Indoor Amplified HDTV Antenna's

and the OP is gone.

Yes you probably should let it go because you are completely uninformed. You stated flatly that an inside antenna works better than an external antenna.

Yes I did. And no, not uninformed. I have one that works.

Perhaps you should get off your high horse and read my 'original' post. I compared it to the BATWING on my MH. NOT an outside real metal erected antenna. And perhaps you should sit down for this, I got MORE channels with the indoor than the batwing which is parked just feet from the indoor. And there is nothing wrong with the batwing.

I actually get more channels with the indoor antenna. Mounted exactly across from MH batwing and as mentioned mounted significantly lower

And in one of my following posts I did compare it to an outdoor residential antenna.

My neighbor has an outdoor antenna that is 2 times the height of his house and he gets the same exact channels I do using an indoor amplified antenna.

I was inside my neighbors house across the road with the outdoor antenna and saw first hand in person what channels he was pulling in. The exact SAME channels that I was pulling in with an indoor antenna.

During the DTV transition we used to buy these cheap inside antennas you insist are so magic by the pallet and gave them away to people by the thousands that had lost coverage and had no way to install a real outside antenna. ANY of the almost 20 antennas that we tested looking for the "best" were barely better than Rabbit Ears, but at least we can say we tried.

Well I guess you did try......10 years ago!
Which explains your ignorance of the newer ones.

Come on into the year 2017 and buy one that is NOT cheap and test it. Which there are several on the market now that are not cheap and they all work.

Test those and get back to us! :C

rockhillmanor wrote:


Should probably just let this go BUT.

I respectively take offense when you refer to my post as "no amount of talk will change the fact".

Have you tried it?
Do you have one?

I do.

My neighbor has an outdoor antenna that is 2 times the height of his house and he gets the same exact channels I do using an indoor amplified antenna.

Who are you to say they don't work when a forum member is using one and states that it does. :? :?

It DOES matter WHICH one you purchase.

Have a nice day. :C

Yes you probably should let it go because you are completely uninformed. You stated flatly that an inside antenna works better than an external antenna. Wrong....
I build Television RF facilities for a living all over the country. I know what works, what doesn't, and why. During the DTV transition we used to buy these cheap inside antennas you insist are so magic by the pallet and gave them away to people by the thousands that had lost coverage and had no way to install a real outside antenna. ANY of the almost 20 antennas that we tested looking for the "best" were barely better than Rabbit Ears, but at least we can say we tried. Success was medium to par on all accounts. We did similar measurements to the Batwing & Jack antenna test that I posted here several years ago, so I think I'm pretty well versed in what I speak.

Additionally you keep talking about an AMPLIFIED antenna... To that I simply say you cannot amplify what you cannot hear in the fist place.. Thats not real hard to understand, and any ham or tekkie reading this will back that statement up. You have NOWHERE NEAR the reception coverage from an antenna sticking on a window or hanging on the TV than a real antenna, amplified or not, 15' in the air, clear of obstructions and interference. Thems the facts and sorry if you refuse to believe them. But one thing I can and will do is debate misinformation so others are not equally uninformed. Done..

What I found with the transition from analog to digital with the batwing is:

Back in the day, all you had to do was crank it up, give it a swing around and you'd be bound to catch a group of channels.

With digital you have to 'inch' the antenna around to catch the signal. Move just a little too far and you miss the signals. The turning of the batwing antenna to capture the channels is now more of a delicate situation.

I make a point when I first pull into my campground site, is to observe which direction all the rest of the RV's have their antenna's pointed. I use that as a starting point, saves a lot of time. :W

rockhillmanor wrote:

I have a brand new truck camper with I guess the batwing antenna on the roof. It is a fixed antenna that sits up about 5" above roof. Well my neighbor was picking up several channels with his inside Walmart antenna.

Thanks for posting your similar experience. Your Batwing, nothing. Your neighbors wall antenna, channels.

Apparently everyone else chooses to insist that it can't be possible.

It's not possible here. He doesn't have a batwing antenna. They're more than 5" tall, and aren't fixed. That is, unless he doesn't know you have to crank them up and point them toward the TV towers, in which case the problem is not the antenna.

in an urban/suburban environment it's not at all surprising to see the results you mention.

NO, I don't live in and urban/suburban area. Funny you would assume I did. :C

I am sooooo rural out there that cell phone and internet service is almost non existant!

Yet I do have TV channels with an indoor antenna, lots of them and for free. All the major national channels cbs, nbc abc, all the local channels, and PBS, ION, movie channel, sports. All while sitting in a valley surrounded by very tall and dense 100 year old Grand Daddy Oaks and Cedar trees.

I was in ""North Central Florida"", Ocala national forest and for the entire month I could pick up nothing on the TV and had no cell service. I have a brand new truck camper with I guess the batwing antenna on the roof. It is a fixed antenna that sits up about 5" above roof. Well my neighbor was picking up several channels with his inside Walmart antenna. I find it hard to believe. I'm gonna replace coaxial wire even though I get channels ok when close to large cities. I just can't believe his $20 system is better than what have!

Thanks for posting your similar experience. Your Batwing, nothing. Your neighbors wall antenna, channels.

Apparently everyone else chooses to insist that it can't be possible. I am finding that real humorous that they don't have one but insist on saying it can't be possible! :B

P.S. If your neighbor went back to Walmart and bought the $40 dollar one that is amplified he'd have 4 times the amount of channels!

you don't have the "Bat Wing"

I was in North Central Florida, Ocala national forest and for the entire month I could pick up nothing on the TV and had no cell service. I have a brand new truck camper with I guess the batwing antenna on the roof. It is a fixed antenna that sits up about 5" above roof. Well my neighbor was picking up several channels with his inside Walmart antenna. I find it hard to believe. I'm gonna replace coaxial wire even though I get channels ok when close to large cities. I just can't believe his $20 system is better than what have!

rockhillmanor wrote:

SCVJeff wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:

SCVJeff wrote:
"Do they work" is totally subjective. There is no substitute for an obstruction free REAL directional antenna mounted off the roof. These indoor antennas are last resort only.

Well for me it is NOT a last resort. If was my first choice and very happy with results.

BTW:
When I bought my Florida winter house and was remodeling it I ran a coax cable from the TV inside the house to the inside of the MH and plugged into booster.

Then I bought the inside antenna and mounted it on inside wall. Which is several feet 'lower' than the batwing on MH.

I actually get more channels with the indoor antenna. Mounted exactly across from MH batwing and as mentioned mounted significantly lower.

I too was very surprised of the results. It was purchased as a temporary situation but in light of results I will not be replacing it with an outdoor antenna.

Does anyone have any experience with these types of TV antenna's

To the OP, yes they do work if you buy the best one available.

there is simply no way an inside or stick-on antenna of any kind will perform as well as any working external antenna, especially a working Batwing and there's no amount of talk that will change the fact

that an in the open and elevated antenna is simply a better solution. These antennas, just like the old Rabbit Ears ARE a last resort when you cannot use an outside antenna, and you get what you get... simple as that. There should be no reason to go into what obstructions of any kind do to RF, and THAT is what kills these cheap little antennas. If you claim this panel antenna works better than your Batwing, then it's broken, period.

So to the OP: and they any good? NO! Just like Rabbit Ears, if it's that's all there is then obviously it's your only choice

Should probably just let this go BUT.

I respectively take offense when you refer to my post as "no amount of talk will change the fact".

Have you tried it?
Do you have one?

I do.

My neighbor has an outdoor antenna that is 2 times the height of his house and he gets the same exact channels I do using an indoor amplified antenna.

Who are you to say they don't work when a forum member is using one and states that it does. :? :?

It DOES matter WHICH one you purchase.

Have a nice day. :C

in an ueban/suburban environment it's not at all surprising to see the results you mention. before i re-did all of the cablingin our house i was able to receive all of the metro chicago hdtv broadcasts with a broken amateur radio vhf ground plane antenna... 18" tall with 2 missing radials. and just for kicks i disconnected that and stuck a large straightened paperclip into the RF antenna port and still received most stations. but my house is located 30-air miles fm downtown chicago...in the primary service zone.

again...what most of us have been saying is that the farther out you are the more important HAAT (height above avg terrain) is. meaning your tv antenna. the higher the better.

if the OP has a malfunctioning batwing before i'd do anything i would replace the coax between the antenna and roof connection. coax does wear out from uv rays and water can invade the coax jacket.

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