Quote:
Originally Posted by JER
@FoxTV - Thanks for your note on the usefulness of the Clearstream antennas for solving reception problems. I do however want to clear up a few misconceptions in your post above.
1. The NAB did NOT fund development of any aspect of any of the current Clearstream antennas. The entire effort was funded internally by Antennas Direct.
2. The NAB did provide funding to Antennas Direct to develop of a reference design for an indoor smart antenna based on the CEA909A standard. This antenna is not available as a commercial product at this time due to market issues that are beyond the control of Antennas Direct and NAB.
3. While I know for a fact that there are individuals within NAB that use and like the Clearstream antennas, to the best of my knowledge the NAB organisation has NOT issued any public endorsement of the Clearstream antennas.
Again, I appreciate your posts validating the Clearstream antennas in your market, and I look forward to future interactions on technical topics discussing antennas and solving reception issues.
Best Wishes to all!
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Hello again, I also stated that I was not aware of all of the NAB details. That statement was based on my misunderstanding of what Richard told me when I met him early last year. I must have misunderstood what he said. If I have mis-spoken about the involvement of the NAB, I am man enough to admit I was wrong, so...I admit I was wrong.
I don't understand why everyone has a problem with the Clear Stream antennas solely because they are made in China. I will bet anyone on here that all of the computers that they use to post on here have a majority of Chinese produced components in them. There is no way to get around the "China Connection" in today's world. I am a genuine Flag Waving American too, and I despise the "China Connection" as much as anyone else, but there is no way to avoid it.
The design of the Clear Stream antenna is "Very innovative", and I have proved to myself that they are capable of solving reception problems in troublesome reception areas. Here is a good example of a reception Horror story I was recently involved in.
I got a call from a viewer about 4 months ago stating that he could not receive any of the 4 UHF transmitters located on a 4,000 foot mountain top, only about 15 miles from his residence. His TVFOOL plot showed a 2 edge obstruction, and signal levels in the -75 to -80 range. He has just erected a "100 mile" fringe antenna, brand unknown. His home was surrounded by mountains on 3 sides located in a hollow. His antenna was a behemoth yagi combo with at least an 8 foot boom length. It was brand new with new RG 6 cable too.
He could only receive 1 VHF channel on 3, and no UHF channels at all. On the initial visit, I erected a C2 on a 20 foot mast pole and started receiving the channels he was trying to receive. His antenna was mounted at least 40 feet in the air on an older 2.5 story farm house (2 floors and a walk in in attic). Now with A C2 at 20 feet, I still had some break up, but that proved the signals were there.
I told him that we needed to get the antenna up higher, and he found someone to climb for him (The same guy who installed the behemoth antenna). This time I brought a C4 and the climber took a C4 up with him and hooked it up to the existing RG 6 and set it on top of the chimney and I went inside and did a channel scan, and all of the channels he could not receive on the behemoth yagi, now came in rock solid with no drop outs.
The viewer was very happy, and took all of the information he needed to buy a C4 on the internet (He was elderly, and his son ordered it for him). I called him several weeks later to see if he had it installed, and he was as happy as a bull in a "China Shop" with the new digital TV he could now receive.
Our station runs news at 10:00 PM, and he always watched the news and then got ready for bed after the news was over. That was the reason he called our station, because he always watched our news, and then went to bed. He missed our station the most, and now we earned a loyal viewer by helping him solve his reception issues using the Clear Stream antennas. Since his behemoth could not see the UHF signals, I advised him to get an antenna combiner and leave the behemoth installed to so he could get the low and high VHF channels in this area also.
On last note to consider is that my Transport Stream analyzer showed echos that were almost as strong as the main lobe at over 80 Microseconds out in time, and the Clear Stream antenna would still receive the signals that the Yagi would not.
I am not endorsed or compensated in any way by them as some might think. I am just a common ordinary Broadcast Engineer, who knows a good innovative antenna design when I see one, and to chastise them and denounce their products because of the "China Connection", goes against the grain of why this forum exists in the first place.
And yes, my posts are rather long, but that happens when you are a published author, and feel the need to explain something in detail so everyone understands things as clear as possible. THE CLEAR STREAM ANTENNAS ROCK, AND I DON'T CARE WHERE THEY ARE MADE, and neither did the Gentleman who's reception issues the innovative antenna design of the Clear Stream antennas solved.
Less advertising throughout
The "China Connection" and Clearstream Antennas again !!
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