Thanks to Ovonni for sponsoring this video. Check out their water flosser at the affiliate link here 👉 amzn.to/3FGq0tP Affiliate Link to the antenna on Amazon 👉 amzn.to/3w92JgS Affiliate Link to antenna combiner 👉 amzn.to/3lfeUCp
RCA ANT1251F I just got this antenna. What I notice the switch makes no difference, but if I pull power out signal goes way down. The switch controls LED but thats all I notice. I read one Amazon comment saying the same. Ill see if equal on both bands. Been a while but im getting 70 channels in Pittsburgh, and the last time I remember I was getting less than 50.
I have had this antenna for about 5 years, and I agree it is a very good antenna. didn't realize the first indoor antenna I ever bought happened to be the best for the money!
It might be the best for that money, but the rabbit ears with the 360 rotation, adjustable loop and dial have always worked better for me, at about half the cost. They're getting tough to find, though. I think the last one I bought was on eBay. :)
I stumbled across your channel today while browsing TH-cam, and I went looking through your videos. I've been trying to find information about how an antenna would work if I fed it to my patch panel for whole-home distribution, and you're the first channel I've seen discussing this - as well as ways to do this through my ethernet (which I didn't even know was possible). I clicked on this video since I've been using this antenna for several years now and love it, and I'm watching through your other videos on outdoor antennas. Great content with good reviews! Thanks for all of the information!
Thanks for all the videos. I’ve learned a bunch from watching you. Btw, you seem to be getting more comfortable as a presenter. Keep using your smile, it’s nice.
I bought an amplified 6-foot dipole (each pole is 6 feet) amplified rabbit ears antenna 20 years ago at Fry's before digital came online. I put it in my picture window facing in the direction of the transmitting antennas which are located 70 miles from where I live. It works great. I get more channels than I have time to watch.
Thanks Antenna Man! I ordered this antenna based solely on the strength of your review and was duly rewarded. Since I had previously found all the channels I cared to watch (and more) from a previous antenna scan, all I had to do was plug this one up and enjoy jitter-free and pixelation-free reception on all those channels. The previous antenna was able to pick up 47 channels, but a lot of them were very weak and jittery. I am convinced that the much better cable used on this antenna really gives it an edge. Now to get that DTV box you reviewed and see if I can record and watch GMA whenever I want.
I had this antenna in 2012. The memories I have of being blown away OTA FHD. Finally I broke the rabbit ears of this antenna when trying to fix bad reception.
Thank you for all your videos. It helps to be reminded often of some of the basics of antenna physics and antenna usage. I am about 15 miles from my metro stations' signals and have steel siding on my house. I would prefer not to install an outdoor antenna, but I believe that's probably the only way I can get them all.
Just got this antenna. I live in the immediate Philly suburbs about 12 miles from Roxborough, so distance was never an issue, just reliably getting all the local VHF stations, both high and low. With other antennas I always seemed to have to choose one VHF station and live with it or move the antenna every time I changed the channel, and it never seemed to pick up the same station in the same place I put the antenna the time before. Well, it took some work and patience, but I now reliably get all the VHF stations, which include the dreaded WPVI channel 6 ABC, WDPN channel 2 (ME-TV plus 8 others), WACP channel 4 (mostly religious stations, but that signal is in completely the opposite direction), and WHYY channel 12 PBS (actually 13 on the VHF band). I was prepared to buy the antenna combiner in case I had problems with UHF, but that was not necessary. I am close to most of the signals, so I am not using the amplifier, in fact I'd rather not rock the boat by trying it because things are working out so well. The only channel listed for my zip code on the FCC reception report that I do not receive is WBPH, which is all the way up in Bethlehem and is labeled as weak (and I am sure I won't miss yet another religious channel). I am sure in my case this antenna is working out so well because of the large dipoles, which I have extended fully in opposite directions (well not perfectly, it's more like a 160-degree angle). It is a shame they don't make indoor antennas with long dipoles anymore, but I suppose with most TV stations who care about their audience now on the UHF band, they just aren't in demand as much. Maybe that selloff of low VHF channels will mean more antenna makers will start selling them again, but I'm not holding my breath. I am just grateful this one does have them.
In my area TV transmitters are all located either north (UHF) or west (UHF and high VHF), so I've placed my larger antenna (same as the one you showed) on the west side and the smaller one (like you also showed) on the north side. I added an in-line preamp at the smaller north antenna. A coax switch allows me to select best reception.
I agree, living in a building that probably was a farm house and later converted to 1 apartment on each of its 3 floors, about 45 miles from each of the two main broadcast cities near me and about 60 from another, I live in a pit, I want to ditch satellite so bad, cable is even more expensive here, as well. We have two tv's (one in each bedroom) and wire distribution might be a problem as both tvs are against their east wall.
I think one issue is that, while there are scores to choose from, there is a fairly limited number of configurations. At a certain point, a person usually admits that the only difference among various flat antenna is the quality/length of the coax, the color and whether it has a "signal boost."
Have an RCA rabbit ear antenna in my window- thicker coax(Goodwill find) and the elements allow me to get good VHF reception . I find the amp actually messes up a few stations. I also have an old cable distribution amp to pass to many devices TIVO, HdHomerun and my actual TV, I also have a Mediasonic box which I bought a while back at Microcenter. I didn't know Illinois will not allow shipment. I physically bought mine at a Chicago area outlet. Good info,as always,Tyler.
Good Report & Review ....👍... Hopefully you'll review more INDOOR Antennas , Specially those that Incude LOW VHF SIGNALS as those are the most neglected signals resulting in NOT Recieving any of those channels at all , Especially PHILADELPHIA " ABC "... Some of us have been really looking for a way to pick " ABC " PHILA up... I am going to try this Amplified Indoor Antenna and see just how it does ... If I still can't receive ABC " 6 " The next logical step is to Buy a CHANNELMASTER & put it in the attic , ( do not want any outdoor antennas on the roof. )...I do have plenty room in the attic to put one there...My only question would be , if I did install " for instance " a CM 5016 / 5018 / or a 5020 in my attic would i still need to have it grounded to an outside grounding rod or not ??? Thanks in advance for answering my question ...👍👋👋
hey AM I actually have this exact antenna and it works very well for me. I've had a few different indoor antennas and this one turns out to be the best I've used. Plus it's really inexpensive compared to some others that don't work half as well. I bought it for less than $35.00
I don't mind you shilling for a company, after all, your channel is free, what else do we get for free? Good for learning stuff about radio waves, Thanks!
I moved six months ago from San Diego to Las Vegas. I used Tyler's advice service at my previous home and he helped me get acceptable results despite difficult constraints. In our new location I had somewhat better positioning of broadcasting towers relative to my home. But we are at ground level and I really didn't want the cost and effort of installing an outdoor antenna. I wanted to feed signal to an Amazon Fire TV Recast Tuner/DVR and I already knew that the Recast doesn't have the most sensitive tuners. I've been trying to use the same San Diego equipment. (Really puny rabbit ears for VHF and a Mohu flat antenna for UHF and an antenna combiner.) But the CBS affiliate was finicky (VHF band). We have more VHF stations in this market than the bigger metro areas. So when Tyler said that this antenna provides among the best VHF signal reception, I had to give it a try. I'm 22 miles from the two major towers so I knew that I live well within the manufacturer's claimed range. I am happy to say that I am sucessfully pulling in all the network affiliates. (CBS, NBC, PBS, Fox) And several indy stations and subchannels. Both VHF and UHF. And fortunately when I found the right positioning for the antenna and it's elements, I haven't had to shift anything around when changing channels-- very important when you are running a DVR unattended! Thanks to Tyler for his straightforward, no BS reviews! This antenna was ideal for my location and equipment.
I bought one of these antennas because of this video. I was sorely disappointed. It had no better reception than the cheapest, half-broken rabbit ears I bought for less at yard sales. It failed to receive some of my most needed local channels regardless of where I positioned it and how high.
You were spot on about this antenna, I watched your other review video on this antenna and decided to get it off Amazon and I must say I'm pleased. I am in the southeast area of the city near the lake and most of the transmitters are on the NW side of the city. There are 3 VHF stations in my area, 1 of them is low VHF and have had issues before this antenna getting them in. VHF 8 PBS, VHF 5 Cozi Tv & VHF 9 WPVS and with the dipoles out I was able to pull these channels in finally, plus my other UHF channels come in pretty solid. I also recomond this indoor antenna.
I have a very similar one of these for Las Vegas, it's RCA, but it's all black. I'm 8-13 miles away from the stations with no mountains in between, though some houses maybe some trees. It works okay if I wiggle it around the house. Actually I have it fine for the main channels, and I think I'll live with this for awhile, maybe consider outdoors later.
Oh wait, maybe I have a newer model. Mine has a switch on it for pass through. Near as I can tell, the amplifier does basically nothing, so I just leave it off.
Could always collapse the VHF elements fully (or about 8") to work with UHF better. I had antennas with no UHF elements, worked perfectly fine when fully collapsed.
The antenna I was waiting to see. Also, when talking about subscribing and clicking the bell, it shows the older Antenna Man logo. You should update it to show you wearing the rabbit ears on your head.
Well, I ordered it, got it in, tried it out, and returned it. Not saying it wouldn't be a big help for some folks, but for me, I get better reception with my whip antenna with clip lead extension for WGBH's low VHF HD channels. Your reception will vary :-)
I'm actually planning on getting this one. Besides, since I live in the southern part of Philadelphia, which is around 9 to 10 miles away from the broadcast towers in Roxborough, I would be able to pick up the major channels just fine! Especially the low-VHF channels like WPVI (6ABC) and WDPN (MeTV 2) since the rabbit ears on that are very long!
Just ordered one with your affiliate link. I live in Annapolis, MD and I bought a Phillips indoor antenna from Target today with a similar design to this, but limited to 25% of the VHF length at most. It gets UHF channels mostly alright, but there are are at least 2 VHF-Hi channels from major networks broadcasting out of DC that I almost can't get at all with that antenna, my Bravia finds them in the scan but doesn't display anything for them. I currently can't get CBS at all, which sucks because they're the network for Ravens games over 50% of the time. I'm hoping the longer VHF elements on this one will be enough to make the difference, I don't really have the budget to set this house up with an attic/outdoor antenna yet.
Just like you, I've seen good and bad RCA branded antennas. I don't have the model number, but I have an older RCA flat antenna with the thicker coax cable similar to the antenna you reviewed.
I just was about to buy it when I heard you say it must be plugged in. Now I am not sure. We have a shortage of outlets. Grateful for this review and your videos. I have learned a lot.
I would like you to tell us IF the manufacturer-provided coax cable can be disconnected from the unit so a better one - and longer - can be run from an inner-wall TV location to the likely outer-wall antenna location.
i had 2 indoor ge antennas siting around . ran into 2 very old lady's who could no longer pay for cable. the 1st lady was so happy i could get her tv but in her area only 2 channels . . the 2nd lady was also very happy to have tv again . but when he son came over he put it outside and got a lot of channels from 50 miles away . very surprised a small indoor antenna could do that . i did suggest he contact
I tried this antenna and I don’t think they have any band filtering on the amp, like no 4G blocker because it got crazy when my iPhone decided to do something over LTE and 5G as it switched back and forth.
Found a Used Very Good one of these for $20 so I decided to try it out. I live in Springfield Delaware county which is only about 8 miles from the towers in Roxborough. Expected it to work nearly as well as my attic antenna which I use for OTA and fire TV recast. Much to my surprise it didn't. No signal on 6, 13, and 34. Useable on the others except for 2 which wasn't watchable. Amp didn't change the result much. No signal at all if the power was removed. It's possible I got damaged goods but I don't think so since it did work somewhat. Bottom line for me is a Mohu Leaf worked better in the same location. I'm thinking perhaps that a design flaw in the electronics caused the loss of CH 34. Will be trying it at another house nearby to see if the result is the same. At the other house they either stream or use a flat antenna.
I have been using what looks to be this model or one very much like it for a few years now. It works well for me in the DC Suburbs on high VHF and UHF - I can't speak to low VHF because we have no low VHF stations broadcasting to this market. I'm situated on reasonably high ground, and less than 10 miles from any transmitter, and at last channel scan I pulled in over 40 stations reliably. Edit: Low VHF, NOT low UHF. WHOOPS.
Glad to hear this as somebody in mostly the same area. I live just south of Annapolis and can't hardly get the high VHF stations at all from DC with my current indoor antenna. Hopefully this one does the trick with the longer VHF elements.
@@j5689 Yes, the high VHF stations (7.x and 9.x) have always been the most difficult for me to tune in as well. I recall there being an issue with their being mandated by the FCC to decrease transmission power soon after the digital transition (possibly alongside all other remaining high VHF stations. I'm not sure about that, though). It resulted in an awful lot of people in the DC area being unable to receive them. I think they got a special dispensation to increase their power at one point, but not to the level they were used to using during the analog days, and their signal remains a little spotty. Right now I'm getting 7.x perfectly clearly on all sets, while 9.x requires some adjusting of the antenna to pull in. It succeeds, but not entirely without occasional artifacts.
@@GodaiNoBaka Yikes, that doesn't bode well for me with channel 9 then from even further out than you. 7 I can already get if I mess with it enough so that may be great with the new RCA antenna, but Baltimore's ABC already comes in crystal clear on channel 2 so I don't really need 2nd ABC station. What I'd really like to have is CBS since I'm a Ravens fan, but DC and Baltimore's CBS stations are both high VHF, so hopefully the RCA helps big time with that, because right now I'm getting neither.
@@j5689 In the analog days I used to pull in Baltimore's high VHF stations as well. I used to watch the Birds on channel 13. That all ended with the digital transition. I just did a little research and confirmed that indeed all high VHF stations were required to cut their transmission power by as much as 2/3. Which kind of did a number on long-range reception, and even short-range reception in some cases.
I've noticed that brand of tv effects signal reception a lot.i was using older lcd tv for a while to save money.i got a 1080 led tv and picked up different channels but lost some.
Good report, thanks. However, there is a much better low cost tuner for testing that includes a separate indication for signal quality, a factor more important than just signal strength.
I used to have a Zinwell DAT-970 converter box which included a signal quality measurement. Unfortunately, it died a couple of years ago. Most converter box tuners only include a signal-strength meter, and omit a signal-quality meter.
@@TELEVISIONARCHIVES I replied to you two days ago but it was removed. Someone doesn’t like the competition because they are sensitive about the conflict of interest.
Sad I leave in a Apartment with limited option's of where to aim the Antenna, The Channel's I didn't get like CW & NBC wasn't a deal since I can stream the show's free by their apps.
Thanks. I've watched and replied to many of your UT videos, no reply. = No worries. This is one of the best videos you've done. Short = attention span = facts and results. Well done! I was going to for the first time ever for me ever, hit a "thumbs down" but you turned it UP. So I'm purchasing this antenna with hopes high! I was also thinking to get a TV Tuner even though I have a Samsung not getting all channels that my 12 year old Visio does. My Visio in another room, gets every single channel in my area with a flat asterisk antenna in the window of my second bedroom. Not so in my 900 sq ft house in the living room... We shall see after I get this new antenna. Cheers!
I hope you are still reading these comments. I live in a small rural community in Michigan. I live in an apartment that faces the South. I recently purchased a standard 32 inch digital television and cheap antenna. I only get 4 stations. I am not permitted to run wires outside and need a good recommendation for a better antenna. Can you help me?
I've got a question about powering antennas. Is it possible to power an OTA Antenna with a small solar panel? It would be like those small panels that are placed on a wall of a house that powers those ring cameras. Something like that. I think that would be an interesting idea. Some OTA Antennas do have a USB port that is supposed to be plugged into the TV if it has a USB Port.
Ive always wondered if height helps with outdoor antennas. Like what if you could get high enough to go above the hills and aim the antenna down and towards the broadcast tower.
I tried getting Philadelphia from Allentown 50 miles away where south mountain sits between, didn't do much good, but the antenna rotor and a long distance FM antenna created more pleasure anyway. Still got that Archer antenna in storage back there, but I'm not there anymore.
Instead of showing us the last two antennas you reviewed, you should show us the signal strength from all indoor antennas you've reviewed so far. I would love to see a spreadsheet that compares all indoor antennas signal strength, so I know that I am purchasing the best possible one. You could set up these spreadsheets similar to how Doug Demuro does his for car reviews, then it would allow us as viewers to know what the greatest antenna out there may be.
So my TH-cam channel is mostly supported by views. If I show the results from all antennas it will hurt my TH-cam channel which is how I make a living. If someone wants to see how the antenna compares to more than the last two antennas they have to watch the other videos. If they chose not to take the time to do their research I offer the antenna recommendation service on my website.
@@AntennaMan that makes sense I had to rewatch 4 different videos and take notes based on the percentage you were getting for each channel to check for myself. I would love for you to review the channel master CM-7001, CM-7002, and especially the CM-7004. For a cheap tuner box, it has the best channel guide that I have found so far as I am not a fan of the MediaSonic 130 or the iView 3300 channel guide. I mostly use those models as a signal meter and hdmi adapter for my antenna. I do have to say thank you because your reviews have been the most thorough on the platform.
I have to say I own this antenna and I found that most of the time the antenna amplifier has to be on in order to pick up TV stations So this antenna has to be powered on to work
I'm confused I started in 2018 with cheap plastic antenna which I put on a 5 ladder & got 35 channels very clearly from Allentown, Philly, York, Harrisbirg. You said they were junk. Since I live in the rural park of Bernville, Berks Co. I went to RCA Yagi, RCA Booster & Amplifier. Know I'm lucky to get 13 channels and my main channel is 16 in Scranton. Any suggestion because I'm at the point of buying another cheap plastic outdoor antenna. I cut code to save money while I deal with being disabled due to a rare incurable cancer.
I purchased this based on your recommendation, however in my case it was simply no better than the $6 rabbit-ear I bought in the supermarket. I am not criticizing, only stating your mileage may vary.
I found the advantage of this antenna is mainly on the low VHF band. If you don't have low VHF channels in your area (most don't) the antenna below should work much better: amzn.to/2WMQjfr
There's no guarantee WPVI will ever launch ATSC 3.0. The new standard is a voluntary transition and may flop of not enough networks jump on board. Specifically, Philadelphia stations are owned by the networks and aren't interested in the new standard.
It seems to basically be the same as a rabbit ears with the adjustable loop, but for twice the cost and the added pain in the ass of having to plug it in. There is one issue we kind of forget when it comes to these antennas, though. Yes, it's great when they can rotate in pretty much any given direction, allowing you to better dial in your reception. The problem is that in order to use that to its fullest, you also have to have enough room around it to take advantage. It was said in the vid that you get about 6' worth of reach from tip to tip when fully extended. Basically, if you don't want to constantly be relocating the antenna, you have to have it in a location where it fits in the center of a 6' circle, which means it will be in the way pretty much all the time. And if you ARE going to be constantly moving it so it's not always in the way, that diminishes at least some of the advantages of having antenna X length or X amount of rotation on them. The rabbit ears with the loop and dial are becoming more difficult to find, but as far as the different styles of indoor antenna I've used, they're still the best if you are willing to monkey with them from time to time to get what you're looking for, OTA.
Actually unless you have low VHF in your area the dipoles don't need to get extended the full length. Half the length actually works better for high VHF
I found one of these cheap at Goodwill, and hooked it up at work. We have several stations on VHF, and it worked well, until someone dropped and broke it… 🙄
I've noticed the quality of RCA ANT-111 has declined significantly despite having the same model # as years ago. Thinner cable, shorter extending dipoles, lousier quality everywhere. I hope they don't do the same to this model.
No, you will likely need a good outdoor antenna if you want the major networks. Consider signing up for my antenna recommendation service at the link below: www.antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html
What is the effect of rotating a yagi style antenna 90deg so that the elements are vertically oriented to the horizon? I have to mount my antenna to a brick wall and don't have access to the top of the wall, but I can get to the corner so I could mount in that orientation and point to the broadcast towers.
Sometimes people will point their antenna at a wall (neighbor's house) and get a stronger signal than if they point the direction of the transmitters. That might be worth trying if such option exists. There's a house near me with two of the same Scamazon "Choice" antennas that have a bad review here. They're both pointed at the chimney. I guess one antenna feeds one tv in a bedroom, another to another room. Apparently they work better pointed at the reflected signal.
Antena man..could you do a review of the homemade you tube wood v antenna,I use it and it works pretty damn good but looks terrible..would like to see a comparison to bought antennas
I had this particular model of antenna hooked up to a 2015 Samsung J 5500 TV while living in Philadelphia, PA! You are 🏹🎯 as far as performance is concerned. This was the only antenna that could lasso the notoriously difficult WPVI! Even though we lived three miles east of The Andorra antenna farm. I had a Radio Shack antenna which was pretty good during the twilight of the NTSC-M broadcast epoch but the digital switch made Channel 6 twitch, going at best pixelating periodically to @ worst going AWOL, causing me to miss whatever ABC showed! In addition, all the adjusting bent the red VGA pins on one of the older panels I had, causing it to give a magenta tinge to the white areas NOT GOOD! With this antenna, I was able to corral 75 to 80 channels! Alas, the J5500 and the antenna didn't survive my brother's manhandling the move to Metro Charlotte, NC, last April, so I have a vastly inferior antenna connected to a superbly superior Q60A TV! I wonder If Amazon has this antenna and is it worth acquiring it so the magic can happen 2x?!
Help. I bought this antenna that you have in this video. I can’t seem to get the basic channels. Station antennas are 25 miles away. This is the second antenna that I have bought. Same problem. The first one was 2024 Gesobyte Amplified HD Digital TV Antenna 650+ Miles Long Range Indoor Outdoor - Support 4K 8K 1080p Fire TV Stick & All TV's - Smart Switch Amplifier Signal Booster - 18ft HDTV Cable/AC Adapters. I don’t have a window close to the tv. I hooked the flat antenna on my couch which was about 3’ from the window. I don’t know what to do. Can you advise?😊
@@kimPepping9307 Avoid any antenna that claims a mileage range greater than 100 miles, as most antennas that claims more than 100 miles are TRASH. Also, stick with more reputable antenna brands like Channel Master, Winegard, Televes, AntennasDirect, Range Xperts, RCA, GE or Philips.
It's funny so I bought the clear TV HD vision antenna that was like $10. And I'm about a good 30 35 miles away from ABC and it comes in great. It actually performs better than the RCA rabbit ears that you showed. Could we maybe see a review of the clear TV HD vision flat panel
@@TheRareMusicArchiveCollection In that case, it might be interesting to compare the Clear TV to the paperclip antenna. You might have an ideal location? AM did a review of the Clear TV and wasn't terribly positive about it. Maybe it was because the informercial tone of marketing. I remember one scene where the beefcake blonde guy makes some fantastic claim, and AM cuts in saying "just look at it" (holding it in his hand), like "I don't have to say anything about that claim."
@@markfuller yeah, I have both of them and use the RCA one downstairs facing NJ PBS and it's gets some signal through a wall while the Clear HD Vision is used in a window and it's very good
Any chance you could share your Rabbit Ears report for the area you're testing these indoor antennas? Is this on the first floor or an upper floor? Thanks for any help you can give. I'm just looking for a backup to my current antenna (which you already had a look at) so as to pick up WB / Scranton channels.
I used to have that exact model. In my basement the best configuration was: boost off but power plugged in, one vertical, one horizontal, and me holding the horizontal while my wife says "that's perfect!" Unfortunately when I let go it stopped working. I eventually gave up and bought cable.
I agree with 900Yugo. I myself live in a wooded rural area. I tried an indoor antenna and only got a maximum of 8 channels. When I switch to a nice outdoor antenna, I get over 40 channels. You should do the same. Trust me, for one rural man to another.
@@matthewhajjar-betters3703 It depends on your area (which is rural) and how far the stations are. I use a Televes model, which works wonderful in my area.
They can, but are usually hype. If the amp is at the antenna, then it can make up for signal loss that occurs due to the length of cable from antenna to tv (or if there's a splitter to multiple tvs). The idea is to have it at the antenna so you're amplifying the most signal. At the tv, it will amplify whatever's there (which may not be much after a long length of cable, or the signal being split to 3-4 rooms). Even at the antenna doesn't mean it will help. For example, if you had a small flat antenna it won't pick up much signal. Adding an amp at the antenna (assuming it's one that has a detachable cable, many flat panels don't) would amplify more noise than signal. So, ultimately, an amp at the antenna is the only way to go. And, only if you need one (they aren't "more is better." You can overamplify.). The only reason you'd need one is if the signal from the antenna is being lost by the time it reaches the tv(s). Start with a large enough antenna, and then figure out if you need an amp for your situation.
@@gregtyler1762 It depends on indoor/outdoor, how far you are from the transmitters, if you still have low-VHF signals available (I have a couple). The best thing you could do is get an antenna recommendation from AntennaMan. I think the link is in the video description. You'll provide your location and info about where you can place an antenna (how many tvs you'll power with it) and he'll give you suggestions. His videos often refer to another site which will tell you if you have low-VHF broadcasts in our area, how far the transmitters are. With that info, and how many tvs you want to distribute a signal to, and if you're limited to indoor (upstairs, downstairs, near a window?), attic (how much space in the attic), or can do outdoor, you can narrow down your choice of antennas. The more specifics the better. Some people do fine with those mousepad antennas indoor because the towers are not far, and line of sight, and serving just one tv. Others could be 60 miles from the antennas with obstructions in between. They might struggle with a 10' long old-style antenna on the roof (that's where an amp might help at the antenna if they're serving 3-4 tvs with one antenna. In my area, I can serve 3-4 tvs from a medium-sized roof antenna. (I still have low-vhf here, so I need the longer elements for that. Still a large'ish antenna. But, not too long due to being close to the transmitters. 10mi.). Simplest thing would be to get the recommendation. But, be prepared to provide details about your circumstance. A lot of factors.
This antenna was a total fail for me. With one of those dumb "flat" hot pad antennas and a $10 Amazon set of rabbit ears I get 16 channels. With this antenna I got (5) !! channels. It was the same with or without the pre-amp. Moving it around didn't help at all. I sat it in the same spot as my $10 rabbit ears and also tried moving it around - it still only got 5 channels. Needless to say it went back to Amazon toot-sweet! :-)
I live pretty close to the transmitters in my area. Maybe 10 miles? I've never had good luck with flat panels. Once, I hooked two together via a spliter (in reverse. The antennas connected to the tv outputs of the splitter, and the tv connected to the antenna input of the splitter). That worked pretty good until it rained, or there was a windy day (trees causing reflections in the signal?). To me, I don't understand buying these things when the Clearstream Max antennas (1 to 4 ganged together) are essentially "flat" and would operate much better.
@@markfuller As Antenna Man says, those flat "HD" antennas are mostly useless. I only have one because someone gave it to me. I have three stations 2.3 mi from me and three that are 6.7 miles.
Always try to keep your TV antenna at least more than five feet from your TV or more than a meter and half. Because digital radio signals are sensitive to electromagnetic interference from any object. Including but not excluding your TV.
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I like ur videos. How did u ever get interested in antennas n' tvs n' junk?
RCA ANT1251F I just got this antenna. What I notice the switch makes no difference, but if I pull power out signal goes way down. The switch controls LED but thats all I notice. I read one Amazon comment saying the same. Ill see if equal on both bands. Been a while but im getting 70 channels in Pittsburgh, and the last time I remember I was getting less than 50.
I have had this antenna for about 5 years, and I agree it is a very good antenna. didn't realize the first indoor antenna I ever bought happened to be the best for the money!
It might be the best for that money, but the rabbit ears with the 360 rotation, adjustable loop and dial have always worked better for me, at about half the cost. They're getting tough to find, though. I think the last one I bought was on eBay. :)
I did the Paper Clip trick and I got 5 locals crystal clear. You are the man. 🙏
Now picture how many you can get with a proper antenna.
What's the paper clip trick?
@@tainamaria5049 Take a paper clip, unfold first half, stick in coax hole on tv where you plug cable wire, do a channel search, and there you go.
@@Blackdog57 Awesome! Thanks for the reply!
what is the paper clip trick?
I stumbled across your channel today while browsing TH-cam, and I went looking through your videos. I've been trying to find information about how an antenna would work if I fed it to my patch panel for whole-home distribution, and you're the first channel I've seen discussing this - as well as ways to do this through my ethernet (which I didn't even know was possible). I clicked on this video since I've been using this antenna for several years now and love it, and I'm watching through your other videos on outdoor antennas. Great content with good reviews! Thanks for all of the information!
I have this antenna and recommend it. It's very reliable for VHF reception especially for my ME-TV station (WJLP). Thank you for reviewing it.
I've always found RCA to sell good entry-level products at entry-level prices, unlike most companies that supply garbage at entry-level prices.
The RCA indoor antennas are quite good for the price. Mine lasted 13 years before the amp failed. Not bad for something made in China.
After all, they ARE the literal Radio Corproration of America.
@@bacondoesthings123 the name has been licensed or resold, it's not the original company, and doesn't live up to the standards it once used to.
@@900Yugo and I just bought a product from them, pure junk, always having to move it around to get any signal where it was fine before.
Thanks for all the videos. I’ve learned a bunch from watching you. Btw, you seem to be getting more comfortable as a presenter. Keep using your smile, it’s nice.
I've had one of these for years. It has always worked very well for me.
I bought an amplified 6-foot dipole (each pole is 6 feet) amplified rabbit ears antenna 20 years ago at Fry's before digital came online. I put it in my picture window facing in the direction of the transmitting antennas which are located 70 miles from where I live. It works great. I get more channels than I have time to watch.
Thanks Antenna Man! I ordered this antenna based solely on the strength of your review and was duly rewarded. Since I had previously found all the channels I cared to watch (and more) from a previous antenna scan, all I had to do was plug this one up and enjoy jitter-free and pixelation-free reception on all those channels. The previous antenna was able to pick up 47 channels, but a lot of them were very weak and jittery. I am convinced that the much better cable used on this antenna really gives it an edge.
Now to get that DTV box you reviewed and see if I can record and watch GMA whenever I want.
I had this antenna in 2012. The memories I have of being blown away OTA FHD. Finally I broke the rabbit ears of this antenna when trying to fix bad reception.
My favorite antennas. Well at least they work very well for my TV's. I get every channel I like to watch nice and clear. That's good enough for me.
This antenna is outstanding and an excellent value! Thank you, Antenna Man.
Thank you for all your videos. It helps to be reminded often of some of the basics of antenna physics and antenna usage. I am about 15 miles from my metro stations' signals and have steel siding on my house. I would prefer not to install an outdoor antenna, but I believe that's probably the only way I can get them all.
Great antenna. I have this particular model. Picks up lots of channels that come in very clearly and strong.
Just got this antenna. I live in the immediate Philly suburbs about 12 miles from Roxborough, so distance was never an issue, just reliably getting all the local VHF stations, both high and low. With other antennas I always seemed to have to choose one VHF station and live with it or move the antenna every time I changed the channel, and it never seemed to pick up the same station in the same place I put the antenna the time before.
Well, it took some work and patience, but I now reliably get all the VHF stations, which include the dreaded WPVI channel 6 ABC, WDPN channel 2 (ME-TV plus 8 others), WACP channel 4 (mostly religious stations, but that signal is in completely the opposite direction), and WHYY channel 12 PBS (actually 13 on the VHF band). I was prepared to buy the antenna combiner in case I had problems with UHF, but that was not necessary. I am close to most of the signals, so I am not using the amplifier, in fact I'd rather not rock the boat by trying it because things are working out so well. The only channel listed for my zip code on the FCC reception report that I do not receive is WBPH, which is all the way up in Bethlehem and is labeled as weak (and I am sure I won't miss yet another religious channel).
I am sure in my case this antenna is working out so well because of the large dipoles, which I have extended fully in opposite directions (well not perfectly, it's more like a 160-degree angle). It is a shame they don't make indoor antennas with long dipoles anymore, but I suppose with most TV stations who care about their audience now on the UHF band, they just aren't in demand as much. Maybe that selloff of low VHF channels will mean more antenna makers will start selling them again, but I'm not holding my breath. I am just grateful this one does have them.
I will be trying to use this antenna for my VHS and my other antenna for my UHF. I'll have the best of both worlds with a splitter hooked up.
In my area TV transmitters are all located either north (UHF) or west (UHF and high VHF), so I've placed my larger antenna (same as the one you showed) on the west side and the smaller one (like you also showed) on the north side. I added an in-line preamp at the smaller north antenna. A coax switch allows me to select best reception.
It would be nice if you would review more indoor antennas. Good, Informative video as usual. Thanks
I agree, living in a building that probably was a farm house and later converted to 1 apartment on each of its 3 floors, about 45 miles from each of the two main broadcast cities near me and about 60 from another, I live in a pit, I want to ditch satellite so bad, cable is even more expensive here, as well.
We have two tv's (one in each bedroom) and wire distribution might be a problem as both tvs are against their east wall.
I think one issue is that, while there are scores to choose from, there is a fairly limited number of configurations. At a certain point, a person usually admits that the only difference among various flat antenna is the quality/length of the coax, the color and whether it has a "signal boost."
Cool. I’m happy with my Mohu Antenna. Those water flossers are good no matter what the brand.
Have an RCA rabbit ear antenna in my window- thicker coax(Goodwill find) and the elements allow me to get good VHF reception . I find the amp actually messes up a few stations. I also have an old cable distribution amp to pass to many devices TIVO, HdHomerun and my actual TV, I also have a Mediasonic box which I bought a while back at Microcenter. I didn't know Illinois will not allow shipment. I physically bought mine at a Chicago area outlet. Good info,as always,Tyler.
I have had real good luck and I am impressed with this antenna. I own two of them.
Good Report & Review ....👍...
Hopefully you'll review more INDOOR Antennas , Specially those that Incude LOW VHF SIGNALS as those are the most neglected signals resulting in NOT Recieving any of those channels at all , Especially PHILADELPHIA " ABC "...
Some of us have been really looking for a way to pick " ABC " PHILA up... I am going to try this Amplified Indoor Antenna and see just how it does ... If I still can't receive ABC " 6 " The next logical step is to Buy a CHANNELMASTER & put it in the attic , ( do not want any outdoor antennas on the roof. )...I do have plenty room in the attic to put one there...My only question would be , if I did install " for instance " a CM 5016 / 5018 / or a 5020 in my attic would i still need to have it grounded to an outside grounding rod or not ??? Thanks in advance for answering my question ...👍👋👋
hey AM I actually have this exact antenna and it works very well for me. I've had a few different indoor antennas and this one turns out to be the best I've used. Plus it's really inexpensive compared to some others that don't work half as well. I bought it for less than $35.00
I don't mind you shilling for a company, after all, your channel is free, what else do we get for free? Good for learning stuff about radio waves, Thanks!
Schilling is a bit harsh. Tyler provides very good information and has to pay the bills. I like it.
Knowledge. We get knowledge for free.
@@TELEVISIONARCHIVES I meant know disrespect. Get it, I have a tech Background, Mean no disrespect.
I use that model as an FM antenna for a 30 year old Bose Wave radio. So far I've had respectable success with it.
I moved six months ago from San Diego to Las Vegas. I used Tyler's advice service at my previous home and he helped me get acceptable results despite difficult constraints. In our new location I had somewhat better positioning of broadcasting towers relative to my home. But we are at ground level and I really didn't want the cost and effort of installing an outdoor antenna. I wanted to feed signal to an Amazon Fire TV Recast Tuner/DVR and I already knew that the Recast doesn't have the most sensitive tuners. I've been trying to use the same San Diego equipment. (Really puny rabbit ears for VHF and a Mohu flat antenna for UHF and an antenna combiner.) But the CBS affiliate was finicky (VHF band). We have more VHF stations in this market than the bigger metro areas. So when Tyler said that this antenna provides among the best VHF signal reception, I had to give it a try. I'm 22 miles from the two major towers so I knew that I live well within the manufacturer's claimed range.
I am happy to say that I am sucessfully pulling in all the network affiliates. (CBS, NBC, PBS, Fox) And several indy stations and subchannels. Both VHF and UHF. And fortunately when I found the right positioning for the antenna and it's elements, I haven't had to shift anything around when changing channels-- very important when you are running a DVR unattended!
Thanks to Tyler for his straightforward, no BS reviews! This antenna was ideal for my location and equipment.
Thanks Marc for sharing your experience with my antenna recommendation service!
I bought one of these antennas because of this video. I was sorely disappointed. It had no better reception than the cheapest, half-broken rabbit ears I bought for less at yard sales. It failed to receive some of my most needed local channels regardless of where I positioned it and how high.
I have found out I get better reception on those converter boxes than on regular tv
amazing you were 1' of the 1'st or 2'nd antennaguy ( not really sure but it looked that way ) and now their's a bunch of other antenna guys out there
You were spot on about this antenna, I watched your other review video on this antenna and decided to get it off Amazon and I must say I'm pleased. I am in the southeast area of the city near the lake and most of the transmitters are on the NW side of the city. There are 3 VHF stations in my area, 1 of them is low VHF and have had issues before this antenna getting them in. VHF 8 PBS, VHF 5 Cozi Tv & VHF 9 WPVS and with the dipoles out I was able to pull these channels in finally, plus my other UHF channels come in pretty solid. I also recomond this indoor antenna.
I have a very similar one of these for Las Vegas, it's RCA, but it's all black. I'm 8-13 miles away from the stations with no mountains in between, though some houses maybe some trees. It works okay if I wiggle it around the house. Actually I have it fine for the main channels, and I think I'll live with this for awhile, maybe consider outdoors later.
Oh wait, maybe I have a newer model. Mine has a switch on it for pass through. Near as I can tell, the amplifier does basically nothing, so I just leave it off.
Could always collapse the VHF elements fully (or about 8") to work with UHF better.
I had antennas with no UHF elements, worked perfectly fine when fully collapsed.
The antenna I was waiting to see.
Also, when talking about subscribing and clicking the bell, it shows the older Antenna Man logo. You should update it to show you wearing the rabbit ears on your head.
This antenna gets me 75 channels full strength and no pixelating.
Well, I ordered it, got it in, tried it out, and returned it. Not saying it wouldn't
be a big help for some folks, but for me, I get better reception with my whip
antenna with clip lead extension for WGBH's low VHF HD channels.
Your reception will vary :-)
I'm actually planning on getting this one. Besides, since I live in the southern part of Philadelphia, which is around 9 to 10 miles away from the broadcast towers in Roxborough, I would be able to pick up the major channels just fine! Especially the low-VHF channels like WPVI (6ABC) and WDPN (MeTV 2) since the rabbit ears on that are very long!
This antenna will work well for 6ABC and Me-TV. If you decide to order it, use my affiliate link below: amzn.to/3XN1ouo
Just ordered one with your affiliate link. I live in Annapolis, MD and I bought a Phillips indoor antenna from Target today with a similar design to this, but limited to 25% of the VHF length at most. It gets UHF channels mostly alright, but there are are at least 2 VHF-Hi channels from major networks broadcasting out of DC that I almost can't get at all with that antenna, my Bravia finds them in the scan but doesn't display anything for them. I currently can't get CBS at all, which sucks because they're the network for Ravens games over 50% of the time. I'm hoping the longer VHF elements on this one will be enough to make the difference, I don't really have the budget to set this house up with an attic/outdoor antenna yet.
Just like you, I've seen good and bad RCA branded antennas. I don't have the model number, but I have an older RCA flat antenna with the thicker coax cable similar to the antenna you reviewed.
I just was about to buy it when I heard you say it must be plugged in. Now I am not sure. We have a shortage of outlets. Grateful for this review and your videos. I have learned a lot.
I haven't tried using rabbit ears since before the digital transition. Now I'm kinda curious how they work now.
Nice report,lad.
I would like you to tell us IF the manufacturer-provided coax cable can be disconnected from the unit so a better one - and longer - can be run from an inner-wall TV location to the likely outer-wall antenna location.
i had 2 indoor ge antennas siting around . ran into 2 very old lady's who could no longer pay for cable. the 1st lady was so happy i could get her tv but in her area only 2 channels . . the 2nd lady was also very happy to have tv again . but when he son came over he put it outside and got a lot of channels from 50 miles away . very surprised a small indoor antenna could do that . i did suggest he contact
I tried this antenna and I don’t think they have any band filtering on the amp, like no 4G blocker because it got crazy when my iPhone decided to do something over LTE and 5G as it switched back and forth.
Found a Used Very Good one of these for $20 so I decided to try it out.
I live in Springfield Delaware county which is only about 8 miles from the towers in Roxborough.
Expected it to work nearly as well as my attic antenna which I use for OTA and fire TV recast.
Much to my surprise it didn't. No signal on 6, 13, and 34. Useable on the others except for 2 which wasn't watchable. Amp didn't change the result much. No signal at all if the power was removed.
It's possible I got damaged goods but I don't think so since it did work somewhat. Bottom line for me is a Mohu Leaf worked better in the same location. I'm thinking perhaps that a design flaw in the electronics caused the loss of CH 34.
Will be trying it at another house nearby to see if the result is the same. At the other house they either stream or use a flat antenna.
I have been using what looks to be this model or one very much like it for a few years now. It works well for me in the DC Suburbs on high VHF and UHF - I can't speak to low VHF because we have no low VHF stations broadcasting to this market.
I'm situated on reasonably high ground, and less than 10 miles from any transmitter, and at last channel scan I pulled in over 40 stations reliably.
Edit: Low VHF, NOT low UHF. WHOOPS.
Glad to hear this as somebody in mostly the same area. I live just south of Annapolis and can't hardly get the high VHF stations at all from DC with my current indoor antenna. Hopefully this one does the trick with the longer VHF elements.
@@j5689 Yes, the high VHF stations (7.x and 9.x) have always been the most difficult for me to tune in as well. I recall there being an issue with their being mandated by the FCC to decrease transmission power soon after the digital transition (possibly alongside all other remaining high VHF stations. I'm not sure about that, though). It resulted in an awful lot of people in the DC area being unable to receive them. I think they got a special dispensation to increase their power at one point, but not to the level they were used to using during the analog days, and their signal remains a little spotty.
Right now I'm getting 7.x perfectly clearly on all sets, while 9.x requires some adjusting of the antenna to pull in. It succeeds, but not entirely without occasional artifacts.
@@GodaiNoBaka Yikes, that doesn't bode well for me with channel 9 then from even further out than you. 7 I can already get if I mess with it enough so that may be great with the new RCA antenna, but Baltimore's ABC already comes in crystal clear on channel 2 so I don't really need 2nd ABC station. What I'd really like to have is CBS since I'm a Ravens fan, but DC and Baltimore's CBS stations are both high VHF, so hopefully the RCA helps big time with that, because right now I'm getting neither.
@@j5689 In the analog days I used to pull in Baltimore's high VHF stations as well. I used to watch the Birds on channel 13. That all ended with the digital transition.
I just did a little research and confirmed that indeed all high VHF stations were required to cut their transmission power by as much as 2/3. Which kind of did a number on long-range reception, and even short-range reception in some cases.
I've noticed that brand of tv effects signal reception a lot.i was using older lcd tv for a while to save money.i got a 1080 led tv and picked up different channels but lost some.
ATSC tuners built into television sets are not all the same. Some are just better at handling signal quality or signal strength issues than others.
Good report, thanks. However, there is a much better low cost tuner for testing that includes a separate indication for signal quality, a factor more important than just signal strength.
And that would be?
I used to have a Zinwell DAT-970 converter box which included a signal quality measurement. Unfortunately, it died a couple of years ago. Most converter box tuners only include a signal-strength meter, and omit a signal-quality meter.
@@TELEVISIONARCHIVES I replied to you two days ago but it was removed. Someone doesn’t like the competition because they are sensitive about the conflict of interest.
@@bjs2022 Not sure what you're talking about
@@TELEVISIONARCHIVES Owners of TH-cam channels can remove comments they don’t like.
1:45 That's funny, I oriented my rods last night.
I bet it offers great offers great FM radio reception
Indeed it probably does!
This is the ant1251 model. How different, other than appearance, is this from the ant1271 model? Seems to have general shape, ants, and boost switch.
Sad I leave in a Apartment with limited option's of where to aim the Antenna, The Channel's I didn't get like CW & NBC wasn't a deal since I can stream the show's free by their apps.
Thanks. I've watched and replied to many of your UT videos, no reply. = No worries. This is one of the best videos you've done. Short = attention span = facts and results. Well done! I was going to for the first time ever for me ever, hit a "thumbs down" but you turned it UP. So I'm purchasing this antenna with hopes high! I was also thinking to get a TV Tuner even though I have a Samsung not getting all channels that my 12 year old Visio does. My Visio in another room, gets every single channel in my area with a flat asterisk antenna in the window of my second bedroom. Not so in my 900 sq ft house in the living room... We shall see after I get this new antenna. Cheers!
Where’s the Amazon page for the Clipsal MAYV Combiner? Thanks.
I've decided to grab one & give it a try (had some Prime points). Followed your link.
How does it do on low-VHF? That's the biggest selling point.
It does good. I set one up in an area with low VHF and they were able to get the channel fine.
It does good for low-VHF reception. It picks up my local ME-TV station, which is on RF Channel 3.
combine this with some UHF elements and this antenna will absolutely KNOCK OUT the other models.
Will get it next week.
Interesting...low vhf you say...I need to get cbs come football time...big Jets fan..thanks for the review Tyler.
Watching football is like watching golf or tennis, very comparable to watching dew dry off a leaf.
@@Stache987 You must have a lot of leaves in your yard.
@@salmack8842 hardly any. Football is boring, best to watch baseball, hockey, or bull riding in that priority of order.
I hope you are still reading these comments. I live in a small rural community in Michigan. I live in an apartment that faces the South. I recently purchased a standard 32 inch digital television and cheap antenna. I only get 4 stations. I am not permitted to run wires outside and need a good recommendation for a better antenna. Can you help me?
Thank you, your video was most helpful.
Thanks antenna man. I have rca equipment and it's worked great. Until someone unplugged my signal booster and I lost 36 channels. Alls good
PLUG IT BACK IN.
The HiDB results at 2:43 are wrong. It should be 0% for VHF 12 and 53% for UHF 22.
I've got a question about powering antennas. Is it possible to power an OTA Antenna with a small solar panel? It would be like those small panels that are placed on a wall of a house that powers those ring cameras. Something like that. I think that would be an interesting idea. Some OTA Antennas do have a USB port that is supposed to be plugged into the TV if it has a USB Port.
Ive always wondered if height helps with outdoor antennas. Like what if you could get high enough to go above the hills and aim the antenna down and towards the broadcast tower.
I tried getting Philadelphia from Allentown 50 miles away where south mountain sits between, didn't do much good, but the antenna rotor and a long distance FM antenna created more pleasure anyway. Still got that Archer antenna in storage back there, but I'm not there anymore.
Instead of showing us the last two antennas you reviewed, you should show us the signal strength from all indoor antennas you've reviewed so far. I would love to see a spreadsheet that compares all indoor antennas signal strength, so I know that I am purchasing the best possible one. You could set up these spreadsheets similar to how Doug Demuro does his for car reviews, then it would allow us as viewers to know what the greatest antenna out there may be.
So my TH-cam channel is mostly supported by views. If I show the results from all antennas it will hurt my TH-cam channel which is how I make a living. If someone wants to see how the antenna compares to more than the last two antennas they have to watch the other videos. If they chose not to take the time to do their research I offer the antenna recommendation service on my website.
@@AntennaMan that makes sense I had to rewatch 4 different videos and take notes based on the percentage you were getting for each channel to check for myself. I would love for you to review the channel master CM-7001, CM-7002, and especially the CM-7004. For a cheap tuner box, it has the best channel guide that I have found so far as I am not a fan of the MediaSonic 130 or the iView 3300 channel guide. I mostly use those models as a signal meter and hdmi adapter for my antenna. I do have to say thank you because your reviews have been the most thorough on the platform.
Would recommend this as a good FM antenna since it's very good with VHF?
The cable is RG59.
How far away where the vhf stations you tested on this antenna???
I have to say I own this antenna and I found that most of the time the antenna amplifier has to be on in order to pick up TV stations
So this antenna has to be powered on to work
What's the best antenna for stations 35 miles away?
See video below. th-cam.com/video/QkroujtyJv0/w-d-xo.html
Que lindo muchacho.
I'm confused I started in 2018 with cheap plastic antenna which I put on a 5 ladder & got 35 channels very clearly from Allentown, Philly, York, Harrisbirg. You said they were junk. Since I live in the rural park of Bernville, Berks Co. I went to RCA Yagi, RCA Booster & Amplifier. Know I'm lucky to get 13 channels and my main channel is 16 in Scranton. Any suggestion because I'm at the point of buying another cheap plastic outdoor antenna. I cut code to save money while I deal with being disabled due to a rare incurable cancer.
A hair-thin coax cable is called a 1.5c - 2v coax cable
I purchased this based on your recommendation, however in my case it was simply no better than the $6 rabbit-ear I bought in the supermarket.
I am not criticizing, only stating your mileage may vary.
I found the advantage of this antenna is mainly on the low VHF band. If you don't have low VHF channels in your area (most don't) the antenna below should work much better: amzn.to/2WMQjfr
How fare away is the transmitter tower on the stations you are showing us
He says it’s about 30 miles.
I hope this antenna model will help when WPVI transitions to ATSC 3.0
There's no guarantee WPVI will ever launch ATSC 3.0. The new standard is a voluntary transition and may flop of not enough networks jump on board. Specifically, Philadelphia stations are owned by the networks and aren't interested in the new standard.
It seems to basically be the same as a rabbit ears with the adjustable loop, but for twice the cost and the added pain in the ass of having to plug it in.
There is one issue we kind of forget when it comes to these antennas, though. Yes, it's great when they can rotate in pretty much any given direction, allowing you to better dial in your reception. The problem is that in order to use that to its fullest, you also have to have enough room around it to take advantage.
It was said in the vid that you get about 6' worth of reach from tip to tip when fully extended. Basically, if you don't want to constantly be relocating the antenna, you have to have it in a location where it fits in the center of a 6' circle, which means it will be in the way pretty much all the time.
And if you ARE going to be constantly moving it so it's not always in the way, that diminishes at least some of the advantages of having antenna X length or X amount of rotation on them.
The rabbit ears with the loop and dial are becoming more difficult to find, but as far as the different styles of indoor antenna I've used, they're still the best if you are willing to monkey with them from time to time to get what you're looking for, OTA.
Actually unless you have low VHF in your area the dipoles don't need to get extended the full length. Half the length actually works better for high VHF
I found one of these cheap at Goodwill, and hooked it up at work. We have several stations on VHF, and it worked well, until someone dropped and broke it… 🙄
Did they buy a replacement?
@@peacearchwa5103 I built one out of parts I had. It works pretty well, too.
I've noticed the quality of RCA ANT-111 has declined significantly despite having the same model # as years ago. Thinner cable, shorter extending dipoles, lousier quality everywhere.
I hope they don't do the same to this model.
Is this a digital, HD antenna? Runs :)
We had an antenna like that one and it wasn't worth a Chit but you are cute.
If I'm in South Jersey, do you think this is good for me?
No, you will likely need a good outdoor antenna if you want the major networks. Consider signing up for my antenna recommendation service at the link below: www.antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html
What is the effect of rotating a yagi style antenna 90deg so that the elements are vertically oriented to the horizon? I have to mount my antenna to a brick wall and don't have access to the top of the wall, but I can get to the corner so I could mount in that orientation and point to the broadcast towers.
It won't pick up stations that use horizontal polarization.
Sometimes people will point their antenna at a wall (neighbor's house) and get a stronger signal than if they point the direction of the transmitters. That might be worth trying if such option exists.
There's a house near me with two of the same Scamazon "Choice" antennas that have a bad review here. They're both pointed at the chimney. I guess one antenna feeds one tv in a bedroom, another to another room. Apparently they work better pointed at the reflected signal.
Hello from nepa also. Outside of wilkes-barre here.
Antena man..could you do a review of the homemade you tube wood v antenna,I use it and it works pretty damn good but looks terrible..would like to see a comparison to bought antennas
Gray Hoverman?
Is this antenna good for Univison, telemundo, unimas?
A flat antenna like the model below is better for those channels since they are on the UHF band: bit.ly/31u3RPD
I had this particular model of antenna hooked up to a 2015 Samsung J 5500 TV while living in Philadelphia, PA! You are 🏹🎯 as far as performance is concerned. This was the only antenna that could lasso the notoriously difficult WPVI! Even though we lived three miles east of The Andorra antenna farm. I had a Radio Shack antenna which was pretty good during the twilight of the NTSC-M broadcast epoch but the digital switch made Channel 6 twitch, going at best pixelating periodically to @ worst going AWOL, causing me to miss whatever ABC showed! In addition, all the adjusting bent the red VGA pins on one of the older panels I had, causing it to give a magenta tinge to the white areas NOT GOOD! With this antenna, I was able to corral 75 to 80 channels! Alas, the J5500 and the antenna didn't survive my brother's manhandling the move to Metro Charlotte, NC, last April, so I have a vastly inferior antenna connected to a superbly superior Q60A TV! I wonder If Amazon has this antenna and is it worth acquiring it so the magic can happen 2x?!
WPVI has such a trash signal it's ridiculous!
Help. I bought this antenna that you have in this video. I can’t seem to get the basic channels. Station antennas are 25 miles away. This is the second antenna that I have bought. Same problem. The first one was 2024 Gesobyte Amplified HD Digital TV Antenna 650+ Miles Long Range Indoor Outdoor - Support 4K 8K 1080p Fire TV Stick & All TV's - Smart Switch Amplifier Signal Booster - 18ft HDTV Cable/AC Adapters. I don’t have a window close to the tv. I hooked the flat antenna on my couch which was about 3’ from the window. I don’t know what to do. Can you advise?😊
If you would like direct assistance from me, sign up for my antenna recommendation service below: www.antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html
@@AntennaMan I can’t afford $40 for a consultation. I am on a budget and only make $18 an hour.
@@kimPepping9307 Avoid any antenna that claims a mileage range greater than 100 miles, as most antennas that claims more than 100 miles are TRASH. Also, stick with more reputable antenna brands like Channel Master, Winegard, Televes, AntennasDirect, Range Xperts, RCA, GE or Philips.
It's funny so I bought the clear TV HD vision antenna that was like $10. And I'm about a good 30 35 miles away from ABC and it comes in great. It actually performs better than the RCA rabbit ears that you showed. Could we maybe see a review of the clear TV HD vision flat panel
He did a review on the Clear TV HD Vision. It's junk. So you tested this RCA antenna to compare?
Clear tv and nova wave tv antennas are scams.
But the thing is, I can only chalk it up to convenient placement since my window faces Philadelphia and also there is no obstructions
@@TheRareMusicArchiveCollection In that case, it might be interesting to compare the Clear TV to the paperclip antenna. You might have an ideal location?
AM did a review of the Clear TV and wasn't terribly positive about it. Maybe it was because the informercial tone of marketing. I remember one scene where the beefcake blonde guy makes some fantastic claim, and AM cuts in saying "just look at it" (holding it in his hand), like "I don't have to say anything about that claim."
@@markfuller yeah, I have both of them and use the RCA one downstairs facing NJ PBS and it's gets some signal through a wall while the Clear HD Vision is used in a window and it's very good
Any chance you could share your Rabbit Ears report for the area you're testing these indoor antennas? Is this on the first floor or an upper floor? Thanks for any help you can give. I'm just looking for a backup to my current antenna (which you already had a look at) so as to pick up WB / Scranton channels.
Unfortunately I don't share my report for privacy reasons. The antenna was tested on the second floor
Thank you. (Didn't realize the report shared that.)
I used to have that exact model. In my basement the best configuration was: boost off but power plugged in, one vertical, one horizontal, and me holding the horizontal while my wife says "that's perfect!" Unfortunately when I let go it stopped working. I eventually gave up and bought cable.
What is a good indoor antenna for people like me, who live in wooded rural areas?
Your best bet would be an outdoor antenna.
I agree with 900Yugo. I myself live in a wooded rural area. I tried an indoor antenna and only got a maximum of 8 channels. When I switch to a nice outdoor antenna, I get over 40 channels. You should do the same. Trust me, for one rural man to another.
@@ClassicGuy57 Ok, then what’s the best outdoor antenna?
@@matthewhajjar-betters3703 It depends on your area (which is rural) and how far the stations are. I use a Televes model, which works wonderful in my area.
What is the difference between UHF and VHF channels?
See video below: th-cam.com/video/auPlRVyED0o/w-d-xo.html
do anrenna boosters work
They can, but are usually hype. If the amp is at the antenna, then it can make up for signal loss that occurs due to the length of cable from antenna to tv (or if there's a splitter to multiple tvs). The idea is to have it at the antenna so you're amplifying the most signal. At the tv, it will amplify whatever's there (which may not be much after a long length of cable, or the signal being split to 3-4 rooms).
Even at the antenna doesn't mean it will help. For example, if you had a small flat antenna it won't pick up much signal. Adding an amp at the antenna (assuming it's one that has a detachable cable, many flat panels don't) would amplify more noise than signal.
So, ultimately, an amp at the antenna is the only way to go. And, only if you need one (they aren't "more is better." You can overamplify.). The only reason you'd need one is if the signal from the antenna is being lost by the time it reaches the tv(s). Start with a large enough antenna, and then figure out if you need an amp for your situation.
@@markfuller thank you so a regular older ant. is still the best
@@gregtyler1762 It depends on indoor/outdoor, how far you are from the transmitters, if you still have low-VHF signals available (I have a couple).
The best thing you could do is get an antenna recommendation from AntennaMan. I think the link is in the video description. You'll provide your location and info about where you can place an antenna (how many tvs you'll power with it) and he'll give you suggestions.
His videos often refer to another site which will tell you if you have low-VHF broadcasts in our area, how far the transmitters are. With that info, and how many tvs you want to distribute a signal to, and if you're limited to indoor (upstairs, downstairs, near a window?), attic (how much space in the attic), or can do outdoor, you can narrow down your choice of antennas. The more specifics the better.
Some people do fine with those mousepad antennas indoor because the towers are not far, and line of sight, and serving just one tv. Others could be 60 miles from the antennas with obstructions in between. They might struggle with a 10' long old-style antenna on the roof (that's where an amp might help at the antenna if they're serving 3-4 tvs with one antenna. In my area, I can serve 3-4 tvs from a medium-sized roof antenna. (I still have low-vhf here, so I need the longer elements for that. Still a large'ish antenna. But, not too long due to being close to the transmitters. 10mi.).
Simplest thing would be to get the recommendation. But, be prepared to provide details about your circumstance. A lot of factors.
This antenna was a total fail for me. With one of those dumb "flat" hot pad antennas and a $10 Amazon set of rabbit ears I get 16 channels. With this antenna I got (5) !! channels. It was the same with or without the pre-amp. Moving it around didn't help at all. I sat it in the same spot as my $10 rabbit ears and also tried moving it around - it still only got 5 channels. Needless to say it went back to Amazon toot-sweet! :-)
I live pretty close to the transmitters in my area. Maybe 10 miles? I've never had good luck with flat panels. Once, I hooked two together via a spliter (in reverse. The antennas connected to the tv outputs of the splitter, and the tv connected to the antenna input of the splitter). That worked pretty good until it rained, or there was a windy day (trees causing reflections in the signal?).
To me, I don't understand buying these things when the Clearstream Max antennas (1 to 4 ganged together) are essentially "flat" and would operate much better.
@@markfuller As Antenna Man says, those flat "HD" antennas are mostly useless. I only have one because someone gave it to me. I have three stations 2.3 mi from me and three that are 6.7 miles.
427 Titus Parkway
567 Wisozk Alley
Always try to keep your TV antenna at least more than five feet from your TV or more than a meter and half. Because digital radio signals are sensitive to electromagnetic interference from any object. Including but not excluding your TV.