This might work if you are close to a town or city to eliminate satellite

[CPTKILLER]

Winegard FlatWave Amped TV antenna review | TechHive

The Winegard FlatWave Amped is one of a series of small, lightweight indoor antennas that Winegard offers. The company has been in the antenna business since the 1950s and knows what it痴 doing耀omething I confirmed when I tested this antenna.

In addition to the Amped version, thereç—´ an unamplified version and two even smaller versions called the Mini and the Micro.

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Martyn Williams/IDG
The coax connector on the Winegard FlateWave Amped.



Table of Contents
Performance
Parts and installation
Conclusion
Performance

TechHive tests antennas by performing a number of scans to see how many channels are received. A pattern emerges over the course of the scans and we get to see how well an antenna pulls in the various strong and weak channels on air in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento regions.

The FlatWave Amped did well, pulling in eight digital TV broadcast channels carrying a total of 44 TV stations. That ranks it above our previous indoor antenna pick, the Clearstream Flex, which only managed six broadcast channels at acceptable reception levels.

Additionally, channels received by both antennas were received at a slightly higher signal level on the Winegard FlatWave than the Clearstream Flex, leading us to rank the Winegard antenna our number-one choice at the time of this writing.

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Martyn Williams/IDG
The Winegard FlatWave Amped antenna (right) and the Clearstream Flex antenna.


Whatç—´ even better for consumers is that the Winegard FlatWave Amped is a little smaller, so it will take up less space on your wall or in your window.

The antenna has a built-in amplifier, so that certainly helps reception. Itç—´ powered via a supplied USB power adapter, or you can run it from a USB socket on your TV, if it has them.

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Martyn Williams/IDG
The Winegard FlatWave Amped has an inline amp to help boost signal levels.
TechHive tested the amplified version, the FL-5500A, but there is a non-amplified version that is cheaper, the FL-5500. In general, this latter model should only be considered if youæ±*e sure you can receive very strong local signals. The FL-4000 Mini and FL-2000 Micro are smaller still, but your reception may be limited unless you have very strong signals.

For anyone in strong to medium reception areas, go with the amplified version.

For medium to weaker signals, check out our picks for the best attic or roof-mount antennas, as they値l be much more successful. Unsure what you can receive? We have a step-by-step guide to figuring that out.

Parts and installation

The FlatWave Amped is designed to be mounted in a window or on the wall and that should be easy thanks to its lightweight and size. It measures just 12 inches by 13 inches and weighs 0.6 pounds.

Winegard supplies 3M Command strips for mounting. Put it somewhere as high as possible on the side of your house facing your local TV broadcast transmitters.

The FlatWave Amped comes with 15 feet of coaxial cable attached, which means that if you don稚 need such a long cable run, you値l need to hide the extra cable somewhere. Many other antennas come with a separate cable, which can be switched out with a longer or shorter one as needed.

The coax cable is affixed to the antenna.
I知 not a great fan of the attached cable for the above reason, but it doesn稚 affect its main job of pulling TV stations from the air. If anything, it might help reception because noise can get into TV signals every time a coaxial cable is joined.

A thoughtful touch was a sticker on the antenna reminding me to run a rescan of my TV once it was all connected. I can only imagine the number of customer-support calls they get from people who forget that step.

Conclusion

The Winegard FlatWave Amped antenna is a great choice for people in or near cities who are restricted from installing an outdoor antenna. The antenna is lightweight, sturdy enough, and easy to install. Reception was good and it pulled in more channels than competitors in our tests.

 

[kcflhrc]

I doubt I can get ESPN on an antenna

 

[jaydee325]

Here is a resource for anyone contemplating an antenna. Link

I'm looking into putting up an outside antenna next Spring. That will allow me to at least get rid of the up-charge for locals.

 

[Alien]

I bought one and couldnt even find one channel with it. You gotta be lucky.

 

[ovrszd]

Or lives very close to the transmitters.

 

[DVGaylin]

I've been running OTA TV for a couple of years now and currently get 38 channels from as far a way as 55 miles. I use a directional antenna that is only about 20 feet in the air and an amplifier to boost the signals. Works fine. No ESPN!

 

[BoylermanCT]

Someone can have my ESPN. I would love to lower my cable bill if they would let me not pay for channels I don't watch.

I tried an antenna, and only received 3-4 channels. If I could receive all the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox) I would cut the cable and stick with the freebies and Netflix and Hulu.

 

[Alien]

I can see the transmitters on the range about 20 klm away. I tried 2 different TVs. I found that any TV older than 2015 is not capable of HD or MP4 reception. I am guessing this may have something to do with it?

 

[Oaktree]

Someone can have my ESPN. I would love to lower my cable bill if they would let me not pay for channels I don't watch.

I tried an antenna, and only received 3-4 channels. If I could receive all the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox) I would cut the cable and stick with the freebies and Netflix and Hulu.

We get one off-air digital signal...Vt. public tv. Little-to-nothing there that interests me.
Don't know about your cable provider but ours offers an ultra-basic package for ~$20/mo (once upon a time this was required by law that they offer this, not sure now. They don't generally advertise it, but must make it available if you ask). It has all the major networks plus a handful of other channels. No ESPN, but I believe CSPAN is included. Ours also has a couple Canadian stations, one of which is the CBC from Montreal...they have some interesting programs, albeit very Canadian-centric.

We'll occasionally check out the free streaming providers (Vudu, Pluto, etc.), but most of the free stuff is free for a reason. :thumbdown: We don't watch enough tv to make one of the paid services worthwhile.

 

[kcflhrc]

I think for $90 a month my Dish Network is a bargain in the grand scheme of things. Dinner out and a movie would cost me that much for 2 people. Cheap entertainment in the winter when I want to stay in after work. But summer time, I'm outside until dark usually.