Has anybody tried the Weingard Square Shooter HDTV Antenna? I hate to use the 12' VHF/UHF monsters. I am looking for a great small UHF/HDTV unit.

Thanks for listening

Where are you at??????????????????? THe perforamce of a "Stealth" style antenna is going to vary a great deal depending on where you are compared to the Transmission locations of the HD signals.

He's in San Diego!

I would think that MANY small antennas would work fine aroudn there...the Terk 55, etc...should be sufficient. [Link: terk.com]

I have two working fine about thirty miles from the nearest low powered transmitter, and they aren't quite line of sight!

avdude

Well.. My Profile says "Chicago" but in reality, I'm about 40 miles out (Your allowed to sy your from Chicago if your within 50 miles I think)

A 55 wouldnt work for me....

(And didnt...... I've got a leer jet on top of my house now... Wingard 8200..... Padded 10db)

holy hell!

it took THAT monster to pull in Chicago HDTV stations?

[Link: winegard.com]

Denver is much closer knit...you have to be within 25 miles to say you're from Denver!

LOL

avdude
www.integrationpros.com

Chicago needs a combo UHF-VHF because the CBS station is at ch. 3. Most digital stations are UHF. Try a Channelmaster 4221 4 bay, or if you need more sensativity, a 4228 8 bay.

What about good old radio crack? Has anyone found that one antenna works really better than another when you get the proper one for your location? I know that I have had a lot of problems when experimenting with Terk's "new fangled style" antennas. The way RF works hasn't changed so why would the antenna change?

Greg,
I thought all digital channel were above channel 6 so the feds could auction off that spectrum when analog gets unplugged.

Sorry to post this polemic three times in an hour, but someone brought up UHF/VHF Craziness and this is what I wrote; Homeboy also started another one or two threads about the Square Shooter (is he a Winegard rep?)


My approach is, don't mess around with crap. The new fancy-ass approaches to antennas will start to work when the radio waves start radiating in the shape of the Terk 44. Until then, the antenna theory and designs that have worked for 50 years are probably a pretty good place to stay.

Terk antennas have been promoted from day one as looking good. Well, they do. From the first FM Terk I ever saw, through to this email, look good is what Terk does. Kind of like Prince: his music is occasionally good, mostly uneven, sometimes totally boring, but man can he pose for a photo!

I used to be in charge of engineering for a small southern California audio/video chain. We grew to the point where I did not have to do all the work myself, and I hired a grizzled old guy named Howard, who was his own antenna installation company, to handle things. I learned from him:

I, with my corporate salary, where money comes in no matter what, can choose and try whatever antenna I want to, because I will still have an income if the first one or two tank on me.

He, in business for himself, had to have it WORK the first time, and he had little time to bother with the latest greatest variation on antennas.

His choice for most situations that were not in fringe areas became mine, the Winegard HD-7210.

Yes, it is a "clothesline." BUT it does UHF and VHF, and it does not have any sections that poke up or down from its main plane, so I have actually put one inside a flat roof, where there was only about 22" of height.

It is very directional, which works here in Los Angeles.

It has a higher front-to-back rejection ratio, so it picks up fewer ghosts than most antennas (it is nicknamed the GhostKiller; few of us realize that many ghosts come as reflections from BEHIND the antenna).

It is not too huge, either.

The only problem I have had is that the suppliers who used to stock it and sell it at a pretty good price have quit carrying antennas. The expensive guys still have it. And to get Winegard at a discount, you basically have to buy a truckload (which even kept those distributors from having stock sometimes).

I have a channel master 4221 in my attic and they are fantastic. I live 30 miles from the transmitter in Boston and I get all of the OTA broadcasts.

NOt to be mean about the Terk, but I have never read a good thing about a TERK outdoor (or indoor for that matter) antenna. And I have never had any luck with a couple myself. They seem to be noise generators. They are WAY overpriced and truly suck.

DSI carries Winegard antennas, and they don't bend you over on the price..

http://www.dsisystemsinc.com

I guess I am spoiled. I want to go pick one up a day or two before I need it. I don't want to pay individual shipping. Mostly, if it is a huge box with just a bowtie in it, I don't want just ONE of them to be exposed to the batting practice that occasionally occurs at UPS. Those particular boxes are rather fragile, and I am still working off the four I bought ack in October!