Best choice between these three OTA antennas

[Neutron]

I've got my list of replacement antennas down to these three:

Antennacraft HBU-55 VHF/UHF
Channelmaster 4228 8-bay UHF
Channelmaster 3671 Crossfire VHF/UHF

TV Fool link: TV Fool

I currently have the Antennacradt HBU-33 and of course it's weak. I can only get some of the stations at night and if it's overcast that's out of the question.

Which one would you recommend?

 

[Bob2011]

If those are your choices and you are still only shooting for the nearest networks then the 8-bay is the best choice out of the three. It has the highest UHF gain which was your problem area with the last antenna. The 4228HD that is made in China now is nothing like the original 4228 which was great on VHF. Still at your range the ABC station should be ok.

That Crossfire is a 14.5 foot beast and should only be considered if you have dreams of hitting the VHF stations out of Dallas.

 

[Neutron]

Would either the 4228HD or the HBU-55 be strong enough to pick up my local CBS station from 73 miles away with 2Edge?

Both of those are cheaper than the Crossfire. Would the 4228HD, being UHF only, still allow me to pick up my ABC station from 20 miles away with it being VHF-HI?

 

[Teehar]

In theory it should.I have a 4bay philips antenna with the preamp that you had no luck with and get wsoc out of charlotte at 93.3 miles in the low to mid 70's.There are several others that are in the 90 mile range and almost all are 2edge.They all come in very strong here.Granted there are hot spots and weak spots and basically I took a small tv set outside and walked around with the antenna until I found a sweet spot.Now if your down in a hole or surrounded by tall buildings or mtns then you may not get cbs.However if your in flat terrain then cbs should come in with a pretty strong signal.

 

[Larry1]

I can only get some of the stations at night and if it's overcast that's out of the question.

Which one would you recommend?

It may be you need more height. A larger antenna might not do any better if there is no signal to receive.

 

[Neutron]

In theory it should.I have a 4bay philips antenna with the preamp that you had no luck with and get wsoc out of charlotte at 93.3 miles in the low to mid 70's.There are several others that are in the 90 mile range and almost all are 2edge.They all come in very strong here.Granted there are hot spots and weak spots and basically I took a small tv set outside and walked around with the antenna until I found a sweet spot.Now if your down in a hole or surrounded by tall buildings or mtns then you may not get cbs.However if your in flat terrain then cbs should come in with a pretty strong signal.

We have a lot of trees and we have some hilly terrain.

 

[No Static At All]

Would either the 4228HD or the HBU-55 be strong enough to pick up my local CBS station from 73 miles away with 2Edge?

I doubt it. At 73 miles you need an antenna with maximum signal gathering ability.

I recommend keeping the HBU-33 for VHF & getting a 91-XG for UHF. Mount the 91-XG at least 1 foot above the HBU-33. Combine the 2 antennas with a Winegard 2870 dual input pre-amp. Aim both antennas towards magnetic 169°.

For fringe UHF, nothing can beat a dedicated UHF only antenna. No combo antenna can match the signal gathering ability of a high gain separate; period.

 

[Teehar]

I have heard only good things about the 91-xg for deep fringe uhf reception.

Here are my TV fool results

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d7fcf2cb608f1c4

As I mentioned earlier I can get several channels in the 90+ mile range

WSOC
WBTV
WCCB

All 3 of those average high 60's to mid 70's,antenna about 15' off ground.We do live at a high elevation around 3900' but there are still plenty of ridge tops taller than where we are.I can also get Wghp and Wfmy most of the time but it does require rotating the antenna a bit more to the east and both of them are roughly 125 miles.

There are never no guarantees when it comes to tv reception but imho I think with a 91-xg,or 4228 you should be able to get your cbs station.Good height,preamp,and possibly a rotator could possibly get you many channels.

 

[Neutron]

Thanks for the help everyone! After thinking about this over the weekend I've decided to forgo trying to get my locals via OTA.