Winegard FL5500A FlatWave Amplified Razor Thin HDTV Indoor Antenna
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Please download the manual below the product descriptoin. The most advanced indoor antenna
- Embedded Ultra Low Noise Amplifier with Clear Circuit Technology(TM) (1.0 dB typical noise figure)
- Dual-band amplified HDTV reception up to 50 miles/Extra Long Quality Coax (18 ft)
- Energy saving USB power supply with LED power indicator
- Designed and made in the USA by Winegard, the antenna experts
Enhanced dual band antenna features state of the art ultra low noise preamplifier embedded directly at the elements, where 100% of the signal is amplified. Innovative USB power supply provides energy savings by only consuming power while the TV is powered on.
List Price: $ 99.99
Price: [wpramaprice asin=”B00BN5Z2WM”]
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New Flatwave Amped,
I live in Rochester MN and towers are about 35-40 miles away from my house. So since most indoor antennas claim about 35 miles range I am on the outer edge of their reception.
My quest for a perfect indoor antenna started at the local stores. I ended up buying 3 of them locally and every one had to go back because I wasn’t able to get local NBC affiliate which is broadcasting on VHF . Even technical support at that station told me that at my distance (35 miles) I have to get an outdoor antenna. My UHF stations were coming in easy with any indoor antenna but that VHF was always elusive . In one of my last attempts to keep the cord cutting dream alive , I sent an e mail to Winegard’s global sales representative Grant Whipple. He responded right away with some good news. Winegard was just about to release a new amplified indoor antenna that was showing some great results. At first I was little bit skeptical but decided to give it a shot.
I received this antenna 2 days later and tested it right away. I hooked it up and BINGO I finally got that NBC station along with ABC, CBS, FOX, CW (this one I wasn’t able to get before as well), PBS and some more public channels. This antenna is paper thin, and it looks like a laminated piece of plastic. It comes with 18 feet long coaxial cable, and an amplifier. One I got is transparent but it also comes in white/black combination to blend in your decor. It can be put horizontally but for better results I recommend attaching it to the wall using couple of 3M stickers that come with it. My entertainment center is about 6 feet tall and my TV is on the upper level so I put the antenna on the wall behind the entertainment center about 6 feet up from the floor. So this way it stays hidden but its in a good position to receive signals.It helps to move the antenna around a little bit to find out where it gets the most channels before you attach it for good, but this unit is so light and easy to move around. It can be attached to windows as well. FlatWave Amped Indor HDTV lets you connect the amplifier to the usb port on your TV so your amplifier turns off when the TV is off .
I am very satisfied with this unit and would highly recommend it. The thing that impressed me the most was its ability to get a VHF station at about 35 miles distance. As noted above none of the other antennas I tested was able to do this. Your investment in this antenna will pay off in 3-4 months depending how much you are paying for cable.
Portion of the money I save will go towards Netflix service – $7.99 a month.
So again, I highly recommend this product if you are looking to pick up over the air HDTV signal. Your reception will depend on landscape between you and the towers but this amplified unit worked great for me at about 35-40 miles away from the towers. Over the air signal is even better than cable, since cable has to compress it. Be ready to spend some time moving the antenna around until you find a perfect spot, small movements can make big difference. Costco will start selling this antenna as well, you can buy it through Winegard site or here on Amazon.
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|Comparing diffrent HD Antennas and was shocked, amazing product!,
Antennas:
Winegard Company FL-5000 FlatWave HDTV Indoor Digital Flat Antenna –
Winegard FV-HD30 FreeVision HDTV Antenna
Mohu Leaf (Non Amplified)
GE HDTV Quantum Antenna – Silver (24775) from target.
RCA Simple antenna from Wal-Mart ANT112R
Combiner/Splitter and Amplifier:
2-Port Bi-Directional Cable TV HDTV Amplifier Splitter Signal Booster with Passive Return Path
CHANNEL PLUS 2512 DC + IR Passing 2-Way Splitter/Combiner
I really wanted to ditch DISH network, I felt with Hulu, Netflix and HD OTA TV I’d be set. My main goal was to find something that would get all my local channels plus WTVD 11 ABC which is in VHF. Any other channels where icing on the cake. I live in Cary, NC near RTP NC. Antennaweb and TV fool says all my local channels are UHF and 22 miles or less from me with exception to ABC WTVD which is VHF. I am using Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 PCI-E x1 Dual TV Tuner connected to my PC with Windows Media Center. I first tried each antenna individually in the same location and wrote down the channels they achieved and signal strength after rescanning. I then tried them in combination using the combiner and would add the amplifier to see if results were better. I found when I amplified the signal I would get channels from further away but then it distorted the local channels. I found the best setup to be from the Winegard Flatwave alone mounted on the wall in my office about 8 feet high. The antenna is a little bit bigger than the Mohu Leaf but produces all the local channels except for ABC 11 which is VHF. Not a single setup I tired could get ABC 11.1 on WTVD. I even tried RCA simple antenna with bunny ears (dipoles). I found with the Winegard Flatwave that it reach so far away that I was able to get ABC from Greensboro on channel 45.1 in UHF. TVFool says the signal is 52.3 miles WOW! I was still skeptical and we had thunderstorms the other day. I was able to watch the channel 45.1 in heavy rain no issues, I was in shock! So now I get all the major channels plus bunch of other channels. Total around 35 channels and some repeat from another region.
The Mohu Leaf is comparable to the Winegard in appearance but the Winegard edges it out a bit in performance. I also like that the Winegard is not glossy and has a 15 foot cable to allow more flexibility in placement. Both produce very good results for the design and size. In conclusion, I highly recommend Winegard Flatwave antenna and I hope this ends up helping someone trying to decide between which antennas to choose.
Update: 8/8/2012
I still have the Winegard Flatwave and was working great but decide to get an antenna in the attic and run coaxial cabling to all 3 TVs. I choose this option because I had multiple TV’s and didn’t want to get an antenna for each.
Not everyone has this option but if you do I highly recommend this antenna: Winegard HD7694P High Definition VHF/UHF Antenna. I used Antennaweb and my iPhone with free compass app to find best direction to point the antenna.
I decided to use 2-Port Bi-Directional Cable TV HDTV Amplifier Splitter Signal Booster with Passive Return Path directly off the antenna. I now get 96-100% signal on 3 different TV’s in the house. I have yet to see any freezes or issues with the picture quality. My work has 2 plasma TV’s and wanted to show the Olympics but has no satellite or cable. Since I am in IT dept, my manager figured it was something I could handle. Thanks to messing around with stuff at home I was well versed.
I headed over to our local big bricks and mortar and purchased two antennas. Both costing $29.99 and both amplified. One by GE 34763 and other by RCA ANT1450BR. I wanted something sleek so it would not startle our employees as would huge rabbit ears. I attempted to get the antenna hooked up on both TV’s at work and neither picked up the NBC station we needed. The RCA didn’t get any channels at all, no matter how I placed or angled it.
The next day I brought in my Winegard Flatewave into work and rescanned for channels. It found over 30. For some reason I just was not surprised, LOL! Moral of the story this still one of the best antennas out there!
Good luck to you all and remember to use your resources like Antennaweb to do the research on the best antenna for your needs.
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|Coming From a Cable Guy,
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