Customer Reviews

Channel Master 2018 DIGITAL ADVANTAGE (HDTV / VHF / UHF) Outdoor Antenna

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Moved into an area where the cable company (will rename nameless, but not Comcast) is horrible. I decided going back to over-the-air would make the most sense for my budget and our families viewing habits, this antenna did the trick! The Channel Master 2018 is classified as a "mid-range" 60-mile VHF, 45-mile UHF. I live North of Houston, TX. According to Antenna-web I'm about 40 miles from all the towers (in Houston they are all grouped together so it's easy to point in the right direction and not worry again). The installer I hired did not have to use a pre-amp, mounted on roof and I'm getting 75-77% signal strength at 100% quality on all channels (these are all channels appearing in blue and violet color rating on antenna web for my address). I am surrounded by trees (some several twice as high as my house). I've been watching VHF and UHF channels for the past few days zero signal problems (not even a hint of digital artifacts) so I can say this product works as described.

I do recommending hiring a competent installer, which for a project like this can be difficult to find these days. In greater Houston area I highly recommend a local Home Theater company Battle-Stations and ask for Larry, your expectations will be exceeded. Also pairs well with a new Tivo Premium box and service.

My father wanted to cancel cable TV and asked me to find an old-fashioned rooftop antenna, something he last used over 30 years ago. Unfortunately in those 3 decades the rooftop antenna has become somewhat of an endangered species, and none of the usual retailers carry them anymore, not even Fry's and Radio Shack, just those lousy indoor models. So it was a relief to see Amazon carrying these.

My father lives in the San Fernando Valley and per antennaweb.org he needed a medium-strength antenna to pick up the signals which are about 20-30 miles away. I decided to play it safe and get him one that would pick up signals 45-60 miles away. I had it shipped to my house first and although I have U-Verse I decided to try it out without installation. Even in the difficult terrain in my neighborhood it picked up all the channels except Fox HD 11.1; its SD equivalent 11.2 came in just fine. So I knew that in my father's relatively flat area and with proper installation, it won't have a problem.

The assembly instructions were a bit cryptic, and the crummy photos and diagrams weren't all that helpful. Eventually I figured out myself which parts go where. The antenna is broken down into two halves that slip together on a central pipe. There are two long rods that connect one half to the other (besides the central pipe) and at first they seem to be a tad too short, but after a bit of bending I got them to connect. The rest of the assembly is unfolding the various elements and connecting the part that connects the coaxial cable to the antenna. Except for the "U" clamp, all assembly uses wing nuts.

My only other complaint is the "U" clamp, which let's you clamp the antenna to a pipe. It was too small for any of the vent pipes on my father's 60 y/o house. He ended up improvising his own mount for it.

Otherwise this is a good antenna and much cheaper than some of those "amplified indoor antennas" you tend to see in the stores today.

The antenna installed very easy. It was located on the roof and all the local TV stations are about 30 miles away. Because the coax cable was a long run, I also purchased a mast mounted amplifier to compensate for the cable loss. All the local digital stations were crystal clear and I am pleased with the results.

Channel Master says this Antenna has a 45-60 mile range (I'd guess with perfect line-of-sight this could be possible).

Be careful unpacking, antenna elements and the assembly is somewhat fragile as it's constructed from lightweight aluminum. I had one issue with a hinged plastic tab that was cracked. A zip-tie fix had me back in action and likely stronger than before.

Trying to decipher how the coaxial balun was to attach to the antenna was the biggest challenge. The instructions cover a range of models and could be improved.

Overall I am happy with the Channel Master CM-2018. For the money invested, and with a little tinkering it has really delivered value in my fringe reception area.

I would recommend going a size larger than what you think you need if you are in a challenging location. Going to a taller mast helped my reception remarkably, but I'm not ready to go any taller so to improve my reception now I'd lean toward a larger antenna.

I read a lot of reviews before selecting this product. I consulted some web sites and found I live anywhere from 15 - 35 miles from the nearest broadcast towers. The channels I wanted were mostly UHF but a few were VHF. I mounted this antenna in my attic, hanging upside down from the rafters and pointed it in the proper direction to receive the channels I wanted. Ran the cable, plugged it in, and have crystal clear HDTV of all the networks plus a bunch of other channels (many spanish/Mexican Channels as well). Canceled Time Warner a week later.

What a great buy. Only problem was the poor construction of the plastic parts of the antenna. Very cheap and broken on arrival. I returned the first one (Amazon is excellent with returns). The second one had the same broken piece. It is a flaw in materials (cheap brittle plastic) and packing. The part is not crucial though so instead of returning again I just wrapped with electrical tape and moved on.

This antenna was exactly what I was looking for and works great! My days of paying for TV are over. Between this and streaming content on the internet, I am set.

This outdoor antenna worked great in my wooded area. Because now all TV signals are digital, antenna position does not require constant re-position. in DTV, either it works or doesn't.

Even an indoor antenna I purchased from Costco works great. I live in Saratoga, a small city in the heart of Silicon Valley surrounded by big redwood and pine trees. Since it worked in my area, this antenna should work in any area.

The product arrived promptly and was very easy to assemble. I'm 73 and put it up myself so it must be easy. Took a guess at pointing and it scanned over 90 channels in Los Angeles but after using my compass to adjust direction it scanned 126 digital stations. So much to choose from I will be cancelling Dish Network.

received the antenna and the assembly was a snap, no tools needed. Only thing was how to attach the transformer (balun) to the antenna. A clip was included but had no idea how it was to be attached sooo used handy electrical tape and taped the thing to the antenna mast and threw the clip away. We live in a very wooded area and 40 miles from the nearest transmitter site. We get good reception using this antenna. So I feel for the price it is a good value.

I just had this antenna installed today and am very disappointed with the reception it provides. I expected better from this company (Channel Master).
I bought this antenna to replace my old Radio Shack antenna (10 years old) which had suffered from falling tree branches. One VHF element was bent and another
UHF element had broken off. My reception had suffered some from this, so I decided to replace it with a new one. I should tell you that I live in a very
good reception area with an average distance of 14 miles from the transmitters. I also used to receive a couple of stations from Baltimore which is about
40 miles, but lost them when the UHF element broke off. Before removing my old antenna I checked the signal strength of all the stations and wrote them down
to compare with this new antenna. Well, when this antenna was installed I was very disappointed to learn that the signal strength had DECREASED on all but
one station, plus two stations which I used to receive were no longer receivable at all! I have fiddled with positioning (I have a rotator) the antenna with
no luck. It's a sad story when this brand new antenna can't even perform as well as a 10 year old damaged one! You live and learn from experience. I'm going
to once again look at what Radio Shack has to offer. I wouldn't recommend this antenna to anyone.

I was hoping to get a few channels that are just out of reach for the rabbit ears this replaced but no luck there, I am on top of a hill and the distance is correct but it still doesn't work. Overall the reception is better than rabbit ears and it doesn't break up as much but I am disappointed that it doesn't receive at the distance advertised.