the antenna that way or set the non- directional antenna next to a metal-free area.

[newloginuser]

This report is confusing, can anyone help?

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d903898a660e04a

Looks like there are a number of "green" channels, and I should point the antenna south? Not sure what a lot of those numbers mean.

[Midwest]

I would think a metal roof would kill reception.  I put my antenna outside and fed the signal to one of the unused coax lines to an HD homerun.  I tried the antenna in my attic first and the signal was much better outside even though it was lower. 

The HD homerun lets your antenna signal flow to all the tv's in the house via an app which makes using the antenna signal easier.

Antenna is this https://www.homedepot.com/p/Antennas-Direct-ClearStream-4-Volt-Extreme-Range-Indoor-Outdoor-HDTV-Antenna-ATT-1/205839084
HD

I tried several of the indoor antenna's and this worked much better.

[markbike528CBX]

This report is confusing, can anyone help?

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d903898a660e04a

Looks like there are a number of "green" channels, and I should point the antenna south? Not sure what a lot of those numbers mean.

Your signal should be good enough for " bunny ears". There are a lot of VHF LOW channels so that you should have the long ears extended. 

Depending on your taste in channels I'd orient the bunny ears east -west ( i.e. Reception to the north and south)  this should get all except channel 9 that is strong enough to punch through anyway.

An afternoon of fiddling with bunny ears should determine the direction of your must-have stations.

[newloginuser]

This report is confusing, can anyone help?

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d903898a660e04a

Looks like there are a number of "green" channels, and I should point the antenna south? Not sure what a lot of those numbers mean.

Your signal should be good enough for " bunny ears". There are a lot of VHF LOW channels so that you should have the long ears extended. 

Depending on your taste in channels I'd orient the bunny ears east -west ( i.e. Reception to the north and south)  this should get all except channel 9 that is strong enough to punch through anyway.

An afternoon of fiddling with bunny ears should determine the direction of your must-have stations.

Thanks for the help! I ordered the modem this weekend which should arrive this week. I'll be able to return it to Xfinity to cut $18 off our monthly internet bill and will be ahead in about 3 months. I'll order the antenna next and try to get this working.

[newloginuser]

For those who use this modem, it looks like it doesn't get Wifi, what router do you use to get wifi on your devices?