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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: 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 #1 |
| 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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| AntennasDirect DB8 Review #2 |
| Rating: 1 (very poor) |
Nickname: Eric |
Date: 2009-12-10 |
| Summary: Nothing special and only UHF |
| I had this antenna for about a day before returning it. It picked up about 12 stations (regular and HD), while my old rabit ears was able to get 17 stations with and a stronger signal.
As far as I can tell an HD antenna is not required for receiving HD signals, which makes sense because the carrier wave is still analog. So save your money and try a cheaper solution before shelling out $90-$100 for something that will do less than what an old analog antenna can do.
Aside from that, you won\t have to worry about mounting a big ugly antenna on a pole 12 feet in the air and wiring it through the walls to your TV. The rabbit ears do much better sitting behind my Samsung LCD and picks up both UHF and VHF in HD. |
| AntennasDirect DB8 Review #3 |
| Rating: 5 (excellent) |
Nickname: anonymous |
Date: 2009-10-05 |
| Summary: BETTER THAN EXPECTED RECEPTION |
| ASSEMBLY WAS PRETTY SIMPLE. TESTED ANTENNA ON LIVING ROOM FLOOR WAS ABLE TO PICK UP 2 CHANNELS.SAME AS RABBIT EARS.
PLACED ON TOP OF 30 FT. TOWER WITH AMPLIFIER, AIMED FRONT SIDE SOUTH WEST
TO PICK UP FT. WAYNE 60-70 MILES FROM TRANSMITTERS. RESCANED AND AM ABLE TO PICK UP CHANELS SOUTH WEST, NORTH EAST, SOUTH, AND SOUTH EAST IN TOLEDO 65-70 MILES FROM TRANSMITTER. THREE CHANNELS ARE UPPER VHF CHANNELS. NOT REALLY EXPECTING THAT. NOW I HAVE ABOUT 11 CHANNELS PLUS ALL THE SUB CHANNELS. WEATHER DOES PLAY A FACTOR,BUT OVER ALL I THINK IT\S A GOOD ANTENNA.
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| AntennasDirect DB8 Review #4 |
| Rating: 3 (average) |
Nickname: anonymous |
Date: 2009-09-16 |
| Summary: OK ANTENNA BUT NOT GREAT |
| INSTALLED ANTENNA TODAY REPLACING A RADIO SHACK DISH TYPE ANTENNA WITH A 45 MILE RANGE.THE DB8 HAS NO ADVANTAGE OVER THIS ANTENNA ITS NO BETTER OR NO WORSE. THE SAME CHANNELS SCAN IN ,I BOUGHT THE DB8 BECAUSE SOME CHANNELS ON THE RADIO SHACK ANTENNA WOULD NOT ALWAYS COME IN, THINKING THE BEST A LONGER RANGE AND MUCH BIGGER ANTENNA WOULD WORK BETTER, NOPE JUST THE SAME.STILL CHANNELS DONT COME IN ALL THE TIME. NOW INSTEAD OF A NICE LOOKING DISH TYPE ANTENNA ON MY ANTENNA POLE I HAVE WHAT LOOKS LIKE A BIG CRAB TRAP.ANTENNA IS NOT WHAT IT CLAIMS ,BUT IF YOU NEVER HAD A DIGITAL ANTENNA YOU WILL NOT KNOW.I ALSO BOUGHT THE PRE AMP THAT WAS ADVERTISED SO EVERYTHING WAS NEW BUT THE WIRE.STILL THOUGH SAME WIRE SAME RECEPTION WITH SMALLER ANTENNA. |
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