August DTA180

I live 35 miles NW of Chicago in a somewhat hilly, semi-forested area, near the bottom of a hill. Since I am in transition to cutting the cable company money drain, I am trying other alternatives. Not knowing any better yet, I ordered this antenna to go with an analog TV and a Zenith DTT9901 Digital Tuner Box to pick up local over-the-air (OTA) digital signals.In the first location I tried, which is a north-facing, 1st floor room surrounded in sheet rock, of course, this flimsy little thing did not work. No signals showed up at all.I next tried it in a south-facing, half-basement window, then stuck its magnetic base to the curtain rod, and lastly, tried it on top of the TV, with zilch results.My third try was the charm, when I stuck its magnetic base to the corner of the curtain rod in a north-facing, 2nd floor room. I received VHF NBC 5, ABC 7, and WGN (CW) 9, and 2 extra substations I wasn't even aware of), plus UHF 20 WYCC (Chicago City Colleges), 26 WCIU (with the MeTV/TheU/UToo/MeToo/THIS array), 32 WFLD (FOX Chicago), and three Spanish-speaking stations.So all told, I receive up to about 12 OTA digital channels at any given time, depending on the time of day, weather conditions, air traffic interference, and slight adjustments of the antenna position as needed. The short length of the antenna cable is sufficient for me, since the TV is near the curtain rod.This will definitely hold me until I get either an attic or roof-mounted antenna professionally installed and connected to my existing cable lines to cover every TV in the house.By the way, I purchased two other, larger, name-brand, highly-rated indoor antennas, and neither of them work in the sheet rock room, only one barely gets two intermittent channels in the half-basement, and on the 2nd floor, only one barely competes with THIS amazing little thing!It may or may not work for you, depending on its placement and all kinds of other variables, but it IS powerful enough for my stations 35 miles away. It is just a matter of whether the variables are working with you or against you.

I just received this digital antenna and have run it through a couple of quick tests - bottom line it works really well. It brings in about 18 stations in a room in my house where I got no reception with the stock antenna on my 7" Prisim LCD. Size doesn't have anything to do with this antenna - it is cut for the bandwidtch of the signal it is designed to received. It only has 1.08 db of gain so it's not a high gain antenna, but it isn't advertised as one. The listing just doesn't reference the gain of the antenna. It also appears to work better when placed in a horizontal position ( horizontal polarization ) than when in a vertical position. You must place it on something metal to establish a good ground plane. Without that it's no better than a wet noodle. I am finding a 10x14 cookie sheet, leaning against something on top of a book shelf works better than on the side of a file cabinet. For the price and size it's a 5 star buy.Note: I just verified that the August DTA240 High Gain Digital TV Aerial may be a very good option to consider. This antenna has a gain of 3.0 which means it will make the signal three times stronger than the DTA180. For a few dollars more this may be an excellent option in areas where stations may be further away or more difficult to receive. I have ordered this item and will report back next week after I have had an opportunity to test it.Followup Report: I have received and tested the DTA240 High Gain Digital TV Aerial. Testing this antenna in the same locations as the less expensive DTA180 it does not perform better. The DTA180 is a best buy - it's very small, fits nicely in a carry case and receives more stations than the DTA240 high gain antenna. In my opinion - save your money, go with the $5 antenna.

I cut the Comcast cord about 1.5 years ago, and sometime earlier this year lost my access to broadcast tv (Comcast wants you to pay them $2.50/mo to view free tv..cray-cray indeed). So I've been on the hunt for a tv antenna....and I'm still on the hunt!I live in the San Francisco Bay Area > East Bay. This picked up only 4 CHANNELS 68-1 through 68-4. Two of the channels are Christian channels, perhaps it's a sign from God. Well message received. I sent this item back. Also, the item is so light-weight that it easily falls over. If you're looking for an antenna that actually picks up the basics, without cramping your style...keep on looking, THIS AIN'T IT!

I ordered this as a gift for a relative looking for a mini antenna for their TV. They told me it was easy to install and was small enough to blend in with their home decor. They loved it and said it works fabulously! Thank you!

I purchased this to use with a small portable LCD TV. I guess I'd say it's OK. I also purchased the August DTA207 telescoping ant which I am very pleased with. This antenna works and the magnet is strong enough given the antenna is very light but I wish it was stronger. The whole unit just doesn't seem very durable & I'm afraid it's gonna break pretty easily if it gets handled a little to roughly, or tossed in a car or bag and something gets laid on it. It's definitely consumer grade (not commercial/industrial) and it does work as advertised but could be beefed up a bit in the ruggedness department.