Antop Antennas!

I use this one in my attic today. Works really well.

Anyone spot any domestic antennas with elements specifically optimized for RF channels 14-36, plus perhaps including a high vhf dipole?

I have that antenna but it doesnā€™t get me low vhf. What low vhf channels do you have in your area (not virtual but real channels)?

Oh, I was just mentioning I have than antenna. However, the worst we have here is 8.1 and that ā€œhighā€ VHF. So, Iā€™m not the best one to answer how good the antenna would be for ā€œlowā€ VHF.

Thanks, for a minute I was going ā€œHallelujahā€ - my HD7694P should get me low vhf (ch 6) which I have been trying for a year just outside the Philly area. Itā€™s a bear to get!!!

Saw someone at AVS saying that rabbit ears with no LO VHF extension was not getting ch 2 for them at 15 miles out. Now you have me intrigued as to the Boston situation and how people are attempting to solve the WGBH situation :thinking: Hopefully WGBH will get their power increase request approved by the FCC.

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I have made multiple homemade antennas trying to pull in abc in philly. I have it for a while, then lose it, then it comes back. Same thing has happened the last 2 years.

I have an rca yagi on my roof and if it pulls it in, itā€™s great.

Funny thing is and frustrating thing is my antenna in the attic connected to my HDHomeRun pulls in 6 every time I tune it in. So Iā€™m thinking it has something to do with the tablo and itā€™s receivers. The antenna in my attic is a Clearstream with the vhf element on it. The older model with the reflector on it.

I also have ps Vue for cable sports like soccer and what not.and abc is a local there as well.

This is a powerful station in the area. But it is flat out a bear to get. I fought this and have accepted this. People in the city itself have trouble getting it. I will say this, the picture is absolutely gorgeous when I get it on tablo.

Tbh, Iā€™m tired of fighting with this on my tablo. I should get this station with my roof antenna. But it comes and goes. I am curious if the antop would perform than my current antenna on my roof though. But I wonā€™t go that high up the chimney anymore. Too old for that height nowadays.

If you see @Lysanderā€™s and my post above regarding the ambiguity of the LO VHF specs with respect to the Antop, itā€™s hard to tell if it could get channel 6. One site says yes, another site says no. Iā€™d try to test the darned thing myself just to see but I donā€™t have a LO VHF channel in my area. The nearest LO VHF station to me is 300 miles away in another state.

Yeah, Iā€™m too old for the roof also. If ever I was to get an Antop, I would nail it to the side of the house on the wall under the eaves.

For a few months I lived in Cherry Hill and I struggled with Ch6 myself, I honestly cant imagine how people living there permanently have to deal with itā€¦ Luckly I was only there for a few months ā€¦

My wife canā€™t/wont watch when I go up on the roof, though she insists I get a friend to ā€œspotā€ me when I doā€¦ lol

I wonā€™t even go up in a harness. Just donā€™t have it in me any longer. ABC in Philly is a royal pain in the ass. For such a powerful station, it is a same nightmare to pull in on a consistent basis.

It is amazing though that the Clearstream in the attic connected to the HDHomeRun pulls it in via Plex. Itā€™s such a white whale imo. My wife laughs when I spend $20 to try another homemade antenna to see if I can get it.

Iā€™ve seriously just accepted the fact that it comes and goers on the Tablo whenever it wants to. Maybe ATSC 3.0 will make things better when it comes to receiving this channel on a consistent basis.

Itā€™s really one of the reasons besides being able to get Comcast Sportsnet for Phillies, Sixers and Flyers games. Even though the Flyers and Phillies are difficult to watch. Damn, the Phils need some pitching in their system.

Two years ago we had a plumbing problem. We called our plumber. His son came instead (he was working with his dad in the business). My wife asked him how come his dad didnā€™t come (because he was usually the one who came to our house). His son said, ā€œDad was climbing the ladder last Saturday at home to fix something on the roof and his leg slipped in between the steps of the ladder and he cracked his leg.ā€

At that point my wife turned to me and said, ā€œThatā€™s it for you - I donā€™t want to see you climbing the ladder any more.ā€

Yup. I did something similar. I wanted a no ladder install so I mounted the Antop on a 10 ft mask and bolted the whole thing to the side of my house. That gets the Antop right under the eaves.

Then I drilled through the block and installed a coax outlet on the interior wall. Nice neat installation. I also added a cable style wiring box on the outside to house the grounding connector.

I like making little projects for myself :wink:

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It also beats paying someone $300 to do it for you (thatā€™s if they do it right)ā€¦:relieved:

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When I went up to install & mount my Antop last summer, it wasnā€™t the hazards of potential falls, ladder accidents or any of those things that bothered me.

It was the stifling, sweltering heat and humidity ā€¦ intensified by the burning hot shingles, which reflected even more heat. Within the first twenty seconds, my T-shirt was already soaked and sticking to my back and I knew I was in for a horrible experience.

An experience to be done ONCE in a lifetime. Did I see you mention getting the newest Antop? Hopefully not to upgrade whatā€™s in placeā€¦:sweat_smile:

If / when I do upgrade, it will be in the cool winter months!

Make sure you donā€™t ski down the roofā€¦:skier:

Im speaking to a HAM radio friend about this lo-vhf folded dipole ā€¦ she said its trivially simple ā€¦ not that it looked hard but I defer to her expertise in these mattersā€¦ Still taking a ā€œwait till they are done messing with the repackā€ approach for now, as I dont want to implement a solution just to have to rip it all down and put something new up once everything is ā€œsettledā€.

In the meantime back to the Antop topic. In looking further inside it, the 400 has some unique things with which to capture the signal and distribute it to the coax coming out. Interesting concepts I hadnā€™t caught beforeā€¦:face_with_monocle:

Iā€™ve also found out that the 400 model seems to be better than the 401 according to peopleā€™s experiences at other forums. The 400 model is wider and appears to have better reception elements. Some people have returned the 401 in favor of the 400 and gotten better performance. Iā€™ve seen both models inside and do prefer the way the 400 is designed and constructed. The 400 and 401 are not the same internally. Not sure at this point why Antop engineering has two different architecturesā€¦a little more study is needed. It appears that their newest model (800 series) has the 400 design with a change in preamp.

The majority of the people at this forum seem to have gone with the 400 - good choice. Iā€™ve seen three people return the 401 and became satisfied with the 400 in exchange.

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