Yeah, but does it work? For several weeks I’ve been testing the Antennas Direct Clearstream 2V antenna. I showed you how it goes together. I tested it in my home office sitting on a table. That’s all great, but the big question is… how does it work outside? Does it work at all?
The Clearstream 2V is a lot smaller than most outdoor antennas and yet it claims over a 50 mile range. I put it to the test over 55 miles from the towers. I used the same test criteria I used for my Geezer vs. Weakling Showdown where I pitted my 40+year old antenna against a Winegard HD1080.
Just like before, I put the antenna on a temporary mount and aimed it as precisely as possible toward the broadcast towers. This time I decided on a more “leisurely approach”… I zip-tied the antenna to the back of a lawn chair and put it up on the roof.
Seriously… don’t mount your antenna like this. Make sure it’s properly grounded and securely installed.
To make sure the playing field was even, I took some new measurements from my old Channel Master antenna. The results… not bad: 120 digital and 2 analog channels. I guess someone knew what he was doing back in the 1960s.
Now, the moment of truth. I disconnected the Channel Master, hooked up the Antennas Direct antenna, and re-ran the channel scan. I prepared to be disappointed because the Clearstream 2V is so much smaller than the Channel Master.
Here we go…
That pretty much says it all. I didn’t get any more channels, but are there really any more out there? I might try adding an attenuator to both and seeing how they perform but this tells you what you need to know. This compact antenna performs as well as any large aerial.
Well done.
