The Porch Light copyright by Revka (2006-2010). All rights reserved.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Our new Channel Master CM 3020 Deep Fringe Advantage TV Antenna (CM3020)


I love to read; my husband loves to watch movies. He also loves electronics and drools over the latest and greatest technology. This actually comes in handy sometimes.

We don't yet have an HDTV (that's coming soon) nor do we have cable or satellite, but we do receive the local digital channels. How is that possible? All you have to do is buy a digital receiver and digital-capable antenna. Our former pastor told us about it, and we have enjoyed watching the 5 different PBS channels and the multiple channels offered by most other local (free) stations. The digital signal also makes for a much clearer picture even on our non-digital TV. Wonderful!

Except ... my husband is also a NASCAR fan. NASCAR splits the season's broadcast between FOX and ABC; with our indoor antenna, we could not pick up the local FOX station, which was a very bad thing because they have NASCAR for the first half of the season. NASCAR's new season is less than 2 months away, and Mr. Incredible didn't want to miss a race. What to do? Of course he did the research necessary to come up with a solution: a large directional antenna. He wanted one that was capable of receiving HD signals. Our local Lowe's carries the Channel Master brand, and after looking at his options, he purchased the Channel Master CM 3020 Deep Fringe Advantage TV Antenna. As you can tell from the photo, the thing is a monster! When he put it together in our shed, it measured 12 feet from end to end and 6 feet wide at the widest point. Now just to install it.

He purchased 5 foot lengths of metal rod, wall mount brackets, and 50 feet of cable. I helped him put up the antenna with no particular problem. However, he decided to run the cable through the attic, into a closet, and through a wall to connect to the TV. Everything went okay until he had to pull the cable through the attic. Our attic is filled with A/C ducts and insulation; most of the insulation was blown in. He had no mask and very little room in which to work. By the time he pulled the cable from one side of the house to the other, he was in bad shape. I brought the ladder for him to get down, and as soon as he hit the floor, he pushed past me and hurried outside to puke. He had inhaled quite a bit of the insulation. After a shower and a break, he completed the installation. We now receive the FOX channel that precipitated this whole adventure. We also receive a couple more channels we had not previously been able to pick up. He's happy. (grinning)

photo of antenna courtesy of Solid Signal

3 comments:

Revka said...

He definitely thought the puking was worth it to watch his beloved NASCAR. I'm happy simply because he is happy - I don't care about the doggone TV. :)

Kat said...

Wow, I'm going to have to look into that! We just signed up for Dish network (my husband found a good deal), but we have not had cable/satellite for years.

Thank you so much for your kind comments on my blog, Revka. You are have such a sweet and kind spirit. I really enjoyed your comments and hearing about your church growing up... that is so neat. It sounded like such wonderful memories and a great place to be to grow in the Lord.

I hope your sister is doing well...We just had our first baby and I was having contractions early too... Will say a prayer for her.

Thanks again for your wonderful blog(s). I will definitely be voting for you in the hidden treasure thingy. I'm not that involved in the blogging community but I'm going to scoot over there and figure out how to cast my vote ;) blessings to you dear Revka~ Kat :)

Revka said...

Kat, thanks again for stopping by. I'm glad you are visiting here. The HD antenna and receiver really was a great idea, and the monster antenna really does a much better job of picking up the signal. It used to be that when I would work in the kitchen we would have a lot of pixelation (is that a word?) no matter what channel my husband was watching. It was so aggravating! It IS really nice not to have to worry about that anymore.

I enjoyed visiting your blog and will be back. I'm just catching up on the computer from my absence over the weekend. I really do miss that church, and, yes, it was a marvelous place to be grounded in the Scriptures.

Thank you for your kind comments about my blogs. I really appreciate that, especially since I do work so hard to make them interesting and useful (particularly my other blog).

My sister-in-law is still hanging in there - praise the Lord! She is now getting close to 35 weeks. IF she can make it to 36 weeks, she can have the baby anytime and not have to worry about health issues or going to Duke. Once she does make it to that point, she said that she'll start living normally again, which means she'll probably have the baby fairly soon :) Thank you so much for your prayers. They are definitely appreciated.