Not that long ago, a common question to ask one another was ‘Do you have cable at your house?’ It was a question that decided whether or not people hung out at your house or your friend’s house.
Nowadays, it’s more about what streaming services you have available. Amazon, Netflix, and HBO have become absolute giants in the media streaming market with original content that keeps customers coming back for more.
More and more, including myself, are leaving cable TV behind in favor of the World Wide Web and its endless amount of TV-related content. When you compare cable TV to online streaming, you can really see why people opt for one rather than the other.
Online content is a watch-anything, anytime, that can be paused, shared, and binge- watched. Plus, it is a heck of a lot cheaper. So then, why doesn’t everybody cut the cord today and put cable companies into a panic?
Cable TV too has some great original content that is hard to find online unless it’s already been aired. A lot of content, like the New York New Year’s Eve show, football games, and reality survival shows are still just as popular as ever.
Cable TV also doesn’t take away from your internet plan if you happen to be on a metered connection per month. While they dictate what is shown when and where at least it’s always streaming content.
In the United States, a lot of cable TV is still broadcast over the airwaves. By using a compatible antenna, you can tune an antenna to the frequency and get every local football game, the Alphabet news channels, or even those famous reality survival shows.
Many such antennas are available on both eBay and Amazon, but today we’ll be taking a look at Elecwave’s full HDTV antenna.
With a 100 mile outdoor/indoor amplified antenna, this mountable circular antenna may become your new best friend and your wallet’s saver.
Welcome to my review on the Elecwave Full HDTV TV antenna.
Design
In the introduction to the Elecwave antenna, it makes it seem like most of us are going to be using this at our homes. While I expect most people do use it at home, it doesn’t have to be.
The circular dish is water and dust resistant to withstand against the outdoor elements. This opens up an entirely new way to use the Elecwave antenna. Now, it can be mounted to boats, RVs, porch railings, or the side of your house.
If you take a moment to look at the Amazon product page for this product, you may chuckle at the pictures of how large Elecwave makes the antenna seem. In a picture with a cruise ship, the antenna would be the size of a small helicopter. Fortunately, the antenna is as thin as an Apple iPad and lighter than the iPad Air.
Building materials for the antenna include an all plastic housing which is held together by some small screws. When I mentioned the unit is water resistant, I should clarify that the top is water resistant. The top face/surface is a large plastic surface that is void of any holes or areas that water could seep into.
If you were to mount the antenna upside down, then water may be able to seep into the screws or lip which connects two halves of the body. Just be warned when mounting this unit on a boat.
On the top surface, Elecwave added this carbon fiber pattern to add an extra flare to the design. They could have easily left it a white plastic, but I find it adds a premium feel and look to it.
Speaking of premium, included in the box is a solid plastic mounting arm that is attached to the antenna’s protruding neck. Then, with some metal mounting hardware, you can mount the antenna to a railing, pole, or the side of a house.
The antenna is attached to the mount by a single tightening screw, meaning it does not attach or screw into anything. Be careful about theft if you place the antenna within arm’s length of a passerby. The tightening screw isn’t easily unscrewed, but with a few moments with a screw driver, it could be taken off its mount.
Continuing with the mount, the antenna sits on a 180-degree plane and can only adjust its plane by moving the entire mount, though it should be noted that a 180-degree plane is ideal for this sort of device. More on this later.
Lastly, Elecwave provides a 50-foot coaxial cable that serves a dual purpose. The coaxial cable connects to the intended TV, just like a cable box would. Then, you connect the other end to the antenna.
The second application of this cable is that it also feeds power to the antenna. By using a 12V adapter, the coaxial cable powers the antenna and eliminates the need for two wires.
Functionality
Rated for both indoors and outdoors, I ran through multiple tests with the Elecwave antenna. Tested against thunderstorms, walls, mounted six feet up and 20 feet, the antenna has an impressive range.
Elecwave says that the antenna can see a 360-degree view of the airwaves. This claim holds true as long as the antenna itself remains on a 180-degree plane. With every test I performed, if the antenna was cocked or tilted away from 180-degrees, it began to add noise and interference.
Depending on where you live in the United States, your results with the antenna will vary greatly. The antenna claims to have a 100-mile signal radius, which, to me, seems to be accurate, but alas I do not have a way of checking that claim.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has a website that allows you to see which channels are available in your area over the airwaves. In my case, I had about 15 channels in the green, with another 10 in yellow/red status.
No matter where I put the antenna around the home, both indoors and outdoors, at six feet or 20, the antenna returned the same 20 channels to watch from, but don’t let that low number deceive you.
Included in the 20 available channels to watch, are ABC, CBS, FOX, TBN, and NBC. Moreover, the channels were all in full HD.
Before I received any of those stations, I had to first set my TV to scan the airwaves. It’s a timely process, but the TV uses the antenna to tune into the available 87.5-230MHz, 470-862MHz frequencies to see which channel is which number.
With rain, clouds, sunshine, or even thunderstorms, the antenna consistently provided me with clear 1080p HD TV. I was able to watch local news, late-night news, reality TV, and even football games on the Alphabet Network.
The area in which you live will vary your results greatly, but if the FCC reports strong signals in your area, it should be no problem for this antenna to tune into them.
One comment I would suggest for those with noise in the TV show would be to mount the antenna higher up or close to a window if placed indoors. The antenna does best with height and a direct line of sight to the outside sky.
Over the past few weeks, the Elecwave has been providing me with some excellent free TV; TV that isn’t on Netflix or Amazon quite yet. The crystal-clear image and easy hookup beg the question why more haven’t opted for practically free-TV. Albeit the channels are low in numbers, but at least they are major stations.
My Final Thoughts
Priced at $45, this is easily a product that solves a problem of over paying for cable TV. Match this with a Netflix or Amazon Streaming service and everything you could possibly want to watch is within arm’s reach.
The antenna can also be connected to a set-top box or a Synology NAS player to act as a DVR. Doing so would allow you to record the TV for shows you plan on watching later.
Providing free HDTV with little to no hassle, the Elecwave is easily a product I can recommend and I am overall happy with its low cost and performance.
Buy it now:
© 2017 Justin Vendette
