$12 Dollar General mudflap antenna from 2016

[comfortably_numb]

I recently moved into my new apartment in downtown Albuquerque. Our towers are on the top of a mountain about 10 miles away. Rabbit ears didn't work inside the house. Adding an amplifier didn't help. So I pulled out this old $12 mudflap antenna that I found buried in a box. I had bought it on a lark from Dollar General about 10 years ago. Lo and behold when I tacked this thing up on the balcony, I'm now getting 102 stations with it.

I always made fun of these things, but in my particular circumstance, it works. The signals are so strong that I had to put a two-way splitter in between the antenna and the television to reduce the gain somewhat.

I went to go purchase another one just to have as a backup; sadly they do not sell this model anymore. I can't find it anywhere.

 

[Jimbo]

I recently moved into my new apartment in downtown Albuquerque. Our towers are on the top of a mountain about 10 miles away. Rabbit ears didn't work inside the house. Adding an amplifier didn't help. So I pulled out this old $12 mudflap antenna that I found buried in a box. I had bought it on a lark from Dollar General about 10 years ago. Lo and behold when I tacked this thing up on the balcony, I'm now getting 102 stations with it.

I always made fun of these things, but in my particular circumstance, it works. The signals are so strong that I had to put a two-way splitter in between the antenna and the television to reduce the gain somewhat.

I went to go purchase another one just to have as a backup; sadly they do not sell this model anymore. I can't find it anywhere.

View attachment 191157

View attachment 191159

View attachment 191158

Did you try a Best Buy, just a thought ?

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?id=pcat17071&qp=storepickupstores_facet%3DStore+Availability+-+In+Store+Pickup%7E338%5Estorepickupstores_facet%3DStore+Availability+-+In+Store+Pickup%7E223&st=OTA+Antenna

 

[dfergie]

I saw onn antennas low priced at Walmart yesterday, but sounds like you don't need another antenna.

 

[comfortably_numb]

I saw onn antennas low priced at Walmart yesterday, but sounds like you don't need another antenna.

I was at Walmart yesterday also and looked at them, but they all appeared to be indoor models. Of course mine is probably an indoor model also.

 

[comfortably_numb]

Did you try a Best Buy, just a thought ?

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?id=pcat17071&qp=storepickupstores_facet%3DStore+Availability+-+In+Store+Pickup%7E338%5Estorepickupstores_facet%3DStore+Availability+-+In+Store+Pickup%7E223&st=OTA+Antenna

It looks like all of those are amplified, I would
need passive

PLEASE LOG IN TO GET RID OF THESE ADS!

 

[comfortably_numb]

I Googled "Dollar General mudflap antenna" and my own post popped up from 2018

Post in thread 'Over-the-air very underdeveloped in the US?'

Feb 2, 2018

Ageed it is not optimal for VHF but it actually manages to do a good job down to Channel 6. Again you need to be relatively close. I would never recommend it fora fringe area but I was impressed at what it can do for the price and size.

I bought a $12 mud flap antenna from Dollar General just for sh*ts and giggs to see how well it would do, as I am 45 miles from my towers. It did surprisingly well. As good or better than my $7 RCA rabbit ears..

• comfortably_numb

 

[Jimbo]

I Googled "Dollar General mudflap antenna" and my own post popped up from 2018

Post in thread 'Over-the-air very underdeveloped in the US?'

Feb 2, 2018

Ageed it is not optimal for VHF but it actually manages to do a good job down to Channel 6. Again you need to be relatively close. I would never recommend it fora fringe area but I was impressed at what it can do for the price and size.

I bought a $12 mud flap antenna from Dollar General just for sh*ts and giggs to see how well it would do, as I am 45 miles from my towers. It did surprisingly well. As good or better than my $7 RCA rabbit ears..

• comfortably_numb

I or any one I know has ever had any luck with that type of Antenna ... Congratulations

My neighbor Gal brought one home and expected it to pick up everything right off the bat, it didn't. (I told her not to expect much).

 

[telstar_1]

Wonder if they'd work on a motorhome going down the road

 

[Jimbo]

Wonder if they'd work on a motorhome going down the road

Well, it Can't be any WORSE

 

[navychop]

You could always buy Terk!

They look GREAT!

Probably won't work well, or maybe not at all, but don't they look great! And expensive, too- so they MUST be good!

PLEASE LOG IN TO GET RID OF THESE ADS!

 

[Jim5506]

Wonder if they'd work on a motorhome going down the road

ATSC is terrible with motion, signal dropouts and dead spots are common.

 

[primestar31]

I recently moved into my new apartment in downtown Albuquerque. Our towers are on the top of a mountain about 10 miles away. Rabbit ears didn't work inside the house. Adding an amplifier didn't help. So I pulled out this old $12 mudflap antenna that I found buried in a box. I had bought it on a lark from Dollar General about 10 years ago. Lo and behold when I tacked this thing up on the balcony, I'm now getting 102 stations with it.

I always made fun of these things, but in my particular circumstance, it works. The signals are so strong that I had to put a two-way splitter in between the antenna and the television to reduce the gain somewhat.

I went to go purchase another one just to have as a backup; sadly they do not sell this model anymore. I can't find it anywhere.

View attachment 191157

View attachment 191159

View attachment 191158

It's not $12, but I got one of these for my dad years ago when he was in a retirement home, and it worked pretty well:

FLATenna - Indoor TV Antenna | Channel Master

The Channel Master FLATenna is a flat indoor TV antenna able to receive broadcast signals from up to 35 miles. The Flatenna has received multiple reviews naming it the best indoor TV antennas on the market.

www.channelmaster.com

 

[Jimbo]

It's not $12, but I got one of these for my dad years ago when he was in a retirement home, and it worked pretty well:

FLATenna - Indoor TV Antenna | Channel Master

The Channel Master FLATenna is a flat indoor TV antenna able to receive broadcast signals from up to 35 miles. The Flatenna has received multiple reviews naming it the best indoor TV antennas on the market.

www.channelmaster.com

Thats the same idea, different vendor.

 

[comfortably_numb]

It's not $12, but I got one of these for my dad years ago when he was in a retirement home, and it worked pretty well:

FLATenna - Indoor TV Antenna | Channel Master

The Channel Master FLATenna is a flat indoor TV antenna able to receive broadcast signals from up to 35 miles. The Flatenna has received multiple reviews naming it the best indoor TV antennas on the market.

www.channelmaster.com

Ordered via Amazon (same price as Channelmaster's website). Should be here by 3:00 tomorrow.

 

[comfortably_numb]

Setup the Channel Master mudflap from Amazon this evening and it works even better than the Dollar General model. All VHF-HI channels come in clearly with no break-up's.

PLEASE LOG IN TO GET RID OF THESE ADS!

 

[Jimbo]

Setup the Channel Master mudflap from Amazon this evening and it works even better than the Dollar General model. All VHF-HI channels come in clearly with no break-up's.

View attachment 191214View attachment 191215View attachment 191216

This particular one, will it stick (suction cups) to a window ?

 

[comfortably_numb]

This particular one, will it stick (suction cups) to a window ?

It comes with adhesive strips, but not suction cups.

 

[Foxbat]

It comes with adhesive strips, but not suction cups.

It looks like you used nails, though…

 

[comfortably_numb]

It looks like you used nails, though…

Yes, there are 4 holes in the mudflap for nail or screw mounting

 

[Former member 202249]

Wonder if they'd work on a motorhome going down the road

Nope, unfortunately ATSC 1.0 sucks when it comes to any kind of motion. I used to have a USB dongle that I carried with a monopole antenna and a laptop to watch TV when I had some down time at college. I drove around the city doing a test to see how resilient the signal was. When I was going a few miles or more, it would be instant break up of signal. Stopping at a traffic light would fix everything. Pushing on the accelerator and the breakup would happen in seconds.

PLEASE LOG IN TO GET RID OF THESE ADS!