SCVJeff wrote:
It will affect it at UHF, but not badly. I'd go with the 8 bay if VHF is not a concern. It's been the gold standard for UHF since the early 50's.
Actually that is not true at all.
While stacked bowties have been out since the 50s they are NOT the "gold standard" of antennas.
They have been popular since they are cheap and easy to build and cheap to sell. It takes very little to make a simple stacked bowtie but Yagis on the other had require a lot of math and a lot of design work to make them work correctly.
The REAL gold standard in UHF is YAGI antennas which can easily reach gains over 16 DB in one antenna.
Most combo VHF/UHF antennas are built using YAGI designs and can achieve higher front to back and even side rejection of noise.
Hopefully these comparisons will help a bit..
HD8200U VHF/UHFWinegard HD8200U
$126
Turning Radius: 101 inches
69 Active Elements: 34 VHF and 35 UHF
Boom Length: 168. 25 inches
Estimated range 100+ miles VHF, 60+ miles UHF
Technical Information - Gain - 14.2 dBi;
Gain over a dipole is 5 DB (channel 2 RF)-6DB (channel 6 RF), 10.4 DB (Channel 7 RF)-12.4 DB (channel 13 RF), 14 DB (channel 14 RF- Channel 69 RF)
HD7694P VHF/UHFWinegard HD7694P High Definition VHF/UHF Antenna
$59
Hi Vhf/Uhf Antenna Optimized For Channels 7-69
Range Up To 30 Miles
Physical Characteristics - Form Factor – Yagi
Additional Information - UHF Elements: 17 VHF Elements: 11
Boom Length: 65 inches
Turning Radius: 46. 25 inches
Gain over a dipole is 8.3 DB (channel7 RF), 10.7DB ( Channel 50 RF), 9.7 DB (channel 69 RF)
Front to back gain is low of 13 DB to high of 20DB depending on frequency
Winegard HD-1080 2-Bay Bowtie UHF and High Band VHF TV Antenna (HD-1080)
Range 0 - 30 miles
Gain over a dipole -4.7DB (channel7 RF), -4.6DB (Channel 13 RF), +3.2 (channel 14 RF)- +11.8 (channel 38 RF)
Front to back 0DB RF Channel 7-13, 4.5DB - 10DB RF channels 14-38
Winegard HD 4400 4-Bay UHF Prostar 1000 High Definition TV Antenna (HD-4400)
Four bay bow-tie UHF antenna
Channels 14 through 69
Gain over a dipole 9 DB (RF channel 14) – 11.6 DB (RF channel 69)
Front to back 17 DB (RF channel 14) – 9 DB (RF channel 69)
Winegard HD-8800 (8 bay bowtie)
Channels 14 through 69
Max miles rating 60??
10.7 DB (RF 14)- 12.5 DB (RF 69)
HD9032 UHF ONLY YAGI$54
HD9032 (UHF ONLY YAGI)
Max miles rating 65
Gain 14.9 DB (RF14), 16.3 DB (RF 32), 11.5 DB (RF69)
Front to back 14 DB-20DB
Winegard Solid Signal HD-BLADE Indoor Digital Flat Indoor TV Antenna (HDBLADE)
Mounts on the wall, in a window, or layed flat.
Latest technology allows silver elements to be printed onto a thin plastic sheet, giving you the strength of a bow-tie antenna squished in a flat easy to mount package
Built for high performance on High-VHF and UHF frequencies
Best suited for reception up to 25 miles from the television broadcast tower. Based on terrain and obstructions, antenna performance may vary.
NO DB gain specs since this is a dipole which is ZERO GAIN.
Winegard SS-3000 Indoor DTV/HDTV Antenna
Response throughout VHF/UHF bandpass
Receives signals up to 20 miles from the transmit source
NO antenna gain listed since this is a dipole which is ZERO GAIN
Preamp has 11 DB of gain with 4.5DB NOISE figure (amp will amplify the incoming noise with the signal PLUS add the 4.5 DB of noise that it generates so it works only with strong local stations only).
So, looking at the above specs even IF you don’t “care” about VHF you SHOULD at least consider buying a COMBO VHF/UHF antenna since the larger ones OUT PERFORM ANY 4 or 8 bay UHF Bowtie antennas (even the smaller HD7694P performs equal to a 4 bay bowtie) .
YES, combo antennas are bigger and more expensive but they just plain work better than those bowties or even the stick on flat antennas (I am using a 15ft long combo which gets stations of 50-80+ miles easily).
Bigger antennas FOCUS the “gain” to one direction which improves the front gain while reducing the signals (and noise) from the sides and back of the antenna. This is extremely important with the weak digital broadcast signals (noise affects digital broadcasts MORE than the old analog).
To quickly recap the specs..
4 bay Bowtie UHF 9DB -11DB
8 bay Bowtie UHF 10.7DB- 12.5 DB
HD8200U VHF/UHF Combo
12DB VHF, 14 DB UHF
If you really have your heart set on UHF only then I would recommend a YAGI type of UHF antenna
HD9032 (UHF ONLY YAGI)
Gain up to 16.3 DB!
As with any high gain antennas you will need an antenna rotor to catch all stations in your area (unless you are near an ocean).
Higher mounting is better, UHF travels “line of sight” which in a nutshell means it does not bend with the Earths curvature. Instead UHF travels in a straight line right out into space as the earth bends..
An antenna with good forward (HIGH) gain plus a good preamp and antenna rotor and you should be set…
The high gain antenna gives your preamp a much larger signal to amplify which means the noise that comes along with the signal does not swamp out what you are trying to get.
To put it bluntly small garbage in = LARGE GARBAGE OUT when amplifying anything...
