another digital tv question

With the advertisements regarding the upcoming conversion to Digital
TV, they always mention that you need to be sure you have an antenna
suitable for DTV reception, and sometimes recommending a 'smart
antenna.'
I presume any antenna currently available for purchase is already DTV
compatible.
What is the difference between one that is compatible, versus one that
isn't? TIA

 

Nothing. Any antenna that will pick up UHF frequencies is "compatible"
with DTV.

 

[snip...snip...]

Also take a look at http://www.tvfool.com for a wealth of info regarding
the direction and the estimated signal strength of local TV broadcast
stations from a given receiver.

 

In general, if your antenna was sufficient last spring it will be sufficient after Feb. 20th.

That said, I "lost" the ABC network when the local affiliate began transmitting DTV. Neither of two
converter boxes would find the channel. I thought they'd gone off the air. What happened is that
the station transmits DTV on a higher freq. than the other three local stations, a freq. that
requires a newer, hi-gain antenna. The UHF loop/rabbit ears I've used for 30 years won't pull it
in, while they do pull in the other three stations. I can see the towers of all four stations from
my yard, so it ain't distance that causes the problem.

 

Maybe, depending on your exact location in relation to the station
you're trying to watch. I'm finding that a *VERY* simple dipole (As in,
strip back 4.6 inches of braid at the end of a piece of co-ax, then fold
the stripped braid and the center core (no need to strip the center
insulation off the core) to form a T shape) tossed out the window is
sufficient to get me all the signal I need, despite my location being
considered "fringe" or "extreme fringe" for most of the channels
available here. All but three of the ones that I'm supposed to be able
to see come in fine (and those three I can do without - I don't speak
spanish or korean, and I can cheerfully live without preachers trying to
tell me about their imaginary friend in the sky, so not having them come
in doesn't bother me in the least.)

Note: 4.6 inches was chosen to be in the center of the frequency spread
for the group of channels I'm supposed to be able to get - Your group of
channels may need a different length to match the frequencies your
stations are on.

 

Not all stations are converting to UHF, the high frequencies ,
channels 7 -13 are also going to be used, as far as I understand,