By now, perhaps, you already have your converter box for the transition to digital TV. And if you have used it at all, you have discovered that the signal is either good enough or not -- there is nothing in between -- and you may not get in all your favorite channels as well as you hoped. That was my problem. And I also wanted to pick up some new PBS stations I had heard about

Antennaweb.org is a helpful Web site with a tool to help you figure out what antenna will help you get the best over the air reception possible. After you put in your zip code, it tells you what stations are possible for you to pick up, and what type of antenna you need, depending upon which channels you are interested in.

Based upon information I found there, I researched more about indoor antennas, and came upon the Terk HDTVa. (Note: The link is to the Best Buy Web site. The price in the store was more, and I had to point out the ad price to them. It is even cheaper at Radio Shack's Web site, and you can pick it up in their store. And cheaper still at several online stores including Amazon.)

With this new antenna, Channel 50 now comes in much more stably. All other local channels have more strength. And now I can pick up 2 more PBS channels from Flint -- 28.1 and 28.2. I am pleased about that, but I don't understand why I can get that channel from about 60 miles away, but others that are closer (but still distant) I don't pick up. Or at least, I haven't figured out how yet. It is a directional antenna, and it took me a while to figure out exactly how to position it to pick up the Flint channels, and it wasn't even what I expected. I lose the signal if I put the antenna too high -- I thought higher was better, but evidently sumothing gets in the way higher up.

It stands less than a foot tall, and the fishbone arm is about a foot long, so with a little creativity, it can be made to blend in to the decor much better than old style rebbit ears. (It has rabbit ears, but I have them completely collapsed and put away; don't need them.)

I also tried this RCA. It looks nice and would be even easier to hide. Reception with it was slightly better than my old rabbit ears -- Channel 50 was a little stronger and more stable -- but not good enough to pick up 28.1 and 28.2. I see there is an amplified version of that one, which I did not try. However, customer reviews at online sites seem more numerous and more positive for the Terk than any RCA antenna.