Thanks for the list, i will copy paste that on a notepad document for easy reference.
I returned the bunny ears in favor of the radio shack (i still call it that, i don't care what the banner says) RCA indoor/outdoor antenna, knowing it was probably not going to make much difference but with a money back policy backing up my "science" experement i went for it. (i will probably be returning it and go with a cm-4228 with a 7777 all of you can't be wrong)
My results with the indoor/outdoor RCA tonight:
auto tuning found 5 digital channels (2HD) and a bunch of analog, some better than others.
Here are the digitals:
PBS ch38 (57.1 57.2 and 57.3) the HD one is GORGEOUS. at about 75-80% signal
NBC ch 14 (5.1 5.2) is about 35-40% just barely enough to get locked in tonight, i suspect this won't work during the day but right now it is watchable.
i did manage to lock into 32 (33.1 and 33.2) VPT hd but it's not working anymore. I suspect if i wiggle my antenna a bit i might be able to get it back, but since it's the same as 57.1 it's not worth the trip outside
other than that, when i run an automatic scan i can see the tuner change the numbers at regular intervals but it hesitates on the channels where content is supposed to be, also when i scan over the channels manually i can see faint glimpses of signal from all but ABC 22.2 (VHF 13) and SRC 2.1 (UHF 19) which appear dead from here... CBS 3.1 (UHF 53) is oscillating between 20 and 25%, seems like it just needs a little boost to lock in compared to my experiences watching signals on the other channels that worked so far.
the RCA indoor antenna i had said 30DB on the box while the larger unit says 10DB but right now guess which one i like best?
Neither! Bring in the cm-4228, please.
Never thought i'd get so excited about something so "obsolete" as OTA tv! I am surprised not to see more interest in this, are we early adopters of an antiquated technology's rebirth? I hope the best is yet to come!