Anyone familiar with Digitenna?

Yes616 · 05-28-2009, 06:21 PM

I just stumbled on this one. The Digitenna DUV-DF Deep Fringe Antenna VHF hi-band/UHF 0-80 Miles.

That 80 mile deal is what spiked my interest. Here is a link..

Digitenna DUV-DF Deep Fringe Antenna

If this thing works from channel 7 up to channel 51 and from 80 miles away, this is what I need. It's not too big either. Anyone have any knowledge about this antenna or this company? I never heard of it. I also cannot find any specs on it.

Loves2Watch · 05-28-2009, 07:15 PM

I don't believe a word of it.

Tower Guy · 05-29-2009, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yes616

The Digitenna DUV-DF Deep Fringe Antenna VHF hi-band/UHF 0-80 Miles.

One technical term for an overstated advertisement is puffery. It looks like a Radio Shack U-75 with a single VHF element added.

Real range, 40 miles UHF 20 miles VHF.

DoctorCAD · 05-29-2009, 05:37 AM

I was going to say that it looks just like my RS antenna. Mine picks up 60 - 80 miles away, so their claim may be right "under perfect conditions" but probably not reliably.

Oh, and the RS costs $30.

jim5506 · 05-29-2009, 10:43 AM

The physics of radio frequency reception have not changed and that antenna has too few elements and is WAAAAY to small to be nearly anywhere as good as they claim.

Don_M · 05-29-2009, 11:48 AM

In addition to all previous comments about design, that's some serious expense for what's essentially a medium-range UHF antenna. You could buy four U-75s for the same money (tip of the hat to Tower Guy).

It's too bad, because I've dealt with a1components in the past, and they're a good company that sometimes has very competitive prices on quality antenna gear. Not this time, I guess.

Sparky638 · 10-06-2009, 09:32 PM

I recently made some changes to my rual location that finally brought my internet capabilities up to what is currently available in metropolitan areas and it allowed me video connections previously unavailable to this area. With this, I seriously reconsidered installing an OTA antenna with the thought of cutting the connection to the overpriced, undervalued Direct TV receiver that has entertained my family for the last five years plus partaking in the new digital reception that's "all the rage".

My reason for going with DTV was my fear of roofs after falling off while fixing my old analog system for the umpteenth time due damage caused by high wind occasions that occur more often in rual areas that use deep fringe antennas.

I had heard about the Digitenna about a year ago and after searching on Google I realised that the manufacturer is very close to my location - only five minutes away. During the last year I asked around to see if anyone has any experience with this product and although there were only a few they all had nothing but good things to say. We live about 60 miles from Milwaukee, WI in one direction and the same distance from Green Bay, WI in the other so it has always been a challenge to get good reception. My in-laws installed one recently and it is beyond comparison to Radio Shack, etc.

Regarding the Digitenna product, the reason this antenna seems costly is its superior construction. It has no folding elements and connections are almost nonexistent. The smaller range antennas are shipped fully assembled and the larger ones are designed to conform to shipping requirements while minimizing problamatic connection errors to guarantee unequalled performance.

Another thing to consider is that each antenna comes with a lifetime warranty! I honestly don't know of any other antenna with that kind of guarantee but I welcome any corrections.

Folks, visit their site or give them a call and ask for the owner, Brad Eckwielen. This guy is an antenna expert who makes a great product. And no, I don't know him or do I have any gain for saying this. My interest is informing you about a product that you may have unfairly judged.

EscapeVelocity · 10-06-2009, 10:37 PM

I have 4 different Digitennas here.

They are great. Well built. The bowtie combined with the VHF High reflector works well on VHF High.

I can recommend highly the Digitenna Suburban and Fringe.

I think that the Metro (a Suburban without the 2 element UHF corner reflector) is pretty good too, but the corner reflector doesnt add much in the way of bulk to the antenna and offers superior rear rejection as well as forward gains, so might as well go for the Suburban.

I dont have the City.

The Indoor is OK, however, I think that there are better choices out there for indoor. The bowtie is a bit bulky indoors and pointy/pokey.

The Fringe works great as well.

Very nice products and made in USA. Support an upstart smaller manufacturer...even if they are a bit pricey, I say.

Channel Master moved their antenna production offshore, and everybody is high on teh Chinese Made 4221HD, which is a fine antenna, and dirt cheap. However Chinese slave labor is killing other Americans jobs, and Digitennna is providing American Jobs. While Winegard and AntennaCraft are as well, there is no reason to be down on a small growing American business. They have a place too.

My 2 cents....

PS: I will be posting reviews of these soon....on DTVUSA Forum.

2sun · 10-31-2009, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tower Guy

One technical term for an overstated advertisement is puffery. It looks like a Radio Shack U-75 with a single VHF element added.
Real range, 40 miles UHF 20 miles VHF.

DigiTenna's improvements over conventional antennas were documented by objective 3rd party measurements at Electromagnetic Test and Evaluation Facility [/URL] of Georgia Tech Applied Research Corp. (GTARC) Atlanta Ga. Earlier 2007 measured DigiTenna antenna comparative performance is published in US patent application US 2007/0262912 A1 "Modular digital UHF/VHF antenna" Bradley Lee Eckwielen et al
Available at Google dot com slash patents
or patft dot uspto dot gov

See Tables 1-5 on pages 6,7.

Quote:

the DUV antenna VHF gains were 7 dB to 26 dB greater than the relevant art antennas for Urban and Metro configurations.

Quote:

the VHF Front/Back ratios of the DUV antennas were typically 5 dB to 23 dB higher across most of the DTV VHF High Band than most relevant art antennas.

Quote:

the DUV-F has an excellent average VHF Front/Back ratio of 18.8 dB, or 6.8 dB above the FCC's 12 dB planning factor. The DUV-F's F/B ratio is 10.2 dB higher than the premium 8 bay bowtie RF-C8's 8.6 dB VHF F/B.

Quote:

The DUV-U and DUV-M with a wideband Gain/Mass of 2.8 dB/kg are remarkably superior to commercial units having wideband Gain/Mass ranging from -6.9 to 0.2 dB/kg. The compact DUV-UC and DUV-MC configurations show even greater wideband Gain/Mass performance of 3.0 and 3.9 dB/kg. Even the premium VHF/UHF Fringe eight bowtie antenna RF-C8 has a wideband Gain/Mass of only 1.1 dB/kg compared to 2.2 dB/kg for the Fringe DUV-F.

JB Antennaman · 10-31-2009, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparky638

I recently made some changes to my rual location that finally brought my internet capabilities up to what is currently available in metropolitan areas and it allowed me video connections previously unavailable to this area. With this, I seriously reconsidered installing an OTA antenna with the thought of cutting the connection to the overpriced, undervalued Direct TV receiver that has entertained my family for the last five years plus partaking in the new digital reception that's "all the rage".

My reason for going with DTV was my fear of roofs after falling off while fixing my old analog system for the umpteenth time due damage caused by high wind occasions that occur more often in rual areas that use deep fringe antennas.

I had heard about the Digitenna about a year ago and after searching on Google I realised that the manufacturer is very close to my location - only five minutes away. During the last year I asked around to see if anyone has any experience with this product and although there were only a few they all had nothing but good things to say. We live about 60 miles from Milwaukee, WI in one direction and the same distance from Green Bay, WI in the other so it has always been a challenge to get good reception. My in-laws installed one recently and it is beyond comparison to Radio Shack, etc.

Regarding the Digitenna product, the reason this antenna seems costly is its superior construction. It has no folding elements and connections are almost nonexistent. The smaller range antennas are shipped fully assembled and the larger ones are designed to conform to shipping requirements while minimizing problamatic connection errors to guarantee unequalled performance.

Another thing to consider is that each antenna comes with a lifetime warranty! I honestly don't know of any other antenna with that kind of guarantee but I welcome any corrections.

Folks, visit their site or give them a call and ask for the owner, Brad Eckwielen. This guy is an antenna expert who makes a great product. And no, I don't know him or do I have any gain for saying this. My interest is informing you about a product that you may have unfairly judged.

Can I have some bread with that spam?

As I have said before and as others has said now - the laws of reception has not changed much in 60 years and there is no miracle antenna that is small that can receive like a big antenna or do better then a big antenna that is the proper length to be properly tuned to a certain band or frequency.

If a person lives more then 48 miles in most instances they are beyond a normal line of sight and no matter how hard they try, will not get any better reception no matter what antenna they use unless they get some sort of gain from a pre amplifier and or height on top of the roof or on a tower or unless the transmitter antenna is abnormally high up on a mountain with lots of power to shine down into the valley..

65 miles in a mountainous area is about as far as most reception will go on a normal day to day basis where reliable reception is a must to be able to receive a station 90% of the time.

If that antenna works for you then all I will say is what ever chokes your chicken, is of no concern to me. When you buy junk and it doesn't work and the shipping is as much as the antenna - more times then not - you will end up giving away the antenna to a friend, family member or garbageman.

EscapeVelocity · 10-31-2009, 06:00 PM

I can confirm excellent reception on VHF High Ch. 7 and UHF at 45 miles, from the Digitenna Suburban, on the roof, with a CM 7777 amplifier.

aka.Hooper · 11-01-2009, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JB Antennaman

Can I have some bread with that spam?

Now that was good JB!

aka.Hooper · 11-01-2009, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EscapeVelocity

I can confirm excellent reception on VHF High Ch. 7 and UHF at 45 miles, from the Digitenna Suburban, on the roof, with a CM 7777 amplifier.

All well and good...
But 45 is a far cry from 80 miles!
And at 45 miles out you can get solid reception for a fraction of the cost!

EscapeVelocity · 11-01-2009, 10:23 AM

Yes the Chinese make very cheap products. That is well known.

Perhaps Digitenna should move production to China, then they wont be bashed for higher prices.

2sun · 11-01-2009, 09:18 PM

JB Antennaman

Quote:

"the laws of reception has not changed much "

You only referred to antenna area and the narrow band efficiency, not the broadband efficiency of reception for that antenna area.

Please review and comment on the broadband efficiency from the objective measurements cited.

05-28-2009, 06:21 PM	#1
Yes616 Bit by the HD Bug Thread Starter Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Liberty - Catskill Mtns, NY Posts: 658	Anyone familiar with Digitenna? I just stumbled on this one. The Digitenna DUV-DF Deep Fringe Antenna VHF hi-band/UHF 0-80 Miles. That 80 mile deal is what spiked my interest. Here is a link.. Digitenna DUV-DF Deep Fringe Antenna If this thing works from channel 7 up to channel 51 and from 80 miles away, this is what I need. It's not too big either. Anyone have any knowledge about this antenna or this company? I never heard of it. I also cannot find any specs on it.

10-06-2009, 09:32 PM	#7
Sparky638 What is HD? Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 1	Digitenna I recently made some changes to my rual location that finally brought my internet capabilities up to what is currently available in metropolitan areas and it allowed me video connections previously unavailable to this area. With this, I seriously reconsidered installing an OTA antenna with the thought of cutting the connection to the overpriced, undervalued Direct TV receiver that has entertained my family for the last five years plus partaking in the new digital reception that's "all the rage". My reason for going with DTV was my fear of roofs after falling off while fixing my old analog system for the umpteenth time due damage caused by high wind occasions that occur more often in rual areas that use deep fringe antennas. I had heard about the Digitenna about a year ago and after searching on Google I realised that the manufacturer is very close to my location - only five minutes away. During the last year I asked around to see if anyone has any experience with this product and although there were only a few they all had nothing but good things to say. We live about 60 miles from Milwaukee, WI in one direction and the same distance from Green Bay, WI in the other so it has always been a challenge to get good reception. My in-laws installed one recently and it is beyond comparison to Radio Shack, etc. Regarding the Digitenna product, the reason this antenna seems costly is its superior construction. It has no folding elements and connections are almost nonexistent. The smaller range antennas are shipped fully assembled and the larger ones are designed to conform to shipping requirements while minimizing problamatic connection errors to guarantee unequalled performance. Another thing to consider is that each antenna comes with a lifetime warranty! I honestly don't know of any other antenna with that kind of guarantee but I welcome any corrections. Folks, visit their site or give them a call and ask for the owner, Brad Eckwielen. This guy is an antenna expert who makes a great product. And no, I don't know him or do I have any gain for saying this. My interest is informing you about a product that you may have unfairly judged.

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05-28-2009, 07:15 PM	#2
Loves2Watch Former Super Moderator Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: In Flux Posts: 20,283	I don't believe a word of it.

05-29-2009, 05:37 AM	#4
DoctorCAD Direct TV Fresh Meat Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 2,464	I was going to say that it looks just like my RS antenna. Mine picks up 60 - 80 miles away, so their claim may be right "under perfect conditions" but probably not reliably. Oh, and the RS costs $30.

05-29-2009, 10:43 AM	#5
jim5506 Yellow Submarine Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Lubbock, Texas Posts: 3,693	The physics of radio frequency reception have not changed and that antenna has too few elements and is WAAAAY to small to be nearly anywhere as good as they claim.

05-29-2009, 11:48 AM	#6
Don_M Formerly Sane Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Aurora, CO Posts: 373	In addition to all previous comments about design, that's some serious expense for what's essentially a medium-range UHF antenna. You could buy four U-75s for the same money (tip of the hat to Tower Guy). It's too bad, because I've dealt with a1components in the past, and they're a good company that sometimes has very competitive prices on quality antenna gear. Not this time, I guess.

10-06-2009, 10:37 PM	#8
EscapeVelocity High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 104	I have 4 different Digitennas here. They are great. Well built. The bowtie combined with the VHF High reflector works well on VHF High. I can recommend highly the Digitenna Suburban and Fringe. I think that the Metro (a Suburban without the 2 element UHF corner reflector) is pretty good too, but the corner reflector doesnt add much in the way of bulk to the antenna and offers superior rear rejection as well as forward gains, so might as well go for the Suburban. I dont have the City. The Indoor is OK, however, I think that there are better choices out there for indoor. The bowtie is a bit bulky indoors and pointy/pokey. The Fringe works great as well. Very nice products and made in USA. Support an upstart smaller manufacturer...even if they are a bit pricey, I say. Channel Master moved their antenna production offshore, and everybody is high on teh Chinese Made 4221HD, which is a fine antenna, and dirt cheap. However Chinese slave labor is killing other Americans jobs, and Digitennna is providing American Jobs. While Winegard and AntennaCraft are as well, there is no reason to be down on a small growing American business. They have a place too. My 2 cents.... PS: I will be posting reviews of these soon....on DTVUSA Forum.

10-31-2009, 06:00 PM	#11
EscapeVelocity High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 104	I can confirm excellent reception on VHF High Ch. 7 and UHF at 45 miles, from the Digitenna Suburban, on the roof, with a CM 7777 amplifier.

11-01-2009, 10:23 AM	#14
EscapeVelocity High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 104	Yes the Chinese make very cheap products. That is well known. Perhaps Digitenna should move production to China, then they wont be bashed for higher prices.