Review on 📡 Antennas Direct DB8e: High-Performance 8-Element Bowtie TV Antenna - 70 Mile Range, Multi-directional, Indoor/Outdoor Use, All-Weather Mounting Hardware, Adjustable Mast Clamp - Silver by Brian Garrett

Installing 8 element bowtie HDTV antenna with 70 mile range Netflix was missing something - local programming. Out of curiosity, I attached a 50-year-old 8-inch round UHF antenna to my kitchen TV and pointed it at the stations in Peoria, Illinois, about 25 miles away, and picked up 13 stations. Using another rabbit ear antenna hung on the TV in the study, 18 channels were received clearly. Since a lot of work went into hiding the cords/wiring in the wall on these wall mounted units, I wanted something that looked cleaner. Neither of the two televisions in the finished basement received a local signal. After looking at many loft antennas at Revain and other venues, I settled on an 8-element Butterfly or Channel Master CM-4228HD. Both devices are a little pricey, but the (retired) designer in me considered picking up stations 65 miles northwest (Gailesburg area) and maybe 82 miles southeast (Champaign area). Due to my ignorance (I don't understand how a single flat panel Channel Master can be omnidirectional) I decided to go with a 2 way fly. Research on the HOWA antenna resulted in the replacement of the existing RG-59 coaxial cable with a triple shielded RG-. 6 (quad shielded for one run) and adding an AMP PCT-MA2-4PN amplifier. The longest section is 78 feet, the shortest 42. Unfortunately, this required digging 18 inches of attic insulation to drill holes and fish out the cable. The original angling holes could not be used as the RG-59 was sourced elsewhere. Interestingly, Revain's "Coax Crimping Tool, Coax Stripping Tool Kit with F RG6 RG59 Connectors" had the tools needed. to make a given length of cable less than $20 - a local wholesaler sold the crimping tool alone for over $30, which is expensive for a one-time use. Connector to unterminated coax, they didn't mention the need for excellent gripping strength to mount the connector far enough on the coax to allow the dielectric to be properly inserted. After many attempts to hold the connector with pliers while pushing/twisting the cable in, this finally worked. Maybe a flare tool was useful. The antenna was assembled and mounted on 1-1/4" x 5' rigid PVC pipe (1.66" OD) before reaching the attic via a retractable garage ceiling ladder. . Maximum. Mounting post size 1-3/4”. Pulling the installed antenna through the 18" x 50" hole without help was awkward. The antenna was installed after screwing a 1" x 6" board connecting the two roof trusses and then drilling holes in it for two PVC clamp U-bolts. mounting rod. Using TVFool.com and a compass to align the antennas, the installation was unobtrusive. In order not to compress the newly added insulation over a large area, I climbed up the cross brace of my half-timbered roof to hold/set up the antenna. It was a uneventful adventure aside from digging through the insulation to find a dropped socket wrench. The temperature in the attic easily topped 120 degrees and it was a great way to lose weight. 18 to 26 Stations - Basement Office (Sony XBR Series 6 years old - Zero to 23 Stations - Basement Media Room - XBR Series 10 months old SmartTV - Zero to 26 Stations - Clear signal received from all stations including several nearby from Galesburg, 65 miles NW - None were received from stations near Champagne, 82 miles, SE - All signals received are excellent - no pixelation, ghosting, fading, etc. "Security" bolts through (with nuts on both sides the pole) to "hook" the antenna if the u-bolt clamps loosen and the prop slides down. There may be other, less expensive antennas that would give the same results, but I was interested in the dynamics of the antenna not to find out what was needed, i realized a long time ago that i can't afford to buy "cheap", a little more for a product with good reviews and customer serv ice Lu Better than replacing a cheap part that fails prematurely or doesn't work well. Cable used for security camera. I'm not sure if this was necessary, but I read about possible interference from an ethernet cable. SOMETHING NOT RELATED TO THIS PRODUCT. There is an independent consideration for people with multiple TVs who are thinking about shortening the cable. At first I shut out everything but the internet, but found that I lost access to non-premium channels like Discovery, History, Science, PBS, MASH reruns, etc - a subscription to the service was required to receive them . Some of these services, like DirecTV Now, limit the number of TVs you can stream to at no extra charge. Customer satisfaction also seems to be an issue. I've created a cost breakdown to help you understand how to get the most bang for your buck when streaming. With cable I had 4 set top boxes and subscribed to 4 different premium channels (HBO, Starz, ShowTime, Cinemax all seemed to be showing the same movies). My cable TV bill is over $220 a month. After comparing different services, I went back to my ISP for a basic HD TV subscription with about 60 channels and a set-top box. Including fiber optic internet, my cable TV bill went from $227 a month to about $110, plus $14(?) for Netflix Ultra (which seems to have gone up in price lately). I don't include the cost of Revain videos as it's an add-on to Prime that I've had for years but never used (video). Original hardware and antenna costs for Roku devices are reimbursed within 4 months. The benefit of a TV subscription is free WATCHTVEVERWHERE. Almost every channel I subscribe to on my console can also be watched on other TVs via the SmartTV or Roku apps. A major exception is The Weather Channel (live). I still haven't figured out how to get it.