TV Fool  

Go Back   TV Fool > Over The Air Services > Special Topics > Antennas

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 16-Apr-2017, 1:31 AM   #1
JoeAZ
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 413
$39.00 Antenna compares favorably to Clearstream C5

Several people have told me that the antenna below, from
Walmart compares favorably to the larger and much more
expensive clearstream C5. They report receiving Flagstaff,
AZ full power and some Flagstaff translators from near
Show Low, AZ, some 100+ miles away. Some had been using
the clearstream C5 with only fair results. I have not been able
to prove or disprove their report.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/RCA-Attic...enna/146879296
JoeAZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 16-Apr-2017, 2:55 AM   #2
rabbit73
Retired A/V Tech
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: S.E. VA
Posts: 2,750
After looking at the photos, the two antennas appear to have almost the same VHF gain, with the edge to favor the C5.
Quote:
I have not been able to prove or disprove their report.
OTA signals constantly vary in strength. I have often seen a change of over 10 dB in 1/2 an hour. It wouldn't be conclusive to make a measurement with Antenna A and then substitute Antenna B, because the signals might have changed.

The only was to prove or disprove, if you don't have an antenna test range, is to do what I do: set up the two antennas side-by-side, switch rapidly back and forth with an A/B switch, and watch the readings on a signal level meter.



antenna test site:



Sadelco 719E is on the left and Sadelco DisplayMax800 on the right. The 719E was designed to measure analog signals, but it is useful for making comparative measurements of digital signals. I bought the 719E when I retired from the US Govt, and my wife gave the 800 to me as a present. She encouraged my antenna experiments because she wanted me to set up a battery operated TV for use during a power failure:



She also gave a DisplayMax 5000 to me:

Attached Images
File Type: jpg AntrennaTestSetup_1.jpg (304.6 KB, 13349 views)
File Type: jpg Sadelco-DisplayMax_5000-2.jpg (67.6 KB, 2668 views)
__________________
If you can not measure it, you can not improve it.
Lord Kelvin, 1883
http://www.megalithia.com/elect/aeri...ttpoorman.html

Last edited by rabbit73; 16-Apr-2017 at 2:50 PM.
rabbit73 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Go Back   TV Fool > Over The Air Services > Special Topics > Antennas



Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off




All times are GMT. The time now is 11:28 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright © TV Fool, LLC