RCA ANT800; Flat Panel Digital, Omni-Directional Amplified Outdoor Antenna

First, let me describe my TV reception problem. I live in the urban core of a medium-size metropolitan area, so getting good TV reception shouldn't be too challenging. Unfortunately, I live in a condominium in a low spot (there's a rock wall behind my building that extends above my roof line).I thought RCA ANT800 would be a good choice for me because it appeared that it would be versatile (indoor or outdoor), easy to install (not too big and comes with a mounting bracket) and it's omnidirectional. As I said, I live in the middle of the city, but all the broadcast towers are about 10-12 miles away, some north, some south and some west of me. So I needed either an omnidirectional antenna or a directional antenna with a rotor. Also, the local stations transmit on a mix of VHF low, VHF high and UHF, and the ANT800 is supposed to work with all broadcast frequencies. I've noticed that a lot of TV antennas only work with UHF or with VHF high and UHF, so be sure to check that before you buy any antenna.At first I tried the ANT800 as an indoor antenna behind the TV. It picked up several channels, but I wanted all the local channels. Then I tried it in the attic. That worked better, but I still couldn't get the PBS channel, and that's the most important channel for me. My last option was to mount it outside, which is more difficult.I opted to mount it upside-down from the eave overhang outside the back door. The main difficulty to that was with the mounting bracket. It has four screw holes in it, but they're too far apart to use on a single 2-by-4, so I had to screw it to another board then attach that to two 2-by-4s in the overhang.Another problem is that the antenna is supposed to be an outdoor antenna, but it doesn't come with a grounding block, and the instructions don't mention anything about grounding it. So I bought a grounding block and wire and a signal splitter for three TV sets and got it all hooked up.I'm happy to report that I can now pick up all the local TV channels, even PBS. I can't pick up any out-of-town stations, but I really wasn't expecting to. And reception isn't perfect. There are still periodic signal losses, where the picture will freeze or blot out and the audio will go out for a couple of seconds. It doesn't happen often enough to be really annoying, and I imagine if I wasn't splitting the signal it would come in strong enough not to drop out like that.So the bottom line is it works fairly well for me. Since I live in the middle of the city I was hoping it would work in the attic and give me perfect reception. Well, I had to put it up outside and the reception isn't perfect but it's close.

I've tried many antennas over the years, and this one from Voxx (sold under RCA and Terk) has consistently been the best overall when used indoors. Originally marketed as omni-directional, they have since more accurately labeled it as multi-directional, though it does have one of the widest reception angles of anything out there, including one of the farthest. Advantage of purchasing this "outdoor" model is you can use the mount as an effective indoor table-top stand. When antenna is mounted horizontally on its stand, this fully exposes the elements on both sides of the panel, and in most cases provides the best possible reception. I've also found it can take up to half an hour for the antenna to hone in on the broadcast signals in an area after being powered up, especially if far away and/or widely spread apart. However, this antenna briefly drops signal when it gets moved, so I've never found it to work well outdoors where it can be buffeted by wind or weather. In addition the included outdoor hardware is about as bad as it gets. Because of the last two items 4 stars instead of 5.

This is an amazing product. Compact, about the size of a small pizza box, lightweight, about 3.5 pounds, so you can mount it just about any place. I put this up in place of an old style (read big) roof antenna. Immediate upgrade in picture quality! Got all the same channels.Biggest thing about this is be prepared to twist it around to get the best signal with the most channels. As others have said, it's not always a place and forget installation. I had to be up on the roof with someone on the ground saying " ok, we now have 2 but 9 is gone",... 'twist'...."okay, 2 and 9 but no 10" ...Grrr... Be aware you need to mount it and move away to test it. Any metal nearby makes a difference as well.Well, we wanted to get more channels than before. We live between two major markets (Chicago and Milwaukee) and always could get both back in the analog days (with a rotor). The neighbors trees on the north side of the lot block the digital signal. Based on the success of some else in the family with one of these, we bought one hoping to get all the channels again. It was days of twisting, other placements on the roof, mast extensions, etc. Raising it above the trees got everything, but it was on a 20 foot pole above the roof. Looked like a science experiment for lightning attraction. Not a comfortable arrangement. :-)We ended up with another antenna bought here that gets everything in a spot I would have never thought of placing an antenna had I not been trying everything with this one. I mostly quit on this one as my helpers were "fed up" with the hunt for a signal.Bottom line, I'd recommend this unit for a compact installation in a "put it up and be happy" situation.I plan to use this unit at other homes with folks that are dropping cable/dish or at least want to have the best picture possible.

I was pleasantly surprised by this antenna, I'm getting channels from up to 80 miles from Montreal (FOX 44.1 at -83 dBm), 25 channels total at about 20 feet high in an attic. I get slightly more channels from that one than my 1byone yagi 10 feet higher up outside.Pros:- Simple and compact, elegant- Easy to mount, multiple mounting positionsCons- More costly than others- The mounting arm notches are a bit small, they're don't seem made to sustain weight (snow for example)- The antenna seems more directionnal than advertised. It can pivot sideways, be sure to point it toward your preferred source. The panel itself must be mounted horizontally, i.e. facing the sky.

Not very sensitive on higher channels. Susceptible to noise and interference from adjacent channels and other local interference (amplifier circuit could be better / tighter / less noise). Plastic construction, I can see the sun having it's way with this after a few years. Very selective about positioning, odd in some ways and further proves my point about selectivity, sensitivity and noise in that inside, I can get channels fine, as I place it outside, I lose two or three. Not going to keep this one on the roof but as a backup if required. If this will be your only antenna, looks for a more robust offering.

Better than rabbit ears, I'm in St. Catharines and placed the antenna on the roof and I get 1 channel from Hamilton and 1 from Toronto. Probably would work better if it was mounted higher. The picture I do get is of good quality.

Great antenna... right now it sits inside in our 2nd floor bedroom and I get clear channels in basement. It will be placed outside (just haven't gotten that far yet)

Purchased this to try instead of satellite...excellent choice so far. Picks up 15 channels, SD & HD, and most of these channels are coming from 80 to 100km away (50 - 65 miles). We'll never need to pay for satellite!! Easy installation as well, and currently getting all these channels indoor pointing through a window. Perhaps we'll even get more channels once we mount it up high!