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Below are 5 randomly chosen reviews of AntennasDirect DB8 antenna.
See all DB8 reviews.
| AntennasDirect DB8 Review #0 |
| Rating: 5 (excellent) |
Nickname: anonymous |
Date: 2010-07-19 |
| Summary: Excellent |
| Bought the antenna about a month ago since when I accompanied a friend to look at OTA antennas. Assembly intructions were not clear but the assembly is fairly straight forward. Mounted it attached to the chimney of a two storey building. Am located in NW Toronto and was told to point it 150 deg. magnetic. Got 22 digital channels. I did not want to run another cable so I connected it to the satellite dish cable, total length about 150 ft. to the TV. This resulted in a drop to only 13 digital channels. To try and get back the all the channels I added a antenna preamp. This resulted in significanty improved reception with 24 digital channels coming in perfectly, even from over 80 miles away. Using the same cable as the satellite dish also meant that the satellite receiver is also providing power to the preamp eliminating the need for the separate power supply. So far I am extremely happy with the reception and have not used the satellite dish since installing the antenna. |
| AntennasDirect DB8 Review #1 |
| Rating: 5 (excellent) |
Nickname: roadtech |
Date: 2010-04-07 |
| Summary: 80 miles plus |
| So far, the antenna is impressive, 80 miles to Watertown New York, picking up 18.1/18.2/18.3/50.1/50.2 some are HD, and while my dish went out last night because of heavy rain, the antenna worked great. Now all I need is a good VHF antenna (antennas direct C5) to pick up 7.1/7.2 in Watertown so I can watch Nascar on Fox. I found this antenna easy to install and lightweight for the size, it is very directional. I have it mounted about 40\ up on a 60\ tower. Also using a channel master pre-amp 7777 because my coaxial cable is about 150\ in length. |
| AntennasDirect DB8 Review #2 |
| Rating: 5 (excellent) |
Nickname: Theaveragejoe |
Date: 2010-04-02 |
| Summary: Exceeded Antenna |
| The terrain around my house is flat and no obstructions in front of the antenna. The antenna is approximately 30 feet high and is installed outdoors. After installing the antenna I picked up 8 TV stations and 17 total channels. I get all 4 networks not including PBS. The stations I receive are NBC and FOX out of Albany Georgia. All 4 networks out of the Tallahassee Florida/Thomasville Georgia Area and 2 PBS stations out of Pelham and Waycross Georgia. Four of the stations are in excess of 60 miles with the longest distance being 64 miles. I get good reception on all these stations without any interruptions. Based on the signal strength meter on my TV, I would estimate that I could have picked up the farthest station if it had been another 10 miles away, With another 10 to 15 feet in height on the antenna I could have probably picked up stations consistently in the 80 mile range. Needless to say, I am happy with the antenna. Also, I have a CPA 19 pre amp. |
| AntennasDirect DB8 Review #3 |
| Rating: 5 (excellent) |
Nickname: moparpa |
Date: 2010-01-09 |
| Summary: best investment ever made! |
| Bought the DB8 model in the spring of 2009...set it up on a tripod with rotor 20\ in the air. the reception is unbelievable even in high winds. I currently have over 16 channels...without a pre-amp installed on it!! I\am always tinkering with the height and it seems the higher I go the more signals that I pick up...maybe I\ll try a pre-amp.
My advice...if you live out in any rural area, especially the allegheny mountains or boon docks...the DB8 is by far the best choice, and more bang for your buck. installation is very quick and self-explanatory...also...the clouds or sun spots don\t seem to bother my reception signal either... |
| AntennasDirect DB8 Review #4 |
| Rating: 3 (average) |
Nickname: rwomack |
Date: 2009-12-22 |
| Summary: Still Reviewing |
| I apologize if this seems lengthy but what I have found lacking in most of the reviews it that people don\t give good examples of where they live and the terrain around them to help others know what to buy and if an antenna will actually work in their area.
I would not call this hilly country but unfortunately, our housing sub-division is \Austin Ridge\ and thus my home has a backyard which slopes up higher than the roof and blocks the \line of site\ for the Washingtion, D.C. antennas (<40 miles away). I was optimistic about the reviews I read and bought the antenna anyway knowing I was supposed to point the antenna to the South to receive the Richmond stations, but most of the stations are to the North. I have it installed in the attic, without an amp and after a couple days of positioning the antenna have figured out that the electrical wiring and components do play a major role in the receptive power of the antenna. So here are the details:
It is for use outdoors and the manufacturer tells you if the antenna is placed indoors, your signal strength is reduced 40-50%. Though my HOA cannot stop me from having the antenna outside, I am testing it inside, in the attice currently.
I have a heat pump in the attic and thus electrical wiring. Reception is really poor when the antenna is pointed through the wiring or over the heat pump. Moving the antena away from those elements has given me great reception to the digital antennas which I do not have direct line of sight anyway.
The antenna build instructions are not very clear. You really need to look at the pictures to understand what the manufacturer is saying in the document. I even brought up the PDF instructions online thinking it might be a little clearer, but it is just the same document you receive with the antenna.
I receive about 23 channels now. ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and the other independents, plus about 5 to 10 foreign channel feeds (so they seem)which seem to be be picked up by the antenna no matter where the antenna is pointed.
I am going to get an amp and see how well that helps reception (I am looking for consistency with the signal now, though the picture on all the channels is outstanding) and my primary TV is an 8 year old (2001) 36\ Sony Wega, utilizing a Tivax T8 Digital Converter.
If I am able to update this review after I purchase and install the amp, I will.
Good Luck!
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