by Jeff Casto

Created on: October 09, 2009

Well, the great digital conversion of 2009 has forced a change in our household. My wife likes to watch TV while she fixes dinner, usually the evening news on ABC, so we have a small TV sitting on the bar alongside the kitchen. This TV isn't connected to any outside service so she watches whatever she can get over the airwaves. We were able to get the major channels, ABC, NBC, and CBS, although the picture was snowy since we just used the rabbit ears that came with the TV. We have Verizon FIOS in three rooms but where the kitchen TV sits, there is no good way to route a cable for a jack.

So that my wife would be able to continue to watch this set after the digital conversion, I bought a digital converter box, which I thought would be all that was needed, but the signals from the major stations were not strong enough for good reception. The picture kept pixilating or freezing. We live approximately 35 miles from two of the major stations (three if you count Fox) and about 30 miles from another. To be able to receive these signals well, an outdoor antenna would be the best option, however, we have a two story house and the problem of routing an antenna wire down into the kitchen involved the same issues as that of routing a FIOS cable.

To try to solve the problem, I bought the amplified Terk HDTVa Indoor Antenna. I had reservations about buying this antenna, but it was priced well below comparable antennas. One of my issues with this antenna is the misleading advertising on the box. Specifically, the statements "Engineered to receive 1080i HDTV broadcasts not always available on satellite or cable," and "Get true HDTV; requires an HD television with built-in or set-top HD receiver." There is no such thing as an HDTV antenna. The HD information is embedded in the signal, and it does not require any special antenna to receive the signal. The manufacturer of this antenna is using the public's ignorance to sell its product and that bothers me. However, I needed an amplified antenna and didn't want to pay a lot for it, so I put aside my issues and bought it.


Description:

This antenna comes in two large pieces plus a small amplifier. The base is a semi-curved piece of square tubing about 9 inches high. In front at the top, it has a socket for the UHF element, and in back, the VHF dipoles (rabbit ears) are attached. A cable for connecting the antenna to the amplifier exits the bottom rear of the unit. The UHF element looks like a large, metallic fern leaf. With the UHF

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