Digital Antennas do they work

Both tend to be sold to cord-cutters. Both businesses cite the trend far from pay TV solutions “…as more viewers seek out higher price alternatives” and “…and for free of continual monthly cable or satellite expenses, high-maintenance roof antennas, or large tabletop models.”

Do they work? We tested both recently for wall-mount and screen DTV reception, alongside two other stalwarts – Kowatec’s UHF panel antenna (discontinued) and Radio Shack’s design 15-1874 ‘budget’ TV antenna. Let’s observe they compare.

THE TEST

My house is not into the best location for interior DTV reception. even though it’s not as much as 25 kilometers through the Roxborough (Philadelphia) digital TV antenna farm, discover hook slope and a number of high trees in the manner. Only a couple of UHF stations (17, 26) and something VHF section (6) are strong adequate to come through without split amplification.

The rear side of my house appears north towards Allentown, which includes DTV stations on stations 9, 39, and 46. And they’re not all the that strong, both. In a nutshell, I have the most perfect area to evaluate these level antennas – weak signals, but just powerful adequate to lock-up a tuner.

To quantify my examinations, I viewed the gotten waveform per DTV section on an AVCOM PSA-2500C range analyzer. And I utilized Hauppauge’s WinTV Aero-M USB stick receiver to confirm reception and obtain some screen grabs regarding the stations that arrived in reliably.

THE CONTESTANTS

MoHu’s Leaf antenna looks mysterious and ‘stealthy’ with opaque monochrome edges, but hold the black part at a perspective to a bright light and you’ll see exactly what’s taking place under that “luncheonette counter menu” synthetic housing: a couple of dipole antennas with X-shaped capacity hats in the finishes.

The Walltenna takes that design and helps it be larger, except you can view precisely what’s embedded in the synthetic – copper foil shaped very similar means as the Leaf antenna. It just doesn’t look because good regarding wall since the Leaf, but again, among the better antennas have little eye appeal. (into the eyes of us RF enthusiasts, however, they're things of beauty.)

The significant difference between both antennas – and one which I figured ahead of time will give the Walltenna the side in getting more DTV stations – is that the elements on the Walltenna are electrically more than the Leaf. This implies the antenna is resonant at reduced frequencies.

I should point out that neither antenna makes use of a conventional collinear dipole range, as much roof and wall-mount UHF antennas do. With a collinear design, the real link ‘crosses over’ from one dipole range to another, to make certain that each X-shaped dipole array may be out of period utilizing the one behind and/or in front of it, producing a broadband reaction. In the case of the Leaf and Walltenna, the real link with each ‘X’ element continues to be on the same side of the antenna.

Both antennas are created to be caught to a screen or fastened to a wall surface. Mohu doesn’t offer mounting holes, but Walltenna does. Conversely, Mohu has encased the coaxial cable connection to the antenna in a good synthetic block, while Walltenna merely solders a balun towards the copper pieces and attaches the balun towards synthetic address with a rivet.

I do in contrast to the second technique anyway. To start, inserting a bit of material involving the balun legs at these types of close range de-tunes the balun lines. Secondly, the balun is stiff sufficient that it provides too much torque on the base of the antenna whenever curved – you must be cautious not to ever put a lot of strain on the connector, in addition to supplied RG-6 cable jumper is just too stiff and hefty when it comes to balun.