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Very happy with this antenna. I am spoiled, I am only 8 miles away from the Milwaukee DMA antenna farm. I previously had a non-powered terk indoor antenna, and would get 80-95%, but it would cut out if you walk past it, etc.This antenna gets full strength on all of my local digital channels. I will be putting it in my attic then splitting it off into a 1x3 splitter and then diplexing the signal into my DirecTV system. Great price on this antenna, free shipping over $25, insane deal.
The beamwidth is such that percise pointing is not critical. The signal strength differences are very significant. This unit works so much better than an inside unit. Just aim it in the general direction of the stations and away you go. The unit is mounted on the mast of my DIRECTV dish and serves as a backup for the locals. Even though it is going through 80 feet of cable, the signal is strong and repeatable. It is interesting to note, here in the Colorado Springs area, that almost ALL the DTV broadcasts are in the UHF band and few in the VHF band. Those in the VHF band are at the high frequency end and easily received by this antenna.
They (Digital Terrestrial) changed the design. Instead of a transformer, they use an integrated circuit to conect the coaxial cable to the antenna. This is protected from the weather by a round plastic box. The advantage of this design is that you never have to replace the transformer.
I bought this based on the price and other positive reviews. I was not disappointed.Previously, used "rabbit ears" that I frequently had to adjust depending on the tv station. Was concerned with the way this new one would look, but it lays flat on the shelf above tv and works great, no adjustment necessary.Make sure you have a coaxial cable. The fact it doesn't come with one is the only reason I did not give it a 5 star rating.
As long as you're prepared and know that it doesn't come with a mounting stand (btw, old DirectTV mounts are really useful here), and that it's definitely a Chinese knock-off of the DB2, you'll be happy with this product. It's mounted in the attic(1-story house), and does a great job even though my neighbor's 2-story house is directly in the path of the antenna farm.
However, I was still surprised at the excellent performance of this antenna. Coming from rabbit ears, this thing is a huge improvement.
After reading reviews of this antenna (actually, the DB2 version) on avsforum, I had felt pretty confident about this model. The total cord length from the antenna to the TV is about 75ft, and I didn't even need a pre-amplifier.
I'm 15 miles from the antenna farm in Houston, and now I get more channels, and none of them are below 65% signal strength. Actually, on a small number are below 75% signal strength, with many of them at 100% signal strength.
The construction isn't quite so bad as some people make it out to be. Also, free amazon shipping (after I added a 6' coaxial cable) made up for the fact that this antenna can be found cheaper elsewhere.
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