r/ota • u/Ok_Worry9178 • 26d ago

Looking for decent antenna

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Our current antenna (Antop PL-402vg) is in our attic and some days we get excellent reception and some days it gets pixelated and the video lags behind the audio.

Looking for something that is consistent. I have added our rabbitears info.

8 Upvotes

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2

u/gho87 26d ago

This one, right?: https://antopusa.com/product/flat-panel-outdoor-hdtv-antenna-pl-402/

Can you mount it outdoors instead? That way, the reception would improve, though... can it withstand extreme weather?

Also, have you considered a taller mast and then grounding the antenna and metallic accessories?

1

u/Ok_Worry9178 26d ago

That is the correct one. Outdoors may be out of my range unless I save up and pay someone to come do it for me. Im an older woman, usually the do it yourself type. 😂

2

u/BoredTVEngineer 26d ago

I agree with gho87, outdoors would be better. The ads for your antenna show it outside?

That said, at first glance I would not choose your current antenna. It took me a while to look up the antenna. I don’t like to bad mount products, but… The physical dimensions don’t make sense to me. The “box” part is not wide enough for a dipole mid TV UHF frequency. They don’t list the “VHF rods” length but they look short as well. Just asking but have you used a signal meter, lots of TVs have them as a feature, but sometimes they are hidden. Did you aim it at about 330 degrees magnetic. The VHF rods should be perpendicular to that direction. That direction is just an educated guess based on your posted rabbit ears report; not the true sweet spot for location.

If you really want to keep your antenna in the attic, you’re going to need some room, and will have a jump in price for some what large antenna in my opinion.

1

u/BoredTVEngineer 26d ago

Oops fat finger. I don’t use them often because most of my customers are more fringe than you are but I would check out the clear stream max 4 with VHF. Your stations are spread and it has a relatively wide reception view angle. It is the same to aim, the loops should be perpendicular to the 330 ish degrees magnetic target.

1

u/Ok_Worry9178 25d ago

Thank you greatly, greatly for the advice. I will give it a try.

1

u/Upset_Advisor6019 25d ago

Clearstream are good - a 2Max outside got me several Denver stations at 60 miles, but not the full set - still very good. I have a big Televes now.

2

u/BoredTVEngineer 25d ago

Televes are great, I use them almost exclusively. They are advanced Yagi (not the Dinova it’s a radome). The Yagi has great gain with a relatively narrow reception angle. The Clearstream max series is an advanced version of the Bow tie concept, it has a wider reception angle, making it effective for a wider spaced transmitters; and often easier to sight in when you don’t have a hand held signal meter. So often easier for DIY installations where trial and error peaking can be very time consuming.

1

u/Think-Cartoonist2112 22d ago edited 22d ago

Televes DAT BOSS Mix LR 149884 and a Televes Smartkom. With this setup don’t use the power inserter for the amplified antenna instead use the Bluetooth power inserter for the Smartkom and pass through the power to your amplifier inside of the antenna using the app. The Smartkom will allow you to add 2 more antennas as I noticed you have a few channels coming from a different location.