Amplified Mohu Leaf

[andy_horton]

Wal-Mart sells for about 70 bucks. Is it strictly indoor? Does it work as well as others like the clearstreams? Claims up to 60mile range. Thanks

 

[navychop]

No.

 

[boba]

Buy a real antenna instead of a cute gimmick

 

[raiden]

You need a antenna that is outside if you want the best reception.

 

[. Raine]

For $70, you'd be better off buying a DB4 [$73 on Amazon] and putting it in a closet or hang it on a wall, if you can't have a outside antenna and don't have much room inside. I had one here before I bought my 8200u and it worked pretty good along with a AP-8275 pre-amp. I think with the Leaf you'd be disappointed, I'd expect the performance of it to be similar to a set of amplified rabbit ears, even though they claim 60 m for the range.

The DB4 is UHF only though, if there's any VHF channels you need to get. With mine though, even though it was UHF only, I did receive one strong VHF station on it, from about twenty miles away.

 

[Peter Parker]

The leaf is more than a "Cute gimmick." It works fairly well for an indoor antenna.

 

[Mochuf]

I had installed an outside rotary antenna on my old home about ten years ago and reception was great. I live north of Detroit and was able to pick-up stations as far away as Flint and Toledo, before the digital transition that is. I moved last fall to a house that didn't have a roof-top antenna, so for a quick fix, I bought the middle priced flat indoor antenna from Amazon. In fairness, I have only lived within 10 or 15 miles away from the antennas that most stations have in southern Oakland County, this antenna picks up everything the outdoor antenna did and I don't have to rotate it to pick up any odd stations. So I won't be going the outside route now. I highly recommend these for people who don't want to install an antenna outside or in your attic.

 

[andy_horton]

For $70, you'd be better off buying a DB4 [$73 on Amazon] and putting it in a closet or hang it on a wall, if you can't have a outside antenna and don't have much room inside. I had one here before I bought my 8200u and it worked pretty good along with a AP-8275 pre-amp. I think with the Leaf you'd be disappointed, I'd expect the performance of it to be similar to a set of amplified rabbit ears, even though they claim 60 m for the range.

The DB4 is UHF only though, if there's any VHF channels you need to get. With mine though, even though it was UHF only, I did receive one strong VHF station on it, from about twenty miles away.

Thanks. I'll look into it. I need uhf..45.1,2 53.1,2 61.1,2 I know pretty much where the" sweet spots" are so this will help.

 

[andy_horton]

Thanks to everyone who has replied. Keep replying if you think of anything. Remember, indoor pretty much is my option. I'm about ready to ask the landlord for an exception even though it's in the lease.

 

[DinoDaddy]

If you are within 30 miles of the towers, you might have good luck with the Mohu. Another option is the Cable cutter HD http://www.solidsignal.com/pview2.a...=base&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=bing_base

Both have good reviews but I have not had any experience with either. Before I went with an outdoor antenna, I was using cheap amplified rabbit ears, having to constantly adjust them to pick up certain channels. Neither of these would work as well as an outdoor antenna, but I understand you are limited due to your lease. I've read that placing the Mohu in a window improves the performance. The Cable Cutter could be put outside, it's not big and wouldn't be as obvious as a larger antenna, and that would probably improve the performance, if your landlord would allow.

I've figured that ultimately it's all a crapshoot, with so many variables that affect reception. I've tried indoor, outdoor and amplified antennas and there will usually always be channels that come in great with one, spotty on another and not at all on another. I've been able to pick up a channel 60 miles away on rabbit ears and can't pick up one 28 miles away with an outdoor roof mounted antenna. Go figure.

Let us know which way you go and what the results are. Good luck.

 

[harshness]

The leaf is more than a "Cute gimmick." It works fairly well for an indoor antenna.

Fractal antennas are absolutely a valid design, but they have limitations.

First and foremost it needs to be understood what frequency ranges are necessary before you settle on the ideal antenna as the fractal units aren't typically very good a VHF-low. Most of the flat models I've seen have had only a few elements and the greater the number of elements, the better the low-frequency performance.

http://classes.yale.edu/fractals/panorama/ManuFractals/FractalAntennas/FractalAntennas.html

 

[Dan in VA]

Try out a stealth hawk. Takes about $8 to build