Before cutting the cable I wanted to setup some of the post-cable infrastructure. The cheapest and easiest are the over-the-air (OTA) local stations. I used the resources at HDTv Antenna Labs and at AntennaWeb to determine what stations are reasonably receivable at my address. I should be able to receive 15-20 stations OTA including all the major networks.
So now I needed an antenna. After a lot of Googling and reading of posts in various forums, it seemed the best advice was to try the cheap indoor antenna first. I selected the Budget TV Antenna from Radio Shack for $11.99 plus tax. I had to get something to handle both UHF and VHF since the local ABC station is on VHF. BTW, I had the same experience at Radio Shack as some forum posters. The sales clerk questioned my selection and pointed out that they had other antennas that were much better.
I’ll give you the results of this antenna test in another post.