Customer Reviews

RCA ANT1050 Digital Flat Passive Ultra-Slim-Profile Antenna with Enhanced Reception (Black)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

Bought a $40 antenna (that would have cost $80 at local big box stores) and then decided, just out of blue, to give this antenna a shot.

I live in a smaller (200K population metro area) midwest city where the transmitters are about 15-30 miles away by air. I hooked this antenna up and my weakest signal with a Dish over-the-air box is 80% for ALL my local high def stations. This is not the ultimate antenna but it works for most applications for price (about 1/3 the cost of most you find online). Be sure to buy it online too, because it's twice as expensive at local bigger box stores.

Some comments here that the antenna has to be assembled are true. But come on, it's 3 small screws that line up with the 'wings' of the antenna - no big deal. Very simple. It also has a small hole to hang it on a hook but you can tuck this antenna away in the back of the flat panel or in the back of a cabinet very easily.

I decided to try this antenna after 4 of our major stations moved from UHF to VHF on June 12th. I had tried three other antennas:

RCA Flat Panel (white) with preamp.

Philips MANT940 (preamp), UHF only.

Philips Rabbit Ears with Silver UHF Plate and Preamp

Channels of Interest:

FREQUENCY

5.1 VHF Lo-BAND (77.25 MHz)

8.1 VHF Hi-BAND (181.25 MHz)

11.1 VHF Hi-BAND (199.25 MHz)

13.1 VHF Hi-BAND (211.25 MHz)

17.1 UHF (483.25 MHz)

19.1 UHF (525.25 MHz)

23.1 UHF (525.25 MHz)

The frequencies are listed so one can observe the performance of the antennas across the frequency spectrum, separating Lo-Band VHF from Hi-Band VHF and above.

Distance to the transmitter complex is 27 miles. Rural location. All stations are at the same site.

The Philips MANT940 would not receive the Lo-Band VHF signal on 5.1, no matter how it was adjusted. Higher frequency channels strength was solid from Channel 8.1 and above. Overall, it does an excellent job on anything but Lo-Band VHF, but for this reason it is not acceptable. As a UHF only and Hi-Band VHF it is outstanding (if mounted correctly-Horizontal, narrow part of wedge forward) This makes sense as it is rated as a UHF only antenna.

The RCA Flat Panel was very good on UHF, but a single placement could not be found for Hi-Band VHF, and it would not receive Lo-Band VHF at all. I could live with this antenna if it worked on Lo-Band VHF.

The Philips Rabbit Ears and UHF Plate antenna would not receive 5.1 Lo-Band VHF, but did a decent job on all UHF stations and was marginally acceptable on VHF Hi-Band. The MANT940 (UHF only) actually does a better job on VHF Hi-Band than this antenna does.

RCA ANT1050 (Black Flexible Batwing:

I was very skeptical of this antenna. It looked like nothing but a simple dipole in fancy plastic dressing. On closer examination, however, I noticed that it has two traces of considerably differing lengths, which led me to believe it might work better on VHF Lo-Band, while still working well on UHF. It's design still appears to be a couple of dipoles, so it should not be omni-directional. Rather, it should work best broadside to the arriving signal.

To keep the test fair, (all other antennas had preamps), I stole the preamp from the RCA Flat Panel and used it with this antenna. I am amazed.

At the same location as the other antennas, I was able to receive a stable signal (and much stronger) on VHF Lo-Band channel 5.1.

Table of Results ANT1050, Laying on Wooden Balcony Railing (15'):

Signal Levels:

CH STN FREQ RCA ANT1050

5-1 WOI-DT 077.25 VHF-LO 3/6

8-1 KCCI-DT 181.25 VHF-HI 6/6

11-1 KDIN-DT 199.25 VHF-HI 6/6

13-1 WHO-DT 211.25 VHF-HI 6/6

17-1 KDSM-DT 483.25 UHF 5/6

19-1 KDMI-DT 525.25 UHF 6/6

23-1 KCWI-DT 525.25 UHF 6/6

3/6 Means 3 out of 6 bars signal quality on HDTV Tuner Stick. WOI-DT is low power along with low frequency.

I have tried two other preamps with this antenna. Both worked well. I used a Channel Master CM 7777 (high end, low noise antenna mounted preamp), and a cheapie from Wal-Mart ($24). In both cases I was able to receive Ch 5.x, and with the CM 7777, I got one more bar of signal quality on Ch 5.x (now 4/6). (23 June, 2009 edit)

Summary:

With a preamp, this antenna does a very nice job at 27 miles (rural) with an indoor height of 15 feet. It outperforms the other 3 antennas I compared it to. It was the only antenna that would receive Lo-Band VHF.

Hints:

Do not place it on metal. Do not orient it vertically (pointing up and down). Keep it away from sources of interference/noise like TVs! Get the antenna as high as you can, and then move it left/right while observing signal strength. I was able to improve the signal by 20% by just moving it horizontally about 14 inches.

The ability to receive Lo-Band VHF through UHF with stable and mostly consistent signals is a big plus for this antenna. The fact that it is inexpensive makes adding a preamp reasonably cost effective.

I only gave it 4 stars because it does require a preamp at the distance I am using it.

I bought it at Walmart for $20.00 . Originally I placed it in an upstairs bedroom I liked it good enough to replace my HD 65inch Mitsubishi's antenna philips power boasted antenna in living room I have a signal strength of 3 of 4 also the Picture looks outstanding. I need no power for it and it works well also you can,t see it on the back top of tv using a 2 inch piece of electric tape to hold it in place. I might buy 1 more for motor home. It has a specific order to place 3 pieces together its not hard to do 3 philps screws 3 nuts hold it together.

When you pull the 3 pieces of this antenna out of the box, you'll ask, "Are you kidding me? Where's the rest of it?"

I know I did. I thought it resembled a McDonald's Happy Meal toy.

BUT, this is not a negative review. This is a resounding recommendation for this antenna for receiving DTV over the air broadcasts.

The ANT1050 is an incredible value. It receives all of my local over-the-air digital television signals without a hiccup. The strength that it receives is above and beyond the much more expensive antenna I had purchased early this year. The best part is a person wouldn't even know it was there. I have it resting flat on the Plasma's wall mount behind the TV. Doesn't get easier than that.

I frankly don't understand the negative reviews for this antenna. My only guess is that many buyers didn't understand the Analog to Digital conversion, and/or hadn't properly hooked up their equipment.

It's small, it's cheap, it's slim, and it takes just a few minutes to put together. I didn't set it up to maximize signal, but I just wanted my apartment to not have a giant antenna in it. I live inside a fairly large city, and the signal is not great in my "incognito mode".

If you're a fair distance away from the source, I'd recommend a different antennae. Otherwise, I don't think you can beat the appearance and price of this one.

I bought this to get my local channels in HD (DirecTV for some reason refuses to provide them for Columbia, SC). I was skeptical about something so cheap (and sort of cheap looking) working very well, but gave it a shot anyway. I'm amazed at the picture quality. I get all the locals in HD, and it's the same quality as the HD cable channels we get. No freezing or sound problems. Assembly really wasn't that bad. Just read the instructions, put something flat under the screws/nuts to hold them in place when you flip it over.

I got this antenna to go with my new HDTV. Previously I had been trying to use an old antenna that just got frustratingly bad reception. This one works great. It picks up all the digital channels in our area much more clearly than my other one did.

I have my TV on a wheeled cart and tend to move it around the house a lot. (I know, kind of a weird setup for an HDTV). I used 2 pieces of 3M Command poster hanging strips and stuck the antenna to the back of the TV cart. It works like a charm. Now I get great reception almost everywhere I position the TV. Sometimes I have to move it around a little to get a certain station better, but I'm always able to find a position that works.

Incidentally, I did try to stick the antenna to the back of the TV itself, but there was too much interference from the electronics and I had to move it to the back of the cart instead. The instructions said this might be the case.

The antenna comes with a pretty long cord, so you have a lot of options about where to position it. You'll want to put it somewhere discreet, though. It looks a lot like a big bat, and you probably don't want it stuck right to the wall next to your TV. And definitely you don't want to stick it to your window (where the instructions say the reception is best) unless you really don't care about the aesthetics in your room or you're especially desperate for better reception. Maybe put it on the wall behind a media cabinet or bookshelf or something. You'll need some two-sided tape to stick it up--it doesn't come with the antenna but is recommended in the instructions.

The best thing about this antenna is the price. Other ones I looked at cost $40-$50 or more. I'm glad I bought this one.

This antennae looks to be at 1st glance trim and unobtrusive, but instead when removed from the box and assembled it is made out of thin, flimsy plastic which bends and is so wide that you wonder where to put it. It would be great to able to lay it on your TV top (if it was large enough or deep enough now that we have thin panel TV's) as it would be almost invisible....but that never seemed the place where it could receive the signal if you did manage to balance it there. It does not have any stand or clips to attach it to a wall or stand it on a shelf or table and it was so flimsy & big it tended to slide off what ever you try to lay it on. The wings are so wide that across a table the ends stuck out and sagged. The lead to connect it is short so limits how far you can put this if needed. This was frustrating as we spent most of our time shifting it to get a signal every time we switched channels. When it did come in the picture was good, but there must be something better out there at a reasonable price.

I ordered this product because my old antenna was not picking up all the channels (63). Came on Amazon, did a search for antenna and came across this one. For 8 bucks with shipping included, I'm not really risking much. Placed the order, got it in 3 days. Plugged it in and did a scan, and 132 channels found!

Using antennaweb.org, I filled out my zip code (also I have trees around my house larger than 30ft, and live in a 1-story home). I needed an indoor antenna that was low profile but powerful at the same time. The assembly and set up was quite easy and all I did was buy some double mounting tape and stuck it to the wall behind my TV. I originally wanted to stick it directly onto my TV but I noticed I was not receiving a lot of major network channels. It was very inexpensive and does a decent job!