Customer reviews from antennasdirect.com
Antennas Direct - 8-Element Bowtie UHF Outdoor HDTV Antenna, Multi-Directional, 70+ Mile Range, 4K 8K UHD NEXTGEN TV - Black/Silver
Average customer rating
4.6
(236 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 236 reviews
5 Stars
178
4 Stars
34
3 Stars
14
2 Stars
2
1 Star
8
93%of customers recommend this product.
(
199 out of
214)
Customer Reviews for Antennas Direct - 8-Element Bowtie UHF Outdoor HDTV Antenna, Multi-Directional, 70+ Mile Range, 4K 8K UHD NEXTGEN TV - Black/Silver
Posted by: Jimday
from St. Peters, MO, USA
Gender:Male
Verified Purchase:Yes
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Before having the DB8e antenna installed we were unable to pick-up a host of different stations. Channel 4 here in St. Louis was constantly cutting in an out. All of the Channel 9 stations were out of the question. Now we get all stations crystal clear without any problems. I highly recommend this antenna to everyone!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting antennasdirect.com
Posted by: Howard01
from Gilford, NeW Hampshire
Gender:Male
Verified Purchase:Yes
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] The antenna is not very well constructed for outdoor weather here in New Hampshire where it is always snowing or high winds. I have reinforced the back of the wire mesh screens but I had to do per bay because the way the antenna is moved to get different azimuths. This is a weak point because it is only a one junction it would be a much better design if it had three points of rotation. I do not even know if it will hold up one season. Another weak point in my opinion is that the elements are not continuous. They are of rugged rod but are connected at the ends by little round rubber or plastic pieces.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting antennasdirect.com
Posted by: Sonoboy
from Smyrna, GA, USA
Gender:Male
Verified Purchase:Yes
Received the antenna in three days. I mounted the unit in my attic on the 40” (one meter) optional pole, pointed towards the majority of stations in the Atlanta metro area. The addition of the optional VHF kit allowed great reception of those channels. After I culled the foreign language stations I was able to receive 37 channels, all showing 5 bars in reception strength. Since I’m in a close suburb of Atlanta, no amplification was necessary. The design of the antenna is good, and allows for easy adjustment.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting antennasdirect.com
Posted by: Bob48
from Ocklawaha, FL, United States
Gender:Male
Verified Purchase:Yes
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Works better than I could have hoped for, brings in stations over 70 miles away
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting antennasdirect.com
Posted by: Jerry437
from Covington, LA, United States
Gender:Male
Verified Purchase:Yes
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] This antenna works as described; however, I can tell no difference from the 91XG antenna that have used in the past and it cost $60 more.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting antennasdirect.com
Posted by: jerk
from Utah, United States
Gender:Male
Verified Purchase:Yes
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.]
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting antennasdirect.com
Posted by: RD400
from Dunnellon, FL, United States
Gender:Male
Verified Purchase:Yes
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] DB8E Review
Installed Environment
The area I live in is somewhat rural with the closet TV station transmitters ~30+ miles away. Most major stations are 60~90 miles out. The neighborhood has much mature tree growth with many trees 50ft and higher, so foliage is an issue (UHF). Only a few stations have direct line of sight with trees beyond 600ft. This is a challenging location for signal stability.
Installed Environment
The area I live in is somewhat rural with the closet TV station transmitters ~30+ miles away. Most major stations are 60~90 miles out. The neighborhood has much mature tree growth with many trees 50ft and higher, so foliage is an issue (UHF). Only a few stations have direct line of sight with trees beyond 600ft. This is a challenging location for signal stability.
Antenna Placement
The antennas are on a guyed mast secured to the chimney. The lower antenna is ~6ft above the chimney cap. This is a gas log fireplace, so soot is not an issue. Nor is the fireplace used much as this is in N Central Florida. The chimney has been
reinforced on the inside and metal strapping installed in an X array to improve mechanical stability. The second antenna is 2ft above the lower one. Antenna height is 40ft above ground.
reinforced on the inside and metal strapping installed in an X array to improve mechanical stability. The second antenna is 2ft above the lower one. Antenna height is 40ft above ground.
Antenna Connections
This installation uses two DB8E to span ~230 degrees. The two antennas are combined using equal length coax cables into a Channel Master JOINtenna CM-0500. The output of the CM-0500 is connected to a Channel Master CM-7777 pre-amp (w/LTE Filter), then to an eight channel D/A of unity gain. The coax run between pre-amp and D/A is ~60ft. Each room coax run is between 30~70ft to the D/A.
Antenna Aiming
This is a somewhat daunting as both antennas can contribute to a common signal. Albeit, each antenna covers ~100 degrees. I did this to improve stability and increase signal gain. I cannot see how aiming and peaking the antenna duo could be accomplished w/o a spectrum analyzer or equivalent. Without it, it is blind luck.
Antenna Performance
I receive about 30 channels. This is actually good considering the dense foliage and the location. There are times when multipath is an issue. Either small dropouts of complete loss of signal on the TV. Fog and wind are the biggest issues. Wind being a cause for multipath (60ft tree within 50ft of antenna). I believe multipath is the cause as the measured signal strength varies little, day, night, rain, fog or windy conditions. Nice signal symmetry as well.
Conclusions
Best antenna setup I have assembled for the environment. I had tried a 91XG with mixed results. In the winter, the 91XG was able to receive stations beyond 100 miles. But this was fleeting and not stable or constant. I tried additional lengths of the intermediate section on the 91XG. The gain improved slightly but the tighter directional attribute made it difficult to aim (rotor) and maintain a stable signal for distant stations. Trees are the issue again.
So if you have a difficult environment as I have outlined, two (or one) DB8E antennas might be your best choice. Plus it eliminates the need to educate family members on operation of aiming a directional antenna correctly. Directional antennas are for those who understand the dynamics. Most TV viewers just want to flip through stations without issue.
Recommended Improvements
If you can get away with it, remove obstructive trees or trim, or at least thin them. This to reduce multipath, if your UHF antenna has trees within 600ft and between the transmitter coordinates.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting antennasdirect.com
Posted by: Bubba
from North Carolina, United States
Gender:Male
Verified Purchase:Yes
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] i just retired and my boys helped me install this. it is amazing and saving me $$$ .... in 2 months it will pay for itself because i cut the TWC bill out of my budget. I live in a one story home in the country with lots of trees, etc. The antenna along with the JUICE amplifier (installed in my attic) is getting 17 channels very clear all the time............
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting antennasdirect.com