Which model did you get?
I got the Antop AT-400BV ā¦ I call it the ā400Bā, as I didnāt install the cross-bars. I was pulling in every possible station without them.
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Absolutely!
Antopās newest model (the 800 SBS series) has two coax outputs - the 400 has one. The 800 line also uses a different preamp than the 400. The 800 Smart Boost preamp has 14 DB gain whereas the 400 Smart Pass has 16 DB gain. Since my brother is driving one device, he took the 400.
I live about 45 or so miles from the antennas and its not flat terrain ā¦ I currently use an Antenna Direct DB8e and a preamp but would like to find something less ham-radio looking.
Thatās why my brother went with Antop - stylish. Also there is a YouTube video comparing the DB8e and an Antop type antenna which came out ahead (which I did not expect because I had an 8 bay Channel Master 4228):
Thanks!
(no crossbar, channel master)ā¦ sure yes, a heck of a lot of TV is UHF. But if you need VHFā¦ crossbar. And donāt nuke the myriad of other great antennas that ādo it allā and do it well.
With that said, if for whatever reason, I find my Winegard needs replacing (doubtful), I might look at Antop.
Yours is in the attic I believe. So youāre not concerned with the aesthetics of an antenna outside. This is where an Antop comes in - my brotherās is barely noticable on the wall outside. It doesnāt look like an antennaā¦
Oh, definitely, thatās one of the best reasons to consider one.
(just donāt discount VHF reception, install the barā¦ YMMV)
Iāve seen that, itās ingenious. It will be on my short list the next time around (or whatever replaces it).
In my case, Iām receiving every channel and all sub-channels in the entire are (and elsewhere) without the crossbar. I had wondered if the change of seasons would affect that, but it hasnāt. Still have them handy, if it should (ever) become necessary.
Thatās a pretty serious antenna. Iād not heard of it before, but looked it up and it certainly has some very happy owners. I think I like that ābow tieā look.
This video says it all. As much as I already appreciate Antop product, this really drives it home.
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Itās not always about the size of an antenna. The DB8e and CM 4228 are huge. However their signal capture area (the rods) actually present a smaller capture window than the Antop (I measured and calculated them all).
Probably the most efficient antenna for its size was the old Radio Shack double bowtie and yet it was small. It was used as the receiving area in the most powerful public antenna (CM 4251). The RS antenna was the first one I tried in my attic when HDTV was starting to be broadcast and to my surprise it got several channels (without preamp at 33 miles). $2.98 if you could find one because RS discontinued it - I drove to three RS stores and this guy had two of them in the back in his storeroom. He was surprise to see someone asking for them until I told him that HDTV was OTA only at that time (cable was not doing it yet). RS had discontinued them because in those years everyone was going cable LOL. My how times have changedā¦what was, comes backā¦
See what HDTVprimer says about the RS (and this guy is one of the acknowledged experts on antenna design and simulation):
āWhen I decided to simulate this antenna, all I had was this photo of it. So I assumed it was 16 inches wide, like the 4221, and I scaled all of its dimensions accordingly. The simulation results were fantastic. It blew away every other indoor antenna. It even rivaled some outdoor antennas.ā
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/DoubleBow.html
So size may be misleadingā¦ In fact a 4 bay sometimes outperforms an 8 bay (as shown in the test). I made a 6 bay and it outperformed my 8 bay 4228. As MClapp shows (another good source for antenna design and build), a properly designed and made 4 bay (to account for only channels 14 to 51) will outperform a bigger 8 bay.
This guy has the plans for making a RS knockoff and has very good results (read the comments of people who made it):
I would extend his size by two inches (as HDTVprimer mentions) to account for the repack.
So yes, the Antop while smaller, intrigued me as why it is so efficient in OTA reception. I started looking at its internal elements and signal capture design. It first got my attention 6 years ago when somebody mentioned it on another forum saying that it rivaled a big 8 bay antenna he had. No one believed him at that time.
The funny thing was that the original Radio Shack Double Bowtie was a hot discusion item at AVS Forum when HDTV first came out on OTA. Someone had found a way to make it more powerful by modifying its ribbon out to transformer. Thatās why it was the first antenna I tried. And was thrilled to get a basketball game in HD that day for my first test.
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Leave it to Radio Shack! Though Iād never seen nor heard of that antenna, it makes sense to me that theyād sell those (and that theyāre branded antenna was a good one). The fundamentals of that antenna are strong and sensible and the knock-off is ingenious. Great reading.
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The RS Double Bowtie was a legend in its time (decades ago). I had to drive around to store after store to get one. When the guy told me he had two in the back, I snapped both of them up that day!
Does anybody remember whether Mayberry had a television station? Perhaps the TV station was in Mount Pilot (or the big city Raleigh). Did Andy have a TV in his house? Opie spent most of his time playing outsideā¦
It would have been Mount Pilot. Andy didnāt have a TV in his house, nor did Helen, Velma Lou or Ernest T. Bass. But if you did have a TV, you could take it to Emmettās Fix-It shop if you ever needed repairs.
Oh noā¦did you just say that? Itās Thelma Lou. Poor Thel, not well remembered. Betty Lynn moved to Mount Airy NC after the show ended (it was Andy Griffithās town where he grew up after which Mayberry is modeled).
Wouldnāt Ernest T. just throw a rock through the TV?
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Youāre that guy that get 20/20 on the Me-TV quizzes!! a select fewā¦ to stay āon off-topicā
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