Solano Wireless Internet

Free Television?:

Did you know you can get up to 50+ free, local over-the-air (OTA) TV channels in Solano and Yolo Counties? And most of them in high-definition! All you need is a TV antenna and a digital-ready TV (or an old school TV and a digital converter box). You can even purchase an OTA DVR so you can record shows and fast-forward through commercials.

No monthly subscription fees or charges! If you are currently paying upwards of $100 per month for DirecTV or Dish Network satellite TV, keep reading to see if OTA TV is a better option for you!

You can even install the antenna in your attic if you prefer.

What Channels Can I Get?:

We live in a great area for OTA TV. There are three TV towers in Walnut Grove, CA. Local broadcast networks include ABC, Bounce, CBS, Comet, CW, EstrelloTV, Fox, Grit, Ion, Justice, Laff, MeTV, NBC, PBS, RetroTV, Telemundo, and more! Local news, weather and sports, all in HD and FREE!

To see exactly what channels you can get, simply visit the FCC website and enter your full address in the search bar. Then scroll down and hopefully see mostly green channels (like the image below).

How Can I Get ESPN, HGTV, Food Network, etc?:

An OTA TV antenna will only get you local broadcast stations. If you want to get the national channels like ESPN, Food Network, TNT, History, etc., you will need to subscribe to a streaming TV service and use a streaming device.

A streaming device is something like an Amazon Firestick, an AppleTV, a Roku, etc. that connects to your TV via an HDMI cable. If you have a smart TV, that means it already has a streaming device built in to it. The second thing you need is a streaming service. A streaming service is a company who makes those channels available to you via your streaming device and your Internet connection.

There are about a dozen streaming services out there, but the best one (in my opinion) for satellite TV replacement is SlingTV. You can subscribe monthly to their Orange Plan (more sports oriented) or their Blue Plan (more entertainment oriented) or both. If your smart TV does not have a SlingTV app, then you will need to invest in another streaming device. I have tried them all and recommend the Roku Ultra ($99).

If you just want to stream movies, then a subscription to Netflix or Amazon Prime is what you will want.

How Do I Record Shows?:

If you want to record shows or if you hate commercials and want to fast-forward through them, you may want to invest in a DVR. Once again, there are many options out there, but the best (in my opinion) is the Channel Master Stream+. The nice thing with the Stream+ is that it is a one-time purchase with no monthly subscription charges. They usually have sales around holidays.

How Much Am I Really Saving?:

If you currently have satellite TV (Dish Network or DirecTV), you are likely paying upwards of $80 per month for TV (~$1,000 per year). And if you are like most people, you only watch a few regular channels. Here are a few examples of savings:

You only watch live local channels anyway (e.g., sitcoms, news, sports). After your initial OTA TV investment (e.g., an antenna) you have no more costs. No more bills, fees or rate hikes!

You are the person above but you want to record your TV shows on a DVR and watch them when you have time. Then part of your initial OTA TV investment needs to include the purchase of a DVR (per TV). Plan on spending $200-$300 for the DVR, which is equal to 2-3 months of your former satellite TV bill. After that, no recurring charges! So for the cost of 3-4 months of your satellite TV bill, you now have lifetime free TV the way you want it. Plus no more bills, fees or rate hikes.

You are either of the people above but you also want to watch your ESPN, CNN, Discovery Channel, HGTV, etc. or you want to watch movies "on-demand" (the term for watching previously recorded movies stored on a server somewhere), you need a streaming device and streaming service (see section above called "How Can I Get ESPN, HGTV, Food Network, etc?"). This will add a monthly subscription cost to your initial OTA TV investment, but it's likely less than half of what you were paying before.

How Do I Get This?:

You have two options to get this setup. You can hire us to install it for you, OR, if you are a do-it-yourself'er AND you have an old satellite TV dish still on your roof, just follow the directions below. And if you do not have an old satellite dish, just buy the antenna, a pre-made quad-shielded coax cable (from Home Depot, Lowes, etc), and a pole to mount the antenna on.

Step 1: check what channels you can get. Hopefully you already did this, but if not, simply visit the FCC website and enter your full address in the search bar. Then scroll down and hopefully see mostly green channels.

Step 2: buy the TV antenna. We tested many antennas and found the Channel Master CM-5016 (aka Masterpiece 45) to be the most reliable for our area. Visit their website to purchase it, Channel Master, or buy it off Amazon.

Step 3: If you have an old, unused satellite dish on your roof, just take the old reflector off (leave the mount and coax cable for re-use), hang the TV antenna in that spot, and connect the coaxial cable from the old satellite dish to the new TV antenna. Since the cabling and antenna arm are already installed from the satellite, most of the hard work is already done.

If you have an active satellite TV subscription and don't want to remove the dish until you have tested the OTA TV antenna, then just mount the OTA antenna to the satellite mount (below the dish) or on a pole, and temporarily use the coax cable from the dish for the antenna. Remember to disconnect the coax inside from the dish DVR. You can even just set the TV antenna on a table and point it in the direction of the TV towers.

NOTE: DO NOT cut the end off the coax cable. Unscrew the coax cable from the reflector dish. You will need it for the TV antenna.

Step 4: Download the smart phone app to help you align the TV antenna to the TV towers. The hardest signal to get is FOX. If you align the antenna for the best FOX KTXL 40 signal, then all the channels will come in fine too.

Step 5: Time to setup your TV. Now that you have the antenna installed and aligned, it is time to take your TV through the channel scan. Look for something like MENU --> SETUP --> CHANNELS (or similar) on your TV remote control.

Do I Need Anything Else?:

Maybe. If you have multiple TVs throughout your house, you will need a "distribution amplifier." When you split the signal off to different TVs, you lose TV signal strength. That's where a distribution amplifier comes in; it restores the lost signal. Buy one that will accommodate the number of TVs you have from Channel Master's Ultra Mini line of amps. The TV cable from the TV antenna plugs into the Ultra Mini distribution amp, and then you connect all you TV cable lines to the amp (effectively replacing the splitter the satellite company put in).

Fast. Reliable. Friendly. Local.