Any Terk HDTVa Antenna Reviews?

I searched around and couldn't find any reviews on the Terk HDTVa here. Best Buy has em for around $30. We're looking to buy another TV for a bedroom which is why I ask. Are they any good?

I have one, as well as another amp'ed antenna (a Philips) and prefer the Terk. It seems to be very good at pulling in signal from Needham (13 miles away, but reception is through a solid wall/no windows). Having said that, I don't have any co-channel interference to worry about, so I'm not really stretching the directional capabilities of this antenna.

Originally Posted by AceofBassFishing

I searched around and couldn't find any reviews on the Terk HDTVa here. Best Buy has em for around $30. We're looking to buy another TV for a bedroom which is why I ask. Are they any good?

It depends on how far away you are from the transmitters. It may work ok, or not.

Enter your address at TVFool.com and post the results link back here, for suggestions. Your address will not be shown on the results page.

Check out the link below for tons of antenna reviews

http://www.hdtvantennalabs.com/indoor.php

Tim's link is a great source for reviews. There are actually two Terk antennas that look the same -- HDTVa, which has an amp, and HDTVi, which doesn't. You may be better off with the HDTVi if you're closer than 20 miles to the broadcast towers; you'll avoid overload-related reception issues that way. Both are well-regarded indoor antennas. The chief criticism is that they tip over easily thanks to the small base and the relatively long "Silver Sensor"-style UHF boom.

From now 2 years of helping people with reception, the Terk solved more indoor reception problems than any other indoor antenna regardless of price and fancy claims or looks.

As Don points out, the people that have not been happy with them made one of two mistakes.

1) they were too close to the towers or a tower and bought the HDTVa model with the amp and it overloaded, ruining many channels they probably received fine on rabbit ears with a loop.

2) they were just too far away for an indoor antenna period.

So the best thing to do is go to TV Fool and put in your address and antenna height above the ground. Add about 9 feet per floor if not on the ground floor. If you don't enter a height it assumes a 30 ft antenna above the house and will yield useless results.

Then with the bold link they give you post it back here and we can help determine if you need the HDTVi or the HDTVa.

Thanks for posting here.

Originally Posted by Piggie

Then with the bold link they give you post it back here and we can help determine if you need the HDTVi or the HDTVa.

Thanks for posting here.

I'd appreciate any input. Here are my results. I've been having a lot of trouble getting reception on the antennas I currently have. I basically can get ABC and sometimes CBS. I'm at the bottom of a hill and there are a number of large buildings and trees nearby.

Originally Posted by Jcavhs

I'd appreciate any input. Here are my results. I've been having a lot of trouble getting reception on the antennas I currently have. I basically can get ABC and sometimes CBS. I'm at the bottom of a hill and there are a number of large buildings and trees nearby.

You might get more responses if you start a new thread. I'm kind of bumping this thread too just so others will notice it. Welcome to the forum.

Originally Posted by Jcavhs

I'd appreciate any input. Here are my results. I've been having a lot of trouble getting reception on the antennas I currently have. I basically can get ABC and sometimes CBS. I'm at the bottom of a hill and there are a number of large buildings and trees nearby.

Having the TVFool report is a good start, but we need more information before hazarding any guesses here:

• Are your antennas on top of the TV, in the attic or outdoors, above the roof? What brands and models are they? If outdoors, do you know how old they are?

• Do you have multiple sets hooked up to attic/outdoor antennas? If so, how many?

• If the antennas are in the attic or outdoors, what kind of cabling was used, coaxial or twinead? About how old is it?

• Are any of the antennas amplified, whether by built-in booster or a most-mounted pre-amp?

• If you use set-top antennas only, what kind of siding does the house have?

• If your antenna(s) are in the attic, what kind of roofing materials does your house have?

All these factors have at least as much of an impact on reception as raw signal strength from the stations.

I'll say this much: Your network affiliates have moderately strong signals and, the Ion station excepted, all are arriving from the same direction.

Thanks!

It sounds like you're looking for an indoor antenna to use on just the bedroom TV. Indoor reception is always a crap shoot and depends a lot on what your walls, windows and roof are made of and what kind of insulation you have. Certain materials make indoor reception difficult to impossible, particularly for VHF channels like KSMP, your FOX affiliate.

Since Best Buy has an antenna you want to try, try it. If it doesn't work, return it. The unamplified HDTVi is the one you should try first, if they have that model. HDTVa is the amplified model, which may possibly overload your TV tuner and increase the chance of interference from electrical sources and FM radio stations.