This antenna worked great for my location, and I was able to pick up 70 channels. I was able to mount in my attic and pick up the expected stations. In my area, the UHF channels are primarily in single direction, while the VHF stations are spread out. I was also lucky that the stations are located so I can point out the side of my house instead of through the roof. Rather than mounting the VHF antenna on the grid, I used some spare PVC pipe and zip ties to point it in a direction that worked best for the VHF stations. As you can see in the photo, I mounted the antenna upside down to get the more length out of the included coax between the the UHF and VHF antennas (I would not do this outside).
All that said, this may not work in your situation. First check on the rabbitears.info website to see what stations and what power levels you have at your location. As noted, most of the UHF transmitters are in the same direction about 35 miles away, so it worked really well for me. The major stations have very strong signal strength/quality according to my TV tuner, and I do not see any drop outs. The website tells you the signal margin for the stations -- the lower the number, the less likely you are to pick it up. The lowest power station I picked up was 5dB signal margin, with the antenna pointed at it. There was another station listed in the same direction with the same signal margin, but I could not pick it up -- the rabbitears site, may be slightly out of date (but not as bad as TVfool). I may have been able to do better with a roof mount. If your area has poor signal margin and stations spread out in multiple directions, this may not be for you. If the signal margin is good, then you can use the direction on the website to help point the antenna towards the transmitters. (Note: I was looking at TVFool, but as of Sept 2022, the information in my area is out of date, with many stations listed on the wrong RF channel).
With the stations, you'll want to note the difference between VHF (RF channel 2-13) and UHF (RF channel 14+), and the difference between RF channel (what the frequency the channel actually on) and display channel (what shows up on your TV). Your local NBC 8, might really be transmitting on RF channel 25. This is important for pointing your antennas and figuring out if this will work for you. The UHF channels use the round antennas with the grid, and the VHF antenna is the separate part with two horizontal elements. You can attach the VHF antenna to the grid behind the UHF antennas, or you can mount in separately. The VHF antenna will give the best reception perpendicular to the elements (both in front and out back). Depending on your location, you may need to point it between two transmitters to pick up both, or you may only be able to pick up one or the other.
As far as stations go, you'll see a lot of reviews of people who get dozens of channels -- I picked up 70. However, you'll want to be realistic about what you are really getting. The major networks will typically transmit in HD and may look even better than the compressed version you get on cable. They will also have some extra sub-channels that are in standard definition. These can be hit or miss. Some of them look pretty good/sharp, while others are overly compressed and look like a blurry old VHS tape. This is on the TV station, not the transmitter -- with digital TV you either pick up the station or you don't (with a small part in between where it is blocky/jumpy). Beyond quality, there is content. Out of the 70 stations I pick up, many of them don't interest me personally -- I don't watch the 5 shopping channels I pick up. I also have several duplicate sub-channels, so those don't really count. So if you are thinking about cutting the cable cord, take a look through the websites of the channels you are likely to pick up and see if they are really of interest. You might really be left with PBS (plus a couple of subchannels), the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX), then a bunch of things you may or may not watch depending on interest (ION, CW, ME-TV, GRIT, Bounce, Defy, COMET, LAFF, QVC, HSN).
| Brand Name | Antennas Direct |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 1.6 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 0.04 x 8.6 x 10.1 inches |
| Item model number | ECL |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Color Name | White / Black Reversible |
| Specification Met | No |
| Impedance | 75 Ohm |
