Tv antenna recommendations

westend wrote:
SVC Jeff, a Forum member that knows his broadcast electronics and has a very sophisticated signal analyzer tested the Winegard and Jack antennas. The Winegard was the better receiver. A lot of folks swear by the Jack antenna, stating it improved their reception over the Winegard. I believe Jeff.

Not to be argumentative but this is an oversimplified conclusion and isn't a matter of whether or not to believe SVCJeff's results. I've read his report and it's indisputable that analyzed measurements of a Winegard Sensar IV correctly pointed is more sensitive across both the VHF and UHF bands than is a King Controls Jack TV antenna. However, the reality is that many users find the Jack easier to use and from their perspective have it successfully receive more stations because it's not as directional as is the Sensar. As Jeff's results clearly demonstrate the Jack does work well in the UHF band but is not nearly so effective in the VHF band ... but most users wouldn't recognize this difference as many stations moved from VHF to UHF during the analogue > digital transition, meaning there are far more now transmitting in the UHF band than used to be the case. Many also wouldn't be aware that many stations that still do tune in on one's television as a VHF channel, say Ch 2, are in fact transmitting on a UHF frequency, referred to as virtual channel transmission. Many therefore conclude that the Jack antenna is the "better" of the two when in fact, as measured with a signal analyzer and the results carefully noted, the Winegard Sensar IV is clearly the more sensitive antenna. However, none of us actually watch TV using a signal analyzer and would prefer to put as little effort into tuning in signals as we can and because of that simple human fact the Jack antenna often is referred to by many as the "better" of the two antennas. And yes, I've owned both and although I currently run a Sensar IV with a SensarPro signal amplifier there are times I'd still prefer the Jack's ease of use. :)