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An indoor amplified antenna that actually works!

M

Mike Walker

Guest
I have found that which I had previously assumed to be impossible. And by accident! I bought the Philips MANT510 at Wal Mart this weekend because my local PBS affiliate isn't running McLaughlin Group on Sundays until after their fundraising ends in April. Since this is the ONLY source of McLaughlin Group I get on DirecTV, I thought I'd try an antenna to see if I could pull it in from Charlotte. No such luck. Too damn far away. So I started to pack up the thing, when on a lark a little voice said "might as well try it for HD reception on your Accurian. At worst it'll do nothing, and there's nothing lost but a few minutes fooling around". I hooked it up in place of my Magnum Dynalab SR100 "Silver Ribbon". The result? IT WORKS! Not only does it work, but it brings in solid HD on a couple of stations that have NEVER worked on the SR100...WFHE Hickory NC (90.3), and WIBT Charlotte NC (96.5). Not only that, I can now CLEARLY receive analog (though not HD) audio from WNCW Spindale NC on 88.7 (adjacent to WFDD 88.5 Winston Salem NC). I've been able to get WNCW on other radios, like my Eton E5, but never before could I get a clear signal on the Accurian. Not bad with a big signal on a first adjacent!

So the antenna's not going back. It's worth 30 bucks (to me) to get public radio programs like Car Talk and A Prarie Home Companion, not to mention Morning Edition and All Things Considered in noise-free stereo!

Just thought you guys with no place for an outdoor antenna, or (like me) physically challenged so that climbing a latter isn't a good idea (I'm legally blind) might want to give this a try. I imagine in a high rise situation like RF Burns' place, this thing might pull in some dx! It has "50db gain", and believe it or not, the radio doesn't overload with the gain cranked up all the way. The noise level is low enough that it doesn't cause ANY problems with HD. Far from it...it SOLVES problems!
 
"I imagine in a high rise situation like RF Burns' place, this thing might pull in some dx!"

Just so there's no misunderstanding. I live in a 2 story suburban home and not on a hill.
 
Sorry I misread. I thought you were higher up than that. The threads run together. Somebody said something about "200 feet" and I thought that was the height of your apartment above street level. Anyhow, I was shocked to find an amplified antenna that worked, especially for 30 bucks. More HD here in the boonies!
 
The problem with reviewing things is that, upon later comparisons, you sometimes discover you were wrong. Or at least not as "right" as you thought.

I repeated my comparisons (between the Philips and Magnum-Dynalab antennas) this afternoon. This time the Philips received EXACTLY the same number of HD signals as the Magnum Dynalab. A couple I got this morning wouldn't come in on either. This isn't to say that the Philips is a bad antenna. It isn't. In fact, it seems to be EXACTLY as good (at indoor HD reception) as the Magnum Dynalab. That it's available from Wal Mart rather than exclusively from a high-end audio store, and costs THE SAME means it's still a good value, and more convenient for many people to purchase. But it appears not to be AS GOOD, but not better.
 
Mike Walker said:
The problem with reviewing things is that, upon later comparisons, you sometimes discover you were wrong. Or at least not as "right" as you thought.

I repeated my comparisons (between the Philips and Magnum-Dynalab antennas) this afternoon. This time the Philips received EXACTLY the same number of HD signals as the Magnum Dynalab. A couple I got this morning wouldn't come in on either. This isn't to say that the Philips is a bad antenna. It isn't. In fact, it seems to be EXACTLY as good (at indoor HD reception) as the Magnum Dynalab. That it's available from Wal Mart rather than exclusively from a high-end audio store, and costs THE SAME means it's still a good value, and more convenient for many people to purchase. But it appears not to be AS GOOD, but not better.
Click to expand...

So the "extra" HD stations buzzed off?
I hope so.
I am happy that you returned with the truth. Perhaps if you keep practicing, it might become a habit?
 
Unless I'm wrong, calling me a liar violates the TOS. Not to mention the code of decency that most citizens adhere to.

Radio reception varies with atmospheric conditions. It's a fact of life. A comparison made this morning may not be repeatable this afternoon. Which is why I repeated the test, and reported my results. It's what people do when they're interested in the TRUTH. I'd hate anyone buying something on my word, only to discover that it was less than I had promised.
 
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