Knowledge Base

There are fundamentally three specifications the buyer should pay attention to: frequency band(s), directivity and gain. The band or bands where the antenna operates have to be suitable for the broadcasting frequencies of the area. Directivity and gain are usually related to antenna design, larger or longer antennas have more gain and are more directional, receiving signals from greater distances.
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At Televes we have a range of antennas to pick up TV stations of Low VHF (channels 2-6), High VHF (channels 7-13) and UHF (channels 14-36). Depending on the stations available in a location and also on the reception signal conditions, we can help you to make the best choice of antenna or antennas. Because there is no best antenna for every location, we offer a suite of antennas designed for the very broad range of possible reception scenarios.
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VHF (low, high) stations are broadcasting with lower power, so the choice of an antenna which performs well in this band is critical to receive TV stations in good conditions. We have some good choices for VHF reception, like the Ellipse MIX, the DAT BOSS MIX LR, or the DAT BOSS MIX LR Full band, all equipped with our exclusive BOSS amplification system with TForce technology.
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Directivity represents the ability of the antenna to gather most of the received electromagnetic energy from a specific direction. It is usually represented as a lobe pointed at the direction of reception, which is usually name as radiation pattern. The antennas that receive electromagnetic energy within a direction are referred to as "directional antennas".
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The gain of the antenna describes how much signal strength is received by the antenna in the maximum point of its radiation pattern. Typically, gain is associated by antenna size, but in the case of our Yagi style antennas, our triple boom design, developed several years ago, performs equal to or better than the very large Yagi antennas, that in many cases are more than 14 feet in length.
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Beamwidth is the angle of the maximum radiation pattern of the antenna. When pointing the antenna to a specific direction, beamwidth gives an indication of how much azimuth (east to west from the pointing direction) the antenna can pick up TV stations in with maximum gain and thus efficiency.
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Omnidirectional comes from the Greek term "omni" (all) and means that the antenna can receive signals in all directions, 360º.
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In some particular locations where the broadcasting direction is unknown, users may choose an omnidirectional antenna, driving a van for instance. However, knowing where the signals originate from is necessary. The logical choice for better performance is to use a directional antenna pointed at the broadcasting towers. Please check our website for guidance.
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Simply stated, highly directional antennas are best for longer distances or for rejecting signals outside its beamwidth and have the highest raw gain (gain of just the antenna without amplification). As the size or design of the antenna gets smaller, it provides less gain, but the directivity also decreases and the beamwidth increases. A less directional antenna will receive in a larger east to west window but with less distance. A less directional antenna with more beamwidth could be used if TV broadcast transmitters are located closer in distance in one general direction but spread out and not all clumped together.
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Yes, all our antennas are able to receive 4K broadcasting. It is a common misconception that only certain antennas are capable of receiving HDTV. The truth is that HD signals are broadcast on the same VHF and UHF frequencies that have been used since the beginning of broadcast TV. All antennas have the ability to receive HD Broadcast TV, including ATSC 1.0 ATSC 3.0 NexGenTV and 4K if provided by the broadcaster. More important is the quality of the Antenna and its design related to the recent repack of TV broadcast frequencies and its ability to reject 5G interference.
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The best reception is obtained with an outdoor antenna pointed directly at the broadcasting transmitters. The outdoor antenna obtains its maximum performance within its reception main lobe, and depending on its directivity, receives the broadcasting signals and rejects interferences and ghost signals avoiding destructive interference and fading. On the contrary, an indoor antenna has normally low directivity and receives direct signals and also signals delayed or reflected from walls or obstacles at home, which can potentially interfere and destroy the wanted signals.
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When considering antenna selection, urban typically indicates being closer to TV transmitters where an indoor or small outdoor antenna could work well, but that is not always the case as some urban areas receive signals from neighboring urban areas. Suburban relates to reception scenarios where the reception location is in a mid-range location from the TV transmitters requiring a mid-range antenna and Fringe would indicate a rural setting where a long range antenna would be recommended.
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Yagi antennas are formed by a dipole, the reflectors and one or more directors. The dipole is the element that gather the broadcast electromagnetic energy (works as the sensor element) and has the appropriate dimensions to operate in the frequency band of the antenna. The reflector placed behind the dipole avoids the back reception of signals, reinforcing the frontal reception. The directors which are placed in front of the dipole narrow the beam or reception lobe of the antenna, increasing its gain and directivity. This way, the antenna can receive TV stations at longer distances while, increasing its directivity, blocking inference.
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No, an intelligent antenna is one that has the amplifier embedded in the antenna itself. Only at Televes we install preamplifiers in our antennas, so they are considered intelligent antennas. Stand alone preamplifier also called mast amplifier or boosters become the active component of the system when coupled with a passive antenna. In some cases depending on the quality, gain and noise figure of the pre-amplifier, it may not be able to sufficiently amplify weak signals resulting in pixilization or no signal at all. In these cases, it is recommended to install an intelligent antenna, amplifying the signal from the first moment, and, if necessary, also a mast amplifier.
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Our antennas have an exclusive feature that other active antennas do not have: BOSSTech® Technology, which provides the appropriate (regulated) signal level no matter the reception scenario. In case of antennas working in VHF and UHF, the regulation of signal level is adjusted separately (VHF, UHF) to take into consideration the different broadcasting conditions of the two bands. Also, the antennas can work in intelligent mode (power on) and in passive mode (power off), thus increasing its dynamic range. Last, but not least, the antennas perform mechanical and electronic filtering to get rid of unwanted interferences broadcasted in the UHF band that could potentially impair TV reception. In simple terms, BOSSTech® is a very sophisticated AGC amplifier on a chip designed by our engineers with 5G filtering that adjusts in real-time to current and changing conditions of broadcast TV signals, providing a more stable signal to the TV.
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No. Quoting Shakespeare’s King Lear, Nothing will come of Nothing. By choosing a poor antenna, or an antenna whose frequency operating range is not appropriate for the location receiving scenario, the signals received will probably be impaired, noisy or fuzzy and an amplifier or signal booster will not be able to fix them, as the amplification of noise only produces additional noise. Even though the signal strength may be dramatically increased by an amplifier, this will never ever be able to get rid of the signal noise in the input, so the output signals will always be impaired regardless of the amplifier used.
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The antenna range, expressed in miles, denotes how far from the TV transmitter the antenna can receive clear TV stations. Antenna range is more of a marketing term than a technical parameter. It gives some indication of the ability to receive high power transmissions from towers with direct line of sight from the antenna at a defined height above ground (equal to rooftop mounting or higher) and with a certain amount of radiated power. At long distances, the height of the transmitter tower has to be sufficient to overcome the curvature of the Earth. If these conditions are not met, additional losses have to be calculated that reduce this practical range, meaning an antenna rated for 100 miles may have to be de-rated to 70 miles when other factors such as terrain or other obstacles are encountered. Outdoor antennas usually perform better because normally they have higher gain and are installed at or above the rooftop, to meet free space receiving conditions.
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We call a fringe area that is about 100 miles or more from the television station. We recommend for this application the DAT BOSS MIX LR, which LR stands for Long Range or high distance, to receive good signal quality in these so-called fringe areas. This antenna outperforms others due to its high directivity, high gain, low noise and TForce Technology to receive weak signals in the most difficult reception conditions.
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An intelligent antenna has an integrated built-in amplifier, while a passive antenna does not have an amplifier. An intelligent antenna will work on active mode if it’s connected to power provided from a downstream power supply, receiving power through the coax cable. A passive antenna is not an active component even when connected to a pre-amplifier, it is rather just a passive component of an active system.
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Ideally, an indoor antenna works best in homes close to the TV transmitter near a window facing the direction of the transmitters or on an outdoor wall that is not metal construction. In the case of apartment living in a building that does not have a TV installation, an indoor antenna may be an easy option and should be tried since they are relatively inexpensive and easy to setup.
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There is no perfect antenna for everything, but depending on the situation, it will be convenient to choose one or the other. The selection of the right antenna depends on the frequency and strength of the available stations received in the user location. With these two factors in mind, you can consult our webpage to help you in making the right decision. In addition to listing the TV stations that are available in your area, our webpage also recommends an antenna (or antennas in case of several directions) which maximizes the number of stations and the quality and strength of the signals received. Finally, it is important to remember that antenna reception depends on many factors (the power and height of the transmitter, the existence of obstacles, the height of the antenna, and so on). If any doubt arises, it is preferable to select an antenna with a longer range to ensure good performance.
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The reception in motion of digital signals is usually impaired, as the availability of signals outside main coverage areas of broadcasting towers is low or simply nonexistent, so we presume that the TV reception of digital signals has to be stationary. Having said that, an indoor antenna could work in a RV if the receiving conditions are good (moderate to high signal availability). However, our recommendation is to install an outdoor antenna, such as DINOVA BOSS MIX or CAMPNOVA BOSS antenna. Check our website for information on our antennas suitable for RV or Camping use : Also research TV stations in the area in the areas you plan to visit and also the antenna orientation to achieve best signal quality during your adventures outdoors. Keep in mind that ATSC 3.0 has mobile reception capabilities for future use, so it will be possible in the near future to receive broadcast TV from participating TV stations while on the move.
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