ChannelMaster CM3018 HDTV Antenna Reviews

ChannelMaster CM3018 reviews to 5:

ChannelMaster CM3018 Review #0
Rating: 5 (excellent)	Nickname: jtallarico	Date: 2008-02-26
Summary: Good fit for attic installation, adequate for suburban reception.
I've had good luck with the ChannelMaster CM3018 that I dragged home from a swap meet. The antenna can be installed in an attic (hint, unfold the elements AFTER the antenna is in position in the attic). With standard truss spacing, the antenna fits snugly in the peak of the roof, between the roof trusses, and aimed perpendicular to the roof ridgeline. Being in the attic shields the antenna from the sun and wind weathering effects, noted in other reviews. For me, the attic install also allowed a very short cable run to the TV. The antenna seems to have some drop off in the low VHF (chan 2 - 6) which won't be an issue after Feb 2009. The antenna had noticible gain and improvement on several channels. A GAIN CHART FOR CHANNEL MASTER ADVANTAGE SERIES UHF/VHF/FM TV ANTENNA can be found at http://starkelectronic.com/cmg4.htm Additional antenna info can be found at http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html

ChannelMaster CM3018 Review #1
Rating: 5 (excellent)	Nickname: mikeinplano	Date: 2006-06-22
Summary: Exceptional Reception
After much research and trying the Winguard antenna that DirectTV sells, plus an amplified indoor antenna from Radio Shack, I did my research and came upon this gem. I live 36.7 miles from the transmiting station and have never been able to receive ABC off the air in HD. My receiver showed about 23% reception with the DirectTV antenna. Upon installing this antenna and pointing on the correct azimuth, my ABC reception went to over 90%. I flawlessly get all the major networks off the air and in HD. I also found this model about ten bucks cheaper at my local Lowes store. If you're using the antennaweb.org to determine your antenna needs, this one prints the colored pie chart right on the box, which the outdoor Radio Shack antenna did not do. They also print the db gain on the spec page on channel master's website. BTW, this one covers all the way to the Violent range. I noticed that Channel Master's web page specs showed a range of 40 miles for this antenna, but when I picked it up at Lowes the box said 30 miles. Being 36.7 miles away I was worried....needlessly. Reception is excellent. The only draw back is the size. My wife nearly fainted when I put this thing on the roof. She thinks I'm trying to contact an alien mothership or something. Actually, once it was on the roof on my 2 story house it didn't look too bad. If the HOA complains I do have room in the attic to put it.

ChannelMaster CM3018 Review #2
Rating: 2 (poor)	Nickname: anonymous	Date: 2007-09-27
Summary: Bad material for good Antenna
It is a good one but not suitable for outdoor. I had this product for last 40 days and during summer its black plastic material gets crack due to heat. Now the elements are hanging on wires and swinging when wind blows. It is not good for environment looks dirty shows cheap quality antenna. The company covers warranty for 90 days. Look like its life is 90 days and after that you are looking again to buy new. KK

ChannelMaster CM3018 Review #3
Rating: 5 (excellent)	Nickname: anonymous	Date: 2007-12-14
Summary: Works very well for me
I live in Northwest AR. I pull in all locals digitally (in HD if available) with this antenna in my attic from the Rogers Area. I have the dishnetwork VIP 622 DVR showing at least 85% on one channel (usually 90%) and 100% on the rest. I have the signal split with two other receivers, both analog and they look very good on everything but Fox??? I have no amplifiers and about 50' of coax. Your luck with the antenna in the attic will depend on your specific location and building type. My eves are wood siding and asphalt shingles on the roof and an open field in the direction of the further transmitters. Due to the proximity of most of the transmitters, I was able to aim the antenna at the most distant and receive all locals without rotating. You still have to pay for locals on dishnetwork if you want the guide to show anything but digital programming. If you receive channels out of your "local area" it will still read digital programming. This makes it difficult to record the programs.

ChannelMaster CM3018 Review #4
Rating: 5 (excellent)	Nickname: ahmed_reda	Date: 2008-06-09
Summary: Great antenna
Initially I bought the db8 antenna which did great on UHF and the upper VHF. I was able to get channel 2 with some drop-outs but once I used an amplifier (DB8) and a splitter, I completely lost the channel. That channel had about a <50% signal strength before the amp or the splitter. I decided I wanted to go with a better VHF antenna since the cm-7778 amp will allow me to combine inputs form two antennas. Once I connected it, it worked flawlessly. The strength after the amp and the splitter jumped from 23% to 79%. The only drawback is that channel 7 which used to be 85% with the DB8, dropped to about 75% which is fine with me since with a digital signal you either receive a channel or you don't! I believe that is due to the fact that the 3018 is directional and it wasn't exactly facing the channel 7 towers. I am assuming a lot of folks are trying to do the same thing that I did which is get a good VHF/UHF to 4 different TV outlets so I am going to list what I used. First problem would be which amp and how would I power the amp. I went with the channel master 7778. The great thing about it is that you can put the power supply inside the house and it will send the power through the cable line to the amp outdoors. The trick is you have to use a "power pass through splitter". The one that I used is sold by amazon. Do a search for "4-Way Digital Cable and Satellite Splitters". If you live very far from the tower, you can try the CM 7777 which has a slightly better gain but could result in an overload if you live close. For the antenna choices, it depends on your location. In my case I am about 40 miles away from the towers. I went with the DB8 for the UHF channels and the Channel Master 3018 for the VHF. I recommend going with two antennas because the DB8 is not directional and it does not have to face the towers and the 3018 is. The DB8 has about 75 miles range for UHF. The 3018 has 35(as per the box). For VHF, the DB8 is unclear, and the 3018 has a 60miles. If you only care about UHF (channels 14 and up), the DB8 would be just fine. If you live far from the towers, you can go with one of the higher end deep fringe antennas from channel master. It doesn't do any good to spend more money on a bigger bulkier antenna if you really don't need it.

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Band:	VHF/UHF
Placement:	Outdoor
Amplifier:	No
Range:	60 miles
Color area:	Red
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