Product: DB4e By Antennas Direct
No cable fee, no satellite dish fee, and no increase in bills. And no grainy picture that is totally inferior to true HD quality. Whether you live 30 miles or 60 miles from the broadcast transmitter, you can enjoy free television without the hassles. With this long range HDTV antenna you have a product that works: 4 Element Bowtie Indoor/Outdoor HDTV Antenna – 60 Mile Range
The antennas I had installed, I built them myself and they were quite adequate. On occasion, one channel was giving me a little trouble during adverse atmospheric conditions. I had the problems worked out, but I wanted to try a commercial brand that performed well and required no maintenance.
Another problem that I could not easily solve was a station aimed at a different angle. My home brew special pulled the station in sometimes but other times it would not. The DB4e solved the problem and pulled the station in all of the time.
My working condition is the digital cliff zone. That means I’m on the fringe of reception. I am serious about my antennas.
After doing quite a bit of research on outdoor HDTV antennas, I went with product reviews and as always, with my intuition.
This antenna is a clear success. As a comparison, the DB4e reception was 80% to 100% on all of the channels, whereas before, I was getting around 50% on most channels, and this is not bad considering that I’m 60+ miles from the transmitter. I wanted better reception and I got it with this product.
How is the quality of the antenna? Very solid and well built. It should last for years without any issues.
I highly recommend this antenna even for those living on the digital fringe. Keep in mind that I do not have trees or hills blocking the path.
PROS:
1. The antenna is well built and all of the parts were included.
2. The quality is awesome.
3. The reception is fantastic. Believe it. Very effective in the rain!
4. The price is very competitive.
5. Install is a breeze. It took me a few minutes to figure out the mast clamp. If I can do it anybody can.
CONS:
1. The DB4e isn’t designed to do VHF spectrum. It was designed for UHF only. Believe me it will not do VHF very well at least, so do not think that it will. Solution: Just add a splitter/combiner and connect to the VHF antenna. Here’s an option: Outdoor Directional VHF-Hi TV Antenna
2. The mast or clamp is a little cheesy. Do not get me wrong, it works and I do not have a problem with it, but it is rather cheesy. So it’s not really an issue. I used large tie straps, bolt extensions, and hard wire to help secure the antenna. Problem solved.
Analysis
I would not hesitate to recommend this antenna to anyone. As stated before, I’m getting 80% on almost all of my channels and I’m 60+ miles from the target. Currently, my antenna is about 15 feet or 20 feet high.
UPDATE: It’s been up in the air for some time. One of the best antennas on the market! Very pleased on this end. Highly recommend.
This blog was… how do I say it? Relevant!!
Finally I’ve found something which helped me. Many thanks!