The Ultimate HD TV Antenna Review - Danny Hodges Homemade Outdoor Model
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- Опубликовано: 3 янв 2025
- This is my review of Danny Hodge's Ultimate TV Antenna. It runs about $85 on eBay. It's been referred to as "unbeatable" by Danny himself. How true is that claim? Is this the best antenna out there?
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Best anthenna is clearstream indoor like ,84 channels crystal clear. ... cost about 100 dollars at best buy stores just find the right spot inside your apartment
The novawave anthenna is a scam don't waste your money just asked Tyler he is very honest about anthennas
Where are they located 😮
I built this antenna from Danny's Channel and it worked great for me. I live 60 miles away from the broadcast antenna in my area and it worked awesome.
this dudes antenna dialog is quite nice at the end of the day, love the focus on facts and stats, no BS
Tyler, the antenna dude
Channel Master and Wingard both used to make these UHF antennas, and I installed several in my analog days. Coupled with a VHF antenna and a dual input preamp they worked remarkably well. It was called a "4-bay antenna. Back in the 50s they had one for VHF which was really large. The advantage this antenna has it that it has four active elements phased together with the reflector screen behind them. It has more signal gathering ability for especially weak signals.
Back in the 50's a VHF version was called a " BEDSPRING" VHF antenna! Stood about 6 ft tall & 5 ft wide but then it was for primarily LOW VHF🫡
I made an antenna out of beer cans on a metal wire. It works great for me... at least when I am drunk and the picture does not matter much.
I put USB sticks in the middle of pie plates to use them as a makeshift parabolic reflector for wifi.
@@jeffkardosjr.3825 are those USB WiFi adapters? If so, I take it the metal pan pulls in a stronger signal?
🤣😁😂👏🥂
Nothing beats a six pack antenna.
I have respect for both of you. Danny lives right down interstate 16 about 45/50 miles away. He is also a very nice guy.
Yeah. You need to look past his nicotine stained fingers though.
I think he has set up a few antennas here in Macon before.
@@newtonfigley6948 personally I'm more concerned with soy stains.
I think Danny is the 'good old boy' that he appears to be. Successfully grabbed TV stations with his antenna without paying for cable, then started make them for friends who wanted one too. Making some money building and installing all over his region and now he's selling them on Ebay. Ahhhh....the American Dream.
We waited a while for this review. Glad to see Danny's antenna was up to most of his claims.
Construction quality wouldn't make thru our winters.
Kudos to Danny work and Tyler's honest review.
Here are 2 strong and sturdy antenna manufactures.
------
www.wadeantenna.com
------
www.televes.com/us
Your point about not making it through the winter is 100% spot on. I've put together something similar that actually worked but would not meet the demands that Tyler listed. Winter winds, ice and snow do take their toll! Excellent review, as usual.
I built one of these this summer (minus the reflector) and mounted it on my grandpa's roof. We've seen multiple days where the temperature has been below zero degrees fahrenheit, have had winds of 60+ mph, and have received well over 2 feet of snow so far this winter. Yet, the antenna has thus far held up perfectly. I DID mount the transformer to the frame of the antenna so it wouldn't blow around, though.
P.S. soldering those flimsy transformer wires to solid 10 gauge copper wire is a total pain and I probably destroyed 3 of them before I got it right.
Nice to see that kind of review and individuals making things - will be fun to add a reflector to a version I made and give it another test.
An Instrustables article has a build of a double antenna version of that one (and about Half the claims).
Build is by a former teacher, Dan in Maine (snow, wind), describes antenna build as a DB8 type.. it's the double antenna version of this one.
Dan kept it up 14 years so far. Think he screwed the BALUN's in (BALanced to UNbalanced coax transformer) - I would have guessed solder it all to avoid corrosion.
He points out a lightning arrestor should be part of it.
Claims is it does well on a reasonably strong VHF and is really good at the UHF in his fringe area. His reflector is a few inches larger, so that may help the VHF.
Article on Instructables is titled: Build-a-Large-DB8-HDTV-Antenna-Big-Bertha/
- R
Antenna Man is the Consumer Reports of TV antennae. Another good review.
I can definitely say that watching and listening to Danny is almost as fun as Larry the Cable Guy AKA Mater
Danny is a very likable man.
He has a hobby that gives him a small profit.
Plus, he seems to try to give us the best that he is capable of doing,
with no support
&
limited resources.
How many readers here, are willing to do that on such a minimal profit ?
About Zero % !
I do have a question.....
Does Danny outsource his Customer service dept to a India call center ?
.
he’s my uncle. danny doesn’t have have a customer service type thing. he builds these antennae’s in his back yard and boxes and sells them out his house. the mail man picks the boxes up off his porch and that’s it. i’m sure he has some type of information on his youtube on how to contact him for questions, though.
I built the ultimate antenna from a Danny Hodges video. I used PVC pipe, screws and wire I already had. I put it up on top of the house. I am 55 miles from okc and 70 miles from Sherman Texas. I get every channel in that radius and more! I havent got an antenna booster and this wonderful antenna has never let me down. Iaking
part 2... and as a bonus. if you dont enjoy listening to Danny Hodges you just dont know how to enjoy life! Stop smell the Rose's and build yourself all the antenna you'll ever need!
i made it 5 years ago. got 27 channels currently. never had an issue
This is a great channel! I wanted to cut the cable bill and just have local channels, but I didn't have any idea all that was involved with picking the correct hardware. This channel provides all the research resources to purchase the correct antenna for your application. I've learned quite a bit recently. Thank you!
Danny is actually pretty talented, I learned, by watching his channel how to straighten wire with a drill and vice.
These antennas were designed by a man named McClapp on a website called Digitalhome.ca. they are called M4 and M8's
Did you see the video where he shows how to really bend up a piece of wire so that it can't be straightened?
You finally reviewed this. I have this antenna and it's a good antenna. I don't have any problems with it.
I respect your opinion on this antenna. I built the same type myself (bigger size whiskers) without the reflector with a 6 foot VHF piece and I added a cheap RCA signal booster about 40 foot off the ground. I get 53 channels about 55 to 60 miles away. On good atmospheric days, I can get around 87 channels up to almost 100 miles away never having to turn my antenna. I receive from all directions. I know it wont last forever, but I like to tinker and have scrap items to build it with. I have been using mine for almost a year. Keep up the good work. I love watching your reviews.
If your willing, I would like to view a pic or drawing of your design. Been wanting to build one just for fun. I rarely watch TV myself but members of my family do.. I work alot and always projects that I'm forever trying to get to...lol. thanks in advance😊
I made one myself, and it is quite good for UHF. I like it because it's a great DIY project
Same here
The gray hoverman version of his design works very well. He added non connected hats to the top and bottom works well on VHF as well UHF. You must go to each stations web site to find out the true transmitting frequency. Like any DIY projects you must do excellent work you cannot just throw parts together.
My first looks like a Frankenstein version with mismatched screws, washers, a scrap piece of wood and a leftover balum I just happened to have. It works better that the 2nd one that looks more professional but is using the old flat wire previously installed when our house was built. Had TV wired into every bedroom and living room. The first has high quality coax and a cheap booster in the garage.
To bad we can't post pics on this forum. LoL
This video is a good review of the Ultimate Antenna. It does seem somewhat flimsy in this video.
I have made 3 of these antennas. Two large to scale and one smaller version for my living room. They sit inside the house and still pickup the signals very well. In fact I was amazed at how well the first one performed.
I used 10 gauge copper on one and 8 gauge on the others. My design uses wood and reflective insulation board for the reflector. My design is considerably more sturdy than the one shown in this video for $85. The signal from all three is good. I pull in stations 30+ miles away. Each antenna is made for around $25.00 or less. These are pretty easy to make and for the price of the materials well worth it. Danny provides detailed instructions for constructing one yourself on his Ultimate Antenna Page. I have been very satisfied with this antennas reception. I do live in an area that is predominantly flat terrain.
I love Danny's trial and error spirit. Have watched his videos for a couple years. When he started saying this was unbeatable, he lost some steam. There are always new designs and tweaks to test and tinker with.
danny is my uncle and he is a perfectionist. he will do somethin and perfect it until he gets burned out. he is good at anything he’s ever done. extremely smart gentleman.
I have a similar antenna that I built myself years ago, mounted on a high pole, but without the reflector mesh. Works pretty well here... Helps that all our stations transmit on UHF now.
Same here. Our station are within 50 miles and most over 40 miles away. Picking up 50 channels indoors in corner of garage on short coaxial cable looped over garage door track and signal booster. Adjusting the cable gets two additional channels. The cable is catching the signal on these or reflecting them back I guess. Works for me.
A good and fair review of a homemade antenna. A well done evaluation.
I'm glad Danny did ok. I really like watching the guy. I think he is the real deal. Thanks for the review. I have been a ham for 50 years so a lot of people ask me for antenna advice. I always refer them to your channel.
I'm currently using one of Danny's antennas. As we discussed a few months back you recommend I add VHF dipole to pull in the Public Broadcast channels in my location ( central Georgia) that's almost due south of the main antenna farm north east of Macon. I've had limited success so far, still get some pixelation from time to time.
Now I'm not using the reflector Danny provided but I'm getting pretty strong reception from all the stations out of Macon plus four channels out of Columbus Georgia at about 90 miles due west from our house. These are duplicates of some Macon channels but still pretty cool. Also he really didn't make any unreasonable claims as to how far this antenna will pull in stations.
I mounted the antenna in our attic, not outside and higher as it should be but I don't do ladders! Danny did offer delivery and set-up throughout central Georgia but don't know if he still does. I met Danny a couple of years back and if you have watched any of his videos (there are a lot) you kind of figured out he's a Character! But the antenna works okay and if you DIY it it can be assembled for next to nothing compared to the cost of commercial antennas.....
I found your channel while researching antennas, it was the most informative and to the point.I smashed the subscribe button!
I've been waiting for you to review someone's home made antenna, kudos on giving it a fair shake. I made a smaller version of this design (table top size ) just for fun and being approx. 30 miles from the major network broadcast antenna I'm pretty impressed with how many channels I get .
Out of the 4 antennas I have bought in the last 6 years this one hands down beats every single one of them.
We have really good antenas here in EU.
For 20$, you get the best antena (16db). Made in Italy. They can pick up to 200km in summer.
Don't understand why in USA, you have sow expensive antenas, with very low quality made
@@kapllanvlora6123 One word. China.
@@RazorStrap Turkey in here. Vestel. 😁
@@kapllanvlora6123 in the United States we use different AC system among other tech, the only european antenna sold here it is Televes (Spain) by the way it is a very expensive european antenna and Televes designed specially for United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America,TV Frequencies are engineered differently here in the States than Europe, 75ohms coax cable, 60Hz and Nema system among other tech differences blog.solidsignal.com/tutorials/us-tv-antennas-european-ones/#:~:text=TV%20antennas%20in%20Europe%20use,good%20as%20an%20F%20connector.&text=More%20importantly%2C%20an%20antenna%20designed,rarely%20use%20the%20VHF%20band.
@@joaodasilva8008 Does not mean anything. All antenas work with 75ohm reciever.
Danny has some really good ideas on his channel. I like how he showed how you can stack 10 foot lengths of chain link top rails for an antenna masts. Like you he also show how to ground you outdoor antenna cord and how to make the ends for you coaxial.
Like others have said this is a 4-bay bowtie, a type of reflective array antenna that been used for TV since at least 1954. While TV transmissions were still analog in the early 2000's Channel Master sold the well reviewed CM4221 along with 2-bay and 8-bay models. For the transition to digital broadcasts they tweaked the design a little and renamed it CM4221HD. The USA switch to digital also included the loss of UHF channels 52-69. The CM4221 and HD version have their highest gain on those lost channels. The 4221 still works well on the lower channels but is not optimized for them. The elements were shortened from 8.5" to 7.9" for the HD. Lower channels/frequencies have longer wavelengths and require longer elements and bigger antennas. CM made the business decision not to make it bigger. "Hey, but we made it digital"
Digitalhome.ca is a Canadian Computer and Home Theater forum with an OTA digital TV section. www.digitalhome.ca/forums/over-the-air-ota-digital-television.81/
It's an active community with input from professional and amateur antenna designers. During the transition a member named McLapp shared his 4-bay bowtie designs for UHF channels 14-51. Members called it the M4. IIRC there were three sizes, 9" bowtie elements with 8.5" bay spacing, 9.5" elements w/ 9" spacing and 10" w/9.5" which I believe is what Danny uses. Reflectors were 40" high by 28" wide up to 40" wide depending on which VHF High channels needed. Reflector spaced 4" to 5.5" behind elements.
Since the Repack down to UHF 14-36 a member named Yurii did a M4 McLapp rescale in mm. Basically it's 10.75" bowtie elements w/10.25" bay spacing, reflector 42" H x 32" W spaced 6" behind elements. ypylypenko.livejournal.com/80869.html
Allons! HHT 1/11 ACR Fulda 1989-1992.
@@randysretired2020 How Btry 2/11 ACR, Bad Kissingen 1983-1985. Eaglehorse!
So you were there when the East German Shepherds on the border became regular German Shepherds again.
@@AL-B-BACH I was. Got a small piece of the InterGerman border from OP Alpha in a box somewhere.
@@randysretired2020 Iron Curtain souvenir, sweet. Brings to mind the towers, spotlights, and all that barbed wire. A little shiver just remembering the cold nights on duty there.
I salute your profile pic and totally agree.
I’m in the mountains of the Adirondacks and love to tinker. I’m waiting for Danny’s kit as I type.
Once it comes in and I get it built and set up I’ll let you all know just how it stacks up against my current POS!
37 channels! Amazing clarity!
I will be building one for a friend of mine about 5 miles up the world who is a little deeper! It’s a fun build and all my neighbors are amazed at the channels I pick up!
@@slowsqueeze awesome. I'm in a hollow and can't get any ota channels good with just the cheap garbage you can buy at most stores. I'm looking into this so I can dump spectrum
I can say a few things that is better than any commercial antenna on the market. Copper is better than aluminum for antennas. And soldered connections are better than riveted connections. Aluminum has oxidation problems and I know copper does too but soldered connections stops oxidation at the connection points. As an amateur radio person, the antenna is the most important part of getting the signal out.
It's safe to add that anyone can build such an antenna instead of buying one.
Take a coaxial cable. Strip off one end, exposing at least 6 inches of copper wire. Connect working end to TV. DONE.
@@JohnVKaravitis IF you are close to the transmitters. If you are out in the boonies that may not be enough.
@@Elfnetdesigns Will not be enough.
@@dontrend5956 depends if the transmitters are out in the rural like they are where I am.
@TsunamiFPS Too much work unbending the paper clip. Get a used twist-tie, strip half an inch off between your teeth and jam it in the HD TV's antenna jack. You must use a genuine Glad Bag twist tie to receive 1080p though...
Good for 20 miles / 30 km (while claiming 150 miles like Lava)
I built this antenna from Danny's Channel and it worked great for me. I live 60 miles away from the broadcast antenna in my area and it worked awesome.
Those are self tapping roofing screws. No drilling required. I used some just like it, albeit shorter to fix my mailbox post. LOL. As far as the balun goes, I never had an issue with it. I think that's the attractiveness of Danny's antenna. Everything is soldered together, from the whiskers to the balun. Stronger connections means less signal loss. Danny has a video on how he mounts it. He sets on top of an aluminum fence post and screws it in with some of those self tapping roofing screws. Yea, he was a roofer in his earlier days. I personnaly got some brackets big enough to go around the mounting post and the bottom of the antenna, and that worked for me. With that said, my experience with the signal quality pretty much mirrors yours. I'm getting better signals in my location with your recommended WInegard platinum.
Is the Winegard outperforming Danny's on UHF signals? I'd expect it to work better for VHF but I think Danny's might work better for UHF.
@@AntennaMan I would say definitely yes. That's just muh feelz (and personal observations). I don't have any hard numbers to back it up. I am getting a more consistent signal on all four majors here in Atlanta, where as before, I was always struggling with one or the other. Even the DB8 had the same problem. Signal strength isn't everything. Fluctuation has a lot to do with how well a tuner can stay locked on. My Samsung TV was able to stay locked on to UHF stations off my back deck on a flat panel indoor antenna (Flex?) with a signal strength of 15. I think the Winegard has less fluctuation due to its larger size. Again, I'm just guessing. I really need to hook my mediasonic and see what I am getting.
Nice informative review! I made two similar to his antenna, but used pvc pipe instead. Cost me less than 30 bucks, and looks better. Fun diy project!
Long story short, I had to live out of my office for a short time. I made antennas out of common items like cardboard boxes, coat hangers, etc. I built similar to the ultimate antenna and was based off that video. Worked great. I was in a 100 year old building made of solid concrete. I was amazed I could get reception.
I was interested in this antenna's performance after building a Hoverman of my own. This review was thoughtful and objective, and tends to agree with what I've seen from my Hoverman antenna.
Yeap, I was in the same boat. I decided to build a Grey-Hoverman since it looked much easier than building a 4-bay bowtie. I then bought a used CM-4228HD 8-bay bowtie.
Neither work as well as my UHF Yagi.
I built a Gray-Hoverman and a 4-bay bow tie antenna out of 8-gauge copper. They both work very similarly in my area.
Hoverman is better than bowtie antena. Second is v beam you can stack them in a row like a yagi! It has a wide feqency range.
@@jTempVids I built two Gray-Hoverman antennas with copper tubing for my kid's apartments in Toronto. One is mounted on the window glass, 9th floor, facing the CN Tower transmitter. The other is mounted on the balcony, 22nd. floor, on the opposite side of the building, facing away from the CN Tower. Both antennas pick up every station that is available in this market.
Been waiting for this review, good job on the facts. Loved Dannys video but had my doubts on building one . Keep up the good work!!
Simple most expensive part is the balon for $3 or less and the time you want to put into it
Looks like a good sturdy antenna, for being a home built it still does the job well.
If you want to buy American, you definitely can't get any more 'Made in the USA' than this.
Good job to Tyler for recommending ways Danny can improve his design. Constructive criticism done right.
I'm sure it will work longer, but even if this antenna only lasts 3-5 years, it is still a better value than those PingFlingDung 150,000 mile raygun ChinAntennas.
I have the Antennas Direct Max V . I wanted to pick up VHF channels 4 & 5, towers about 25 miles away, but the lowest channel it would get was 7 plus a lot of UHF channels I didn’t want. Then I took the two screwed on loops off that ray gun antenna you joke about, and put them on each side of the center hub, and I could pick up 5 + it’s sub channels. Still couldn’t get 4, and the 4&5 towers are only a block apart. Then I noticed how the 2V has a reflector on the back. I called Antennas direct to ask if that reflector could be attached to mine, and she told me no. So I thought I’ll make my own reflector. I took a roll of aluminum foil and some HVAC tape and made a square reflector, and WOW I not only got 4, and all the sub channels, I got 5, 7 which is in a different area, as well as UHF channels I couldn’t get before. Total about 59 channels.
I made two of these antennas two years ago one for myself and my parents and I have to say this is one of the best antennas I ever came across they work damn good.
They do work good for UHF. Not the best for VHF
Says the guy who worries about using a power drill and putting screws into his hands....
@@chrishanson69 lol
The review we have all been waiting for!!!
In his videos, he addresses the solder issue, as he uses silver solder and tells you to use a tie wrap to anchor it to the spine prior to connecting your coax. I use one with a Winegard LNA 200. I tried a Televes and it would not pick up all channel in my area. I have trees & hills between me and 80% of my available stations. For me Danny's antenna is a good choice with the Winegard preamp.
Danny is a character but to his credit he shows how to attach the antenna to the pole, he just puts screws through the pole into the last part of the PVC tube. He also shows to attach the matching transformer with wire ties so it does not move and break a wire. There is no way to attach wires. I was an automotive electrician for over 35 years and then became a Master Electrician. I live about 60 miles south of Philadelphia and have always had an antenna. I have a Channel Master rotor and preamp. And have had several antennas, bigger name brand antennas being usually better. I currently use a HD Stacker antenna, which is a Winegard antenna that has a 70" VHF part above the 70" UHF part on the pole. It does a good job of both VHF and UHF reception. I have also built a double ultimate antenna (8 bay version) of what Danny Hodges sells and it gets UHF good and VHF-hi but not VHF-lo.
Damn straight! Good review and constructive advice.
Several years ago my wife and I drove from N. Florida to Danny's place in Georgia to purchase his double ultimate antenna. We have been very satisfied in his product and pick up all major networks and about 60 - 72 stations from 65+ miles away, 1080 included. It is on a rotor but doesn't really need it. Also have quite a few trees around so it's not perfect conditions. Hooked up to a Tablo dvr for automatic recordings. Antenna is 45 feet off the ground on a telescoping pole setup I designed, with guy wires.
A few years ago a minor hurricane knocked the rig down (pole diameter proved insufficient) but no antenna damage. Increased pole diameter, added another guy wire and all is well.
We have tried MANY other so-called long range antennas and none came close to Danny's. Don't believe all the hype that other brands tout. Also, I am not affiliated with Danny Hodges in any way and receive nothing from him, this is just an honest evaluation of his outstanding product. He is the real old school American entrepreneur.
I bought one of these antennas about 6 months ago and mine included the signature Danny S. Hodges cigarette burn camo pattern.
I had a Channel Master CM-4228HD (8 bow tie) antenna. I purchased Danny Hodges “Ultimate Antenna”, mounted in on the same mast in the same location, and actually got better reception with significantly higher signal quality on my Sony Bravia XBR-43X830C TV. I’m giving away my old Channel Master antenna to a friend without an OA TV antenna.
I did find that clean flowing solder connections; especially, for the balun connections, are critically important for peak antenna performance. It’s true, Danny Hodges’ DIY antennas aren’t appropriate for soldering novices, but for someone with soldering experience and skill, it’s an outstanding antenna in my opinion.
I made one of these out of wood and coat hangers. It works good for local stations and if it's on a second floor, it can pick up stations up to 80 miles away at night.
This is actually a good review for him whether he realizes it or not. This beats a lot of the commercial junk antennas that antenna man routinely rips on. I hope he takes the advice and improves the antenna.
I made two 4 bay BOW TIE antennas 10 years ago. I still have them.... they work well. I did not put a reflector on it because I was fighting the fact I had stations 180 degrees apart in direction. The basic design is good. HOWEVER BOYS AND GIRLS IF YOU WANT fringe performance a YAGI, or Log-Yagi or Log Periodic design and BIG.... but for a compact antenna the 4 bay works well. I HAVE a commercially made 8-Bay BOW TIE and it works well, You can direct 4 bays 90 degrees apart.... This is OK but remember multi path will kill your Digital signal dead.....
I have been waiting for this review, thanks!
I been waitimg on this one
ruclips.net/video/fLYO8kEFhKk/видео.html
I still have my ancient Winegard big wedge antenna from 30 years ago. It gets all the channels it's expected to. I could get more if I wasn't too lazy to rotate it.
Buy an electric remote rotator
I have that antenna, an RCA 751 and a Dennys Stacker. Hodges antenna is at least as good as the stacker. Plus it was cheaper. Hodges gets a 100% A+ rating from me. If you can't assemble this antenna, you should get someone that use a couple of basic tools.
I added a "narod top hat for vhf" to the Ultimate Antenna, as a VHF dipole didn't work. I made it myself and it is a bit crude. This tophat does not need a UHF/VHF combiner. About 4" of the ends of the elements (UHF/VHF) run parallel to each other 1/4" apart and cannot touch.
I purchased the Ultimate antenna to replace the Antennas Direct Clearstream 4 TV Antenna, which only received UHF. The Ultimate antenna was easy to mount on a post as instructed. It also received more UHF channels and VHF 13. The "Narod Top hat" also picked up VHF 7 and 11. On the ultimate antenna the plastic on the ballun was cracked and Danny sent me a new one at no charge. It was easy to solder the new ballun on.
This video criticizes Danny's antenna for the lack of a mounting bracket and the ballun connection. Securing the connected RG cable below the ballun with a cable tie or something else should eliminated any stress on the connection. People can mount this antenna so many different ways, that it doesn't make sense for Danny to supply a bracket that many users won't use.
I built Danny's ultimate antenna a couple of years ago and always had trouble with the lower VHF channels (mainly the local NBC station ~42 miles away). Just built the Gray Hoverman with the VHF fix/NARODs and reliably get all channels including the ones that the ultimate antenna had troubles with. Gray Hoverman was way easier to diy than the ultimate antenna as there are less individual pieces to deal with.
I've seen Danny's videos before. Love his southern twang! =)
I can't understand a word he says,
@@KameraShy That's what's so great about him LOL! :D
I'm working on the ultimate satellite dish using aluminum screen wire should be working soon
Can't stand it. Too thick. Very annoying. Difficult to listen too. Talks a lot, says little of usefulness.
Did anyone see his drumming videos? I was speechless.
I bought a Danny antenna about 3 years ago. After looking it over and a quick test, I made a few small changes that increased the gain. I tried to notify him of the changes but no reply. However it is still up and working as a backup if cable goes down.
Thanks Tyler. I’ve watched his videos and how to make an antenna but I’m Ohio with snow and ice his would be suspect to breaking IMO but great review and respect to both you guys.
Place them in the attic I'm up in nh and they work very well for what I paid and time I spent making them
Here are 2 strong and sturdy antenna manufactures.
------
www.wadeantenna.com
------
www.televes.com/us
I built this same bowtie antenna for myself 6 months ago and it does pull in all the UHF stations within a 40 mile range very well. I have also built several Grey Hoverman design antennas and they perform as well as the bow tie.
ruclips.net/video/fLYO8kEFhKk/видео.html
When comparing antennas, you must take atmospheric conditions into account. The only legitimate comparison would be a side-by-side test of the antennas on the same day with the same meteorological conditions. Weather plays a huge role in antenna gain and reception.
That's why I test about a dozen antennas on the same day within an hour of each other. I just release the videos at different times
thanks I've been hounding you forever for this one
It took me a while because I knew I wouldn't be able to reuse it. I'm out about $150 for the whole thing. No big deal, just I'm more inclined to review antennas I can reuse at installs.
@@AntennaMan hahaha. Save it for an attic install. 😉
@@AntennaMan Someone would probable buy it from you on EBay or Facebook. One of your viewers most likely.
Danny should have sent it for free. I'm sure your review was helpful.
This is exactly what the YT antenna space needs, a flame war.😂😂
Danny is pretty damn funny with the acent.
His antenna is pretty good actually as a UHF antenna.
@@t2k777 I think it's from Hollywood giving too many stupid characters southern drawls. In reality, people with provincial speech patterns are _sometimes_ less well-traveled, and therefore _sometimes_ more uninformed about the rest of the world, which I suppose is the basis for the stereotype. On the other hand, people with more "standard" speech patterns _aren't_ always more-traveled or better-informed, so it depends on whether you're evaluating someone based on what they say, or more superficially on how they say it. Hollywood is, if anything, superficial.
Yes, Danny is a very entertaining character and he provides a lot of valuable information for those who wish to take on the project to build their own TV antenna. The antenna is not the ultimate, but it is better than many. Probably a good indoor antenna choice, but I couldn't see it surviving long through a Canadian winter.
I've tried several different antennas and this one has worked pretty good, no complaints, I'm pulling in over 40 channels with a Channel Master pre amplifier due to a long cable run up my hill.
I also have another Channel Master long range antenna that works good but I think Danny's antenna pulls in stations in different directions a little better.
In Danny's defense I will say that he at least has made it very easy for someone to DIY this antenna. $85 is cheap for a large antenna and even cheaper if you're able to do-it-yourself. But as some have mentioned, this is merely a 4-Bay bow-tie antenna that Hodges has made a few tweaks here and there. Nothing ground breaking. I built one and while the design works it won't beat a Yagi design for distance.
^ 100% Agree. I made a Grey-Hoverman and recently bought a used Channel Master 4228HD. Neither work as well as my UHF Yagi. With that said, These antennas do work.
I'm honestly thinking about buying another UHF Yagi and stacking them. I've also been tempted to make a 16 bay bow-tie (4 of these antennas stacked).
Antenna Craft used to have the SuperG1483. Of course I'd love to find a Channel Master 4251 (7 foot UHF parabolic dish antenna)
@@jTempVids 16 bays? You are well into diminishing returns. Each doubling is half the benefit of the previous doubling.
@@RazorStrap It's not uncommon to stack 8 bay antennas. People still stack the Channel Master 4228HD antennas (8 bay). When you stack them (16 bay) you gain roughly 3 db of gain. When your in the deep fringe and trying to pull in the weakest signals it can make a difference. 4,8, and 16 bay antennas can be beneficial in the deep fringe since you are increasing the antennas collection area. With that said, I'm having better luck in my area with a UHF Yagi. I'm thinking about trying to stack 2 of them.
@@jTempVids Every doubling is 3db. That's why it's a diminishing benefit.
I do get a chuckle out of 'someone needing to be comfortable with using a power drill'. If they aren't they're probably paying someone to do the installation anyway.
if you want to improve both signal, use a combiner. Danny Hodges said
I built a similar 4-bay antenna years ago out of stuff I had lying around. It still works great as an attic antenna. I wouldn't install it outdoors as I don't thing it would hold up well in the weather. The key to getting a good performing UHF antenna is the horizontal spacing gap between the "whisker" elements. Too narrow or too wide and the performance drops off. The metal grid is really not needed in most reception cases but does add some directionality to the antenna. Lots of videos out there on how to build your own.
Good objective review Tyler.
Danny does boast a little over the top, but deserves some kudos for being a self starter and not making an antenna like the pingbingding junk nor does he boast about a 175 mile range.
I too have made this antenna, it’s quite easy and does the job. I also will say it’s not anyone’s idea , like Tyler said this design has been around.
Many make your own antenna plans on the internet.
I've built The ultimate antenna and have tried every commercial long-range VHFUHF combinations of antennas. Have a bunch of them hanging in my garage the rest returned most of my channels are 65 miles away and unfortunately VHF. I'm back to The double Gray Hooverman I built As it works the best of all of them even for VHF.
I have already made 10 antennas till now like yagi, yagi with corner reflectors, lpda, dipole... For fm band ( 88- 108mhz). My aim is to listen very long distance fm radio stations it's called radio dxing. I have received 1100 km away fm radio station. Making DiY antenna is really a great thing.
Noticed that when you were testing the VHF channel that it was VERY windy. The tree limbs in the background made it obvious. The signal was breaking up because of the wind. No matter what antenna I use, strong wind will break up the signal. In order to have a valid comparison with other antennas, I suggest that you test all antennas during periods when the wind is low.
The trees aren't in the direction of the VHF signals so it didn't affect them. The one VHF antenna I tested out that got them in with a 20% signal gain was also tested on the same day. I'm aware of what wind can do to signals. I have yet to find a time where the wind truly affects them since I am on a hill and there aren't any trees in the direction of the main signals I test out.
Fair critique on a fellow antenna RUclipsr. For $85.00 American Pesos I would expect the mounting brackets to the frame and some screws, but those cut into the profit of the product.
I have seen Danny’s antenna videos, interesting to see it tested by Antenna Man
I made one just like it in 2008. One cold overcast morning I got a Dallas station for about 15 minutes. Dallas is about 300 miles from here.
That's due to tropospheric ducting in the summer which allows TV signals to travel further. It's not a good way to measure the performance of the antenna as many other antennas would probably get that distant signal during the tropo events.
I used your antenna recommendation and it was Extremely helpful. The "ultimate antenna" has some serious build quality and feature issues; The lack of a mast bracket is . . . kinda hard to believe . . . keep up the Great work Tyler. Bob
I subscribed to Danny's channel Deep South Videos because of this video!
Many make your own antenna plans on the internet.
I have this exact antenna on my tower. I added a power supply and get 68 channels. It is a kit. I used 2 6"x 5/16 bolts thru my pole to the base on the antenna. If you are handy, it is a great antenna. Not a big box store piece of junk.
Danny Hodges is the man. I watch a few diy videos and enjoyed building my own antenna that works great. I do find Antenna Man very informative if you use an antenna.
I built one. Workes fantastic. I did not compare with anything.
That rabbit cage reflector is a handicap. Blocks rear signal entry. The Hoverman antenna with proper rear reflectors and vhf rods is by far the most superior. Picks up CFTO VHF 8 in an attic from 64 miles away in Hamburg NY. The UHF channels from Toronto have signal quality greater than 77 at all times.
I wonder how many chickens got out when Danny built the prototype.
X-D
HOWdy A-M,
I watched Danny HODGES make quite a few ANTENNAS in his SHED
He talks a G@@D TALK ... and I loved watching Mr. HODGES building his antennas
I'm glad to hear your REVIEW of his product
Thanks Again
COOP
the WiSeNhEiMeR from Richmond, INDIANA
...
Sounds like a great antenna! Thanks!
Good review Tyler. I've seen Danny's videos a while back. I'm in Georgia as well but just right outside of Atlanta. I think he's down in Middle / Southern Georgia. I'm getting around 80 or so channels here (including subchannels). I'm using a Large Televes Outdoor Antenna in the Attic. Just barely fits but my HOA frowns on outdoor Antennas. Although I do know there is a federal law that allows them anyways.
If you're getting 80 channels I don't think it's necessary for an outdoor model.
@@AntennaMan Yep. Agree. That would be overkill. But Hey. The Televes replaced that crappy antenna I had that you tell everybody not to buy! :)
Experience = Knowledge
I live 62 miles south of the Philadelphia broadcast towers and have a tall woods just south of my house so it is hard to get Salisbury stations. After thinking about antenna testing it would seem that if you test antennas in a area with strong signals you are not getting the results that you would get 62 miles away. The difference between good antennas and a medium antennas would show up better if tested 60 plus miles away from the broadcast towers. I have 3 antennas set up right now:
1. A Stacker made by Winegard with a 70" VHF part above a 70" UHF part (from Denny's TV).
2. A Double Ultimate like Danny Hodges (soldered whiskers and soldered on matching transformer).
3. A simple dipole with long copper elements (now 40" x 2 = 80"). Am going to up that to 50" x 2 = 100". So I can see how it gets RF2 (54 - 60 MHz) out of Philadelphia.
I have calculated that the wave length of RF2 to be around 200" so a half wave length dipole would need to be 100" long. If I am wrong please let me know.
103.5 inches but 100" may be close enough to work.
Ok, now we need a PPV wrestling match between you & Danny, I’d pay to see that..
Steel cage match
A couple of years down the road, I'm no longer finding "ultimate" antenna on ebay or search engines. The ULTRAtenna 60 is of similar build and around $100. I'm running an old Channel Master 4221 from the 300-ohm days.
It might've been discontinued
I just deleted my follow-up. Hodges reports, resuming production this coming September.
I respect that you repeat some information so that people just finding the video can have some knowledge. I bet you get tired of saying the same things.
I have to because many times the video I post is the only video someone sees.
@@AntennaMan exactly I mean the first video I watched gave me so much information I subscribed. It's amazing. sorry you have to repeat yourself all the time for us. I would not have the patience. I commend you
Are you sure WNEP transmits on RF50?. Re-pack had them move to RF 21. There are so many viewer complaints unable to get stations in the VHF band. I worked for a station that used UHF for their digital signals then flashed cut their analog VHF to digital. Nothing but call after call that viewers lost the signal after a re-scan. We filed an STA with the FCC to up the power a bit but was limited due to another station on the same frequency a couple of hundred miles away. We moved to UHF and problem solved. There is one last channel here on RF 11 and guess what, they have a construction permit to move to UHF. VHF is bad for 8VSB transmission. I can just imagine how bad it is for stations using VHF low band. Some of those stations were given lots of cash from the FCC to move due to the spectrum re-pack. Like your channel as there is very good information on a variety of broadcast and OTT topics.
They did move to RF 21. I tested this antenna back in June when they were still RF 50. The same for the other outdoor antennas on my channel. I tested a good 10 of them and I'm still working on the video reviews.
The frequency change only marginally improved their signal.
It is tough to get it to not glitch out even in Old Forge.
I bought this antenna last year to replace a small RCA yagi. Most of our towers are 54ish miles away. The RCA pulled about 2 stations reliably, with a couple of their substations, about six in total. The Ultimate can pull in about 20 total. It is clearly superior to the RCA. Of course that’s all I’ve compared it to.
I been using a small 2 bay antenna since 2009, works great and is around 20-30 bucks. I recommend it. Its kinda just like this antenna .
I actually have this antenna and it does well, pulls in around 160 channels reliably, but I'm only 30 miles from the towers and have a 20 db preamp. I have the preamp mainly because I'm running a 150 foot cable from the antenna to the tuner. I will trim the cable later ( to 100 ft) because my setup is not optimal and the antenna isn't in its final location. I'm East Southeast of Los Angeles and have a pretty clean shot of the towers other than a few trees and a house right now. Also the antenna is mounted around 10-12 ft off the ground, not very high. Usually my VHF Hi (RF channels 7-13) stations pull in around 60% - 80% signal depending on the channel and conditions. UHF (RF channels 14-36) works a little better with 70% - 90% signal depending on conditions. I say this is a well rounded antenna since I can receive VHF Hi and UHF reliably. I do pull in one VHF Lo station (RF channel 4), but it gets a relatively poor signal (47% - 55%). I don't recommend using this for VHF lo because you won't get a good signal. If you need VHF Lo, you can pair this with another antenna that's geared more towards VHF, like a Winegard YA7000C and use a combiner. I bought this antenna because it's very lightweight and the elements and balun are soldered and I'm supporting small business. You can use zipties to keep the balun secure and prevent it from moving around and breaking in a severe wind. As for mounting I just attached a 1 inch galvanized pipe to the bottom of this unit with 3 4" stainless steel pipe clamps and it has held up just fine.
Time to get a white background behind the antenna on the TV. With the brickwork of the wall you can barely see it. Good work on Danny's antenna review, you two guys are probably the most watched antenna guru's in America.
I happened on Danny's channel and then it popped up on yours right when i said "I'd like to see antenna man test this".
As we say here in the South, Danny is as country as it gets. That's not always a bad thing. Build quality is definitely suspect.
I'd like to see Antenna Man compare the Ultimate HD TV Antenna to a Gray Hoverman w/ NARODs
I've built both. The gain should be similar, until you got below RF12. I stayed with G-H, although it took me many months to get the choice of mounts and insulators right.
I have built the GH with Narods and a modified FF6. Both very similar. The GH was more omnidirectional and the FF6 is more directional. Each has its sweet spots at certain frequencies.
I ran mine for about 13 months before discovering the VHF amendments. Those helped me pull in channel 11 a little better. Once WPRI moved to 7, it came in seamlessly. Eventually I came into some thicker aluminum wire --which the birds were less likely to warp than the copper.
Hey Tyler, I think you should bring Danny’s wife on as a guest star.
Is she one of the ones dancing in Danny's drumming videos or the one in the hair curlers?
I have bought the Channel Master, Weingard, RCA, etc. , and built this antenna. It outperforms them. Knock it all you want, but it does work very well.
I love mine i use it and a HD Stacker for the VHF Side. Danny was honest with me he told me the hd stacker had the better vhf but they cant beat his uhf and he was correct. i live 100 miles from Raleigh and 70 miles from Wilmington. I got all my locals from florence myrtle beach area but im just across the like in NC and i would rather watch NC news. My friends get 32 or so channels while i have over 100 with Raleigh broadcasting in atsc 3.0. This antenna is excellent 👌