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HDTv Antenna LabsAntennasDirect DB8 antenna reviews: 51
AntennasDirect DB8 average rating: 4
| Excellent | 31 reviews | |||||||||
| Good | 6 reviews | |||||||||
| Average | 5 reviews | |||||||||
| Poor | 2 reviews | |||||||||
| Very Poor | 7 reviews | |||||||||
| Band: | UHF |
| Placement: | Outdoor |
| Amplifier: | No |
| Range: | 70 miles |
| Compare prices on AntennasDirect DB8 | |
| Write a review | |
Below are 5 randomly chosen reviews of AntennasDirect DB8 antenna. See all DB8 reviews.
| AntennasDirect DB8 Review #0 | ||
| Rating: 5 (excellent) | Nickname: anonymous | Date: 2008-10-20 |
| Summary: Excellent DT reception from stations 136 degrees apart | ||
| I am very happy with this antenna and the PA-18 amplifier that came in the bundle from Antennas Direct. My vacation home is in the Poconos (Tunkhannock TWP, Monroe County, PA, elevation 1830ft). The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton DT stations are 136 degrees apart from the Allentown/Philadelphia DT stations. I used a plot from TVFool.com to determine direction. Distances from transmitters range from 23 (WB) - 68 (Phila) miles. I installed the DB8 outside about 7 ft above roof level, pointing towards Allentown/Philadephia(no rotator). I picked up all the Allentown and Phila DT stations along with all the Wilkes-Barre & Scranton DT stations from the backside of the DB8. Signal strengths on my Magnavox DT converter box range from 20 - 70 depending on the station. At one point during my fine tuning of the pointing direction, I even picked up WBAL-DT from Baltimore, MD! This is definitely a great multidirectional antenna and was a perfect fit for my situation. | ||
| AntennasDirect DB8 Review #1 | ||
| Rating: 5 (excellent) | Nickname: Michigan | Date: 2008-09-10 |
| Summary: Great For 55mi away stations | ||
| I watch DETROIT stations in Toledo ~60miles away. I was using before Yagi UHF Radio Shack Antenna on Roof Top. It worked OK most of the time but I was able to receive HDTV only from one direction. Toledo stations are 180 degrees from me. I had signal dropouts during rain and snow fall. I got DB8 after reading reviews. I had interesting results with it. Assembly was easy with no problems. Hardware looks robust enough to weather the roof. I connected my SAMSUND 5 year old HDTV receiver and all My DETROIT stations came up with more signal strength than Radio Shack antenna had! I use 100' cable with Pre-Amp inline. But all TOLEDO stations had No signal (Toledo stations are 5-10miles away!) So I took a DTV converter Box from LG (the new thing you get for NON hdtv TV set) and Zenith Box had received ALL 28 Channels from Detroit and Toledo with NO problems and Near Max Signal strength. No drop outs! I guess that means that My 6 year old SAMSUNG HDTV receiver has an older design that is inferior to newer DTV converter box. It rejects signals from Rear side of Antenna! Also for those who are not experienced in Roof Top Antenna installations, one good advise: Do not use multiple Cables connected together like 50' and 50' to get 100' total length. Get 1 100' long cable! Cable junctions in RF cables create reflections of the signal and will make your life miserable! Signals may cut out and come back again. But at the end DB8 antenna is a great choice for long range signals. Highly recommend. | ||
| AntennasDirect DB8 Review #2 | ||
| Rating: 2 (poor) | Nickname: anonymous | Date: 2008-07-24 |
| Summary: Not ready for prime time. | ||
| I recently tried the DB8 HDTV antenna. The results were very disappointing. I live on a top floor apartment and chose to locate it in the attic, hence, was not expecting it to perform at maximum capacity. Sadly, what I got was much, much, much less. The DB8 pulled in five fewer HD Digital PBS stations, and about three fewer HD Digital commercial stations than did the Terk HDTVa - All this after about an hour of attempting to find the “sweet spot” of reception, even locating it exactly where the more successful Terk had been. Needless to say, I reconnected the Terk and sent back the DB8 for a refund. To any know-it-alls out there who will site “user error,” hear this. I did my research, assembled it patiently and properly, connected it to a 2008 Samsung HDTV, using a short (25ft.) length of RG6 premium coaxial cable with no splitters and had the Samsung perform the channel search. The broadcast towers? They are all in the same direction, with compass settings between 78 and 80, and are 60 to 65 miles away. Easily within the boasted 70-mile reach of the vaunted DB8. I expected it to perform at least as well as the much less expensive Terk HDTVa. It failed. Buyer beware. | ||
| AntennasDirect DB8 Review #3 | ||
| Rating: 5 (excellent) | Nickname: Spencer | Date: 2008-07-11 |
| Summary: Couldn't be happier! The best antenna on planet earth, at least for the SW. Chicago area | ||
| I spent about three weeks reviewing all different antennas on the web. I looked at antennas at Menards, Radioshack, ebay, and every other antenna the web has to offer. I found there are a lot of different antennas out there, for a lot of different prices. This website and a friend helpped me make my final choice. I ended up going with the DB8. A friend 45 miles away from Chicago was getting almost all af the stations with his DB6 model (smaller version of the DB8), and was very satisfied with his antenna. I'm located 60 miles south west of Chicago, so I figured I needed the next size larger (the DB8). WOW, did I make a good choice. For a total of only $125.00 I received the antenna, the J-mount mast, and fifty feet of quad shield coax from antennas direct. They sell that combo as a package deal. As I shared earlier, I live 60 miles from Chicago, in the middle of the country. I mounted the antenna to the top of my roof so I would have no blockage from surrounding items, ran the fifty feet of coax to a Pass and Seymour tv booster, and then a P&S 8-way splitter (all in my steel network box from Menards). As I hooked up my new 46" Sony LCD I crossed my fingers to hope my wife wouldn't be laughing at me for the crazy idea I had to save 30 bucks a month and not go with satellite (no cable option in the country). I went to the tv menu and hit SEARCH channels........ HOLY COW!!! it found a total of 50 channels, and 75 percent of them were digital, not analog. The wife was very happy, and I has happy not paying 30 bucks a month plus 5 buck extra for HD. I couldn't be happier!! One more side note. Even though this antenna is rated as a UHF antenna only, I pick up all the VHF channels in digital also, except for channel 2. | ||
| AntennasDirect DB8 Review #4 | ||
| Rating: 5 (excellent) | Nickname: anonymous | Date: 2008-06-11 |
| Summary: Awesome | ||
| I'm 60 miles from transmitters. I'm in a low spot with lots of trees. I locked in on all 18 digitals! Not using an amp. | ||
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