The standard definition TV experience was getting worse by the month. Many TV shows were letter boxed that rendered my 32 inch TV set into the equivalent of a 27 inch. Weather maps were missing Toledo and Pittsburgh. Even those obnoxious ads for credit loans were losing the phone numbers off the edge of my diminutive screen. How would we ever get a payday loan now!
The Winter Games were starting and I had just received my tax refund. Time to upgrade! The pay-TV company wanted $10 more per month for the same programming in HD. I thought the $80/mo was enough already.
I went on YouTube and found a homemade antenna design using 6 coat hangers, a piece of scrap wood, and a transformer to connect a coaxial cable. This ugly contraption was certainly effective! It would make MacGuyver proud!
How effective? Our home used to have a tower antenna before it fell victim to the rust gods. Our TV would pick up two channels. That's it! Two. By 2010 most stations had added a digital signal. I plugged in this monstrosity and picked up a couple stations from Cleveland and a couple from Youngstown. Not only were there more stations than my analog antenna, but they were crystal clear!
With this contraption, I headed up to the attic to mount it. I ran a coaxial cable from the attic to the TV. To my amazement we received even more stations! I was picking up all the major networks. In fact I was receiving duplicate networks from both Cleveland and Youngstown markets. Bingo! I was on my way.
We did not upgrade to the HD package. I figured I was saving $10 per month. Yeah. I'm that much of a cheapskate! What we discovered was that we were watching the antenna 90% of the time. The $80/mo was basically for our TV viewing for 10% of the time!
And then we received our notice from our TV provider.....
Our 2 year discount bundle was to expire next month! Plus, as any good business would do when delivering such joyous news, our basic rate was going to increase, too! That $80/mo for the TV service was jumping by $30 per month. Shareholders rejoiced! The cheapskate in me cringed!
I generally liked the TV service, so I called immediately which was two weeks prior to the bundle expiration to drop to the next lower pricing tier. Every day I would check to see if the upper tier channels were gone. They were not. A few days before the expiration I called again to confirm that I would not be paying for the package I had canceled nearly two weeks prior. The agent informed me I would not be charged. I called daily for the next couple days.
Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! I got a bill for the tier I canceled. After arguing that I would not pay the additional tier price I asked to cancel the TV service altogether. The agent said I could not. Why? He said because I have a pending order for the downgrade! I said I would only pay for the service I wanted and used. He informed me if I did it would be considered only a partial payment and could affect my credit rating. I asked to speak to a manager. He downright refused!
"You are going to drop service over a few bucks?" It was a dare. I don't think they expected it.
After a few days my service dropped to the lower tier so I called to drop the service. Of course, I would have to talk to a manager just like I wanted to do earlier! After at least 90 minutes, my service was finally canceled.
"You are going to drop service over a few bucks?" It was a dare. I don't think they expected it.
After a few days my service dropped to the lower tier so I called to drop the service. Of course, I would have to talk to a manager just like I wanted to do earlier! After at least 90 minutes, my service was finally canceled.
It was time to use my antenna full time!
We used my homemade antenna for several months. During this time, we saved enough dough on TV to purchase a proper roof antenna and later a DVR.
This blog will document how I determined that cord cutting was for us. Free TV isn't necessarily cheap. I will inform you of some of the hazards of setting up your antenna. I will also show you how we did it successfully!
We have gone four years without a TV bill and we have saved thousands! You can, too!
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