JER

We're in the process of reworking the base of the Clearstream base now to make it easier to attach the coax. It shouldn't be too long before they are shipping the improved version.

I believe on the seam you refer to is ultrasonically welded so it should be well sealed. The tooling for the plastic molds is expensive to develop and making changes can be risky. I'll check again with the mechanical & manufacturing guys about the sealing and see if they think a drain hole is necessary. Waterproofing enclosures can be tricky and I'm not the expert there. Apparently they need to breath somehow to deal with pressure changes. I'll note that the original idea was to make the Clearstream loops out of thick AL stock so that it would be super solid and impervious to damage but the price of AL is so high we had to switch and do the thin element with the plastic enclosure. In the end, I think the plastic is very strong and perhaps a better use of materials.

We always appreciate constructive suggestions. Thanks!

We also appreciate field reports on our products. Its very helpful for us to know how and where people are using our products and what kind of results they are getting.

As I said we are a small company so for efficiency we use state of the art computer simulators and lab testing in the development process and then follow up with some limited field testing to ensure that what we see in the computer and lab are being realized in the field. The computer sims and lab measurements usually, but not always, show good correlation with performance in the field. We don't however have time or budget to do the kinds of extensive testing that Fox TV is doing as he evaluates his coverage area so having that kind of feed back from experienced and knowledgeable individuals is quite valuable to us.

Thanks again!

EscapeVelocity

A thick raw aluminum double bow would have been beautiful on the C2.

JER

We're still contemplating a "professional" series with the raw thick AL stock. They would be targeted at commercial type installations where they are mounted on big towers and its expensive to have someone climb a tower to replace an antenna. They would have a premium price though due to materials and short run labor costs.

EscapeVelocity

Well, the plastic seam seperates fairly easily on the one I have here. I can easily add my own drain hole with a drillbit.

JER

They have improved the sealing process since the first versions began rolling off the line. The latest samples I have seem to be very robust. If you bought the antenna from the website you can probably call customer service and get a replacement. They have a fairly liberal return policy.

jwalter

For what it’s worth, I get high VHF with a ClearStream 2, I have been impressed with the results. I live about 17 miles from the PBS Ch 11 transmitter in Topeka and maintain about an 80% signal level. (In addition I can also receive the Kansas City UHF transmitters reliably at 35 - 37 miles). I bought one for my dad who’s a little closer and he’s had similar results. I know that’s not exactly deep fringe, but for many people a C2 would probably be fine for upper VHF.

Does that make it a combination antenna? I don’t know, but as an all around antenna, it’s still better than the bowtie designs I have tried.

Mine is mounted outside and I’m slightly above the average terrain so as always, your mileage may vary.

EscapeVelocity

Ive picked up Ch. 7 at 45 miles away with the ClearStream 1 and a CM 7777 amplifier...however it wasnt reliable in bad weather and wind...but on clear still day, even with full summer leaves, it did the trick. Which was pretty impressive. However, Im not calling it a VHF antenna.

JER

I'm glad you brought up the bad weather issue.

I used to live in downtown Salt Lake City where all the transmitters are located on a ridge some 5000 ft above the city. It was amazing to me how, even with the very strong signal levels we had there, that digital reception would be affected by weather - especially high wind conditions.

I'm not a receiver expert but it seems reasonable that the problem may not be an antenna issue so much as it is a result of dynamic multi-path signal conditions (caused by swaying tree branches?) changing faster than the receiver multi-path canceling circuits can keep up. I recall one evening when we were having a really severe wind event (no rain actually) that I couldn't receive any channel reliably.

Any thoughts on that idea? Is this purely a receiver issue?

Has anyone tested various receivers under such conditions to see how they perform?

Is there a specification on a receiver or chipset that indicates how well it would cope with such conditions?

Is there something that could be done on the antenna (short of a "laser beam" pattern) that could help?

How well will mobile DTV will work if/when that technology is rolled out?

Piggie

I tried an Insignia, DTVPal Plus, Toshiba TV, Ölevia TV. Not a bit of difference.

I had the problem constantly on ch 31 and ch 36 my two strongest signals with a CM4221A. I replaced it with a Radio Shack U-75R and bingo problem solved. It has less gain and dropped my quality meter about 5 points on all UHF channels, but it is steady as a rock on windy days, dry or wet leaves.

I changed it before the analog cut off and it was clearly much better on wind leaf driven multipath.

The U-75R has a 47 degree beam width, so it's not a long boom, but had the front to side to solve wind leaf branch driven multipath.

There is quite a bit of information on this forum if you look about Mobile DTV.

Piggie

I would have to see the new boxes. But it's obvious to me you came into this thread to add more Google fodder for your company. It's a sneaky way to advertise while promoting your antenna sales.

I must compliment you on changing a thread where I said I was not a fan of your antenna into a promotion thread for them. Like I said, your company is very good at marketing.

I believe my work here is done.

So you, and several others here between constantly stating things, political views that never end it has worked.

You can have this place all to your own.

Call it the antenna sellers forum.

See everyone here later.