Showing posts with label outdoor antenna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label outdoor antenna. Show all posts

Monday, July 9, 2012

Channel Master 4221HD Multi-Bay UHF Short Range HDTV Antenna Review

Channel Master 4221HD Multi-Bay UHF Short Range HDTV Antenna
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I initially made the mistake of thinking all expensive antennas were created equal. Needless to say, my first antenna was a $100 purchase that worked no better than my old rabbit ears.
I then made the decission to "step up" and purchased a Radio Shack antenna from the "electronic experts". It was touted as an attic antenna but was really too cumbersome for the attic and again provided no more value than my rabbit ears.
Fed up with making returns, and noticing that being in a hurry was costing me time, I finally decided to do some research. After much reading, I decided the 4221 based on its rating was going to be the right thing. I have it installed in my attic and could not be happier. It is a very manageable size and most importantly, it brings in all the channels flawlessly! After the two previous failures I could not be more thrilled. Price is not the key. It was cheaper than the two previous attempts by about half the cost. . . And the best news. It works!
You will want to check on the requirements for your area. A midrange UHF was perscribed as the right thing based on broadcast signals in my area. One also needs to ensure the antenna is pointed in the right direction. Most high gain antennas are directional as is the 4221. If you are looking for a midrange UHF, look no further.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Channel Master 4221HD Multi-Bay UHF Short Range HDTV Antenna

Channel Master's model 4221HD antenna can receive digital and analog over-the-air TV signals in the UHF band only. The 4221HD is optimized for distant "near-fringe" reception of HDTV. Its space-efficient design is suitable for roof and attic installations. The 4221HD receives digital and analog UHF TV signals (channels 14-69); range is 45 miles; 4-bay bowtie dipole design; 24-1/2"W x 5-1/2"D x 33"H; 12-1/2" turning radius (if used with an antenna rotor)

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Friday, June 29, 2012

Philips MANT940 UHF Digital and Analog Indoor/Outdoor Antenna Review

Philips MANT940 UHF Digital and Analog Indoor/Outdoor Antenna
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
If you subscribe to satellite or cable you may be surprised to learn that in many area, over-the-air digital TV offers better picture quality and may offer some unique channels not found on your cable system. But getting great over-the-air TV requires a good antenna. Over the years I've tried the following:
-Traditional roof antenna with rotor: Works great but antenna must be turned to get stations in different directions.
-Simple indoor bow-tie or loop antennas: Very cheap to buy, but only pick up the strongest channels. Very prone to interference that can cause picture freezing and break-up.
-Indoor rabbit ears with UHF: a little better than the cheapies, but still difficult to adjust and prone to interference.
-Radio Shack Double Bow-Tie antenna: This one is no longer available, but it is legendary. It looks like a gold screen on legs, with two gold bow-ties mounted in the front. (Very '50's in appearance.) This is a very good indoor UHF antenna (and all the digital/HD channels in my area are UHF.) It provides good, stable reception on most of my local channels, but sometimes has problems with the handful that are in a different direction. It's not a very pretty antenna, but at about $16 it was pretty cheap.
Recently I got a new TV for the bedroom and after looking around, I decided to give the Philips MANT940 a try. It fit my criteria:
-Relatively inexpensive (I paid just under $40).
-Small and unobtrusive
-Can be used indoors or out.
-Got mostly good reviews from consumers in online reviews.
I put the antenna on the top shelf of the bedroom closet. The included 20 cable was plenty long enough to reach the TV.
So far I'm very pleased. This is the best antenna I've used so far. All of my local stations come in clear and stable without making any adjustments to the position of the antenna. I'm even getting a station from the next town over that previously only came in with a broken signal. I'm very pleased and would recommend this antenna to anyone living within 20-to-30 miles from the TV stations they want to receive. I'm not sure how well it would work at greater distances.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Philips MANT940 UHF Digital and Analog Indoor/Outdoor Antenna

PHILIPS MANT940 AMPLIFIED INDOOR/OUTDOOR ANTENNAINDOOR/OUTDOOR AMPLIFIED; UHF AMPLIFICATION: 18 DB ; CHANNELS: 1469 ; PLUG & PLAY ; INCLUDES Inline AMPLIFIER, 20-FT COAXIAL CABLE & MOUNTING KIT

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Friday, February 24, 2012

RCA ANT751 Outdoor Antenna Optimized for Digital Reception Review

RCA ANT751 Outdoor Antenna Optimized for Digital Reception
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
This antenna is great. I wanted to add the local HD ATSC channels to my TIVO HD. I purchased a DIGIAIR antenna meter to find the spot in my attic with the strongest signal and optimized its position. This antenna did a fantastic job on both hi-VHF and UHF bands. I am guessing it has about 4-6 dB gain on both bands. It is truely designed to reduce multipath interference for digital signal reception. For example, the rear VHF reflector is fed into the antenna feed after going through a 180 degree phase reversal to enhance rear lobe rejection of unwanted signals.
The antenna DOES come with the J mount pole which makes it an even better value.
I live 42 miles from the transmission towers and this antenna is connected to a 60 ft run of RG6 quad shield to my TV. I get a S/N ratio of 23-28 db on most all the channels with a signal strength on the TV of 80-100. The DIGIAIR meter shows strong pull on the VHF channels.
From my knowledge of antenna design and looking at photos on the internet, this antenna appears to be the same one sold for twice the price called the EZ HD Antenna.
It is just large enough to get good signal, but small enough not to be too cumbersome. It was the only combination VHF/UHF antenna in this size that I could find that had multiple VHF elements for increased gain.
Now I receive all the local channels in HD PLUS I receive analog basic cable. My TIVO HD combines both channel sets into a seamless viewing experience. HD channels viewed off this antenna will always look BETTER than if you viewed them off cable because the cable company recompresses the HD signal downgrading it slightly to save bandwidth on the cable system. You just can't get this clarity without an antenna.
YOU DO NEED A SEPARATE RUN OF RG6 QUADSHIELD COAX TO YOUR TIVO BOX. YOU CAN'T COMBINE ANTENNA SIGNALS AND CABLE SIGNALS ON THE SAME CABLE. IT TAKES 2 CABLES TO DO THIS. Running this second cable down to my TIVO was the hardest part of the installation. After you do this, simply REMOVE the cable card from your TIVO to get the Comcast basic cable channels in analog and let the antenna handle your HD digital local channels. Saves cable bill money.
For connectors, I purchased the DataShark compression tool and compression RG6 connectors at Home Depot. I ordered additional connectors (better ones for quad shield) from Amazon. DataShark stuff is made by Paladin Tools.
I purchased the RG6Q (quad shield cable) as RCA brand quad shield at Lowes. Avoid the GE cable as it is of lower quality. Home Depot had some inexpensive QuadShield cable also, but if you look closely the center 18AWG conductor was only copper coated steel, not solid copper like the RCA cable.
For coax face plates, I made my own double gang wall plate. Using one of the "unbreakable nylon" face plates at Home Depot, I was able to drill two holes in it the perfect size to place two coax couplers. The modular data/coax/phone face plate systems from Leviton, and others are nice, but very over priced for what are custom pieces of plastic.
Most homes will be wired with RG59 coax which has a much higher loss of signal than RG6. If you installing an antenna you really need the RG6 to minimize loss of weak signals which come from an antenna. Since all the stations are now digital and digital reception is sensitive to EMI or interference, you need the quad shielded RG6 over the double shielded RG6 to reduce interference. When receiving digital signals it takes BOTH a strong signal and a CLEAN signal free of interference to get a beautiful and clean picture.
My reception is rock solid on all channels. I couldn't be happier.

Click Here to see more reviews about: RCA ANT751 Outdoor Antenna Optimized for Digital Reception

RCA outdoor optimized ditigal antenna is designed for the most challenging reception environments. Superior construction and tough materials withstand outdoor conditions. Ultra small design allows placement where traditional outdoor antennas won't work - needs less than 1 meter of space. Receives all local HD and DTV broadcast signals free. Supports all digital and analog TV frequencies (VHF and UHF) and supports 1080 signals. Extended range signal reception quality is effective up to a 40 mile radius of broadcast signal. Range may vary due to terrain, strength of signal or other factors. Easy fold out assembly for simple installation with pre-assembled deisgn, snap lock elements and heavy duty locking mast clamp. Mounting hardware and 75-ohm matching transformer included and has 1 year limited warranty.

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Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Winegard HD8200U Platinum Series High Definition VHF/UHF TV Antenna Review

Winegard HD8200U Platinum Series High Definition VHF/UHF TV Antenna
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I have endured and suffered an ongoing struggle to receive local VHF channels Over the air (OTA) through an antenna. The past few months have been particularly bad especially for digital channel 12 on VHF which for most of that time was not receivable and when I could get it I was getting between one and two bars (out of ten) of signal strength. I would usually get two bars of signal strength on digital channel 7 VHF. I had been using a 30ish year old Radio Shack UHF/VHF combo 160 inch rooftop antenna that came with my house for VHF and a seperate UHF AD XG91 antenna combined through a CM 7777 preamp. UHF reception has been pretty good for the last year and a half or so, but it has been a struggle with VHF reception. I live in the northwestern Berkshire Mountain range, just to the east of Mt. Greylock, the highest peak in Massachusetts. I sit about 49 miles east of the transmitters broadcasting the Albany, NY networks as I live in that DMA. I have done a lot of research into my problem and decided to replace my Radio Shack with a new antenna. I narrowed it down to a Channel Master 3671 or a Winegard HD8200U. I decided to go with the Winegard and ordered it from Amazon because it was supposed to be UPS shippable and there's no place around here to get one. I was suprised at how long the box was at seven feet and it arrived with all but one staple removed and the antenna suffered a bit of cosmetic damage in transit including a few slightly bent elements that I was able to straighten without much trouble. All of the parts were there however and it wasn't much trouble to assemble. It was a bit bigger than I expected, about three feet longer than the Radio Shack it replaced at a total of about 14 feet assembled, but it is reasonably light. So I got it installed and aimed and checked my TVs. Well to my surprise my signal strength on digital Channel 12 and digital Channel 7 went from one to two bars up to a solid ten bars (out of ten) on both channels! I was quite amazed and wish I had replaced this antenna long ago. Channels 6 and 10 ANALOG now also come in crystal clear and I'm even getting channel 2 analog out of Utica, NY (about 30 miles west of Albany, NY) sound and snowy picture. Simply an amazing antenna and I recommend it highly to anyone on the fringe. I should be set now for the analog shutoff when some other channels move back to VHF. Very satisfied with this antenna! Amazon as always beat everyone else on price and satisfaction. Delivery was a bit shaky, but that was UPS's fault, not Amazon


Click Here to see more reviews about: Winegard HD8200U Platinum Series High Definition VHF/UHF TV Antenna

Platinum HD antennas deliver powerful VHF performance and offer additional 1 dB to 2 dB higher gain on VHF and UHF, important for weak signal areas. Outstanding UHF reception achieved by precise director spacing and highly efficient corner reflectors.

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Thursday, June 9, 2011

Channel Master 2016 DIGITAL ADVANTAGE (HDTV / VHF / UHF) Outdoor Antenna Review

Channel Master 2016 DIGITAL ADVANTAGE (HDTV / VHF / UHF) Outdoor Antenna
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Granted the directions are bad, but it is so simple to set up that directions aren't needed. I bought it under the assumption that the range is 35 miles. I have it in the attic of our two story house, pointed at a station 60 miles away and it comes in flawlessly. All or local stations are 90 degrees off this station and they come in resonably well for being that far off. I tried it with am amplifier, but the amp is not needed so I removed it. Here are two good sites to help you find what stations you might recieve.
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Click Here to see more reviews about: Channel Master 2016 DIGITAL ADVANTAGE (HDTV / VHF / UHF) Outdoor Antenna

(CHN2016) Channel Master 2016 DIGITAL ADVANTAGE (HDTV / VHF / UHF) Outdoor AntennaThe Channel Master 2016 is a compact outdoor TV antenna that is engineered to receive high quality digital/HDTV broadcast over channels 7 to 51. Since most broadcasts after the February 2009 analog shutoff will be made on channels 7 to 51, stations that the 2016 is perfectly suited. Oversized antennas will be needed for low band channels 2 to 6. The Channel Master 2016 HDTV / UHF antenna is rooftop, eave, or wall mountable using a traditional mast or a universal satellite style mount.MODEL: CHN2016Reception Range: Channels 7 thru 69 up to 35 Miles Receives digital/HDTV & analog UHF/HIGH VHF TV signals Turning Radius: 34 in Can mount to mast on roof, walls, chimneys and attics Easy Installation Use with digital converter box or HDTV ready TVsIncludes:Channel Master 2016 HDTV VHF High / UHF AntennaMounting kitOwners manual Dimensions:47" x 22" x 36.5"Weight:5lbs

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