RE: Where do you folks camp where you receive TV signals? I can't think of
any nice camping area in SoCal where one would expect to be within range
of a TV transmission tower.

Good point and valid.  My old Sanyo LCD TV with it's own rabbit ears did a
better job of pulling in a usable signal than the Haupauge TV tuner and the
amplified Radio Shack antenna.  Best luck has been when in the bonnies and
on top of a mountain.  Anything in a valley or canyon is "Don't even bother
to set up" territory.  But keep in mind that in many rural areas the
transmission is UHF or UHF repeaters for the larger stations.  Many times it
is possible to get a usable signal and catch the news and keep you updated
on what's happening on "All My Children".