Customer Reviews

Zenith ZEN-AA1 HD Antenna Amplifier

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

 

 

This is the worst electronic product I've ever bought. It does not deliver on its promise of "adjustable gain up to 20 dB" -- not even close. I used the signal checker supplied with my HDTV tuner and the most gain I saw was about 3 dB.

The instructions tell you to turn the knob clockwise to increase the gain but they don't tell you it's a multi-turn pot (about 5 turns) without a hard limit (a slip shaft) so it's difficult to feel where in the range you are. Actually, the highest gain was about a full turn before the limit and would drop off to zero at the full clockwise setting.

I also checked its performance visually, on several analog and digital TV channels, and saw no noticable improvement.

It deserves 0 stars but Amazon doesn't let me select fewer than 1.

The Zenith antenna signal amplifier is designed for the Gemini ZHDTV1 HDTV-UHF Digital Indoor Antenna. I have the Gemini antenna and it works fine alone with the DISH 811 satellite receiver. I gambled on the Zenith amplifier and lost. If the Zenith antenna amplifier works, the improved effect on reception is so marginal I could not notice it. I have found that elevating the front of the indoor antenna's base on a VHS tape or similar support, skewing the angle of the antenna, improves reception more than just moving the antenna laterally. You need to plug this amplifier in an outlet, than turn a thin cylindrical plastic adjustment extension clockwise to increase gain. This device did not work for me. The Gemini indoor UHF antenna is another story, it is the next best thing to an outdoor antenna.

My seven year old actually begged me to remove the amplifier as it made the reception worse. Either it's junk, or my tuner doesn't like it. Actually, these amplifiers are probably a conspiracy by cable and satellite companies to sign you up for service. ;)

I am actually kind of disappointed in this amplifier. I was hoping for huge improvements in my reception. It helps just a little bit. There is a little bit less fuzz and slightly improved sound quality but the improvements are modest at best.

I can't complain. I got at least 10% boost in signal which is exactly what I needed on most channels

I was expecting something great, and I didn't get it with this antenna. My reception was improved marginally, I got no extra channels (I still only have ONE channel). To make it worse, I now have to constantly adjust the antenna; I cannot go through one thirty-minute sitcom without having to get up and readjust the thing. Very annoying. I would not recommend spending money on this antenna. You would do just as good with some old-fashioned rabbit ears.

I expected to some some significant improvement in my signal. It was hardly noticeable. Hey Dad, does this look any better to you? See what I mean.

Before I tried this amplifier, I could see one HD channel and the signal strength was about 3 bars out of 10. I hooked it up about 10 minutes before my favorite show came on and we had our first experience watching an entire show in HD. We are getting about four other channels without even moving the antenna around. A little tweaking of the power adjustment and we ended up with 8 bars of signal strength where we didn't even a channel before. For the price, this was an upgrade I would recommend before spending a lot more on something else.

Ordered this as a gift and it was recommended to accompany the antennae. The person who received the gift said the reception was good with the antennae but REALLY good with the amplifier. It was definitely worth getting.