Five TV Antennas To Avoid Buying When Cutting the Cord
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- Опубликовано: 22 мар 2021
- In this video I discuss five indoor and outdoor TV antennas cord cutters should avoid buying. These antennas are known to perform poorly and are unlikely to get your reliable reception of ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and other local over the air channels. Please share this video so others can be saved from the scam that is the "HD digital antenna."
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My Lava Antenna is 3 years old and i get 50 chnls. And i see all the movi
question... i just got a twin lead antenna... plan on getting a twin lead to coax adapter and digital to analog converter box... im wondering is twin lead able to carry every digital signal even the high ones?
and yes it is rabbit ears
@@Scudmaster11 Yes, twin lead is a cable that will carry any frequency. It just doesn't work as well as coax. A balun is the best solution.
Well im not rich... and I just got a cheap twin lead extendable anntena... its to be used on a CRT... thanks for the answer
" Many problems included at no extra charge. "
Love that.
Remember when all we needed was a wire coat hanger for antenna reception? 📺💸
Don't forget the aluminum foil!
I actually made an antenna using two coat hangers. Cut the top part off both, unbend until I have two roughly straight pieces of wire. Cut them both to the length I needed for a 1/2 dipole and made my antenna. Soldering to steel wire isn’t easy so next time I’ll look for some copper!
Actually, traditional roof mount type works great. I use the more modern square shape ones (quad style )and a pair of them for the two angles, one also does VHF for those two stations still on VHF. I have had them for 8 to 9 years.
@tony john Yeah, our remote was broken for the entire period between 2013 and 2017. I hated that position with a passion!
@Puddin Tang Things change when Meth said ta leave it on the stove for about an hour
THANK YOU FOR TELLING THE TRUTH! I work for a TV station, we get calls weekly about poor reception. Most are due to people having UHF-only indoor antennas. In our viewing area are two high-band VHF channels. Your recommendations are the same as I give viewers. Broadcasters provide free TV, once you install a good antenna, there are no monthly bills from broadcasters, only from cable TV and satellite TV providers!
My parents' house still has the antenna they originally bought back in the late 1980s. I'm not sure of the exact model, but it looks similar to a Channel Master CM-5016. It's still going strong almost 35 years later and it got even better when I helped them replace the old twin-lead cable with a balun and RG6 coax. I talked them out of getting an entire new antenna because it's still in good shape, and I feel like anything they'd buy now wouldn't be nearly as good or last half as long as this one has.
Yeah, our old house still has the same antenna we used as a kid. However, we had to move because the house was falling apart and the new house doesn't have any antenna. I can only imagine how much we could pick up with that old antenna and an amplifier, considering I can pick up several channels with a small indoor antenna (with an amplifier).
Yup old antennas could take the wind.
Hard to beat the great old rooftop antennas from the 60's with a rotator like I remember helping my dad put up back in the day. Later when my parents moved I helped him put a full size one in his attic and still going strong for my sister and brother in law 40+ years later.
Still better on the outside than in some attic, however, with the way these newer tv antennas are now being made, they give you the choice, either attic installation or outside installation on a mast or tv tower, or tri pod roof mount.
Better Days back then and recall Black and White TVs but we loved it.
@@HighSpeedNoDrag The fact that black and white TVs received weaker channels better then than many of the color sets at the time meant we got some out of state channels our "richer" neighbors with color could not. (This was in the 1960s).😊
It's great, that even being old, firmware was available to upgrade these antennas to digital reception. /s
Attic location won't give as good a reception, but installation is far easier and SAFER, plus there is no weather damage (wind, rain, critters chewing the cable), so unless your distance from broadcasters is too much, it's a good idea to try an outdoor antenna up in your attic first.
I'm glad you've punctured the marketing myth of an "HD Antenna". Antennas only function is to convert electromagnetic radiation to voltage with elements sized for a specific frequency band. The antenna doesn't give a hoot if it's a HD TV signal or Morse code. The VHF/UHF antenna we had for our first TV set in the 50's would be perfectly acceptable for today's HD television. So called HD antennas are a marketing scheme aimed to take advantage of the unwary.
I have to say... an HD antenna is a real thing. HD resides on what use to be UHF frequencies... it has always used a circular antenna array to pick up UHF signals (which are now known as HD sgnals). The shape of an antenna is directly in response to the frequenciey it is trapping, it is a "tuned circuit" so to speak... the single loopp from early TV UHF would have a poor signal collecting capability compaired to "multi element" HD signals. There are entire electronics theory books just on antennas for this reason.
Facts. I'm using 20 year old Channel Master rabbit ears with a UHF loop that someone got rid of because they believed they needed a "digital antenna." It works great!
I am now 55 and have subscribed to cable TV around 2.0 years during my adult life. I suppose I am a Cord Cutter with zero regrets. Thank You Antenna Man, Master!
I did this work while in college in the 1970s. You know what you are talking about and are speaking the truth. I admire you for having this page. There are too many scammers selling junk that doesn't work and will turn into rust within rust within months. How I would love a Finco "Bed spring" on a nice tower today.
Your channel is useful for cordcutters.
You know I been following ur channel for a few months now and I like how you are persistent and enthusiastic about ur passion .. keep it up ! 🤟🏽
Antenna Man… This dude and his passion helped me cut the cord a few years back. I haven’t had a second of regret from the shared perspectives or equipment suggestions. For the record… I stuck with his perspective and suggestions 90+% of the time. Wicked mad props and a massive thank-you to Antenna Man for helping a confused and massively overwhelmed brother out. ✊🏾
You need internet from the cable company first or not? Then you need an antenna, then you can get free channels?
@@jeffreyhaney2449 In my setup, there is no relationship/dependency between my Internet service and antenna solution to watch over-the-air local channels for free.
@@PaulEbanks thank you
I bought an amplified 6-foot dipole (each pole is 6 feet) amplified rabbit ears antenna 20 years ago at Fry's before digital came online. I put it in my picture facing in the direction of the transmitting antennas which are located 70 miles from where I live. It works great. I get more channels than I have time to watch.
Isn't it incredible how this was already worked out by reputable antenna manufacturers well over 50 years ago? This is a topic that has regressed over decades because so many people went to cable TV in the 1980s. Great videos like yours getting the cord-cutters "back on track" after skipping several generations.
Yep, we cut cable years ago, and now just use an antenna and occasionally a Roku box for movies. I don't see why anyone pays for cable when it's like 10x more expensive than the alternatives.
@@camthesaxman3387 Now this year I just need to get my elderly mother off Spectrum TV because it's the format she's known all her life (and think more about on-demand). LOL - might be a challenge.
@@camthesaxman3387 That's what I use as well. Only get 5 channels on my antenna but I like those channels. Once in awhile I get 5 to 8 more but don't watch most of them. I also have roku and Netflix, watch a lot of RUclips.
@@sammyandoliver7522 I have a big antenna in the attic and get around 30 channels.
Suddenly, it isn't so unfathomable that we have lost advanced methodologies and tools, and ultimately advanced civilizations to the sands of time and continue to rediscover what we already knew long ago.
I installed the second antenna on my chimney almost two years ago and so far it has not failed and has given great reception. I am very happy with it.
Watched a chimney guy tear one off and throw it the dog like a spear after telling him not to remove...drugs and psychos are a bad combo.
Considering putting a new antenna right back there, are there any analog stations left
I've had the first one over 3-4 years now. Still working very well. The advantage of being able to remotely turn it is a great plus, especially when 20° below zero out. Rotater may catch a fit once in awhile, but so far, still operating. In the Chicago area, Ch. 2 (CBS) since day 1, could NEVER receive properly until I got this. Ch. 2 now locked in with no problems. And yes, a sludge hammer will destroy your BEST antenna,.... Duh!
Interesting
I actually purchased the first piece of junk antenna you mentioned and returned it to Amazon within a week of receiving it!! When it was installed, I only got 8 channels initially, then proceeded to lose reception on 4 of them!! I decided to try using my old (guesstimating it’s 35yrs old) directional antenna and, lo and behold, it still worked beautifully!! I cut the cord back in February and haven’t looked back, thanks to my firestick and my OTA tv!! Much better options available now than what I had with a satellite dish!! Thanks for this video! Keep up the good work!
I'm glad I caught this video before my Amazon order processed. It just saved me $20. Thanks, man.
AMEN! I needed a video to what I have been telling folks for years. Lots of metal = lots os signal (generally)
Had the first antenna. Worked well enough. Lasted 2 years. Then I got a Channel Master Ant., rotor and separate amp. Got 3 times the stations and had a way more stable signal.
Hello Tyler, glad to see someone within the younger generation has had enough sense to look into antenna theory and knows the difference between bullshit and practical application of antenna's and the signals you want to pick up. Also, I see commercials on TV where the advertisers say due to a government mandate you can now get full HD TV for free and are selling nothing more than a small antenna capable of only picking up the closest broadcast stations. What a crock of crap. Being a person from the older generations, we grew up with broadcasting still in it's infancy and know better. I have passed along much information to my kids and grandkids so they have the knowledge. However, it is nice to see some honest information getting out to younger people that will actually help them. By the way, my old channel master TV antenna which is up in my attic with a pre-amp gets me around 70+ channels of non-compressed signal. Problem is, only so many channels and certain programs are in 1080P let alone true 4K.
The first antenna you destroyed with a hammer is actually a great antenna, I have had that model in my attic for 10 years and it still works great, it brings in over 6o channels with great stability, I agree the rotator is crap which is why you should not install it outside unless you are satisfied with pointing it in one direction and receiving those particular channels. I only paid $20 dollars for mine.
That antenna kept me from having to watch the Washington "Commanders" for 4 years when DC stations wouldn't show Ravens games. I could tune in Baltimore channels from Northern VA.
I have that antena and it works good for my local channels, living in the valleys close to Palm Springs has a good reception and I don't have to pay over $60.00 dlls a month. 😊🌴🌴🌴
I have that antenna and installed it outside. It has been working flawlessly for years and the motor is still good. It has been through all kinds of weather rain, snow, wind etc.
I bought an ONN outdoor antenna when our apartment's cable contract ended. Not for the rotating, but because of the distance. However, as I assembled it, I could tell it was a cheap build. Since I'm in an apartment, it's actually being used inside. It actually works pretty well, we typically watch some Fox, NBC and the CW and can usually pick them up just fine. Though Fox was patchy. If it fails, I'll try to keep your advice in mind.
I took the old style antenna out of the attic from where I used to live that was used before cabe and installed it in my attic and it works great. Weather can still affect reception but I've had free broadcast TV for over 20 years even while having satellite and cable part of the time.
I was just looking at one maybe later for my mother-in-law since she still likes to watch basic tv. Didn't expect to come across something so thorough. I don't know anything about this kind of stuff, and this would probably just be a channel I look at a little to get a decent idea of what to get her and that's it. But thank you and I applaud you for being so thorough and informative. It's really cool to see someone so into what they're doing, especially for those enthusiasts out there.
Thank you, I've worked as a broadcast tv engineer for years and it's almost impossible to convince people that all that has changed is the format (ie. analog vs digital) that rates the frequency carrier . Nothing more than that......
I really hope that people take your advice. I did and I am very happy!!👍🏾👍🏾
Some are but others aren't. There are a few "defenders of junk" on here.
I love your videos Antenna Man, I am an Australian that used to be a satellite and antenna installer and for you fellow Australians that watch Antenna man videos I seriously recommend all Hills products including rg6 quad shield 75 ohm coaxial cable and their antennas and buy from a store to get the correct information of antennas for your area.
Thanks for ALL of the suggestions! I love that you go right to the subject at hand.
Yesterday I read an article where people are getting fed up with the high cost of cable, satellite and streaming tv services. There has been an uptick in people going back to using antennas to get their local broadcasts OTA.
I've had that 1st antenna for about 7 yrs, I get 68 channels. Had no problems. Would buy again. Most channels are from between 40 and 50 miles away.
Same here
Thanks for putting it out there. The "old school" antenna that you displayed in the beginning of your video looks just like the one that I have hanging in my garage. I purchased it in 1987 and it picks up all local digital stations. I do have to tweak it every once in a while, a slight shift one way or the other when I lose a station, but then it's fine. I did find it irksome when digital became the standard and the had all those ads for digital HD antennas.
I have Mohu Leaf. It does well locally. But depends on surrounding buildings and terrain. I have noticed better reception during winter vs summer
Just a little FYI. I have had the antenna that you dropped and said not to buy for seven years. I put it on a dish mount in my attic and have had no problems what so ever. I get stations from 6o miles away. I live in the middle Tennessee area so I get stations from Alabama as well. It has been a great $25.00 antenna for us. It shows no signs of going out ant time soon. I enjoy your channel. Thanks
I own the first antenna that you reviewed. It IS cheaply made but I'm very satisfied with the reception it provides.
Same, 4 years +, works great.
The TV/VCR/DVD combo taught me to buy individual components for modularity back in the late 80s-early 90s. I'm glad you mentioned it as well as "omnidirectional". Great information. After 30 years of cable, increasing expense, and increasingly terrible mind numbing programming I'm done.
I got one, that enabled me to get one news station from a city about 84 miles away, pretty clear and two Mexican stations in crystal clear quality.
Heres the thing, I lived in a low part of town with hills nearby and much of the area is highly mineralized.
There's also at least two mountain range between where I was and the US city which had the news station.
However, I found it greatly improved my reception of two country stations, when I hooked it up to my Sony stereo receiver!
I've got that first antenna. It works great. It has survived about 4 Canadian winters so far. The broadcast tower is about 80kms away over hilly terrain and the antenna is able to pick up those signals. So, all in all, I'm pretty happy with it. It even came with a remote for the rotor, which is handy. The rotor is not very precise but it gets the job done. Yes, the antenna is really flimsy (it's cheap!) but it doesn't get tossed around, it just sits on top of a pole so that has not been a concern.
I have the same as well, and pick up 40 plus stations from around 60 miles away. Picture is very clear. It's survived 60 plus mph winds , actually dropped it accidentally grime the roof broke some small pieces but still worked fine.
I just purchased it so since im not gonna be tossing it around I think it will be fine!!!
The Vansky has worked very well for me, for about 3 years, from a range of 60 miles. I know it is a poor build, but the signals are good and the rotator/amplifier have not failed.
Hi from the UK. I install what we call 'aerials' here in the UK. I totally concur with all you've said here. Keep up the good work!
I thought antenna referred to the entire apparatus whereas ‘aerial’ refers to just the portion of the antenna that receives the signal also commonly referred to as the ‘mast’ in single aerial antenna applications.
I bought an antenna several years ago for $80 for the garage TV and it worked great. A few years later I bought another antenna for the home and the price went up to $100. It works great. I can get many channels on either of them.
I tried one of those useless rotator antennas you love to drop before I saw any of your videos. It never received any signals (tower is only 26 miles away) and it wouldn't rotate. So, it went right back to Amazon. I'm eagerly awaiting my new Televes you recommended. Thanks for your reviews!
A whole antenna channel - I love it !
Had mines for over 6 years and still running strong. 👍
Very valuable video, thank you for the info ! OTA is really catching on here in AK. Cable costs over 100 a month, and theirs still endless commercials.
I am glad I discovered this channel
Before I discovered this gentleman's channel, I had purchased a Radio Shack Omni (saucer type) and two different flat antennas, including one with an amplifier. The best I ever got was about 5 channels. After watching one of Tyler's videos, I purchased a Winegard VHF/UHF 9 element Yagi and have enjoyed over 20 channels for almost 5 years now. DO NOT purchase cheap coax, you will regret it later. Buy the best you can afford for years of good service. This man is right on about "marketable" HD/Digital antennas.
A place I really miss for antenna equipment was Radio Shack back in the day. I have their 2004 batwing antenna I've used for years and it still works great. I think it was made by Wingard. I have that paired with a GE brand directional antenna to help with VHF reception as the radio shack is tuned for UHF reception though it receives both. I'm 40+ miles away from the closest towers and our city sits in a geographically low river bed. Maybe one UHF station that's strong will work on the ground level. People buy antenna here thinking they'll cut the cord and it takes LOTS of work to get the channels stable.
Hello, love your videos. I do have a comment about "flat antennas". I've had one of these for years, and they can work. However, they are VERY sensitive to location. When plugged into my TV, I would hold it and move a few inches left/right/up/down, and channels come/go that easily. I believe this is due to the fact that these antennas will only be getting a quarter wavelength because they are so small. So, they can work, but be prepared to be moving it around all over the place for each channel you wish to receive.
They do work well for mousepads though.
Great video Tyler , very informative 👍👍👍
Thanks for the heads up on those ClearTV DTV antennas.
I was close to getting one until I found out the truth about them. 😅
I bought the antenna with the built in rotator two years ago from Amazon and it works perfect! Its withstood 2 Hurricanes and it a great design and works well. Throwing an antenna on the ground is not part of the design is it now... throw your cell phone on the ground like that and watch what happens.
Thank you! Yeah...... I was about to start out with one of those flat ones. You just saved me tons of money and time.
Tried watching over the air TV a year ago, couldn't deal with it. It's 80% commercials and that's usually better then the "entertainment" part.
That's how they pay those AM "news" show anchors 6 figure salaries to host 10 minutes of
"Info-tainment."
Capitalist greed has no boundaries especially the TV Networks.
On Taiwan even Pay TV has 3 to 5 min commercials... Not joking.
Thor is not the only hero with a hammer-long live Antenna Man, smashing junk antennas like a boss.
Tyler uses his handy sledge to demolish junk antennas.
As always you give great advice. Please remember to use safety glasses/goggles!
@@Angie-wr1zv lol
Hahaha
I wanted to install a rooftop antenna to ensure a noise-free FM reception on my desktop tuner.
The problem was that FM radio stations in my area transmit from various locations in the city and with various polarizations - vertical or horizontal. I wanted to receive them all as good as possible. So I have tried an unorthodox solution: I have installed a single loop-dipole at 45 deg angle - "halfway" between vertical and horizontal and it works quite well with pretty good signal without noticeable multipath effects on stereo reception despite a very wide range of power of those transmitters (the strongest of them is about 30 kW and the weakest about 500 W).
Of course having 2 dipoles - one vertically and the other horizontally oriented connected to a signal combiner would be even better.
I use the rotating antenna he destroyed for several years in Panama City area, and it's worked great here. I even pick up channels out of Dotan Alabama. I have mine mounted outside on top of a 20' long PVC piece of pipe. That insures the antenna isn't grounded on a metal pole, but I do have the cable connected to a ground, just in case, but that's insulated. Surprisingly it even survived Hurricane Michael! Yeah, that surprised me too! It only works with it's included amplifier, which doesn't give any indication of which way it's rotating outside. If it hits one end of it's rotation, it reverses toward the other direction. It's also good to know it's "sweep" area of rotation, and make sure the area it doesn't sweep, that is, the area where it reverses it's rotation, which removes about 30 degrees from a full circle. Obviously mount on pole so that area faces where no or little signals come from. In panhandle florida that's easy, just make sure the dead zone is facing south, since nothing out there but the Gulf. I regular get 22 channels with it in this Panama City area.
I've been installing TV antenna in Australia for 35 years everything Tyler says is right.
Yep Televes.
Tyler alerting the public about the scam of the LiveWave antenna was great to see; but I've never heard of that antenna until now; and I've been a cord-cutter for over 10 years.
There’s a video on RUclips from WNEP-TV where they take the LiveWire antenna to Best Buy and have them compare it to a cheaper $30 basic antenna that BB sells. The Best Buy sales guy calls this thing an “HDTV antenna” LOL. Anyway the outcome is that the cheaper $30 antenna easily outperformed the LiveWire thing. Basically WNEP called it a scam (without using that word).
I went thru several cheap antennas until i got a Clearstream 2V from Amazon in 2012. Walmart then started selling them but that version was a cheaper built version but still works. I get 50+ channels from knoxville tenn and im 40 miles away. Its now 2024 and im still happier than a cat covering it up with my antenna! Started out with about 14 channels and the stations keep adding more channels every year or two! Who needs Comcast???
Thank you so much for this great info. I will never go back to cable ever again. My old fashioned rabbit ears works good for me but hard to find for those that have also cut the cable. You are awesome!!
I've had two of the one with the automatic rotator and have had great experience with it. We live in the country and are 30 miles to the closest tower and 50 from the most distant tower. We get all the major networks and public tv, so I'm pleased with it. My first one lasted five years before a windstorm tore the mounting bracket out of the roof and it fell 20 feet to the ground. Yes, it is cheaply made and won't endure being thrown on the pavement but it does hold up to the weather just fine.
Agree with you.
I just took a vansky out of the box. Glad u said this. Hope it works.
My co-worker just recently gave me his old antenna like the one you described to experiment with, and had it mounted in my attic. This cheaply made and funny looking antenna works perfectly for me, lol! And with its fine tuning rotation tuner, I’m able to pull in all the common stations in consistently and with excellent viewing.
I have the little one you threw on the ground, works great. It has been through 50 to 60 mph winds, turned off for months at a time, it even picked up stations 60 miles away that were 180 degrees out of line. For 35 bucks, eh why not?
I am with you...have been using the first antenna that he said was TRASH, I get very clear pictures on 50 channels and I live 50 miles from the broadcasting city. He doesn't know what he is talking about
I have used the first antenna he discussed and I found them "ok",, but they are cheaply made, not robust and I only had mine on a pole in my kitchen and I was able to pull in 30 channels. And I would have to buy a new one every six months because the motor would burn out. Then I found the ONN brand which is big right now at Walmart. It's better quality and I have it on my roof and I pull in about 50 channels but I don't think it will last through next winter. My next antenna is going to be the RCA brand with an outdoor antenna rotator sold at Menards. It's huge.
I have also had a couple of the first antennas. I have had one on my house for about 4 years now. Great reception and no problems at all. I liked it so much I bought a second to replace the crappy stock Winegard on my RV. Again, great reception and no problems. He is right on the point that they are cheaply built (even though mine haven’t broken) but what do you expect for the price? Considering its range, recption, and low cost I think it’s a pretty good little product.
Ive installed the first antenna twice in two houses, they work perfectly, picking up a lot of channels with great definition. I always recommend it to people.
Same here I installed the first one shown four years ago still working great tons of channels I paid $25 for it and I'm very satisfied
I agree but these are easily broken. Other then that it works great.
I think the problem is a lack of consistency in build quality. You'll see some that work well and last, another batch may break and fail easily.
I bought the first one under the "Five Star" label. Was initially impressed when it picked up a station 50+ miles away while the antenna was on the first floor on the floor, inside. However, the rotor never worked reliably, and when the preamp failed after 3 months, (as the Antenna Man has indicated they are prone to do) I could not receive any stations, even local powerful stations located less than 10 miles away with the antenna mounted outside 20 feet off the ground. I have since purchased a none-branded simple single bay "bow tie" antenna with 4 elements and a back screen, and by mounting it outside 40 feet off the ground get all but 3 local and distant (one 80 miles away) stations reliably. There are no natural obstructions between the antenna and the transmission towers, but there are some tall office towers about 10 miles between the antenna and the transmission towers. I rarely get the 3 pbs channels, which are on one of the closest of the non-local transmission towers, perhaps because it is blocked by one of the office towers.
Thank you for your informative public service, as well as helping prevent SO much landfill from these rubbish antennas.
been waiting for this video ,,glad you did it
A little advice:
You know when you cut your satellite subscription service, you can remove the dish and replace it with an outside antenna? The cable connections are already set within your home, so basically there's no extra work other than mounting an outdoor antenna on the previous dish mount brackets.
Not, really. The newer HD tv antennas that are out there today, will need height just as much as the analog tv antenns from their day. And you will need a mast to install these newer tv antennas on, or, a tower to in which I recommend. In places whare they won't permit an outside tv antenna installation, which I call ridiculous, it's your house, you SHOULD be able to do as you want with it, not have some restrictions placed upon you for putting up a tv antenna, I still would mount it in any way I want, and nobody should dictate to me what I can or cannot do to my home and how I want to have tv antennas mounted and installed.
@@danbasta3677 I agree the higher the better. Even if it's a UHF antenna. I knew people in western Pennsylvania that just used a UHF antenna. Channel 12 from Erie Pennsylvania was high enough in frequency for a UHF antenna, you can also add elements for hi VHF.
@@danbasta3677 federal law prohibits those restrictions, but it can be a big pain to take your landlord or HOA to court to enforce that law.
@@daniellouis4703 You are correct. The FCC created the OTARD rule, which essentially states that an HOA can't restrict you from putting up an antenna. I give each of my customers a copy of the rule, in case their HOA gives them any 'pushback'.
WOW, that is go good to know!! Thank you man!!
I had the flat one and then bought the other in your thumbnail and the only channel I don't get is Fox which I will never miss!
Actually I bought one of those Amazon rotating antennas. It is really possible to get all of the local stations if aimed in a specific direction. It does a great job up to that point. The problem is that the antenna cannot locked in place and thus a medium to strong wind can shift the antenna in a different direction and hence lose reception with certain channels . It would be nice to be able to lock the antenna in place.
As to durability is concerned, the antenna on my roof survived a category 1 to 2 hurricane.
I use an RCA set of rabbit ears which work great. Use them on my DTV tuner and a second pair on my receiver
I got a pair of RCA rabbit ears for less than 10 bucks for my bedroom set and STILL get over 50 channels (Pittsburgh,PA).👍👍
Lol hilarious! cracked up when he dropped the antenna & fell apart instantly. Too funny thanks for the info🤗
you can drop a 1799 laptop the same way and it would crack as well. it doesnt mean the laptop was junk. lol , anything can and or will break. it doesnt matter if its cheap or $$$
The LAVA antenna you review, I’ve owned for 7 years in (central)north Ontario Canada and I love it. I’m not close to any major city centres and receive 19 channels and have saved thousands in CABLE fee’s.
My antenna has survived several ice storms, two tornado events and numerous wind storms. I highly recommend the LAVA antenna.
First rule, avoid antennas that claim 100 miles or further in range. Weather and other atmospheric conditions, along with height of the antenna determines how good a signal you get. I found that out by trial and error.
Great video and so true. One of my neighbors bought a couple of those ClearTV antennas and neither of them picked up anything. I also tried one of those flat antennas that was made by RCA and it didn't work well either. I ended up with a Winegard FreeVision FV30BB mounted in my attic space and it picks up plenty of channels. It isn't expensive and it works well for my location. I'd be curious how well it would test in one of your reviews.
That was really well-made and informative, dude. Thank you for sharing, Antennaman! 👋 📡
In the beginning of your video I was more amazed how you could put your bare knees on that gravel concrete. Then I was with the product breaking. Good job.
The first antenna you said we should avoid is the best one I have found. Of course it won't work if you're clumsy and drop it or take a sledge hammer to it. I have used this antenna for about 7 years now without any problems whatsoever and I receive 40 plus channels with it. I have used expensive wingard antennas in the past which didn't perform as well as this one does.
Great video Tyler. I had NO idea about the rip-off antenna you mentioned at the end, the one that "uses" your home wiring as an "antenna". What a total scam. Thanks for exposing it for your viewers!
Thanks for the slo-mo of the Ding dang dong (or what ever you call it) that one was the best. I'm still LOL.
My flat antenna works AWESOME 👍. Canceled my dish network service and after watching your videos and thinking why doesn’t my flat antenna work indoors? I decided to take a chance and place it outside. Now I get all my local channels on all my TVs and more with my Roku TV. I used dish networks coax cables.
I have been using a OTA antenna for over 40 years. I have recently been trying to build my own antennas and testing them now that digital tv signals are not prone to shadowing due to improperly positioned antennas. I am trying to develop a omnidirectional antenna to take advantage of the no longer needed requirement to precisely position the antenna.
I have number one because it was dirt cheap and included a cheap j mount. I know it is pretty junky but like you said a quick way to see what I could get very quickly without a ton of effort.
It still works so far and I ended up finding the sweet spot for all of the local channels so I don't use the rotator anymore and I figure when it breaks eventually I can probably at least reuse the cheap mount to hold a small directional yagi or go up on the roof and use the pipe holding my big weather station which I didn't want to do on a quick try out. I used to have a few regular TV antennas from back in the day from Radio Shack and they were pretty good for the money and well made but don't think I have any of them now and the ones we remove from chimneys at work are usually old and junk.
It's still a junk antenna BUT so far it still works. It's not up high so the wind or tree debris haven't got it yet.
Most Excellent Presentation and Information. Thank You Immensely For Everything That You Provide. Take Care and Best Regards Always.
Thank you Antenna Man -- This should be required PSA for everyone!
Tyler, After watching a couple of your videos, I've decided to cut the cord. Bought the Clearstream 2 with the Channel master mini 4. Bought all new RG6 wiring. Extremely happy with my reception. Getting channels from 50 miles away. Thanks for your help.
I'm glad my videos helped you get better reception. Feel free to give a contribution at the link below as I spend A LOT of time making the videos and responding to these comments:
antennamanpa.com/support.html
Wow! Thanks for the info. I already fell for the Clear TV scam. I'm considering being a member
My Dad started with RCA in 1947 an installed antennas way before there was cable or digital signals. Our situation is tricky because we're in a valley and transmitters and repeaters are in 3 different directions. Thanks
I know a lot about antennas, back in the 90's a friend had trouble picking up an AM radio signal on 3rd shift. I went and got a long piece of wire, rapped it around his radio antenna and over to a chainlink fence in our factory. Station came in crystal clear, as the fence acted like a giant antenna.
Hello Tyler, I live in the Ottawa/Gatineau Canada area where I have cut all ties to cable and purchased 3 flat wall mounted indoor Antennas.
I have had these antennas now for about 4 years and they work just fine with the occasional loss of channel depending upon the time of year. I also checked how many channels I would be able to receive based upon the area in which I reside. The total expected channels would be 13 no matter what antenna I would have purchased. It took approximately 10 min to locate the best placement location for all 3 antennas. However, after doing so I have had constant reception for 12 out of the 13 available channels in my area depending upon the time of year and the weather conditions. I found that inclement weather affected the reception along with a change in the atmospheric pressure. But other than that the indoor flat wall mounted antennas have function as expected. I am passing along this information because not all area receive the same reception. Therefore, given a person's location the right indoor flat antenna would work just fine. The only reason I am lending my 2 cents in this review is to provide some additional information as to the validity of purchasing an indoor antenna for personal use. In my particular area a flat wall mounted indoor antenna works just fine given I am only missing one of the total number of available channels for my area. Just as a means to confirm my own finding I have included a link to the available channels in the Ottawa/Gatineau area of Canada as verification. You would need to scroll across the resulting page and count the number of tower locations marked Ottawa or Gatineau.
overtheair.saveandreplay.com/OTA_Channels_Ottawa.asp
Here is also another link that includes the distance of the antenna tower location from my position. You may notice the two lists are not identical because the listing above are the channels I would receive based upon my location in the Ottawa/Gatineau area. While the list below are all the available antenna towers based upon distance. While some channels on the list below are duplicated because they are ran by an independent broadcaster. Just keep in mind that I reside in a low laying area where not every available signal will reach. But for the channels that I can get 12 out of 13 comes in consistently well based upon the time of year and weather conditions. Besides doing my own research as to how many available channels I can get based upon my location. I had an independent assessment conducted by a professional and he provided a similar report indicating that based upon my location the max channels that would be available to me would be 13.
nocable.org/availability-report/zip/k1p-ottawa-on/
Been waiting for this video 👍
"Too long or too short is no good". Ya, that's what she said.
😂
This was the first video I ever watched from Tyler, and it still cracks me up when he swings the hammer.
I recently bought one of his surveys and it is as advertised. In a few weeks, we should be all set saving approx. $90/mo. from the cable service.
I love how honest you are man. Lol
"Ping Bing Ding" means "Hit Me Hard" ....with a sledge hammer. Peace and Love dude
I have had the first one for 5 years now. Works great. Good picture
this guy is straight up! thx for HONESTY!
I actually have the first one, the one with the built in rotor. I've had it for 5 years now and it works extremely well, although I don't have it outside. I don't think it's build quality is heavy enough to withstand winters in southern IL. I have it on a PA speaker stand in the corner of the room where it's out of the way, and it does a good job picking up signals, ALMOST as good as my roof antenna, but not quite. Not bad for a sub-30 dollar antenna. Would be good in an attic or loft, but you really need to be able to see where it's pointing in order to properly aim it toward the station you're trying to receive. It does have just a little bit of play in it's gearing, too, so outside, if it's windy, it's going to wiggle, which will most likely affect reception. If you have a place indoors, it's OK, especially for the price. Better than any of the "flat"/leaf type of antennas that I have seen or tried. At least this is fully usable and does what it's advertised to do, even if it's not made heavy. If you were to get something similar from Winegard (or one of the other antenna manufacturers that are considered quality manufacturers) that uses the same basic design as this antenna, you'd be in excellent shape if you put it outside on a rotor, for sure. I'd be surprised if this one would hold up more than a year or two outside, though. I'd avoid it if you can't put it up inside or in a loft or attic. It's well-suited to indoor use.
Mine broke because of a storm , the pole fell down , good for $20
What city are you receiving your TV signals?
In these people’s defence the ferrite bar used for wavelengths 100 times longer than VHF and 1000 times longer than UHF works pretty magically especially because of its size.
Found you on 'Zon' during a loooong, wary (& weary) day of perusing indoor antennae -- just want to say Thank you for confirming my doubts & sparing me from the aforementioned junk! Again, thank you, Tyler!
Thank you Antennaman! I have not purchased an indoor antenna yet for my local channels. I am in the process of dumping Directv. I will be visiting your custom antenna recommendation page as I have no idea where my local channels broadcast from. 👍😁