Snake oil?

[ancora]

Saw a full page ad for "free tv", i.e., by purchasing a "slick little device" ( the term was used ten times in the text) a Clear-Cast micro antenna for $88 plus $9 for S&H. "It's so simple, all you do is just plug it into the back of your TV and place the razor thin micro device on a window or wall, then Autoscan does the rest." Sounds like a scam to me. Anybody got an opinion on this?

 

[bayview]

Just an antenna maybe with an amplifier.
.

People are rediscovering broadcast TV in order to cut the cable. With digital broadcast picture is much better than the old analog.
If you have or can borrow an old set of rabbit ears try it out for free.

Remember you will have to go through a find channel routine for new channels.

 

[hmason]

If you are within 25 miles of a tv transmitter a digital antenna from Best Buy or Radio Shack will work just fine and cost less. You will only receive local broadcasting and it will be useless underway. There are a number of amplified marine antennas for permanent mounting that work well but again, not underway or in remote areas. Howard

 

[Brooksie]

Nothing special, just a TV antenna. At my home I have never had cable and have always had an antenna for my TV. I'm between two markets so I need a rotator too. Transmitters are 70 & 80 miles away in two different directions.
I get all the TV I want or need including 8 PBS channels, several movie only channels, and the local channels in the two cities.
I could put a downpayment on a TV station with what I have saved over the years.

 

[rwidman]

........... a digital antenna ......

There is no such thing as a "digital antenna". It's an antenna. Just an antenna. It will pick up signals regardless of the information they contain.

 

[magicbus]

There is no such thing as a "digital antenna". It's an antenna. Just an antenna. It will pick up signals regardless of the information they contain.

Hmmm... one might wonder why there are long antennas on a boat, short stubby ones, and others in between. The same applies to TV. Sure you will get reception on any old antenna, but you will get better reception on an antenna designed to pick up the waves you seek.

Dave

 

[rwidman]

Hmmm... one might wonder why there are long antennas on a boat, short stubby ones, and others in between. The same applies to TV. Sure you will get reception on any old antenna, but you will get better reception on an antenna designed to pick up the waves you seek.

Dave

I suspect I know more about this than you do.

Yes there are long antennas and short antennas. They are cut to resonate at the frequency they are to transmit and or receive.

The difference between digital TV and analog TV is not the frequency, it's the modulation. The same antenna that picked up your analog TV signal will pick up your digital TV signal.

Three important points:

1) When the US TV system switched to digital, the low VHF band was taken away from the TV broadcasters so you no longer need the longer parts of the antenna. For some reason they kept the high VHF band so a UHF only antenna won't be very effective for channels seven through thirteen.

2) The FCC allowed TV stations to keep their traditional channel numbers even though they no longer transmit on that channel. What this means is, the station you know as channel four may well be transmitting on UHF channel 44. Channel seven is probably still transmitting on the actual channel seven.

3) The way the digital system works, you either get an excellent picture and sound or none at all. There's no snowy but watchable picture. The end result of this is, effective reception is reduced to twenty or thirty miles under normal circumstances.

The term "digital TV antenna" is nothing but a less than honest marketing term.

 

[psneeld]

Knowledge and experience account for very little here...mostly because of semantics, opinions, styles and cares....pick any thread and it's pretty obvious.

I know what Dave meant but lets move on....

 

[FlyWright]

Knowledge and experience account for very little here...mostly because of semantics, opinions, styles and cares....pick any thread and it's pretty obvious.

I know what Dave meant but lets move on....

I'm sorry you hold such a low opinion of the contributing members of this boating community and feel the need to vocalize it with such regularity. Personally, I take the whole person into account when considering their advice...personality, tone, level of condescension, experience, patience and knowledge. The wisest of contributors can put off even the most interested reader with a condescending tone or a smart-ass remark.

I learn much from the contributors here and hope in some small way, I'm able to contribute back to the forum community.

 

[psneeld]

I'm sorry you hold such a low opinion of the contributing members of this boating community and feel the need to vocalize it with such regularity. Personally, I take the whole person into account when considering their advice...personality, tone, level of condescension, experience, patience and knowledge. The wisest of contributors can put off even the most interested reader with a condescending tone or a smart-ass remark.

I learn much from the contributors here and hope in some small way, I'm able to contribute back to the forum community.

Just passing along what I have come to understand here as to what is important or not...nothing personal...unless one takes it that way....

 

[mattkab]

We watch a lot of TV and movies aboard.

We have a Mohu Leaf. It works fine, and cost us something like $40 a few months ago. It is, by far, the best over-the-air tv antenna we've owned.

In all honesty, though, we have moved away from OTA. With a smartphone, a ChromeCast dongle, and a few apps, we get MUCH better signal quality. We spend way too much on cable tv, but at least with this setup we can watch most of the cable tv channels and shows we pay for on the boat as well. If you have a cable account at home already, I highly recommend this approach first.

 

[High Wire]

Not a scam but at $88 its a ripoff. Its a simple indoor antenna, works no better than what you can buy at Walmart for $10.

 

[FF]

The term "digital TV antenna" is nothing but a less than honest marketing term.

Anyone remember HI Fi , or Slick 50?

 

[rwidman]

The term "digital TV antenna" is nothing but a less than honest marketing term.

Anyone remember HI Fi , or Slick 50?

I remember "Hi Fi" and it was a big improvement over the average radio or record player of the time. I got my start in electronics building Hi Fi equipment from kits.