Receiving broadcast HDTV requires an antenna. The conventional wisdom states that an outdoor antenna is better than an indoor antenna, and that an indoor antenna is better than no antenna at all. In all cases, higher is better.

Being a renter all of my TV-owning life, installing an outdoor rooftop antenna has always been out of the question. So my HDTV journey began with the fancy-looking $40 “Silver Sensor” antenna, but it was not up to the task of receiving signals in downtown Boston, surrounded by high-rise buildings. The $20 Radio Shack 15-1868 was the next antenna I tried, and it served me well in Boston and on the San Francisco Bay Area peninsula.

However, when I moved into San Francisco, the 15-1868 failed to keep up with the more challenging climate and terrain (ocean, fog, hills, lower 2nd-story location, and increased distance to the broadcast towers). Still renting, an outdoor antenna is still out of the question, and despite living in a house, I have no attic. Memories of Pringles cans and aluminum foil came to the rescue, and one tin-foil hat later, we’re back in business. Here is the before picture:

Here is the after picture, with a close-up of the tin-foil-hatted antenna. A bonus decor-friendly side-effect of the improved reception is that the rabbit ears do not need to be as fully extended: