[mix4fix]

So, some time ago, my mom turned in one of her cable boxes since it was not going to be used as much. She just recently bought one of those digital antenna. I hooked it up and it did work. We got NBC, a couple of PBS, a few odd channels, and a couple of Spanish channels.

She over paid for the particular antenna, but it did work.

[WGH]

Unlike old analog TV broadcasts, digital over-the-air TV signals are line-of-sight, even leaves on a tree can block a digital signal. An old TV antenna from 40 years ago before digital was invented will work just fine too although I haven't tried rabbit ear antennas.

Antenna Web has recommendations regarding antenna type based on distance from the broadcast tower along with how many degrees from true North the tower is located (remember - line-of-sight is important). The compass app on a phone works beautifully. Be sure to compensate of declination, the difference between true North and magnetic North, it's more than you  think. Declination at my house is 9 degrees.
https://www.antennaweb.org/


The days of cheap TV antennas from Radio Shack are long gone, these days antennas cost more than you think they should (kind of like stereo equipment).

Last year I put up a Channel Master Pro-Model UHF/VHF TV Antenna, it cost $149 and works perfectly for over-the-air broadcast TV and FM radio. Channel Master antennas are Made In The USA in Chandler, Arizona, 100 miles North of where I live. Why pay so much? Because Chandler, like Tucson, get ferocious summer monsoon storms so Channel Master has experience making antennas that hold up to very high wind, rain and hail.
https://www.channelmaster.com/products/pro-model-uhf-vhf-tv-antenna-cm-1776


The quality of digital tuners in TVs can vary. A friend got a cheap TV and could only pick up a couple of local stations. I told her that isn't right so she took it back to Best Buy and got a real brand name TV and immediately received over 40 channels.

[mix4fix]

I'm not going to complain about it. For little money, you can attempt to escape the stronghold of these cable companies. I even bought a better digital antenna, threw it up, and got better results. It ain't perfect, but it's a start.

[Speedskater]

During the Summer a storm took out Ac power to about 300,000 people. Several days later, we got  AC power but no cable TV.
I found a half century old Rabbit Ear  TV  antenna in the attic. I jury rigged in the living room to the TV. I got 40 some channels.
The next day, cable TV & internet came back up.