Yes, you can receive Local 10 or WPLG and other programming such as METV and H&I over the air, free with no subscription charges if you live in the South Florida viewing area. In order to do this, all you need is an antenna capable of picking up the off air signal of television stations such as Local 10 or WPLG. We can provide you some guidance on this below.
What are the best antennas for the job? Well, that depends. But typically, a decent VHF/UHF directional antenna will work fine. WPLG’s transmitter site is located basically at the Miami Dade – Broward County Line and the Florida Turnpike right near Hard Rock Stadium.
If you live close to this area then almost any antenna will do but it is always best to use the correct antenna. The further away you are you’ll need a higher gain and more directional antenna. They are typically larger. Obstacles such as large buildings close to you can also interfere with your ability to receive the signal. So ideally, you will need the correct antenna for the job and place it outside away from obstructions. You also need to watch out for power lines, both from a safety and obstruction view point. Also, since WPLG broadcasts in the VHF part of the band used for television, you’ll need to make sure the antenna you purchase an antenna that performs well for VHF reception. There is more on this below.
The map below is a basic contour map. It shows the basic signal strength at a location relative to WPLG’s transmitter site. By finding your location on the map, you can determine what type and size of antenna you should use to try and pick WPLG’s off air signal. You can also determine what direct you need to point the antenna in order to obtain the best signal level.
From the color display you can determine whether you will need a short range antenna, a medium range antenna or a long range antenna.
Types of Antennas
Below is what a typical short-range antenna looks like.
This antenna is design to typically be used indoors and mounted close to the television set and in clear view towards WPLG’s transmitter site. In a major metropolitan area such as South Florida, these antennas would need to be used very close to the transmitter site in order to be useful. Antennas like this may not have best performance in the VHF Band.
Below is what a typical medium range antenna looks like.
This antenna would be typically mounted outdoors. It can be used much further away from WPLG’s transmitter site. In some cases, it can also be mounted in an attic depending on the type of roof, but best performance is achieved when mounting outdoors.
Below is what a typical long-range antenna looks like.
This antenna could be placed the farthest away from the transmitter site near the location what is refer to as the “noise limited contour”. This type of antenna will typically give you the best results overall result except if you are within 5 miles of the transmitter site where it will capture too much signal and likely overload the TV’s tuner.
The short-range antenna above is known as a flat antenna, while the other two antennas are known as Yagi antenna, named after the inventor.
While we have seen many antenna manufacturers claim that their antenna can pick up television stations hundreds of miles away, such claims are not likely to be true. There are many variables that affect the reception of a television signal such as terrain, interference, transmitting power, etc. WPLG is a state of the art facility currently transmitting from a tower more than 1000 feet tall and an effective radiated power of more than 156 kilowatts. These parameters are the maximum allowed by the FCC and FAA for the class of service of a full power television station as WPLG is defined. We would never expect coverage to exceed the contour map shown above no matter what antenna you choose to use as a receive antenna.
There are other antenna designs that may work but these three antennas cover most of the common needs.
When purchasing an antenna, it is important to take a look at the specifications. The television frequency spectrum falls into 3 distinct bands; low VHF, high VHF (both together often referred to as VHF) and UHF. In order to receive all the available channels one would want to make sure the antenna was designed to perform in all these bands; from 54 MHz to 608 MHz. You also want to consider the antenna gain and directionality of the antenna. The further away you are the more antenna gain and directionality you will need to achieve adequate and reliable reception.
One other foot note is that “HDTV Antenna” exist in name only. Any of the antenna shown above will allow reception of HDTV or DTV signals. The term used “HDTV Antenna” used in the context of reception, is generally just a marketing ploy.
Mounting
When the Federal Communications Commissions or FCC developed these standards first in the 1940s and later refined them to current broadcast standards, they specified that a long-range Yagi antenna shall be mounted on a pole 30 feet above the ground level to achieve reception at the “noise limited contour” or the extreme edge of coverage. While this is extreme, we know of many viewers who can receive our signal without any issue by placing the required antenna on a short pole outside next to their house. We also know of antennas that are placed in the attic that work without any issues even though this is not normally recommended. The important point to remember is that the antenna needs to be pointed towards WPLG’s transmitter site. In the case of a Yagi antenna similar to the antennas shown above, the end with the short radiating elements is generally the end to point to WPLG’s transmitter site.
Pre-Amplifiers
Sometimes an antenna preamplifier or preamp can boost signals and thus aide in reception. In most locations within 30 miles of Local 10 or WPLGs transmitter a preamplifier should not be necessary. But if you need one, they are typically available where you buy antennas. A good preamplifier should provide at least 15 dB of gain. The amplifier itself will typically be mounted outside within a foot or so of the antenna to the antenna support pole or as recommended by the manufacturer. The power supply will typically be mounted near the television set indoors. But be careful, more is not always better. WPLG transmits a lot of power so you may overload the TVs tuner. It should also be noted that, in some cases, a preamplifier can also boost noise and interference sources which can impair reception.
A preamplifier and other devices maybe capable of distributing the signal to more than one television set. This would typically allow multiple viewers to watch different signals at the same time. A quality cable often referred to as RG6, RG58 or RG59 coax should be used to make all the connections.
Alignment
Now that you have your antenna installed and roughly point to WPLG’s transmitter site, it is time for fine alignment. Most televisions will have an RF level meter or quality meter in the setup menus. Please refer to your owner’s manual for details. Set your television set to display this information and tune the television to off air channel 10 and not cable or CATV 10. Then have some else move the antenna slightly in one direction or the other until the signal is maximized. If your television set is new or never been tuned into WPLG or Local 10, you may need to do a channel scan first. You will need to refer to the owner’s manual for details on these steps. After the scan is complete, then again tune your television to off air channel 10 and not to cable or CATV 10 (some sets handle this for you depending on selections). Then again move the antenna slightly in one direction or the other until the signal is maximized. At this point perform a channel scan as described above. You should now be able to watch WPLG, Local 10, METV and H&I along with other programming.
Further Questions
If you have questions, you may want to seek out a professional. You can google something like “professional antenna installation” to find someone near you who can assist with installation and question that may be unique to your situation.