KitzTech makes some of the best preamps (I have one and have installed several others for friends and neighbors). It appears now that Mr. Kitz is into antennas that are combo (antenna + preamp):
http://www.kitztech.com/products.html
They appear to follow in some respects the Clearstream pie antenna series though the design used predates the Clearstream. Will be interested in how they function but will be difficult to test just the antenna design minus the integrated preamp. The issue is that people with problematic reception have been able to solve their difficult reception with a good KitzTech preamp. They are pricey but are better than the average preamp and will bring in stations that other preamps won’t. So the effectiveness of the antenna on its own will be difficult to gauge.
The Televes 90 antennas (good performers) also incorporate an integrated preamp and are thus difficult to judge on their own merits minus preamp.
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Has anyone purchased an antenna yet? I’d live to see the results.
My bet is that these antennas will work very well. However the problem is that it may not be the antenna perse so much as the preamp that comes integrated with it. I’ve used KitzTech amps for six years now and they have always been my best performers.
The form of the antenna will work well also because it is an amalgam of the Clearstreams plus a Gray Hoverman which are among the best. So an antenna shape that combines the best of two others with one of the best preamps around - I would speculate this will be a very good antenna.
This antenna is also designed and optimized for the current UHF band (up to 700 mgz or channel 51) unlike many others that still take into consideration the old UHF band (up to channel 69).
His antenna also has VHF reflectors which would be nice on a Clearstream (which don’t have them).
I wonder what the range is on the UHF. I hope someone here or on AVS will post results.
I did some quick estimates from the sizes of the antenna given on the product spec page. The length of the antenna appears to be in the same league as a Clearstream 4 or Channel Master 4228. The radius of the loops yields a circumference the size of a full UHF wavelength (same as the elements on the other two antennas). The reflector sizes seem to be the same size as the reflector rods used on a collinear Gray Hoverman.
These three antennas (C4, 4228 and GH) are rated for 50-60 mile distance. I expect the Kitz antenna to be in the same range. Certainly its preamp performs at that range and is usually recommended for long range reception.
What interests me is the design and format of the loops. It reminds me of an FM antenna I used to have - the Magnum Dynalab SR100 or “Silver Ribbon.” It was quite a good indoor FM antenna.
I expect someone at the DigitalHome forum will mathematically model the antenna using NEC2. I’ve been able to look at other loop models that resemble the Kitz one to see what kind of performance in terms of gain and SWR it may give. From that standpoint it should at least rival the ones mentioned above. I’ve had a 4228 and currently use a GH so I’ll be interested in how it compares in the real world…