Winegard :
SS-3000
Price :
$59.99
Offer Price :
$44.53
"Does not work in middle of Miami-Dade Co, Fl" 2010-07-14
By E. J. Williams (Miami, Fl United States)
Living in hurricane-alley, I was really hoping this antenna would work so I could avoid putting up an outdoor antenna. Unfortunately, this antenna picked up only one station and that was tenuous at best. My old amplified UHF/VHF rabbit ears antenna will actually pick up most of the UHF stations well - with adjustments, but not the sole VHF station (channel 10). All television broadcast stations available to Miami-Dade County, Florida are in the same direction about 15 miles north of my home. This antenna claims to be capable of receiving signals 30 miles away. Well it is evidently a little more complicated than that.
The Winegard SS-3000 is color coded for the CEA "yellow" antenna zone, and I wish Amazon would go the extra step and put that in the description. It can be found on the Winegard manufacturer's web site. Before buying this antenna for your home based on the great reviews, I would advise someone to take the time to look up the color-coded HDTV antenna CEA (Consumer Electronics Association)zone(s) for your specific home. There are a number of online web sites where you can type in your address and get the zones for your home. If I had realized that this antenna's zone was rated "yellow" when my area needs a "red", I would not have bothered trying it out.
Also be aware that some antennas receive UHF broadcasts only. You will need to know if your television stations are broadcasting in UHF or VHF and those same CEA zone look-up web sites will help with that as well. Some stations might even switch from one to the other over time. One last tip, make sure you scan the channels on the antenna input for your television after you have set up the antenna. The first time I hooked up my rabbit ears, I thought they did not work at all, until I re-scanned the channels so it could find the new digital broadcasts.
Obviously some are very happy with this purchase, but I suspect it is because their area is within the antenna's capabilities. Distance from the broadcast stations is not the only criteria for categorizing an antenna's reception ability. I looked up antenna installers in our area and found a company to install an outdoor antenna which will work in our area. I am considering a telescoping antenna mast, so I can at least lower it closer to the roof line during high winds. Even with installation costs, I am looking forward to dumping the monthly cable bill.
