Customer Rating:  
Summary: Worth the Money
Comment: Simple setup, even the mounting process is easy. I unpackaged it, set it on the floor and picked up 20+ digital channels on my first scan using the TV's built in tuner (yes, the tuner matters). Once mounted on my roof I picked up broadcast stations about 55 miles away, with over 30 total channels received (some duplicate).
I live on the fringe of the 40 mile 'limit' of this antenna, about 38.5 miles from the HDTV broadcast towers. I bought an indoor TV Tuner device that used its body as a antenna and received zero channels. The only possible advantage is that I live at altitude, about 1000' higher than the nearest city with a pretty good line of sight (35+ miles) to the HD broadcast towers.
I used common RG-6 cable I had laying around and have no regrets about the HD signal quality, it is noticeably better than my satellite provider's HD signal on a 720p TV.
Easy to mount. Mounted to my roof with J-mount hardware and some extra lag bolts to secure it against strong winds. Second night we had 40+mph sustained winds and it was fine.
Ran the direct line to a 4 way splitter and dropped some channels. Despite the internal amplifier, I plan to add a powered signal booster to see if I can recover those channels (and maybe pick up more).
Customer Rating:
Summary: A great antenna
Comment: First, I would like to preface these comments by saying I know next to nothing about electronics or antennas but I can program my own VCR with lots of time and the book of course.
The Lacrosse-A Antenna is a great value for the money. In Feb of 09 analog, over-the-air, TV will cease to be broadcast and many people are having to change their TVs and the way these TVs receive signals. I live in a rural community that depends on Satellite TV but do not receive my local channels. Over-the-air analog is horrible at my location. Only two station can be received at about 50% and 80% while the rest are at 20% or less reception. This year I bought my first HDTV and a variety of antennas to receive over-the-air HDTV and none worked. Even the converter box with a indoor HDTV antenna only produce one HDTV channel and the two analog channels. I searched for a solution and came to the Lacrosse. This antenna pulled the HDTV stations in from my area just great. Even the analog stations came in reasonably well. I went from my two to twenty stations. (Analog will never be able to compare to digital) So for my money and I spent around $110 with shipping and replacement insurance for a unit that works as advertised and looks really good along side my dish setups.
I only have one suggestion for the developers of this unit that might be taken into consideration when developing any upgrades to this antenna: The power for the amplifier is one of those large brick plugs instead of a regular plug. I would suggest that the amplifier be placed somewhere other then where it plugs into the wall. This unit is outside and must be protected from the weather but it takes up the entire covered outlet and I am unable to use the plug for anything else. If on the other hand you where to make the power supply in such a manner as to have the brick somewhere in the line and a regular plug then homeowners, like my self, could add other components like a signal booster for long cable runs. Just a thought.
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good but not Great!
Comment: Because of the advent of digital television and the opportunity to get HDTV signals for FREE over the air, small compact antennas are popping up everywhere! Winegard started the trend with its Square-Shooter and now other companies are following their lead. Terrestrial Digital has recently entered the scene with its Lacrosse line of square styled "dish" type digital antennas, competing head to head with Winegard.
Since the Terrestrial antennas cost a little less than their Winegard counterparts, and Amazon had the best price anywhere... I ordered the Terrestrial amplified model. The installation was very easy and pretty straight forward. The antenna is built well and seems very solid and substantial. The antenna amplifier is mounted on the antenna mast, connected with a short cable and powered by a cable "injection" unit inside the home. One thing to note: The Lacrosse antennas are designed for UHF signals only... which includes ALMOST all digital TV signals.
Being about 30 miles from the TV towers put the Terrestrial Lacrosse to the test and it did pretty well on several stations but not so well on others with intermittent pixeling and drop-outs. I added a second amplifier prior to the splitter and things improved... but I still wanted better and more consistent reception.
About this time, I received a "like new" Winegard Square-Shooter amplified antenna from a ridiculously low bid on eBay... and I decided to install this antenna and see if there was any difference. To my surprise, the difference was very obvious! The Winegard pulled in almost every available channel with NO problems!!! The Winegard is not as structurally solid as the Terrestrial, nor as heavy... but it does a better job of bringing in the signal... which is why anyone buys an antenna in the first place! Also the amplifier is built into the antenna (not mast mounted). There is still the power "injector" for inside the home but the built-in amplifier feature means two less outdoor connectors... this is GOOD!!!
Also, the Winegard receives both VHF & UHF signals rather than only UHF as with the Terrestrial. So, for MY situation the Winegard proved to be the best antenna by a fairly wide margin. Obviously, your situation may find different or perhaps even opposite results. I returned the Terrestrial for refund and am so far delighted with my eBay bargain Winegard Square-Shooter 2000.
Customer Rating:
Summary: HD Antenna, not bad
Comment: This antenna installed easily, but is really borderline for reception at the 25 mile range. It does well in the UHF band, but is no good for VHF at this distance. Worth the money? Yes, if most of your HDTV channels are on UHF.
Customer Rating:
Summary: 35 miles away, not working for me
Comment: I've read the reviews on this site and others and had high hopes for this antenna. I was using and old Radio Shack 70 mile directional running through my DISH HD receiver. The stations to the north would come in at around 80-90% on average, while the southern stations (only 20 miles away) between 55-70%.
I hooked up the new antenna, aimed it using the recomended giudelines and directional charts. NONE of my northern stations came in. The highest level I could get was 63% and at that low, the signal wouldn't produce a picture. The southern stations did better coming in at 85%.
So while on the roof, I reconnected my old antenna and re-aimed it to the north and now get 95-100% levels. Unfortunately I'll be returning this model.
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