Omni-Directional TV Antenna

[Steve Bedford]

Looking to replace my current Omni-Directional TV Antenna. Are there opinions out there as to what brands work well?

Steve

 

[Aquafarm]

Well I’ll be interested to see the answer too, although I just order an Antop antenna. ��

 

[Giggitoni]

I’m happy with Shakespeare’s selections.

 

[ranger58sb]

Ours is a Glomex, and it works pretty well. They have a newer model than ours, I talked to them about it, said to likely offer better gain than our current one.

Can't say how these might compare to other brands...

-Chris

 

[Tom.B]

We moved to a Glomex from a Shakespeare and the difference was night and day. Far better reception. I would probably pin that on a better preamp, but I don’t know for sure. Still, very, very happy with the change.

 

[Steve Bedford]

Thanks Ray, Chris, and Tom. If you know, what size diameter are the antennas? I know both Shakespeare and Glomex makes various sizes. Shakespeare has a 15” and a 19” and Glomex newest versions are 10” and 14”. My current broken unit (it has never worked so I have no idea if it provided adequate reception) is a 10” diameter unit.

Steve

 

[Tootles]

We moved up from Glomex to Digital Yacht Marine Omni directional antenna with a huge improvement

 

[Tom.B]

Thanks Ray, Chris, and Tom. If you know, what size diameter are the antennas? I know both Shakespeare and Glomex makes various sizes. Shakespeare has a 15” and a 19” and Glomex newest versions are 10” and 14”. My current broken unit (it has never worked so I have no idea if it provided adequate reception) is a 10” diameter unit.

Steve

Mine is a 14”... so is our antenna. (Bah-doom... pshshsh) Thank you, I’ll be here all week.

 

[ranger58sb]

Thanks Ray, Chris, and Tom. If you know, what size diameter are the antennas? I know both Shakespeare and Glomex makes various sizes. Shakespeare has a 15” and a 19” and Glomex newest versions are 10” and 14”. My current broken unit (it has never worked so I have no idea if it provided adequate reception) is a 10” diameter unit.

We must have the 10 now, with amplifier... and their newer 14 is the one the Glomex guy said would make a useful difference (if I get a round tuit). The new unit is also better optimized for more UHF channels (has an extra "wing" or some such on it), more common after the new OTA system was introduced.

He also said I could swap out the antenna without having to change the wiring or the amplifier... so it must be a coax connector or some sort up at the unit, too. (Haven't been up on our hardtop for a while.)

-Chris

 

[ranger58sb]

Steve, I've been able to review notes from my e-mail with Glomex back in February. That was mostly occasioned by grim OTA reception in a marina where OTA reception should have been good, and their cable system that mostly sucked. OTA problems were likely interference (boatload of masts) and cable was just dubious most of the time anyway.

Yes, we have the 10 now, and when I started that conversation with them I was seeing approx 19 dB for OTA signals and approx 37 dB for cable signals (bypassing the antenna and amp).

He predicted approx 4-6 dB improvement (his rough guess) on OTA signals, especially in the UHF range, with their newer 14" "Nashira" product.

Yes, ours could be a simple swap; off with the 20" and on with the 14", no new mount or cable run required, and the 14 will work with our existing amplifier.

But then I lost track of it, so haven't proceeded with it yet. Probably will.

I suspect I misunderstood your note about dimensions, so my last note was likely off the mark about how much space you'd have. You were probably measuring that 10" between existing WHIP antenna and masthead, yes? I was thinking pre-existing disc, where a relatively diameter increase wouldn't matter as much...

-Chris