Digital Antennas (1998)

[Brct203]

well as with the long-range antennas for TV reception, how far do they go?

I think I found a winner...
according to this ebay item, you can receive up to 980 miles
Super HD TV HD Antenna HDTV FREE Digital Channels 980 Miles 13ft Cable UHF/VHF | eBay
It will also receive Fox News in 1080p HD 4K all at the same time
all that for $6.98 and free shipping. (If you order in the next 20 minutes, maybe you can even get a second one for an additional fee of $400?)

Personally, if it can't receive Martian TV in 16K, I don't want it.
It's too bad the station I wanted to receive is 981 miles away...

Seriously, I understand that advertising usually stretches the truth a bit, whether it's by a politician or the gas mileage of a car, but isn't there any law that can hold this type of seller accountable for such over-the-top claims?

What if Chevy was advertising a pick-up truck saying that it gets 500 mpg with a disclaimer that "actual mileage may vary, check EPA website", would that fly?

Not only are such sellers fleecing buyers who don't know better, but they are also progressively putting real antenna manufacturers out of business and giving OTA a bad name.

Now, to answer your question, I think that measuring an antenna by range is an gross oversimplification. It will of course depend on the terrain and the height of the antenna and will be limited by the curvature of the earth, but it also depends greatly on the radiated power and the beam pattern of the transmitter...

 

[harshness]

What if Chevy was advertising a pick-up truck saying that it gets 500 mpg with a disclaimer that "actual mileage may vary, check EPA website", would that fly?

Kia got pasted in 2013 for misrepresenting some of their fuel economy numbers and they were forced by the courts to offer reimbursements to buyers to compensate for the added expense of the actual mileage.

Affected Models - Kia MPG Info

If pressed, I'm betting the seller is going to claim that the antenna can cover almost 1,000 square miles.

 

[JosephHolloway1998]

Well speaking of the "digital antennas" from manufactures like Channel Master, Winegard (with those Satellite Dish Off-Air Antennas) and RCA. Wouldn't it be affected by rain fade or signal loss as would the regular OTA antennas?

 

[harshness]

Well speaking of the "digital antennas" from manufactures like Channel Master, Winegard (with those Satellite Dish Off-Air Antennas) and RCA. Wouldn't it be affected by rain fade or signal loss as would the regular OTA antennas?

Clip-on OTA antennas mounted on the edge of the dish. They didn't use the dish for anything other than mechanical support. Likewise, the dish didn't benefit in any way from having an antenna clipped to it.

I don't think rain has much impact on OTA signals unless it is one of those inches per minute deluges. The wavelength of OTA is much too long to be absorbed by raindrops.

 

[JosephHolloway1998]

Oh, I see.

 

[Cosmo Blatz]

I think I found a winner...
according to this ebay item, you can receive up to 980 miles
Super HD TV HD Antenna HDTV FREE Digital Channels 980 Miles 13ft Cable UHF/VHF | eBay
It will also receive Fox News in 1080p HD 4K all at the same time
all that for $6.98 and free shipping. (If you order in the next 20 minutes, maybe you can even get a second one for an additional fee of $400?)

Nice find Brct.
Hey! I think I bought my Rolex from that eBay seller.

 

[Titanium]

Too bad the station that I am trying to receive is 981 miles away....

 

[primestar31]

Too bad the station that I am trying to receive is 981 miles away....

Maybe if you hooked TWO of them up in series, you'd get 1,960 miles!

 

[Brct203]

Maybe if you hooked TWO of them up in series, you'd get 1,960 miles!

if 2 of them hook up, they might multiply, and you would get 960,400 square miles But then you might also get nothing...