I thought hi vhf was phased out. Our channel 13 had to go to 4. Of course that prevented many from getting reception, and the PBS TV station acted dumb on the result, everyone complaining. But, they got money LOL.
@@AntennaMan i know stations got big money for frequency change. Not sure why. I assumed they had plans for the bands. History, originally WQED Pittsburgh was going to move into uhf then FCC said stay. Then they moved into VHF low. Their Facebook page kept looking for answers telling people how to pick up new frequency. The only solution was a big rabbit ears.
I cut the cord over four years ago. My antenna in Ohio picks up over 70 channels. My antenna in Naples Florida picks up over 55 channels. I have saved over a thousand dollars a year by cutting cable. I don’t miss it. This excellent RUclips channel keeps me current and provides good advice.
makayla adkins In Ohio I bought two long range winegards and put them in my attic. In Florida I have one of those cheapo flat antennas. It works 5x better than RCA rabbit ears. The panel antenna was BAM 60-Mile Digital HD TV Antenna - Indoor OTA (Over The Air) VHF/UHF Amplified HDTV Receiver
I was bout to buy this antenna but hesitated because of your review. After thinking about it for several days I decided to give it a try and bought it. It works great!
this review is a good example of why we like you Tyler , you don't mind telling the truth no matter what , and tell it like it is , keep up the great work
My wife and I cut the cord on December 31st. Had DirecTV. I bought the Five Star antenna from Amazon and mounted it on the bracket that held the dish and utilized the RG6 cable that was there. 48 channels crystal clear and rock solid. But then I'm 10 miles from the transmitters not 42. For a cord cutter who lives close to the transmitting towers I found this to be an excellent antenna.
I installed antennas for an electronics shop during college, we also did public service radio antenna work and lots of farm installs with base stations and mobiles in farm equipment. Most of the radios we used were either VHF Midland or Icom or Yaesu .. and the antennas were Larsen Kulrod, Antenna Specialists and Winegard with Rohn towers and masts. The reason I mention all this is because as I walk through the stores and see little plastic antennas with just a few elements and some amplifier advertised with such exceptionally long range claims, I smile and think back at the massive VHF and UHF antennas we installed like the monster UHF and we didn't get anywhere near that distance, even with the best inline amplifiers right on the antenna powered from below .. even when we stacked them on a tower. Great video .. and thanks for telling the truth about these little antenna's distance claims.
Great evaluation as usual! On a side note, RUclips is getting out of control with ads. 2 preroll and then 3 mid roll (1 every 3 min) interruptions during a 10 minute video.
@@roxcyn in abrupt advertisement interruption every three minutes makes it unwatchable, for me at least. I believe creators have the option to just have pre-rolls and post roll ads with no middle interruptions, I think that's a better way to go.
Tyler, I'm glad you're addressing these obvious scams. The fact is, a simple whip antenna will pick up a station 200 or even 500 miles away, if you have it at a 30,000 ft elevation!! But down here on earth, 70 mi. is pretty much the max. I wouldn't touch this antenna with a 10 ft. pole, or even a 20 ft. because since the ad is a scam, the rest of the product is most likely an inferior or fake product. They get by with it because occasionally the ionosphere at night will bounce signals hundreds of miles, so they would argue the 200 mi claim is true, but what they don't say is that such reception is rare and NOT the norm. It's a very misleading ad.
One time I did a channel scan and picked up a couple channels from over 200 miles in the opposite direction of where the antenna was pointed. It's was rare because I have yet to see those channels since, and even then it only lasted for a few hours before they quit. It was a freak thing I even got the channels.
I recently installed a pair of antennas aim at different targets. One is oriented to North West and the other to South West. The antennas are very similar, almost identical to the one you are describing. The arrange I got can pull signals as far as 90 miles. Those stations aren't to stable but for the most part they are. All the stations in the 45 mile range are very good and strong reaching a 60 to 89 % strength. The only big problem I have is with one channel, uhf NBC 39 channel 28. Some times the image and signal is good but suddenly the image cutoff and stays off for several minutes and then comes back again. I think the NW antenna should be redirect it because the strength of this channel is between 30 and 50%. Finally I should say that this a very good antenna for its price. I can get up to 90 channels in optimal conditions, and 60 for the most part if the time
Just another data point -- I have this exact antenna, rural area about 40 miles from the transmitter. Antenna is up about 20 feet and blocked by trees in the direction of the transmitter, and using the supplied coax. I hooked this all up before realizing this RUclips channel existed. The signal strength (according to my HDHomeRun) ranged between 60-65%, but at night, it was all over the place between 20-65% and almost unwatchable. I had a spare RCA signal amp and hooked it up and now the signal varies between 65-75% all day and night and picture/sound has been extremely solid since. I'm missing about 2 channels that are listed for me on antennaweb -- fortunately they're just religious channels. I've still yet to watch the rest of your videos, but they're extremely helpful and educational, thank you for posting.
Unfortunately, the USA has TV stations transmitting from all different directions which sometimes means you need 2 or 3 antennas to get them all. That can be a nightmare to combine unless (like me) you are a TV Antenna Specialist. I live roughly 20 miles SE of the transmitters in Brisbane, Australia and we have just 5 networks (2 owned by the Govt. and 3 commercial networks) and all the transmitters are within very close proximity to each other (less than 1/4 mile) on the tallest hill we have, so I only need one VHF antenna I use a 6 element Band 3 (CH6 - 12) Yagi (built it myself) with an 18db amplifier in the ceiling, driving 7 TV points through less than perfect RG59 duo shield cable. Not the best but far from the worst. I would hazard a guess and say the cable that comes with those antennas is probably 5C2V - absolute crap. I wouldn't even use it to connect my TV to the wall socket. You are probably lucky that you are about 40 miles from the transmitters with them being at different angles as the closer you the wider the angle between them becomes, then you have to go to multiple antennas and diplex them. Unfortunately, I can't fathom % of signal. It has to be relative to something - 60% of what?. I measure signals in db microvolts (db) which is relative to a single dipole antenna. Any obstruction of the signal will severely reduce it. VHF is bad enough, if you were using what we call Band 5 UHF (up around 800 mHz) you probably be flat out getting anything and when it rains you lose even more signal. I can't understand the large fluctuation you get between day and night. Not doubting you, it just doesn't make sense, but there must be a reason.
I like you telling the truth about commercial TV antennas. I work in a company that makes VHF and UHF antennas for professional use. This antenna in your hands directors (Front sticks) are way smaller than they supposed to be to resonate on UHF TV channels. No wonder that it performs poorly. By the way, I watched 40 years ago TV from Sweden in my home country of Yugoslavia through atmospheric reflections. It happens from time to time. I am with antennas all my life as a HAM operator, as a professional Radio engineer as well. It is a very interesting piece of science
I'm the guy that left a comment about this antenna a few months ago. Glad to know that it's not as good of an antenna as I thought. So I just went ahead and ordered a Televes DatBoss. I guess I felt that because I was only at most 39 miles away from the stations I would only need a medium sized antenna, but I have two edge de-fraction for about half the stations I receive from this spot so I think that's what makes such a huge difference. (for the record though I knew it didnt have 200 mile range and I didn't use the cable it came with, because I knew 50 dollars for an antenna w/cable would mean it comes with a free after-thought)
Found some sites to calculate LOS distance. Looks like 200 miles might work if you put the Five Star antenna on a 50 foot tower, but only if the transmitter tower is 18,000 feet tall. A 4000 foot tower on top of Pikes Peak should be just about right.
I'm glad I discovered your channel. Wish it had been a little sooner! We have bought 2 junk indoor antennas. Now we won't waste time any longer. Thank you!
It’s all RF until it is processed. I retired from doing most types of RF including satellite and microwave. I use one of those little flat panels because I live on a hill about 30 miles from all the stations with about 5 miles of ocean in the same direction. The FCC site shows all my stations as strong and moderate.
@@teekay1785 CB is down around 28 MHz which in an HF frequency. Even the lower VHF frequencies will skip off the ionosphere. Up around the 100 MHz range it is line of site. There will be some low level multi path from terrain reflections but they are at the opposite polarity. I once set up a 150 MHz radio link to a remote place where we actually reflected the signal off a mountain. When you do that you change the polarization so you end up,with one end having antenna elements vertical and the other end horizontal.
@@Chris_at_Home Yes I am aware of that 10 meter is near CB which is actually about 27-28 mhz I also have 2 meter radios which are about 144 to 148 mhz and are vhf CB is know for skip. In fact I have talked to many other countries and almost all 50 states on CB Band including Alaska and Hawaii from the southeast the mid to late 1970s with a 6 element wilson laser antennae and a Tempo 1 radio. I have also used circular polarization on other frequencies as well as C and Ku band satellite reception for TV several years before it was readily available around 1983. I have also stacked VHF TV antennas for decent reception from about 110 miles away or a little more in the early 70 s . I didn't however dabble in slow scan TV or microwave. I had lost interest by the time these became popular but still have my radios and ground plane and wire antennas. First transistor ham radio I personally saw in use was about 1975 shortly after I got interested in ham frequencies. I still remember the key of "screaming eagles" very vividly. The late 70 s early 80s was also a period of high sunspot activity that supported a higher amount of skip communication. generally CB skip was more prevalent in the 500-800 mile range but varied a lot.
I am a Digital Antenna Specialist in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. I have more than 40 years in the Antenna industry in installation and design. What you found is typical. Without even being able to measure your actual signal level (in db microvolts) I can say you would be receiving a level of about 70-73 db on VHF. We no longer need combined VHF/UHF Antennas as since we changed to digital all our TV stations (and we only have 5 Networks, 2 Govt owned and 3 commercial, they are grouped in channel blocks with VHF being CH 6 - 12 and UHF 28 - 60. I live approx 35 km (20 miles) from the TV Transmitters and using a similar design VHF ONLY antenna (a hybrid - that antenna is NOT a yagi but a hybrid as the front UHF part is YAGI but the rear section (VHF) is log-periodic). The antennas I have that are similar are VHF only and have an additional reflector element on the back to improve channels 11 & 12. That antenna will yield 71db of signal at 4 feet above my roof. 71 db will adequately drive 4 TVs, yielding (with good quality RG6 quad shield cable) around 62db at the TV. The recommended minimum level is 50 db for domestic and 60 db for commercial premises.
This is the antenna I used as the base for my “FrankenAntenna.” I cut the uhf end off a donor antenna and spliced to the uhf end of the Five Star. I then replaced the vhf long rods with longer rods from the donor. This combination increased my db substantially on all ota vhf channels in the Reno local. However, if you had made this video sooner I would have opted for a different antenna as the base for “FrankenAntenna.” My reason for all this tinkering is in effort to get the illusive uhf channel 27. After you supplied their phone number (Thank you) I discovered they have been operating on auxiliary transmitter since December. Since I have a one edge location I have been wondering if the Televes DATBOSS LR Mix would be able bring them in once they are again full strength. Hopefully “FrankenAntenna” will be sufficient when they are full power again to save the expense of the DATBOSS.
Not knowing the specifics of your location and local broadcasters, I can't say it conclusively. What I can tell you is I sprung for a Datboss and it's one of the best purchases I've made. Split it to 3 sets, and it hasnt let me down. What it can't pick up, I'm pretty sure nothing can.
Finally someone tells the truth as it is great job !! I have known this for years and couldn't understand why no one was questioning these so called 500 mi HD antennas ...
Because most people are stupid, and will fall for slick ad copy! That's why no one questions anything these days. They just refuse to THINK for themselves!
I went with a Winegard 7700. I’m about 40 miles from towers but they are in 3 different directions. I had a 30 year old radio shack preamp with variable gain that I had in a box since the analog days. Surprisingly it still worked and the antenna got all my stations even though it’s a directional I found a sweet spot. I did need to remove a powered splitter because that over amped the signal...wide fluctuations in signal strength standard splitter did the job.
Unfortunately, the USA has TV stations transmitting from all different directions which sometimes means you need 2 or 3 antennas to get them all. That can be a nightmare to combine unless (like me) you are a TV Antenna Specialist. I live roughly 20 miles SE of the transmitters in Brisbane, Australia and we have just 5 networks (2 owned by the Govt. and 3 commercial networks) and all the transmitters are within very close proximity to each other (less than 1/4 mile) on the tallest hill we have, so I only need one VHF antenna I use a 6 element Band 3 (CH6 - 12) Yagi (built it myself) with an 18db amplifier in the ceiling, driving 7 TV points through less than perfect RG59 duo shield cable. Not the best but far from the worst. I would hazard a guess and say the cable that comes with those antennas is probably 5C2V - absolute crap. I wouldn't even use it to connect my TV to the wall socket. You are probably lucky that you are about 40 miles from the transmitters with them being at different angles as the closer you get, the wider the angle between them becomes, and then you have to go to multiple antennas and diplex them.
I recall as a kid, my buddy and I had a hobby of hiking to the head ends of small town cable towers and photographing their antennas. These valley towns of few hundred people had interesting installations, without them one or two channels, with the system less than a dozen. Usually set up by independent contractors, everything was over the air terrestrial. No satellite, no web .. just huge stacked yagis aimed in all directions on a sixty foot Rohn tower. The fed a line to town usually suspended so low we could touch it as we hiked.
A major internet and TV company bought out the community-based company that had a similar setup to what you're describing, way back decades ago. Nobody seems to remember when the community pooled its resources for the benefit of everyone.
Most cheap UHF antennas on amazon are based on an old yagi design that covers 470 to 860MHz. The folded dipole is tuned to the low end and the elements are tuned to the high end. This usually results in a low gain at 470 MHz and increases as the frequency goes up. This would have been great 20 years ago, as signal attenuation is more at higher frequencies so the extra gain cancels out this attenuation. However, with the repacks and 600 to 860MHz being used by cellphone towers, these antennas would do a fantastic job on t-mobile but not so much on nbc! A correctly manufactured antenna for today's market would have the elements only slightly smaller than the folded dipole so would be tuned to have higher gain from 470 to 600MHz. Trying to find one is the real challenge.
Working on the Isle of Wight , UK , 99% of the time I use a 12 element group K (21-48) (140 channels) either in H or V mode as the main transmitter does both. The uk government has sold off channels 49-68 for 5G and all the broacast channels have been squashed together. Where terrestrial tv doesn't work here, it doesn't matter how big your aerial is you wont get reliable tv . UK uses CODFM a better system than the US, and I imagine the cable tv lobby had a hand in choosing the less capable 8vsb to protect cable industry. There are still reception issues under certain atmospheric conditions where multiplexes from distant transmitters overlap and will knock out signals being recieved from mainland transmitters here on the island. Otherwise a satellite system using 45cm dish is needed. My area of work (and living) is a diamond shaped island 27 miles by 16 miles on the south of the UK mainland. A lovely place to do my job!
I found 10 channels with a new cheap vizio 24inch tv.and i bought a 55mile range rca indoor amplified antenna.when i unplugged the 30.00 antenna i still got 9 outta ten lol..55mile range gets me 10 channels haha.i want a roof antenna like we usta have.Great channel Dude..
Yeah, but it’ll teach the Politicians anus to do research before they buy another ‘too good to be true’ antenna! They’re pretty stupid animals already .....
Thanks to your video I've been enjoying local TV now after about 10 years of having an outdoor antenna. Only had about 10 channels and most of them sucks. Now I have 44 channels and they all work great. Thank you !
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
I'm an antenna guy too. I Wilkes Barre I have 3 TV antennas I made from a broken ham radio antenna. One of them is a dipole made with 2 5 inch pieces of aluminum tubing. Works great.
Im building a home, cant afford to buy a plot in the country, so I just informed the HOA that they are required to change their rules to allow out door antennas.
5:34 pause here - This is the one i have and is a great antenna this one is : " Televes DATBOSS LR Mix UHF VHF Long Range Antenna with LTE Filter (149883)". Thanks a lot for your video.
what a coincidence antenna man I just install one of those antennas yesterday for a customer here in Boynton Beach Florida it did work okay I am very close to the Station Tower here in Palm Beach County I also was able to pick the stations out of Miami you're correct when you say the VHF are very good the UHF working okay I don't think it's a great antenna but work okay it's much better than those piece of junk plastic antenna keep it up the good work antenna man
Use to live in South Florida myself. Channel 6 from Miami was a real problem to get, and I was only 30 miles away from there. Watched channel 12 from West Palm Beach, and also, went through the rings of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Lauderdale,Florida. Ah, hum you can keep it down there.
You sir, are worth more than your weight in gold!!!! I listened to a lot of other “reviewers”, but no one spoke with the conviction and knowledge you did. Thank you for all the valuable information. I will definitely look into the website you mentioned as it seems quite practical the advice you provided..
Before I discovered your channel, I bought exactly this antenna. (I knew the 200 mile claim was total garbage but discounted the fact as RF range claims are always of the flavor of "between two mountaintops under perfect conditions, or during a tropo or E-skip opening, in which case a coat-hanger would probably also do that.) Don't have the measurement equipment you do, but luckily I fall into exactly the situation you described: all the channels but KVIE 6 PBS (189 Mhz VHF). This antenna was luckily much better on VHF and did the trick. But I would have gotten the Channelmaster if I had seen your review :) Thanks for the great work.
@@pagefour6498 there was a time when antenna milage was true. I bought an FM antenna that radio shack said it would pick up FM stations 175 miles away and it did live up to it's specifications. I used to listen to classical station in Boynton beach florida from Lakeland florida which was about 154 miles away. I also picked up Denver Colorado from Orlando Florida and picked up New York City from Orlando Florida. This antenna over stepped it's spec's. Uhf antenna like the gray hoverman was rated at 75 miles I only needed 40 miles and the picture was crystal clear using a 16 inch zenith black and white portable tv. I'm sure a good color set would have done well which I did not have. Also the older tv antenna picked up detroit Michigan from conneautville pa. You had some of the great lakes to help. I also picked up canada like CHCH TV. And global from London Ontario. Well this was the analog days when the chanel number was the frequency they brodcast on no virtual channels in those days.
Nice review. I would guess that the poor UHF performance is because it is designed and optimized for foreign markets where they use higher UHF frequencies. The thing about broadband Yagi antennas is that need to be optimized for the maximum frequency you want it to receive, since reception will drop off rapidly at frequencies above it (the director elements at the front will block the higher frequencies), but only slowly for frequencies below it. Many countries use UHF frequencies up to 900 MHz and beyond, but in the USA, they now only use up to 608 MHz (channel 36). As a result, there would be significant reduction in reception for the frequencies we actually use from that gradual decay compared to an antenna optimized for a narrower UHF band.
I am an antenna specialist of over 40 years and I concur with what you say with one exception. Antennas that I use to receive VHF channels 6 - 12 Australian (174.25 to 224.25 MHz with 7 MHz spacing PAL B system) have pretty even gain across the band. I believe the USA uses 6 MHz spacing with NTSC. I use both Yagi (3 - 10 element) and hybrid log-periodics which have a relatively even gain across the band though some tend to peak around channel 8 and for some reason no matter what antenna I test, ABC on channel 12 is always -2dB to channel 11, though I have modified a design and gained an extra 2dB on 12 with no sacrifice on the other channels. Yagi antennas were originally designed for single frequency use and generally are not very well adapted to broadband, particularly on UHF frequencies. However, it is possible to design a UHF Yagi with a fairly even gain across a relatively small bandwidth of perhaps 42 MHz (one Australian TV band). Further, a phased array works great on UHF and will cover our entire UHF channel frequencies with ease. I first built a 16 element VHF B3 yagi about 40+ years ago based on a design modified from an amateur radio antenna. I set the reflector for my lowest frequency, the driven element for the middle and the directors for the highest. It beat the crap out of a commercially made 14 element antenna. With UHF Yagis which I have made from the UHF section of various brands of old VHF/UHF metropolitan area antennas I have scrapped, I have found a huge difference in the performance between brands and it all comes down to element length and spacing. TThe general theory with Yagi antennas is that gain is a factor of boom length rather than the number of elements - quite true. I have an 8 element UHF Yagi that leaves a shorter 10 element one for dead. Both different brands and designs.There are 3 ways to make a yagi and each has pros and cons. 1. All elements (directors) the same length and vary the spacng. 2. All spacing the same and vary the director length. 3. vary both spacing and length of the directors which I find seems to work best over a 50 MHz bandwidth. You can increase gain on a particular channel by adjusting the spacing and length of directors but you sacrifice gain and bandwidth across the rest. Many of our OLD UHF antennas were only designed for UHF ch 28 (527 MHz) and now we have Ch 29 - 33 locally many are not much good on the higher frequencies and signal levels drop off by up to 20 db above their design frequency. UHF channels in Australia range from 526.5 to 694.5 (channels 28 - 51 digital). We used to use up to channel 69 before digital. if you are interested, here is a link to the ACMA publication on Australian TV standards and broadcast frequencies. rather technical in places. www.acma.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-12/General%20Information_0.pdf
As a former manager of a Radio Shack (RS) in Channelview and Port Arthur, Texas, I can tell you that we were selling by 1980 Winegard antennas manufactured for RS and RCA. We started selling only anodized antennas. We also started selling only anodized poles tied down with guy wires mounted on multiple sections to reach the proper height...we sold a lot of antennas! Not to mention commision as SPIFS for amplifiers, cable (RG59 cable company standard) and splitters aside including RG58 for local low-loss and CB. Shielding was not given such importance then (only 75% shielding) including lighting surge arrestors. Grounding used to be so important, ground plains and ground sinks included...
Back in '03 I installed a top of the line long range antenna on a 21 foot pole with a pre amp booster leading to a main booster connected by RG-6 cable. The Antenna was mounted on a old School rotator. I swear to you it picked up clearly around 60 channels. This was in central North Carolina. It picked up stations in Virginia, South Carolina, and Tennessee and even one in West Virginia! And of course NC. Total height of the Antenna was around 41 feet. My father was amazed, but as soon as I went to split the signal to accommodate viewing it on 2 TV's in the house the signal degraded. But still a wonderful experiment.
i was thrilled to hear u on with my buddy dave at KSCO last week..i do production/commercial editing for KSCO..i am a huge fan..very cool to hear u :) great interview..thank u buddy
The built-in 75ohm adapter is indeed junk. I bought this antenna and the first thing I did was remove its crude 75ohm adapter and used one of the aftermarket adapter I already had. Reception was much improved and it out performs my older RCA antenna but in no way does reach its 200 mile claim, more like 50 miles tops.
@@AntennaMan I do use a Winegard preamp with this. I also think the UHF elements are spaced wrong. And with so many parasitic elements this antenna will require precise aim if you're close to a transponder. It also seems that there is a reflector element is placed too close to the back of the loop element as well. Still, it picks up a little better than the little RCA yagi I was using before.
Hey Tyler, I just wanted to send some thank you cash for your information. I watched several of your videos and I cut the cord. I installed a clearstream 4v outdoor antenna and a pv150 pvr (clicked the link of your video). Its looking good and I'm saving some cash. Thanks again
Thanks so much for the contribution Robert. I'm glad it worked out well for you. Make sure the DTV box is connected to your TV with an HDMI cable so you keep the HD picture quality.
Using 4NEC2 antenna simulation software, I found that models of log-periodic antennas work far better than yagis for television reception. The log periodic is an inherently broadband antenna having fairly consistent impedance across the UHF television band, whereas the yagi is an inherently narrowband antenna unsuitable for broadband use. The only reason log periodic television antennas are not widely available in the United States is that people in the business of making and selling antennas are too lazy to do the work of designing and constructing a log periodic antenna which is more complex than a yagi, requiring every element to be fed by a constant-impedance feedline which reverses phase from one element to the next. Log periodic antennas are widely used in Europe.
Used to use logs almost exclusively in analogue days. Still use them but a mix of narrowband (56 MHz bandwidth) yagis also fits in well. It depends on the bandwidth of the antenna, but you are correct in that a LP is more broadband than a yagi but yagis tend to have better directivity (F/B & F/S ratio). As a professional antenna installer, I know many places where a yagi will leave a LP for dead and vice versa.
Well, I just put one of thease up, 30ft up and 42 miles South of Chicago. I used the junk cable it came with and I get all the local Chanels including CBS perfectly. I was impressed to get such clear reception. I added a Tablo and get over 150 free channels. That being said I will upgrade the cable and if this antenna fails for some reason I will look at better quality model for longevity’s sake.
I actually purchased this antenna as my first one after canceling my ever increasing cable for about 42$ on E-Bay I was pleasantly pleased with its reception. I had to play a bit with the direction finding that even less then 10inches changed my reception quality. I have it mounted on a second story porch on a 10 ft additional pole for height I do lose reception when the leaves are on in the higher channels.. .
i bought the double clear stream 4 max after watching your review i live in port clinton ohio i now get detroit toledo and cleveland and even buffalo new york all channels where before i had a 360 and was lucky to get any local at all thank you so much for doing test and reviews
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
Thanks for that great info. When I switched to cable many years a go when I lived in Los Angeles. I used the VHF / UHF antenna on my roof and hooked it up to my police scanner. Worked great. I bought that antenna at Radio Shack around the mid 1970s. I laugh when I see those TV commercials that they try to sell you this little HD antenna so you can catch free HD TV broadcasts that you can hook up behind your TV. Those are the local stations that have always been free to see. I hooked up a rabbit ear antenna that I paid a dollar for many years a go and it works great picking those local stations. I live near Phoenix, AZ today.. Oh, I use to be a telephone linesman when I was in the USAF in the 1980's.
I've picked up Charlotte 2 or 3 times which is just over 200miles from my place in Hampstead. If I turn my antenna I can pickup 15 in Myrtle Beach which is just over 100 miles I Pich Up WITN all day long at 100 miles. Sometimes I get channel 5.1 out of Raleigh.
Charlotte's average elevation is about 890 feet above sea level and My elevation is about 20 ft above sea level plus the Transmitter is roughly another 500 to 2,000 feet. I'm currently using an RCA dual input Pre amp. The Channel Master is stronger but would probably blow right past my local stations. But I might spring for the cash to give it a try.
@@Wardell43 you might be receiving them via tropospheric ducting, too. I've picked up New Orleans stations with indoor rabbit ears when the ducting is really strong here between SA and Houston.
U don't have any idea! I'am from Tunisia in North Africa, i picked up Terrestrial TV signals from up to 770 miles and the shortest 80 miles... from Greece, Turkey, Italy, Libya, and Algeria some times Spain all signals over the Mediterranean...how do that work if we are on a Globe 🤔?
I put up ia channel master preamp and now i have many more unwanted stations, but very little stability. What I can receive varies all day long, like shortwave. But I have yet to direct it perfectly. It is a long range antenna I got as a hand-me-down. I never did put a dvm on the terminals while the balun was off. I doubt there could be anything much wrong with it. I stabilized some of the locking elements with tape. Now at least I get PBS part-time and choices of news. I said all along that it is nuts to buy cable--unless you need cable. In many places, like the rolling hills of Oregon where you can get nothing in the valleys. I specificially went out and bought RG6 at hone depot to find that the braid is not copper. It is silver. So it looks like I did not get the real deal there. I think it is the Quantum. But I am impressed with the center wire.
@@danpete6623 yea a couple of times i picked up channels in the Philadelphia area because of that about 150 miles away but the signal doesn't last long.
Just stumbled across ur channel. Appreciate ur insight. U have a new subscriber who’s looking forward to learning from ur collection of videos. Happy Holidays Antenna Man PA 🎄
Tyler ,you failed to mention the rocket booster that places the antenna in orbit to get that range. 30 feet up should give better reception than this antenna provides.
You go through the basic info on every exciting episode. Perhaps you could direct new viewers to a link to this information, instead of making your regular viewers see the same information at the beginning of every episode. SSDD!
I agree, it's frustrating to hear the same basic info at the start of every Tyler video, but then again, he is educating people to avoid being scammed. AND, his information is VERY important as a baseline for his effort. Perhaps he could develop a format for his video's where this basic info is provided during the first 2 min of every video, and then he could direct those who have already heard it to "skip to the 2 min. point?" But it probably needs to be in every video. The average person's knowledge of digital and antenna technology is pretty bad and most have been misled so badly by the TV industry, so unfortunately it should be included in each video. But for those of us who don't need it, perhaps he could suggest the point where his new content begins?
It's too bad that most people have the attention span of an elephant, therefore, Tyler has to repeat his spiel for the technically challenged to hopefully absorb, understand and utilize it.
"HD antenna" is just marketing vernacular, and it's not really that big of a deal. It does pick up the HD signals from digital broadcasts, as well as the SD signals. Not sure how many people are fooled into thinking it transforms SD into HD. Maybe more than I think. In the old days when I was installing roof mounted or tower mounted antennas for people, we referred to it as a "TV antenna", even though I often told people we could get them better FM radio reception using it, and some opted for that. 😄
I have a radio shack rooftop antenna from the 70s. It still works pretty good as a digital antenna. If I changed the old flat lead-in wire for a good coax wire, do you think it would make the signal better?
@@JonathanMcKey That was a scam a lot of people made money off of. I worked in communications and when we went from analog to digital modulation schemes and never had to change the antennas on the terrestrial microwave and satellite communications.
Hello. Had to place a comment about HDTV antennas for TV. I had a 28 foot travel trailer up in the Pocono Mountains. Quite high elevation. Lots of trees but 1400ft elevation. I'm also a Ham and understand on cable losses and good practices. Before HD TV and only 2-13 channel reception I found a Weinguard multi element TV antenna quite good. I also had a Hygain rotor available. Then about 2010 when digital TV became standard and a specific tuner was required, I purchased a Smart TV. I also found on Ebay a Log Periodic 4ft long VHF/UHF TV antenna. I found this antenna a good compromise and its ability to now receive UHF channel assignments. Turning the LOG also made reception so much better. I brought this antenna home when we sold our trailer. This antenna sits on my chimney now. 20 miles No West NYC and our TV scanned and found 140 channels. Clear NYC channels plus Music Videos, and all sorts of other broadcasting. VHF and UHF the antenna was fixed towards WTC. Pinpoint clear HDTV for most part. Also the Ebay antenna is not listed any more! But it is at my home happy! w2hp
That antenna reminds me of Radio Shacks UV75 which was designed to pickup VHF and FM from 50 miles and UHF at 75 miles. Being that this is smaller by 25% I say it probably has a 50 mile range at most.
I suspect I could get all my local channels clearly as nearly all our broadcast antennas are atop Sandia Peak (a +10,000-ft mountain), but between them and me are some huge buildings and I can't move houses :( However... there isn't much good on OTA TV these days anyhow.
@@caseyhartman7094 -- Me, too! Oldies but some goodies there. We don't have "Decades" yet, but I do note a new one, "Start", that seems to broadcast older shows featuring brave women. Every station seems to have to have a theme, but that's okay. Cozi TV reran _Hart to Hart_ a zillion times (as bad as it was, with zero continuity from episode to episode, it was a favorite of mine in the 1980s due to Robert Wagner). Cozi failed to run one episode to complete my collection (though the last 3 years are now available on DVD if I ever get rich). H2H has moved over to "GetTV", so maybe I'll see that one episode there. It's fun watching for the older shows!
@@DJ_Rainy -- I hope you have some options for finding content you want to see, probably in the form of good internet service, but your situation could mean resorting (or continuing with) cable service -- if it is available and affordable. For TV shows/regular programs you want to see and if you aren't in a hurry, the shows may eventually come out on DVD and the price for a season of a show could be so cheap that several sets can be bought for the price of a month of cable. I was downloading Lucifer but only got a few from season 5 before my source dried up (or rather, I'll have to pay...). So as S5 will likely come out on DVD one day, I'll probably get it.
I had a 160 outdoor antenna at my old house and picked Knoxville and Nashville Huntsville Al Birmingham Al back in the days on a 30 foot pole and also Bristol va to with coax cable and preamp to I miss those days also lived on a big hill to
Living in the west. It is quite common for broadcast antennas to be on top of a mountain. Easily in many cases being 1000 to 5000 feet higher in elevation than the surrounding area. Came here because I bought a similar item. The area I live is 120 miles from Vegas (road) probably 80-90 directly. Closest big city. My place has a second floor that is open and overlooks the viewing area. So I decided to experiment with finding the strongest signal and found at one count 54 channels. However there were channels that were available on scans that produced fewer channels but included channels both desirable and unavailable with the differing orientation. And there were also duplicate programming but occasionally there were small programming differences. This is before it has not been partially shielded by the building. Have not installed it yet because I am looking for the most reliable/economical rotor before I find its final mounting place. PS forgot to mention I think I get more channels from Phoenix which is probably another 20 miles line of sight. I expect my experience to be different than yours.
You know it's bullshit when they give a mile range for antennas. Antennas and RF wave don't work this way. Different frequencies propogate differently depending on atmospheric conditions. There is no mile range for antenna design.
Very informative video, I must admit I thought there was something to the HD Antenna's that made them special, but thanks for setting the record straight on that.
Dish network has the same problem on aspect ratio on some of their digital over the air sub channels like metv,h&i,start tv,grit tv.etc,every body looks like a tooth pik,4×3 ratio,when it broadcast in 6×9 and hd on some fta satellite feeds.
This is the first video I've watched on your channel but I'm already impressed. When we in the US first went to digital I laughed at the amount of very high quality antennas that were suddenly taken down and discarded due to the misconception that you had to buy a special antenna when you purchased your "new HD Digital TV"! I am a ham (amateur radio operator) and have been building antennas for decades for all types of reception at many different frequency bands, from low frequencies below the AM radio band all the way to near microwave frequencies. As you pointed out, a 'frequency' is a 'frequency'. Your antenna must be able to receive the 'frequency' or signal. Other than that it's up to the receiver to 'decode' the signal into it's information whether it be an analog voice or video signal or digital data, aka "Digital TV". I've used the exact same antenna to transmit and receive on FM Voice in the two meter (144-148 mhz) ham radio band and also digital data similar to the internet, and APRS (Amateur Packet Reporting System) which broadcasts and receives GPS positions of fellow 'hams' using the system. The "best" antenna for any 'frequency' is the one that picks up the strongest signal on that frequency. PERIOD! No "Special Digital Antenna" exists, and will NEVER exist. I'm glad I found your channel and will be subscribing as soon as I post this comment! Keep up the good work!!!
Hi Jim. I fully concur, it is all marketing HYPE! I am a TV Antenna Specialist (specialist because I don't do anything else like fix washing machines, TVs etc) with over 40 years of operating in the southern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland. To understand DIGITAL I needed to do a one-day course and then buy a new signal meter. It never ceases to amaze me at the bullshit that is claimed about the performance of these antennas on eBay and RUclips. I saw one flat panel indoor wall mounted antenna that claimed to be able to clearly receive ALL TV stations from no less than 600 miles away and receive 'hundreds' of channels. What a croc! I am sure many gullible people bought it only to realise it didn't, couldn't and never would do what was claimed. I had to laugh at a so-called combined satellite dish and Terrestrial TV antenna guy made out of a soft drink can and a broken car radio antenna which he cut down into pieces about 6cm to 10cm long and haphazardly soldered them directly to the approx. 1-foot long 'boom' of the antenna, attached an F connector and a short bit of coax and then another coax lead to his TV and proceeded to show perfect pictures received from it. Yet, when he pointed the antenna at the ceiling and then unplugged the cable the TV kept working... Hmmm, someone trying to pull my leg there. And, the antenna being reviewed here is (as you'd know) NOT a yagi but a hybrid of yagi UHF and log-periodic VHF. I use similar antennas (but VHF ONLY) with a reflector on them and at roughly 20 miles from the transmitter, it will give me 71 dB microvolts. Here too, people were being told they wouldn't get digital TV on an old analogue antenna. That was partly true as the OLD antennas were only designed to go up to 209 MHz (CH 10) but we now have digital channels 11 & 12 and on the low end, CH6 and most of the old antennas had a fairly steep drop off above CH 10 and didn't work too well on 11 & 12. Close to the transmitter towers, they were OK. The biggest issue here was cable as lots of places were wired up with 4C2V polythene dielectric cable (UGGHHH!!) which was OK when we first got TV over 50 years ago but no good for digital and also proved useless when we first got TV Channels in the UHF band. There is so much misinformation around about TV Antennas and cables it is no wonder people are confused and fall for the hype.
@@davidphilips4637 Yeah there's so much 'bull &(*&' going around it's unbelieveable. Even during the 'good ole days' there was some going around. A close relative moved into a new house and didn't bring their 'good' antenna with them. I asked if they could get me some regular flat 'twin lead' antenna cable. They made a quick run to a nearby Radio Shack and brought me back a small roll. Within thirty minutes I handed them a roll of tape and one end of the 'antenna' (a folded dipole) and we hung it up at the top of the wall behind the tv. They had as good reception from this homemade antenna as they did from their old outdoor antenna. The old adage 'you get what you pay for' USED to apply, but not now Channel Master was one of the 'tried and true' antennas, and you actually got what you paid for. You could get a cheap 'local' antenna for around twenty to thirty bucks which when mounted on a say 20 foot pole would receive anything in around 20 to 40 miles. Or you could spend a hundred dollars and receive even the weak stations out to around eighty. Now with all the 'hype' about 'digital' stuff around you can still get a good antenna from a 'reputable' company, and get what you pay for, or you can go with the 'hype' and spend a lot of money for what amounts to a coathanger and a piece of screen wire. (If done right I think both of us could use a coathanger, a piece of screen wire and a few other odds and ends and come up with a better antenna than some of these so called Digital TV Specialist 'company's sell!)
If you are receiving a tv station from 200 miles away, chances are very likely that you are only temporarily receiving it because the signal is being brought in by an atmospheric phenomon known as "tropo" or "tropospheric ducting" . This is when 2 air masses are in place, usually as the result of a passing frontal boundary. And the signal gets "trapped" between the 2 and your antenna happens to be within that "path". Another phenomenon maybe happening at these frequencies is known as "e-skip" in which a very high ionized "patch" of the ionospheres "e layer" is so heavily ionized by the summer suns rays that it forms an "e-cloud" and reflects signals at these freqencies back toward earth where the transmitter and receiver are both under this "cloud". This phenomenon can last from just a few minutes to hours and can result in signals being receivable from hundreds to thousands of miles from the transmitter site. However this is a very rare event and occurs typically only during the middle of the day during the summer months. unlike the typical shortwave am broadcast band skip which occurs nightly all year round, e- skip is very unpredictable. Otherwise you are not going to receive over the air tv signals from 200 miles away. 75 to 100 miles is typically the max distance. Just listen to what happens to any fm radio station, as a perfect example, on your car radio when on a long road trip. Bc fm operates in the vhf frequency range just as tv does. Another perfect example of "line of site" in modern times is your smart phone. Which is why your smart phone automatically switches to the next tower ahead (or the next tower with the strongest signal) as you drive. Your smart phone operates using microwave frequencies which are more line of site than fm/tv/vhf and thus can only travel for just a few miles.(sorry for the edit)
Many years ago I lived in a town called Singleton, about 50 miles west of Newcastle and about 100 miles NW off Sydney. From my front porch I could see the local transmitter which was about 25 miles away. That transmitted only two channels, the national ABC and a local Newcastle station. I like everyone else there wanted the three commercial stations from Sydney and most were using large antennas on 30 - 40 foot poles with amplifiers and lucky to get average reception 6 months of the year. I designed and built my own antenna system of two horizontally stacked 16 element yagis tuned for just the 3 channels I wanted. One morning while I had the antenna system disconnected to do some upgrades to it, I had a length of wire about 1 metre long hanging from the 300 oHM antenna connection on the TV. This picked up the 2 local stations no problem, but my kids were watching cartoons that I knew were NOT on the local channels. When I asked what channel they were watching they said it was one of the Sydney stations. How could that be, there was no antenna connected, just this short length of wire. You will say 'ducting'... and yes, you are correct. There was a thick fog that morning and I could not see the house directly across the street. By around 9 am as the sun burned off the fog, so the Sydney TV channels also disappeared. CBers and ham radio Ops certainly understand this phenomenon.
Thank you for your great information on the truth about the cheap antennas promising the impossible. I use an old UHF antenna I found stashed in the barn years ago now have it mounted in the attic. I get 47 stations pointing in one direction, some as far away as 60 miles, clear as a bell.
..most of the multiple local stations in LA have been broadcasting for years from Mt Wilson..not far from Pasadena ..which gives the flat basin portion of greater LA a fairly long clear reach for most local viewers..
One thing to know: There are natural phenomena that can drastically increase the distance radio waves (and, by proxy, television, since television is a form of radio) can travel. The catch is, these propagation modes only occur at random, unpredictable times. Sporadic-E will send (ONLY LOW VHF) TV signals from about 1000 miles (rarely less than 750 miles nor more than 1400 miles distant) in early summer. Tropospheric refraction affects VHF-high and UHF signals, sometimes for a few hundred miles, particularly over lakes covered with fog, but also due to "air inversions" on calm, humid nights. As I type this, I hear people telling me that would be impossible, because the spherical Earth will block any signals out of line-of-sight. *HOWEVER* Sporadic-E paths go airborne and reflect the path back to Earth, while High-VHF and UHF follow the path set by tropospheric refraction. In contrast, AM radio signals on the clear channels will carry for hundreds of miles about nine nights out of ten.
I beg to differ but I got 2 of those antenna (different locations) and the quality of the reception is excellent for all channels (2 thru 67). The video quality is much better than the AT&T cable. For both locations the distance to the broadcast towers are about 45 miles. The reception is also very good in stormy rainy weather. I was pleasantly surprised. This particular antenna had problems 2 or 3 years ago but apparent got that problem fixed.
Tyler.... I want to tell you something. I once lived in western MA in the Berkshire foothills.. I lived at 1750 feet MSL and had a clear horizon 360° due to being at max elevation in the state. In 1988, I bought a moose of an antenna from Radio Shack... both VHF and UHF. Also an amplifier and rotor. I was able to get stations in Boston 93 miles away and Providence, RI over 100 miles away like they were right next door... clear as a bell. I could get a channel from Boston facing SE.. rotate 180° and get a station from Schenectady NY without changing the channel.
Also depends on frequency and transmitter ERP. Here in Brisbane, Qld. we have 5 networks, all VHF CH 6 - 12 and all come from the same direction and all have 50kW ERP omnidirectional. . In Australia, it is of no use having an antenna that genuinely would pick up channels 200 miles (300km) away as you would get exactly the same stations as you would locally. Back in analogue days it was different, with country areas generally having only the ABC and one commercial station., I used to install antennas (16 element VHF B3 yagis) on 20 - 30 foot masts to pick up the capital city TV stations from about 100 miles away with a mountain range in between and also had to contend with co-channel interference of those by rebroadcasters of local channels using the same frequencies as Sydney that were closer but behind me and another hill. I wasn't able to pick up the offending channels directly but their weak signal bounced off the mountain and was reflected back in nearly the same path as the channels I was after. I initially tried a 16 element phased array. That was a useless as a hip pocket in a singlet. I did some research, taught myself antenna theory from a book and designed and built my own antennas, one of which was a 6 foot long waveguide with a fantastic F/B ratio and good gain. I sold it to a guy who had tried every man and his dog around who could not get him Sydney, but my antenna did. Certainly, the higher your antenna's elevation the farther it should be able to 'see', but there is also something you have to consider when chasing DX signals - more height is not always advantageous. The signal could be at a lower level than you think. I have proven this many times. Where Mohamed is the antenna and the mountain is the signal, you must take Mohamed to the mountain as the mountain will not come to Mohamed... so the antenna must be at the height of the signal. Finding that height is the problem. In the early days of TV here, one company used to have a truck-mounted hydraulically raised pole on which they mounted the antenna and then gradually raised it to find the best height. Sometimes that was 40 -50 feet and others only 5 - 10 feet.
@@JonathanMcKey Actually, no, that's not quite correct. Digital or analogue signals will still travel the same distance given the same transmitter power output. What you may find is that digital signal output is lower than analogue. Where I am it is 25% lower but we now have repeater and translator transmitters all over the place so an antenna that would pick up a signal from 200 miles away (as this one claims to do) would be useless and just overkill... a bit like running a high powered sports car to drive half a mile to the shop for a loaf of bread and a bottle of milk.
The periodic log spacing elements on the UHF looks like it's backwards which is probably why it's performance is below what it should be while the log periodic spacing of the VHF elements is in the correct order.
I've operated the first "junk" HD antenna you showed for over 8 years, receiving over 35 - 40 channels (more than enough for me), and have had absolutely zero problems or complaints. The rotor comes in quite handy in any slight adjustments needed in obtaining a stubborn channel. So as you see, your "junk" comes through with flying colors, without the monster wind-catching antenna.
Garunteed that antenna wouldn't work very well in my area... I know I had one similar too it. It's too directional and difficult to pinpoint signals for certain locations. They are terrible behind trees, and the weather effects it too much unless you're close enough to a TV station. Not saying they don't work, I'm just saying your location will indeed effect the signal strength no matter what booster you may be using.
You’re most likely very close to the broadcast towers, and could pick up channels with a bare copper wire. When you get out into the fringe areas, antennas like yours, fail miserably, just sayin…
I remember when channel 3 was channel 3. Channel 6 was on channel 6. and channel 10 being channel 10. Major networks were on VHF, and the little networks were on the UHF band, hence why the movie UHF was called UHF. But, the tv is clearly better today, thanks to the digital spectrum.
Excellent video as usual Tyler! Too bad you have to dispel the antenna myths every time. If the DTV conversion had REQUIRED channels to be on the channel they went by, or change to the one they’re going to be on going forward it would have made it a whole lot better. That 200 mile is BS. I am lucky if I can get 75 miles from my 15’ high (off the ground) Channel Master 3020. This is why I’ve gone for the Televes LR Mix. It might not do better, but time will tell.
I just purchased this antenna for my parents as it replaced a GE attic/outdoor antenna and the new antenna does better picking up TV stations when aimed at the appropriate market, but it doesn't pick up TV stations on the back side of the antenna from a different direction as good as the GE did.
Don’t forget propagation rf signals. Not all rf goes in a straight line. Some goes up as well and can bounce off clouds and ionosphere. That’s why with my old wineguard antenna picks up “skip” signals from stations farther at night then normally in daytime. Of course usually less rf activity at night then daytime that would cause more interference.
Bought this antenna. Worked Bad with out signal booster and cheap cable it came with..changed cable to rg6.used to pick up 14 channels. Now 44 off and on.
📡 Do you have reception problems? Consider an antenna recommendation from me at the link below:
👉 www.antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html
Do antenna boosters help or are they a waste of money. Thank you.
Rrrry gv fc rcrrccr fc s
I thought hi vhf was phased out. Our channel 13 had to go to 4. Of course that prevented many from getting reception, and the PBS TV station acted dumb on the result, everyone complaining. But, they got money LOL.
@@gregsz1ful I'm not sure where that myth keeps coming from. The FCC never got rid of high VHF or low VHF
@@AntennaMan i know stations got big money for frequency change. Not sure why. I assumed they had plans for the bands. History, originally WQED Pittsburgh was going to move into uhf then FCC said stay. Then they moved into VHF low. Their Facebook page kept looking for answers telling people how to pick up new frequency. The only solution was a big rabbit ears.
I cut the cord over four years ago. My antenna in Ohio picks up over 70 channels. My antenna in Naples Florida picks up over 55 channels. I have saved over a thousand dollars a year by cutting cable. I don’t miss it. This excellent RUclips channel keeps me current and provides good advice.
What antenna did you buy? I'm looking to do the same!
makayla adkins In Ohio I bought two long range winegards and put them in my attic. In Florida I have one of those cheapo flat antennas. It works 5x better than RCA rabbit ears. The panel antenna was BAM 60-Mile Digital HD TV Antenna - Indoor OTA (Over The Air) VHF/UHF Amplified HDTV Receiver
I cut that cord 20 years ago, before digital signals.
What city? you must be close to the towers
Way to go boss
I was bout to buy this antenna but hesitated because of your review. After thinking about it for several days I decided to give it a try and bought it. It works great!
this review is a good example of why we like you Tyler , you don't mind telling the truth no matter what , and tell it like it is , keep up the great work
Your opinion is null and void, trumpster.
You want the loser that didn't do the job in the first place, pretty smart.....
I just realized why I've watched dozens of your videos and made a purchase based on your reviews... You are the Bob Ross of antennas!
I think the Bob Villa of antennas would be more appropriate... ;)
My wife and I cut the cord on December 31st. Had DirecTV. I bought the Five Star antenna from Amazon and mounted it on the bracket that held the dish and utilized the RG6 cable that was there. 48 channels crystal clear and rock solid. But then I'm 10 miles from the transmitters not 42. For a cord cutter who lives close to the transmitting towers I found this to be an excellent antenna.
I installed antennas for an electronics shop during college, we also did public service radio antenna work and lots of farm installs with base stations and mobiles in farm equipment. Most of the radios we used were either VHF Midland or Icom or Yaesu .. and the antennas were Larsen Kulrod, Antenna Specialists and Winegard with Rohn towers and masts. The reason I mention all this is because as I walk through the stores and see little plastic antennas with just a few elements and some amplifier advertised with such exceptionally long range claims, I smile and think back at the massive VHF and UHF antennas we installed like the monster UHF and we didn't get anywhere near that distance, even with the best inline amplifiers right on the antenna powered from below .. even when we stacked them on a tower. Great video .. and thanks for telling the truth about these little antenna's distance claims.
I love how you explain the reality of antennas. HD and range numbers are often exaggerated so far beyond reality.
Great evaluation as usual! On a side note, RUclips is getting out of control with ads. 2 preroll and then 3 mid roll (1 every 3 min) interruptions during a 10 minute video.
Use adblock/ublock
@@Jean0987654321 - Please don't.
@Jeff M - please watch them as they are how creators get paid.
@@roxcyn in abrupt advertisement interruption every three minutes makes it unwatchable, for me at least. I believe creators have the option to just have pre-rolls and post roll ads with no middle interruptions, I think that's a better way to go.
@@jeffmpvd7689 - You could skip the ones you dislike.
Tyler, I really appreciate your educational approach and challenge to folks to think critically about this issue
Tyler, I'm glad you're addressing these obvious scams. The fact is, a simple whip antenna will pick up a station 200 or even 500 miles away, if you have it at a 30,000 ft elevation!! But down here on earth, 70 mi. is pretty much the max. I wouldn't touch this antenna with a 10 ft. pole, or even a 20 ft. because since the ad is a scam, the rest of the product is most likely an inferior or fake product. They get by with it because occasionally the ionosphere at night will bounce signals hundreds of miles, so they would argue the 200 mi claim is true, but what they don't say is that such reception is rare and NOT the norm. It's a very misleading ad.
One time I did a channel scan and picked up a couple channels from over 200 miles in the opposite direction of where the antenna was pointed. It's was rare because I have yet to see those channels since, and even then it only lasted for a few hours before they quit. It was a freak thing I even got the channels.
I recently installed a pair of antennas aim at different targets. One is oriented to North West and the other to South West. The antennas are very similar, almost identical to the one you are describing. The arrange I got can pull signals as far as 90 miles. Those stations aren't to stable but for the most part they are. All the stations in the 45 mile range are very good and strong reaching a 60 to 89 % strength. The only big problem I have is with one channel, uhf NBC 39 channel 28. Some times the image and signal is good but suddenly the image cutoff and stays off for several minutes and then comes back again. I think the NW antenna should be redirect it because the strength of this channel is between 30 and 50%.
Finally I should say that this a very good antenna for its price.
I can get up to 90 channels in optimal conditions, and 60 for the most part if the time
Just another data point -- I have this exact antenna, rural area about 40 miles from the transmitter. Antenna is up about 20 feet and blocked by trees in the direction of the transmitter, and using the supplied coax. I hooked this all up before realizing this RUclips channel existed. The signal strength (according to my HDHomeRun) ranged between 60-65%, but at night, it was all over the place between 20-65% and almost unwatchable. I had a spare RCA signal amp and hooked it up and now the signal varies between 65-75% all day and night and picture/sound has been extremely solid since. I'm missing about 2 channels that are listed for me on antennaweb -- fortunately they're just religious channels.
I've still yet to watch the rest of your videos, but they're extremely helpful and educational, thank you for posting.
Unfortunately, the USA has TV stations transmitting from all different directions which sometimes means you need 2 or 3 antennas to get them all. That can be a nightmare to combine unless (like me) you are a TV Antenna Specialist. I live roughly 20 miles SE of the transmitters in Brisbane, Australia and we have just 5 networks (2 owned by the Govt. and 3 commercial networks) and all the transmitters are within very close proximity to each other (less than 1/4 mile) on the tallest hill we have, so I only need one VHF antenna I use a 6 element Band 3 (CH6 - 12) Yagi (built it myself) with an 18db amplifier in the ceiling, driving 7 TV points through less than perfect RG59 duo shield cable. Not the best but far from the worst. I would hazard a guess and say the cable that comes with those antennas is probably 5C2V - absolute crap. I wouldn't even use it to connect my TV to the wall socket. You are probably lucky that you are about 40 miles from the transmitters with them being at different angles as the closer you the wider the angle between them becomes, then you have to go to multiple antennas and diplex them. Unfortunately, I can't fathom % of signal. It has to be relative to something - 60% of what?. I measure signals in db microvolts (db) which is relative to a single dipole antenna. Any obstruction of the signal will severely reduce it. VHF is bad enough, if you were using what we call Band 5 UHF (up around 800 mHz) you probably be flat out getting anything and when it rains you lose even more signal. I can't understand the large fluctuation you get between day and night. Not doubting you, it just doesn't make sense, but there must be a reason.
I like you telling the truth about commercial TV antennas. I work in a company that makes VHF and UHF antennas for professional use. This antenna in your hands directors (Front sticks) are way smaller than they supposed to be to resonate on UHF TV channels. No wonder that it performs poorly. By the way, I watched 40 years ago TV from Sweden in my home country of Yugoslavia through atmospheric reflections. It happens from time to time. I am with antennas all my life as a HAM operator, as a professional Radio engineer as well. It is a very interesting piece of science
Thanks Tyler,
Your advice is so welcomed,
I appreciate you taking the time to help everyone out.
Thanks bud.
Paul
I'm the guy that left a comment about this antenna a few months ago. Glad to know that it's not as good of an antenna as I thought. So I just went ahead and ordered a Televes DatBoss.
I guess I felt that because I was only at most 39 miles away from the stations I would only need a medium sized antenna, but I have two edge de-fraction for about half the stations I receive from this spot so I think that's what makes such a huge difference.
(for the record though I knew it didnt have 200 mile range and I didn't use the cable it came with, because I knew 50 dollars for an antenna w/cable would mean it comes with a free after-thought)
Found some sites to calculate LOS distance. Looks like 200 miles might work if you put the Five Star antenna on a 50 foot tower, but only if the transmitter tower is 18,000 feet tall. A 4000 foot tower on top of Pikes Peak should be just about right.
I'm glad I discovered your channel. Wish it had been a little sooner! We have bought 2 junk indoor antennas. Now we won't waste time any longer. Thank you!
As soon as you see *200 mile range* that is a warning it is cheap garbage, max is 80 miles.
VHF can receive further just as CB can and lower frequencies.
It’s all RF until it is processed. I retired from doing most types of RF including satellite and microwave. I use one of those little flat panels because I live on a hill about 30 miles from all the stations with about 5 miles of ocean in the same direction. The FCC site shows all my stations as strong and moderate.
yea only way would be exact top of a mountain and Line of sight
@@teekay1785 CB is down around 28 MHz which in an HF frequency. Even the lower VHF frequencies will skip off the ionosphere. Up around the 100 MHz range it is line of site. There will be some low level multi path from terrain reflections but they are at the opposite polarity. I once set up a 150 MHz radio link to a remote place where we actually reflected the signal off a mountain. When you do that you change the polarization so you end up,with one end having antenna elements vertical and the other end horizontal.
@@Chris_at_Home Yes I am aware of that 10 meter is near CB which is actually about 27-28 mhz I also have 2 meter radios which are about 144 to 148 mhz and are vhf
CB is know for skip. In fact I have talked to many other countries and almost all 50 states on CB Band including Alaska and Hawaii from the southeast the mid to late 1970s with a 6 element wilson laser antennae and a Tempo 1 radio. I have also used circular polarization on other frequencies as well as C and Ku band satellite reception for TV several years before it was readily available around 1983.
I have also stacked VHF TV antennas for decent reception from about 110 miles away or a little more in the early 70 s . I didn't however dabble in slow scan TV or microwave. I had lost interest by the time these became popular but still have my radios and ground plane and wire antennas. First transistor ham radio I personally saw in use was about 1975 shortly after I got interested in ham frequencies.
I still remember the key of "screaming eagles" very vividly. The late 70 s early 80s was also a period of high sunspot activity that supported a higher amount of skip communication. generally CB skip was more prevalent in the 500-800 mile range but varied a lot.
I am a Digital Antenna Specialist in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. I have more than 40 years in the Antenna industry in installation and design. What you found is typical. Without even being able to measure your actual signal level (in db microvolts) I can say you would be receiving a level of about 70-73 db on VHF. We no longer need combined VHF/UHF Antennas as since we changed to digital all our TV stations (and we only have 5 Networks, 2 Govt owned and 3 commercial, they are grouped in channel blocks with VHF being CH 6 - 12 and UHF 28 - 60. I live approx 35 km (20 miles) from the TV Transmitters and using a similar design VHF ONLY antenna (a hybrid - that antenna is NOT a yagi but a hybrid as the front UHF part is YAGI but the rear section (VHF) is log-periodic). The antennas I have that are similar are VHF only and have an additional reflector element on the back to improve channels 11 & 12. That antenna will yield 71db of signal at 4 feet above my roof. 71 db will adequately drive 4 TVs, yielding (with good quality RG6 quad shield cable) around 62db at the TV. The recommended minimum level is 50 db for domestic and 60 db for commercial premises.
This is the antenna I used as the base for my “FrankenAntenna.” I cut the uhf end off a donor antenna and spliced to the uhf end of the Five Star. I then replaced the vhf long rods with longer rods from the donor. This combination increased my db substantially on all ota vhf channels in the Reno local. However, if you had made this video sooner I would have opted for a different antenna as the base for “FrankenAntenna.” My reason for all this tinkering is in effort to get the illusive uhf channel 27. After you supplied their phone number (Thank you) I discovered they have been operating on auxiliary transmitter since December. Since I have a one edge location I have been wondering if the Televes DATBOSS LR Mix would be able bring them in once they are again full strength. Hopefully “FrankenAntenna” will be sufficient when they are full power again to save the expense of the DATBOSS.
Make a video
Not knowing the specifics of your location and local broadcasters, I can't say it conclusively. What I can tell you is I sprung for a Datboss and it's one of the best purchases I've made. Split it to 3 sets, and it hasnt let me down. What it can't pick up, I'm pretty sure nothing can.
Finally someone tells the truth as it is great job !! I have known this for years and couldn't understand why no one was questioning these so called 500 mi HD antennas ...
Because most people are stupid, and will fall for slick ad copy! That's why no one questions anything these days. They just refuse to THINK for themselves!
I went with a Winegard 7700. I’m about 40 miles from towers but they are in 3 different directions. I had a 30 year old radio shack preamp with variable gain that I had in a box since the analog days. Surprisingly it still worked and the antenna got all my stations even though it’s a directional I found a sweet spot. I did need to remove a powered splitter because that over amped the signal...wide fluctuations in signal strength standard splitter did the job.
Unfortunately, the USA has TV stations transmitting from all different directions which sometimes means you need 2 or 3 antennas to get them all. That can be a nightmare to combine unless (like me) you are a TV Antenna Specialist. I live roughly 20 miles SE of the transmitters in Brisbane, Australia and we have just 5 networks (2 owned by the Govt. and 3 commercial networks) and all the transmitters are within very close proximity to each other (less than 1/4 mile) on the tallest hill we have, so I only need one VHF antenna I use a 6 element Band 3 (CH6 - 12) Yagi (built it myself) with an 18db amplifier in the ceiling, driving 7 TV points through less than perfect RG59 duo shield cable. Not the best but far from the worst. I would hazard a guess and say the cable that comes with those antennas is probably 5C2V - absolute crap. I wouldn't even use it to connect my TV to the wall socket. You are probably lucky that you are about 40 miles from the transmitters with them being at different angles as the closer you get, the wider the angle between them becomes, and then you have to go to multiple antennas and diplex them.
Thanks Gary. I will check this one out!
THE one stop RUclips library for common sense TV antenna questions and answers . 👍👍
I recall as a kid, my buddy and I had a hobby of hiking to the head ends of small town cable towers and photographing their antennas. These valley towns of few hundred people had interesting installations, without them one or two channels, with the system less than a dozen. Usually set up by independent contractors, everything was over the air terrestrial. No satellite, no web .. just huge stacked yagis aimed in all directions on a sixty foot Rohn tower. The fed a line to town usually suspended so low we could touch it as we hiked.
A major internet and TV company bought out the community-based company that had a similar setup to what you're describing, way back decades ago. Nobody seems to remember when the community pooled its resources for the benefit of everyone.
Just got this antenna; works great! Installed in garage attic space- maybe 15’ above ground
Most cheap UHF antennas on amazon are based on an old yagi design that covers 470 to 860MHz. The folded dipole is tuned to the low end and the elements are tuned to the high end. This usually results in a low gain at 470 MHz and increases as the frequency goes up. This would have been great 20 years ago, as signal attenuation is more at higher frequencies so the extra gain cancels out this attenuation.
However, with the repacks and 600 to 860MHz being used by cellphone towers, these antennas would do a fantastic job on t-mobile but not so much on nbc!
A correctly manufactured antenna for today's market would have the elements only slightly smaller than the folded dipole so would be tuned to have higher gain from 470 to 600MHz. Trying to find one is the real challenge.
Replace the transformer and this antenna works just as good as a modern day and antenna will.
Working on the Isle of Wight , UK , 99% of the time I use a 12 element group K (21-48) (140 channels) either in H or V mode as the main transmitter does both. The uk government has sold off channels 49-68 for 5G and all the broacast channels have been squashed together. Where terrestrial tv doesn't work here, it doesn't matter how big your aerial is you wont get reliable tv . UK uses CODFM a better system than the US, and I imagine the cable tv lobby had a hand in choosing the less capable 8vsb to protect cable industry. There are still reception issues under certain atmospheric conditions where multiplexes from distant transmitters overlap and will knock out signals being recieved from mainland transmitters here on the island.
Otherwise a satellite system using 45cm dish is needed. My area of work (and living) is a diamond shaped island 27 miles by 16 miles on the south of the UK mainland. A lovely place to do my job!
I found 10 channels with a new cheap vizio 24inch tv.and i bought a 55mile range rca indoor amplified antenna.when i unplugged the 30.00 antenna i still got 9 outta ten lol..55mile range gets me 10 channels haha.i want a roof antenna like we usta have.Great channel Dude..
I could advertise an antenna that can pick up signals from URANUS and people would buy it especially Politicians.
True , until it turns racist , then were gonna have to take them down
Hahahaha!!!!
w unjk@juanka galindo
Yeah, but it’ll teach the Politicians anus to do research before they buy another ‘too good to be true’ antenna! They’re pretty stupid animals already .....
Thanks to your video I've been enjoying local TV now after about 10 years of having an outdoor antenna. Only had about 10 channels and most of them sucks. Now I have 44 channels and they all work great. Thank you !
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
But negroes have taken over broadcast tv causr too chrap to buy cable we be getin it free
You have an excellent presentation skill and your information is spot on. Great job.
I'm an antenna guy too. I Wilkes Barre I have 3 TV antennas I made from a broken ham radio antenna. One of them is a dipole made with 2 5 inch pieces of aluminum tubing. Works great.
I've said it before. You can get 200 miles away once, during a season in decent tropo conditions. But that doesn't mean it will be always 200 miles.
Multipath will make this really unlikely to achieve though, at least until atsc3
Man we love you Michael Cera and glad you bounced back
Im building a home, cant afford to buy a plot in the country, so I just informed the HOA that they are required to change their rules to allow out door antennas.
They are legally obligated to allow provisions for OTA TV whether the clipboard wielding Nazi's like it or not.
There is a size limit three and a half feet long
@@sherrilmason1195 also known as 1 meter
@@sherrilmason1195 That's Satellite Dish. Antenna Can Be Any Size.
put it on a ham tower
5:34 pause here - This is the one i have and is a great antenna this one is : " Televes DATBOSS LR Mix UHF VHF Long Range Antenna with LTE Filter (149883)".
Thanks a lot for your video.
what a coincidence antenna man I just install one of those antennas yesterday for a customer here in Boynton Beach Florida it did work okay I am very close to the Station Tower here in Palm Beach County I also was able to pick the stations out of Miami you're correct when you say the VHF are very good the UHF working okay I don't think it's a great antenna but work okay it's much better than those piece of junk plastic antenna keep it up the good work antenna man
Use to live in South Florida myself. Channel 6 from Miami was a real problem to get, and I was only 30 miles away from there. Watched channel 12 from West Palm Beach, and also, went through the rings of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Lauderdale,Florida. Ah, hum you can keep it down there.
You sir, are worth more than your weight in gold!!!! I listened to a lot of other “reviewers”, but no one spoke with the conviction and knowledge you did. Thank you for all the valuable information. I will definitely look into the website you mentioned as it seems quite practical the advice you provided..
I picked up 40 channels only using two pieces of aluminum attached to the core and outmesh of the same cable
Before I discovered your channel, I bought exactly this antenna. (I knew the 200 mile claim was total garbage but discounted the fact as RF range claims are always of the flavor of "between two mountaintops under perfect conditions, or during a tropo or E-skip opening, in which case a coat-hanger would probably also do that.)
Don't have the measurement equipment you do, but luckily I fall into exactly the situation you described: all the channels but KVIE 6 PBS (189 Mhz VHF).
This antenna was luckily much better on VHF and did the trick. But I would have gotten the Channelmaster if I had seen your review :)
Thanks for the great work.
200 mile range? The flat earth believers will buy this model.
Lol. To them they probably think it'll pick up every station on the planet. 🤣
Now you can pick up stations about half that distance if you put up a 200 foot tower on pikes peak.
It works fine unless the tv station is near the edge of the earth and if that's the case, it's not so good
@@pagefour6498 there was a time when antenna milage was true. I bought an FM antenna that radio shack said it would pick up FM stations 175 miles away and it did live up to it's specifications. I used to listen to classical station in Boynton beach florida from Lakeland florida which was about 154 miles away. I also picked up Denver Colorado from Orlando Florida and picked up New York City from Orlando Florida. This antenna over stepped it's spec's.
Uhf antenna like the gray hoverman was rated at 75 miles I only needed 40 miles and the picture was crystal clear using a 16 inch zenith black and white portable tv. I'm sure a good color set would have done well which I did not have. Also the older tv antenna picked up detroit Michigan from conneautville pa. You had some of the great lakes to help. I also picked up canada like CHCH TV. And global from London Ontario.
Well this was the analog days when the chanel number was the frequency they brodcast on no virtual channels in those days.
@@lb3406 you were on the edge of the earth though. It's different
Absolutely love your "matter-of-fact" presentation AND that you give the supporting data (like digital signal distance and curvature of the earth). A+
Nice review. I would guess that the poor UHF performance is because it is designed and optimized for foreign markets where they use higher UHF frequencies. The thing about broadband Yagi antennas is that need to be optimized for the maximum frequency you want it to receive, since reception will drop off rapidly at frequencies above it (the director elements at the front will block the higher frequencies), but only slowly for frequencies below it. Many countries use UHF frequencies up to 900 MHz and beyond, but in the USA, they now only use up to 608 MHz (channel 36). As a result, there would be significant reduction in reception for the frequencies we actually use from that gradual decay compared to an antenna optimized for a narrower UHF band.
I am an antenna specialist of over 40 years and I concur with what you say with one exception. Antennas that I use to receive VHF channels 6 - 12 Australian (174.25 to 224.25 MHz with 7 MHz spacing PAL B system) have pretty even gain across the band. I believe the USA uses 6 MHz spacing with NTSC. I use both Yagi (3 - 10 element) and hybrid log-periodics which have a relatively even gain across the band though some tend to peak around channel 8 and for some reason no matter what antenna I test, ABC on channel 12 is always -2dB to channel 11, though I have modified a design and gained an extra 2dB on 12 with no sacrifice on the other channels. Yagi antennas were originally designed for single frequency use and generally are not very well adapted to broadband, particularly on UHF frequencies. However, it is possible to design a UHF Yagi with a fairly even gain across a relatively small bandwidth of perhaps 42 MHz (one Australian TV band). Further, a phased array works great on UHF and will cover our entire UHF channel frequencies with ease. I first built a 16 element VHF B3 yagi about 40+ years ago based on a design modified from an amateur radio antenna. I set the reflector for my lowest frequency, the driven element for the middle and the directors for the highest. It beat the crap out of a commercially made 14 element antenna. With UHF Yagis which I have made from the UHF section of various brands of old VHF/UHF metropolitan area antennas I have scrapped, I have found a huge difference in the performance between brands and it all comes down to element length and spacing. TThe general theory with Yagi antennas is that gain is a factor of boom length rather than the number of elements - quite true. I have an 8 element UHF Yagi that leaves a shorter 10 element one for dead. Both different brands and designs.There are 3 ways to make a yagi and each has pros and cons. 1. All elements (directors) the same length and vary the spacng. 2. All spacing the same and vary the director length. 3. vary both spacing and length of the directors which I find seems to work best over a 50 MHz bandwidth. You can increase gain on a particular channel by adjusting the spacing and length of directors but you sacrifice gain and bandwidth across the rest. Many of our OLD UHF antennas were only designed for UHF ch 28 (527 MHz) and now we have Ch 29 - 33 locally many are not much good on the higher frequencies and signal levels drop off by up to 20 db above their design frequency. UHF channels in Australia range from 526.5 to 694.5 (channels 28 - 51 digital). We used to use up to channel 69 before digital. if you are interested, here is a link to the ACMA publication on Australian TV standards and broadcast frequencies. rather technical in places. www.acma.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-12/General%20Information_0.pdf
As a former manager of a Radio Shack (RS) in Channelview and Port Arthur, Texas, I can tell you that we were selling by 1980 Winegard antennas manufactured for RS and RCA. We started selling only anodized antennas. We also started selling only anodized poles tied down with guy wires mounted on multiple sections to reach the proper height...we sold a lot of antennas!
Not to mention commision as SPIFS for amplifiers, cable (RG59 cable company standard) and splitters aside including RG58 for local low-loss and CB. Shielding was not given such importance then (only 75% shielding) including lighting surge arrestors. Grounding used to be so important, ground plains and ground sinks included...
Very good seminar. (Reminds me of many years ago when I got my First Class Commercial FCC License.)
Back in '03 I installed a top of the line long range antenna on a 21 foot pole with a pre amp booster leading to a main booster connected by RG-6 cable. The Antenna was mounted on a old School rotator. I swear to you it picked up clearly around 60 channels. This was in central North Carolina. It picked up stations in Virginia, South Carolina, and Tennessee and even one in West Virginia! And of course NC. Total height of the Antenna was around 41 feet. My father was amazed, but as soon as I went to split the signal to accommodate viewing it on 2 TV's in the house the signal degraded. But still a wonderful experiment.
Great job on your channel Tyler ! Nice to see how it has advanced.
i was thrilled to hear u on with my buddy dave at KSCO last week..i do production/commercial editing for KSCO..i am a huge fan..very cool to hear u :) great interview..thank u buddy
I'm very happy that Dave had me on. I'll definitely be on again sometime in the coming months.
@@AntennaMan
The built-in 75ohm adapter is indeed junk. I bought this antenna and the first thing I did was remove its crude 75ohm adapter and used one of the aftermarket adapter I already had. Reception was much improved and it out performs my older RCA antenna but in no way does reach its 200 mile claim, more like 50 miles tops.
I knew something was up with either the phase lines or the 75ohm adapter! Thanks for confirming my suspicion.
@@AntennaMan Perhaps a retry?
@belly tripper What? 🤣 🤣 🤣
@@AntennaMan I do use a Winegard preamp with this. I also think the UHF elements are spaced wrong. And with so many parasitic elements this antenna will require precise aim if you're close to a transponder. It also seems that there is a reflector element is placed too close to the back of the loop element as well. Still, it picks up a little better than the little RCA yagi I was using before.
Hey Tyler, I just wanted to send some thank you cash for your information. I watched several of your videos and I cut the cord. I installed a clearstream 4v outdoor antenna and a pv150 pvr (clicked the link of your video). Its looking good and I'm saving some cash. Thanks again
Thanks so much for the contribution Robert. I'm glad it worked out well for you. Make sure the DTV box is connected to your TV with an HDMI cable so you keep the HD picture quality.
Using 4NEC2 antenna simulation software, I found that models of log-periodic antennas work far better than yagis for television reception. The log periodic is an inherently broadband antenna having fairly consistent impedance across the UHF television band, whereas the yagi is an inherently narrowband antenna unsuitable for broadband use. The only reason log periodic television antennas are not widely available in the United States is that people in the business of making and selling antennas are too lazy to do the work of designing and constructing a log periodic antenna which is more complex than a yagi, requiring every element to be fed by a constant-impedance feedline which reverses phase from one element to the next. Log periodic antennas are widely used in Europe.
Used to use logs almost exclusively in analogue days. Still use them but a mix of narrowband (56 MHz bandwidth) yagis also fits in well. It depends on the bandwidth of the antenna, but you are correct in that a LP is more broadband than a yagi but yagis tend to have better directivity (F/B & F/S ratio). As a professional antenna installer, I know many places where a yagi will leave a LP for dead and vice versa.
Well, I just put one of thease up, 30ft up and 42 miles South of Chicago. I used the junk cable it came with and I get all the local Chanels including CBS perfectly. I was impressed to get such clear reception. I added a Tablo and get over 150 free channels. That being said I will upgrade the cable and if this antenna fails for some reason I will look at better quality model for longevity’s sake.
I really enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work!
I actually purchased this antenna as my first one after canceling my ever increasing cable for about 42$ on E-Bay
I was pleasantly pleased with its reception. I had to play a bit with the direction finding that even less then 10inches changed my reception quality.
I have it mounted on a second story porch on a 10 ft additional pole for height
I do lose reception when the leaves are on in the higher channels..
.
That is a nice 200 mile range LOL.. btw you should review the Orby TV antenna for people who want to use it
I did review the Orby TV antenna about a year ago but it's discontinued so I removed the video.
@@AntennaMan Orby going out of business.
@@brianpercival1829 They are officially gone. As of today.
@@AntennaMan Can You Still Leave It Up? Just Put In The Title That It Has Been Discontinued.
i bought the double clear stream 4 max after watching your review i live in port clinton ohio i now get detroit toledo and cleveland and even buffalo new york all channels where before i had a 360 and was lucky to get any local at all thank you so much for doing test and reviews
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
200 miles with troposphere ducting. But straight up no way. Did you ever do a video on tropo?
Yeah but for UHF the troposphere conductivity isnt as good as in the FM or VHF bands.
Thanks for that great info. When I switched to cable many years a go when I lived in Los Angeles. I used the VHF / UHF antenna on my roof and hooked it up to my police scanner. Worked great. I bought that antenna at Radio Shack around the mid 1970s. I laugh when I see those TV commercials that they try to sell you this little HD antenna so you can catch free HD TV broadcasts that you can hook up behind your TV. Those are the local stations that have always been free to see. I hooked up a rabbit ear antenna that I paid a dollar for many years a go and it works great picking those local stations. I live near Phoenix, AZ today.. Oh, I use to be a telephone linesman when I was in the USAF in the 1980's.
Some of these Antenna makers must think the Earth is Flat.... :) 200 miles = Nope!
I've picked up Charlotte 2 or 3 times which is just over 200miles from my place in Hampstead.
If I turn my antenna I can pickup 15 in Myrtle Beach which is just over 100 miles I Pich Up WITN all day long at 100 miles.
Sometimes I get channel 5.1 out of Raleigh.
Charlotte's average elevation is about 890 feet above sea level and My elevation is about 20 ft above sea level plus the Transmitter is roughly another 500 to 2,000 feet.
I'm currently using an RCA dual input Pre amp. The Channel Master is stronger but would probably blow right past my local stations.
But I might spring for the cash to give it a try.
@@Wardell43 you might be receiving them via tropospheric ducting, too. I've picked up New Orleans stations with indoor rabbit ears when the ducting is really strong here between SA and Houston.
If you don't have anything over 50 miles you might live in the Sahara desert.
U don't have any idea!
I'am from Tunisia in North Africa, i picked up Terrestrial TV signals from up to 770 miles and the shortest 80 miles... from Greece, Turkey, Italy, Libya, and Algeria some times Spain all signals over the Mediterranean...how do that work if we are on a Globe 🤔?
I put up ia channel master preamp and now i have many more unwanted stations, but very little stability. What I can receive varies all day long, like shortwave. But I have yet to direct it perfectly. It is a long range antenna I got as a hand-me-down. I never did put a dvm on the terminals while the balun was off. I doubt there could be anything much wrong with it. I stabilized some of the locking elements with tape. Now at least I get PBS part-time and choices of news. I said all along that it is nuts to buy cable--unless you need cable. In many places, like the rolling hills of Oregon where you can get nothing in the valleys.
I specificially went out and bought RG6 at hone depot to find that the braid is not copper. It is silver. So it looks like I did not get the real deal there. I think it is the Quantum. But I am impressed with the center wire.
200 mile range...NOPE
Hearing that I nearly sprained my eye muscles my eyes rolled back so far
@@tophers3756 yep me too
You might get 200 miles sometimes during troposphere weather
@@danpete6623 yea a couple of times i picked up channels in the Philadelphia area because of that about 150 miles away but the signal doesn't last long.
100 mile range….nope 50 mile range….not really 10 mile range….yes, if there’s no planes flying by.
Just stumbled across ur channel. Appreciate ur insight. U have a new subscriber who’s looking forward to learning from ur collection of videos.
Happy Holidays Antenna Man PA 🎄
Possible 2 feet reception
Tyler ,you failed to mention the rocket booster that places the antenna in orbit to get that range. 30 feet up should give better reception than this antenna provides.
You go through the basic info on every exciting episode. Perhaps you could direct new viewers to a link to this information, instead of making your regular viewers see the same information at the beginning of every episode. SSDD!
Most viewers don't read the description. That's a good suggestion, though @Barry Litchfield
I agree, it's frustrating to hear the same basic info at the start of every Tyler video, but then again, he is educating people to avoid being scammed. AND, his information is VERY important as a baseline for his effort. Perhaps he could develop a format for his video's where this basic info is provided during the first 2 min of every video, and then he could direct those who have already heard it to "skip to the 2 min. point?" But it probably needs to be in every video. The average person's knowledge of digital and antenna technology is pretty bad and most have been misled so badly by the TV industry, so unfortunately it should be included in each video. But for those of us who don't need it, perhaps he could suggest the point where his new content begins?
It's too bad that most people have the attention span of an elephant, therefore, Tyler has to repeat his spiel for the technically challenged to hopefully absorb, understand and utilize it.
So right about the antenna cables that is included with most antennas sold today. The sellers should include RG6 cables with their antennas.
That would probably cost them an extra 10c per antenna, you have to be joking! They'd go broke if they did that. Yes, I am being facetious.
I quit watching TV altogether...now I just watch the daMn Facebook ads on RUclips. They *neVeR sToP* pLaYing!!
Lmao!!!!!!😄😅😃😂😂😂😂
"HD antenna" is just marketing vernacular, and it's not really that big of a deal. It does pick up the HD signals from digital broadcasts, as well as the SD signals. Not sure how many people are fooled into thinking it transforms SD into HD. Maybe more than I think. In the old days when I was installing roof mounted or tower mounted antennas for people, we referred to it as a "TV antenna", even though I often told people we could get them better FM radio reception using it, and some opted for that. 😄
I have a radio shack rooftop antenna from the 70s. It still works pretty good as a digital antenna. If I changed the old flat lead-in wire for a good coax wire, do you think it would make the signal better?
Yes
There Is No Such Thing As A Digital Antenna!
@@JonathanMcKey That was a scam a lot of people made money off of. I worked in communications and when we went from analog to digital modulation schemes and never had to change the antennas on the terrestrial microwave and satellite communications.
Hello. Had to place a comment about HDTV antennas for TV. I had a 28 foot travel trailer up in the Pocono Mountains. Quite high elevation. Lots of trees but 1400ft elevation. I'm also a Ham and understand on cable losses and good practices. Before HD TV and only 2-13 channel reception I found a Weinguard multi element TV antenna quite good. I also had a Hygain rotor available. Then about 2010 when digital TV became standard and a specific tuner was required, I purchased a Smart TV. I also found on Ebay a Log Periodic 4ft long VHF/UHF TV antenna. I found this antenna a good compromise and its ability to now receive UHF channel assignments. Turning the LOG also made reception so much better. I brought this antenna home when we sold our trailer. This antenna sits on my chimney now. 20 miles No West NYC and our TV scanned and found 140 channels. Clear NYC channels plus Music Videos, and all sorts of other broadcasting. VHF and UHF the antenna was fixed towards WTC. Pinpoint clear HDTV for most part. Also the Ebay antenna is not listed any more! But it is at my home happy! w2hp
A 200 mile yagi on vhf and uhf? LMAO! Someone is smoking some cheap dope.
That antenna reminds me of Radio Shacks UV75 which was designed to pickup VHF and FM from 50 miles and UHF at 75 miles. Being that this is smaller by 25% I say it probably has a 50 mile range at most.
More like 50 miles
I suspect I could get all my local channels clearly as nearly all our broadcast antennas are atop Sandia Peak (a +10,000-ft mountain), but between them and me are some huge buildings and I can't move houses :( However... there isn't much good on OTA TV these days anyhow.
@@debbys-abqnm4537 I like watching the reruns on Cozi, LAFF, CW, and Decades.
@@caseyhartman7094 -- Me, too! Oldies but some goodies there. We don't have "Decades" yet, but I do note a new one, "Start", that seems to broadcast older shows featuring brave women. Every station seems to have to have a theme, but that's okay. Cozi TV reran _Hart to Hart_ a zillion times (as bad as it was, with zero continuity from episode to episode, it was a favorite of mine in the 1980s due to Robert Wagner). Cozi failed to run one episode to complete my collection (though the last 3 years are now available on DVD if I ever get rich). H2H has moved over to "GetTV", so maybe I'll see that one episode there. It's fun watching for the older shows!
@@debbys-abqnm4537 only thing I can get where I live is nbc, if it's a good day
@@DJ_Rainy -- I hope you have some options for finding content you want to see, probably in the form of good internet service, but your situation could mean resorting (or continuing with) cable service -- if it is available and affordable. For TV shows/regular programs you want to see and if you aren't in a hurry, the shows may eventually come out on DVD and the price for a season of a show could be so cheap that several sets can be bought for the price of a month of cable. I was downloading Lucifer but only got a few from season 5 before my source dried up (or rather, I'll have to pay...). So as S5 will likely come out on DVD one day, I'll probably get it.
I had a 160 outdoor antenna at my old house and picked Knoxville and Nashville Huntsville Al Birmingham Al back in the days on a 30 foot pole and also Bristol va to with coax cable and preamp to I miss those days also lived on a big hill to
Perhaps 5 star meant 20 mile range..... LOL. :)
Five star . . . out of ten.
Living in the west. It is quite common for broadcast antennas to be on top of a mountain. Easily in many cases being 1000 to 5000 feet higher in elevation than the surrounding area. Came here because I bought a similar item. The area I live is 120 miles from Vegas (road) probably 80-90 directly. Closest big city. My place has a second floor that is open and overlooks the viewing area. So I decided to experiment with finding the strongest signal and found at one count 54 channels. However there were channels that were available on scans that produced fewer channels but included channels both desirable and unavailable with the differing orientation. And there were also duplicate programming but occasionally there were small programming differences. This is before it has not been partially shielded by the building. Have not installed it yet because I am looking for the most reliable/economical rotor before I find its final mounting place. PS forgot to mention I think I get more channels from Phoenix which is probably another 20 miles line of sight. I expect my experience to be different than yours.
You know it's bullshit when they give a mile range for antennas. Antennas and RF wave don't work this way. Different frequencies propogate differently depending on atmospheric conditions. There is no mile range for antenna design.
An put a mountain range, a dirty big tree or a high-rise building in the way and it might not even work a few miles.
Very informative video, I must admit I thought there was something to the HD Antenna's that made them special, but thanks for setting the record straight on that.
1st Real Comment! Not A Bot Comment.
congrats !
Dish network has the same problem on aspect ratio on some of their digital over the air sub channels like metv,h&i,start tv,grit tv.etc,every body looks like a tooth pik,4×3 ratio,when it broadcast in 6×9 and hd on some fta satellite feeds.
This is the first video I've watched on your channel but I'm already impressed. When we in the US first went to digital I laughed at the amount of very high quality antennas that were suddenly taken down and discarded due to the misconception that you had to buy a special antenna when you purchased your "new HD Digital TV"!
I am a ham (amateur radio operator) and have been building antennas for decades for all types of reception at many different frequency bands, from low frequencies below the AM radio band all the way to near microwave frequencies. As you pointed out, a 'frequency' is a 'frequency'. Your antenna must be able to receive the 'frequency' or signal. Other than that it's up to the receiver to 'decode' the signal into it's information whether it be an analog voice or video signal or digital data, aka "Digital TV".
I've used the exact same antenna to transmit and receive on FM Voice in the two meter (144-148 mhz) ham radio band and also digital data similar to the internet, and APRS (Amateur Packet Reporting System) which broadcasts and receives GPS positions of fellow 'hams' using the system.
The "best" antenna for any 'frequency' is the one that picks up the strongest signal on that frequency. PERIOD! No "Special Digital Antenna" exists, and will NEVER exist.
I'm glad I found your channel and will be subscribing as soon as I post this comment! Keep up the good work!!!
Hi Jim. I fully concur, it is all marketing HYPE! I am a TV Antenna Specialist (specialist because I don't do anything else like fix washing machines, TVs etc) with over 40 years of operating in the southern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland. To understand DIGITAL I needed to do a one-day course and then buy a new signal meter. It never ceases to amaze me at the bullshit that is claimed about the performance of these antennas on eBay and RUclips. I saw one flat panel indoor wall mounted antenna that claimed to be able to clearly receive ALL TV stations from no less than 600 miles away and receive 'hundreds' of channels. What a croc! I am sure many gullible people bought it only to realise it didn't, couldn't and never would do what was claimed. I had to laugh at a so-called combined satellite dish and Terrestrial TV antenna guy made out of a soft drink can and a broken car radio antenna which he cut down into pieces about 6cm to 10cm long and haphazardly soldered them directly to the approx. 1-foot long 'boom' of the antenna, attached an F connector and a short bit of coax and then another coax lead to his TV and proceeded to show perfect pictures received from it. Yet, when he pointed the antenna at the ceiling and then unplugged the cable the TV kept working... Hmmm, someone trying to pull my leg there. And, the antenna being reviewed here is (as you'd know) NOT a yagi but a hybrid of yagi UHF and log-periodic VHF. I use similar antennas (but VHF ONLY) with a reflector on them and at roughly 20 miles from the transmitter, it will give me 71 dB microvolts. Here too, people were being told they wouldn't get digital TV on an old analogue antenna. That was partly true as the OLD antennas were only designed to go up to 209 MHz (CH 10) but we now have digital channels 11 & 12 and on the low end, CH6 and most of the old antennas had a fairly steep drop off above CH 10 and didn't work too well on 11 & 12. Close to the transmitter towers, they were OK. The biggest issue here was cable as lots of places were wired up with 4C2V polythene dielectric cable (UGGHHH!!) which was OK when we first got TV over 50 years ago but no good for digital and also proved useless when we first got TV Channels in the UHF band. There is so much misinformation around about TV Antennas and cables it is no wonder people are confused and fall for the hype.
@@davidphilips4637 Yeah there's so much 'bull &(*&' going around it's unbelieveable. Even during the 'good ole days' there was some going around. A close relative moved into a new house and didn't bring their 'good' antenna with them. I asked if they could get me some regular flat 'twin lead' antenna cable. They made a quick run to a nearby Radio Shack and brought me back a small roll. Within thirty minutes I handed them a roll of tape and one end of the 'antenna' (a folded dipole) and we hung it up at the top of the wall behind the tv. They had as good reception from this homemade antenna as they did from their old outdoor antenna.
The old adage 'you get what you pay for' USED to apply, but not now Channel Master was one of the 'tried and true' antennas, and you actually got what you paid for. You could get a cheap 'local' antenna for around twenty to thirty bucks which when mounted on a say 20 foot pole would receive anything in around 20 to 40 miles. Or you could spend a hundred dollars and receive even the weak stations out to around eighty.
Now with all the 'hype' about 'digital' stuff around you can still get a good antenna from a 'reputable' company, and get what you pay for, or you can go with the 'hype' and spend a lot of money for what amounts to a coathanger and a piece of screen wire. (If done right I think both of us could use a coathanger, a piece of screen wire and a few other odds and ends and come up with a better antenna than some of these so called Digital TV Specialist 'company's sell!)
If you are receiving a tv station from 200 miles away, chances are very likely that you are only temporarily receiving it because the signal is being brought in by an atmospheric phenomon known as "tropo" or "tropospheric ducting" . This is when 2 air masses are in place, usually as the result of a passing frontal boundary. And the signal gets "trapped" between the 2 and your antenna happens to be within that "path". Another phenomenon maybe happening at these frequencies is known as "e-skip" in which a very high ionized "patch" of the ionospheres "e layer" is so heavily ionized by the summer suns rays that it forms an "e-cloud" and reflects signals at these freqencies back toward earth where the transmitter and receiver are both under this "cloud". This phenomenon can last from just a few minutes to hours and can result in signals being receivable from hundreds to thousands of miles from the transmitter site. However this is a very rare event and occurs typically only during the middle of the day during the summer months. unlike the typical shortwave am broadcast band skip which occurs nightly all year round, e- skip is very unpredictable. Otherwise you are not going to receive over the air tv signals from 200 miles away. 75 to 100 miles is typically the max distance. Just listen to what happens to any fm radio station, as a perfect example, on your car radio when on a long road trip. Bc fm operates in the vhf frequency range just as tv does. Another perfect example of "line of site" in modern times is your smart phone. Which is why your smart phone automatically switches to the next tower ahead (or the next tower with the strongest signal) as you drive. Your smart phone operates using microwave frequencies which are more line of site than fm/tv/vhf and thus can only travel for just a few miles.(sorry for the edit)
Many years ago I lived in a town called Singleton, about 50 miles west of Newcastle and about 100 miles NW off Sydney. From my front porch I could see the local transmitter which was about 25 miles away. That transmitted only two channels, the national ABC and a local Newcastle station. I like everyone else there wanted the three commercial stations from Sydney and most were using large antennas on 30 - 40 foot poles with amplifiers and lucky to get average reception 6 months of the year. I designed and built my own antenna system of two horizontally stacked 16 element yagis tuned for just the 3 channels I wanted. One morning while I had the antenna system disconnected to do some upgrades to it, I had a length of wire about 1 metre long hanging from the 300 oHM antenna connection on the TV. This picked up the 2 local stations no problem, but my kids were watching cartoons that I knew were NOT on the local channels. When I asked what channel they were watching they said it was one of the Sydney stations. How could that be, there was no antenna connected, just this short length of wire. You will say 'ducting'... and yes, you are correct. There was a thick fog that morning and I could not see the house directly across the street. By around 9 am as the sun burned off the fog, so the Sydney TV channels also disappeared. CBers and ham radio Ops certainly understand this phenomenon.
Thank you for your great information on the truth about the cheap antennas promising the impossible. I use an old UHF antenna I found stashed in the barn years ago now have it mounted in the attic. I get 47 stations pointing in one direction, some as far away as 60 miles, clear as a bell.
..most of the multiple local stations in LA have been broadcasting for years from Mt Wilson..not far from Pasadena ..which gives the flat basin portion of greater LA a fairly long clear reach for most local viewers..
One thing to know:
There are natural phenomena that can drastically increase the distance radio waves (and, by proxy, television, since television is a form of radio) can travel.
The catch is, these propagation modes only occur at random, unpredictable times.
Sporadic-E will send (ONLY LOW VHF) TV signals from about 1000 miles (rarely less than 750 miles nor more than 1400 miles distant) in early summer.
Tropospheric refraction affects VHF-high and UHF signals, sometimes for a few hundred miles, particularly over lakes covered with fog, but also due to "air inversions" on calm, humid nights.
As I type this, I hear people telling me that would be impossible, because the spherical Earth will block any signals out of line-of-sight.
*HOWEVER* Sporadic-E paths go airborne and reflect the path back to Earth, while High-VHF and UHF follow the path set by tropospheric refraction.
In contrast, AM radio signals on the clear channels will carry for hundreds of miles about nine nights out of ten.
The upstate of South Carolina(North western) section has an average of 90 channels within 70 miles. Approximately 75 stations are steady.
I beg to differ but I got 2 of those antenna (different locations) and the quality of the reception is excellent for all channels (2 thru 67). The video quality is much better than the AT&T cable. For both locations the distance to the broadcast towers are about 45 miles. The reception is also very good in stormy rainy weather. I was pleasantly surprised. This particular antenna had problems 2 or 3 years ago but apparent got that problem fixed.
Yes the built in tuner is good.
@@AntennaMan built in tuner? I’m talking about the 5 Star yagi type.
I sometimes receive stations around 150 miles away and my antenna missing elements. My goal is new antenna w amp for more consistent long range recep.
Tyler.... I want to tell you something. I once lived in western MA in the Berkshire foothills.. I lived at 1750 feet MSL and had a clear horizon 360° due to being at max elevation in the state. In 1988, I bought a moose of an antenna from Radio Shack... both VHF and UHF. Also an amplifier and rotor. I was able to get stations in Boston 93 miles away and Providence, RI over 100 miles away like they were right next door... clear as a bell. I could get a channel from Boston facing SE.. rotate 180° and get a station from Schenectady NY without changing the channel.
Back In Analog Days Things Travelled Further. Not Anymore!
Also depends on frequency and transmitter ERP. Here in Brisbane, Qld. we have 5 networks, all VHF CH 6 - 12 and all come from the same direction and all have 50kW ERP omnidirectional. . In Australia, it is of no use having an antenna that genuinely would pick up channels 200 miles (300km) away as you would get exactly the same stations as you would locally. Back in analogue days it was different, with country areas generally having only the ABC and one commercial station., I used to install antennas (16 element VHF B3 yagis) on 20 - 30 foot masts to pick up the capital city TV stations from about 100 miles away with a mountain range in between and also had to contend with co-channel interference of those by rebroadcasters of local channels using the same frequencies as Sydney that were closer but behind me and another hill. I wasn't able to pick up the offending channels directly but their weak signal bounced off the mountain and was reflected back in nearly the same path as the channels I was after. I initially tried a 16 element phased array. That was a useless as a hip pocket in a singlet. I did some research, taught myself antenna theory from a book and designed and built my own antennas, one of which was a 6 foot long waveguide with a fantastic F/B ratio and good gain. I sold it to a guy who had tried every man and his dog around who could not get him Sydney, but my antenna did. Certainly, the higher your antenna's elevation the farther it should be able to 'see', but there is also something you have to consider when chasing DX signals - more height is not always advantageous. The signal could be at a lower level than you think. I have proven this many times. Where Mohamed is the antenna and the mountain is the signal, you must take Mohamed to the mountain as the mountain will not come to Mohamed... so the antenna must be at the height of the signal. Finding that height is the problem. In the early days of TV here, one company used to have a truck-mounted hydraulically raised pole on which they mounted the antenna and then gradually raised it to find the best height. Sometimes that was 40 -50 feet and others only 5 - 10 feet.
@@JonathanMcKey Actually, no, that's not quite correct. Digital or analogue signals will still travel the same distance given the same transmitter power output. What you may find is that digital signal output is lower than analogue. Where I am it is 25% lower but we now have repeater and translator transmitters all over the place so an antenna that would pick up a signal from 200 miles away (as this one claims to do) would be useless and just overkill... a bit like running a high powered sports car to drive half a mile to the shop for a loaf of bread and a bottle of milk.
The periodic log spacing elements on the UHF looks like it's backwards which is probably why it's performance is below what it should be while the log periodic spacing of the VHF elements is in the correct order.
Good eye
Yes, the periodic elements look off.
I've operated the first "junk" HD antenna you showed for over 8 years, receiving over 35 - 40 channels (more than enough for me), and have had absolutely zero problems or complaints. The rotor comes in quite handy in any slight adjustments needed in obtaining a stubborn channel. So as you see, your "junk" comes through with flying colors, without the monster wind-catching antenna.
You got lucky. Read comments on other videos. It's known to fail. Just because yours has not does not mean it isn't junk. Stop defending junk.
Garunteed that antenna wouldn't work very well in my area... I know I had one similar too it. It's too directional and difficult to pinpoint signals for certain locations. They are terrible behind trees, and the weather effects it too much unless you're close enough to a TV station. Not saying they don't work, I'm just saying your location will indeed effect the signal strength no matter what booster you may be using.
You’re most likely very close to the broadcast towers, and could pick up channels with a bare copper wire.
When you get out into the fringe areas, antennas like yours, fail miserably, just sayin…
I haven't had TV or cable TV for over 10 years and I don't miss it.
Antenna man you do a awesome job at explaining how Antennas work for tv sets my friend
Bro! Your style of commentary is great!
I appreciate and respect your knowledge of antennas!
its rare that i learn something on youtube but i did learn something from this video
I remember when channel 3 was channel 3. Channel 6 was on channel 6. and channel 10 being channel 10. Major networks were on VHF, and the little networks were on the UHF band, hence why the movie UHF was called UHF.
But, the tv is clearly better today, thanks to the digital spectrum.
Excellent video as usual Tyler! Too bad you have to dispel the antenna myths every time. If the DTV conversion had REQUIRED channels to be on the channel they went by, or change to the one they’re going to be on going forward it would have made it a whole lot better. That 200 mile is BS. I am lucky if I can get 75 miles from my 15’ high (off the ground) Channel Master 3020. This is why I’ve gone for the Televes LR Mix. It might not do better, but time will tell.
I just purchased this antenna for my parents as it replaced a GE attic/outdoor antenna and the new antenna does better picking up TV stations when aimed at the appropriate market, but it doesn't pick up TV stations on the back side of the antenna from a different direction as good as the GE did.
Don’t forget propagation rf signals. Not all rf goes in a straight line. Some goes up as well and can bounce off clouds and ionosphere. That’s why with my old wineguard antenna picks up “skip” signals from stations farther at night then normally in daytime. Of course usually less rf activity at night then daytime that would cause more interference.
Bought this antenna. Worked Bad with out signal booster and cheap cable it came with..changed cable to rg6.used to pick up 14 channels. Now 44 off and on.