Channel Master 4228HD Long-Range Outdoor Rooftop HDTV Antenna
by PCT International, Inc.
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List Price: Our Price: $77.95 You Save: $12.04 (13%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home Theater See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Channel Master 4228HD Long-Range Outdoor Rooftop HDTV Antenna
Customer Review: Review ChannelMaster 4228HD and a 2 Antenna Solution
Summary: 4 Stars
My house is in Mountain View, in the San Francisco Bay Area, 32 miles south from most San Francisco stations, and 14 miles northwest from some desirable stations in San Jose. The problem: how to get over-the-air digital stations from both San Francisco and San Jose without using a rotor. The San Jose stations are in a different direction (about 90 degrees) from San Francisco's (as you will see, that's important to know if you want to receive both sets of stations without one antenna interfering with another).
I purchased the 4228HD before reviews came out based on those of the previous model, the 4228. Reviews for it were excellent for the most part, and the antenna was rigorously tested (see http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html ).
About five months ago, I got the 4228HD to reach San Francisco stations, and the smaller 4221HD to reach a couple of stations around San Jose.
The 4228HD is well made out of aluminum, and lightweight. A preliminary test of the gain over a spectrum of channels (also at hdtvprimer) is not encouraging, though (ouch!). An additional disadvantage over the old 4228 is that the balun (the box that connects the antenna cable to the antenna) is built-in and could possibly deteriorate because it is largely plastic (the 4228's was removable). However, the antenna is performing very well, so I give it 4 stars, with one removed due to engineering faults like the balun.
If you live in an area where you want to pick up stations broadcasting from two locations that are roughly 90 degrees apart and don't want the hassle of a rotor, let me tell you what might work. I placed the 4228HD (for longer distance San Francisco stations) and the 4221HD (for shorter distance San Jose stations) on separate antenna masts on the side of the house so that they could be easily reached from the roof whenever I need to make minor adjustments. (Experts warn that placing two antennas that cover the same channel spectrum on one mast could create a super-antenna that can actually reduce performance of the separate antennas - a classic case of "the whole is less than the sum of its parts.")
Here's the tricky part: I wanted to combine the signals from both antennas, so I followed hdtvprimer's suggestions. The author suggested using a preamplifier (I used ChannelMaster's CM7777 Titan 2), but I found that it was not necessary. Indeed, it over-amplified the signals resulting in poor quality reception. So I combined the signals of both antennas using a 2-way splitter set about 20 feet from the antennas (the Philips SDW50100/17 widely available for about $8), and then amplified the signal at the television using the Motorola signal booster 484095-001-00 (about $35 to $40).
The results are excellent. Both the San Francisco and San Jose stations come in sharp. The smaller antenna's signal doesn't drown out the signals from the larger one because they are on separate masts (about 10 feet apart) and the San Jose antenna points roughly in a different direction (about 90 degrees - the ideal amount) from the larger San Francisco antenna.
The procedure might sound complicated, but just follow the hdtvprimer's directions. My only change is the preamp may not be needed (at least not in my area). Be sure visit www.tvfool.com for station locations relative to your place and have a compass with you to orient the antennas.
Again, except for some engineering quirks, the 4228HD is a good solution for bringing in HDTV stations reliably from, in my area, 30 to 35 miles -- with some hills in-between. Your results may vary from mine, so check your local listings (smile).
Customer Review: Good antenna, but could be better
Summary: 4 Stars
This antenna is good, but not without its faults. As others have said, there are a few questionable design choices that Channel Master made.
This is an 8-bay "bowtie" antenna. It's in the new style that looks very different from traditional TV antennas. Instead of being a flat horizontal "spiky triangle", these antennas stand vertical, and are a rectangle. There's a reflector grid in back, and the elements are in front, shaped like bowties. The reception is great, for UHF. Unfortunately, for VHF, this doesn't work as well. This antenna can pick up high VHF (Channels 7-13). It WILL NOT pick up any low VHF (Channels 2-6) stations at all.
With today's new digital TV stations, the displayed channel number can be DIFFERENT from the actual RF frequency number that it's being broadcast on! Even though the TV says "Channel 2", it probably isn't on VHF anymore. The only way to know is to look it up online, at a site such as "TV Fool dot com" or "Rabbit Ears dot info" or "Antenna Web dot org". (Sorry for the screwy spelling, but Amazon doesn't like putting direct links into reviews.)
Good:
High VHF. The reflector grid area, in the back of the antenna, is all one piece. This means that it's big enough to get the high VHF channels, Channels 7-13, without needing a separate VHF-only antenna. This is an important feature. A competing antenna, the Antennas Direct DB8, has the fatal flaw of having these grids split up into four sections. This means that it can't get high VHF, only UHF, so you'll have no VHF reception. This Channel Master antenna has no such problem. That's the reason I bought this antenna, instead of the DB8! The DB8 is built better, so it's a shame.
Directional. If you can aim it accurately, and keep it aimed, it's great. It is capable of picking up a distant tower that it's aimed at, while at the same time, still getting local stations that are nearby, even though they're not being aimed at. A rotator is not necessary, unless you need to target more than one distant tower.
Bad:
Connector placement. The balun box (the little black box that you connect the TV cable into) is very cheap, fragile, and the connector inside it easily breaks. Be very careful with it! It's too easy to overtighten it, and this will strip the connection and damage the antenna. Not only is the box very cheap, but it's placed in the wrong place. The reception is hurt, because this box isn't lined up properly. I don't know much about the details, but you can read about this major problem on other sites, just Google for "4288HD balun length". It's a nasty design flaw, one that Channel Master should have caught beforehand.
Mast gripper. A large antenna like this, is like a sail that blows in the wind! Channel Master's grips to the mast are not very solid. Even when tightening them as tight as they will go without stripping, it's still not a very strong grip. Even if the mast itself is mounted securely against rotation, it won't help, because this antenna will rotate itself around your mast. Antennas Direct uses a superior "gripper teeth" solution, that digs itself into your mast like a rabid dog and won't let go! Much better. It's a shame Channel Master can't also use "gripper teeth".
So, even though it has flaws, this is probably still one of the best antennas you can get. There isn't much work being invested into the design of TV antennas these days, unfortunately, as the market seems to be switching to satellite or cable.
Customer Review: One less cable subscriber here!
Summary: 5 Stars
My Comcast one year promotion ended, and they wouldn't give me more than $10 off the "normal" (double!) price for my cable, so that lit a fire under my behind to finally give over-the-air a serious, college try.
I did a lot of research, and decided to pull the trigger on this baby. And wow, color me impressed. Even though the Sacramento market I'm tuning is about 50 bird-miles away or more, this baby pulls in 6 distinct networks, and a total of 14 channels (if the subchannels are included). I now get ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CW, and PBS! And, that's with the antenna mounted in the attic, still going through "material". And also the actual antenna is still about 5 feet below the ridge-line of the tall hill we're on (and on the wrong side of!).
But, I adjusted the antenna just so, so none of the channels experience pixelation, even during stormy weather. Granted, the PBS channel is JUST strong enough to have a margin enough to avoid pixelation, but hey, it is good enough. That's the nice thing with digital, either you'll get a channel good enough or you won't and extra margin above and beyond that doesn't really make much difference (virtually no difference). And over the air (OTA) HD is better than all the cable and even satellite providers, because it's not compressed as much. It's crystal sharp.
To put this in perspective, with a NICE set of rabbit ears, I could get ABC and most of the time, CBS, but CBS would pixelate a lot during really stormy weather.
And best of all, I combined this with a TiVo Premiere XL with lifetime service, and now have great TV for absolutely free (other than the $600 upfront costs). If like I, most of your TV viewing is from the main networks anyway, it's nearly perfect! The TiVo also does unlimited Netflix streaming for $9 or $10/month! Hulu Plus is also supposed to be coming to TiVo soon, so I'll have that to use as a supplement also for only $8/month.
It feels so good not to be paying those greedy cable companies (and networks!) that have raised their rates about 3 times the rate of inflation for the past 10 or 20 years. Even the downturn didn't deter them... all most all of them took their regular increases anyway! Cable and the networks really need to get it together, because customers have options now, and more and more of us are starting to cut the cord! We're finally beginning to vote with our wallets. Now they're putting bandwidth caps on us to protect their TV franchises from streaming video, but eventually consumers will prevail, and the antenna also neutralizes a lot of the need for the Internet anyway. They just need to adapt, sooner or later. The current business model they have is unsustainable, and consumers aren't going to tolerate it much longer.
Thanks Channel Master for an excellent product and freeing me from my monthly cable bill for good! In 4-6 weeks (depending on how you look at it), the antenna will have paid itself off already. It was a no-brainer with my TV viewing habits.
Customer Review: ***UPDATE - NOT THE SAME! BEWARE!
Summary: 3 Stars
****UPDATE****** This is NOT the same antenna that I reviewed! Unfortunately the CM4228HD is NOT the same as the old Channel Master 4228. The old 4228 was a better antenna all around, made in USA and a different design. Amazon probably doesn't realize this and substituted the new antenna for the old without realizing that they perform differently. I am demoting this to 3 stars as a result.********
Old review:
I live in Wantage, NJ (zipcode 07461) which is a tough area for DTV reception from NYC. We're located approximately 48.5 miles from the transmitters at the ESB, and behind hills, therefore the path to us is 2 edge diffraction and very tough.
Prior to this antenna, I tried a philips corner reflector/LPDA from Lowe's, which would only pick up NJN (state run public TV) and a couple of religious broadcasters. I figured it was time for something else so I bought the CM4228.
The 4228 is a time tested design of eight dipoles (bowties) with a reflective screen.
I put it up on my 86 foot ham radio tower, aligned it towards NYC with the help of my wife (who was watching the signal meter on the TV) and got nearly every channel, with the exception of WNYW-DT (UHF 44). But considering that [...] and CEA's antennaweb gave me very low prospects for receiving anything, I consider my result to be satisfactory. WNYW is a special case as they have a directional antenna to prevent interference to channel 44 in Atlantic City NJ.
Yes, I have a tower, but this antenna works fine on rooftops or other structures. It may even work in an attic. Since it is classified as a large directional, you will need to aim it properly, otherwise you'll be doing more harm than good to your received signal. Its high directivity also helps with multipath and overload from strong nearby signals.
The big plus of this antenna is that the screen acts as a VHF antenna, so it may be all you need come 02/17/09 when some of the digital stations move back to VHF.
Customer Review: An acceptable antenna for UHF stations within 50 miles
Summary: 4 Stars
With the advent of digital TV, over the air reception is a great alternative to cable/sat if most of your viewing is with the major networks. Supplemented with Netflix it is possible to save a substantial amount of money.
Before looking for an antenna, learn what channels the stations in your area transmit on and understand that the station number no longer indicates what frequency the station is on. It is critical to purchase an antenna that is designed for the frequencies you are attempting to receive. The CM4228HD is a UHF only antenna so be careful if you are attempting to receive VHF. If the VHF High station is relatively close to you (< 25 miles)it will probably work, but it will not work at all for VHF Low which has not been repurposed as another reviewer had said. Channels above 50 have been reclaimed by the FCC for other uses which is why newer antennas may work better as they are now designed for a tighter frequency spread. For example, in my local market (Philadelphia) KYW channel 3 actually broadcasts on UHF channel 26, but WPVI channel 6 does use channel 6 (VHF Low) as a transmitter frequency. This means that the 4228HD will pick up channel 3 very well but will not get channel 6 at all. Confused? It all comes down to doing your home work FIRST, before buying an antenna. Antennaweb dot org is your friend here. Lastly, make sure the stations you wish to receive all transmit from the same location. The location of the TV station is almost always different than the transmitter location. If they don't you will need an antenna rotator which adds cost and makes the set up less convenient to use. If there are two main directions it is sometimes possible to use two antennas and a combiner or A/B switch.
As for how the CM4228HD works(yes the new design), for UHF and nearby VHF High it works well but careful aiming and a sturdy mast is important.
Good luck, it really isn't hard if you take your time and the results of over the air HD are fantastic.