AntennaCraft U8000 8 Bay UHF Antenna HDTV Bow Tie Reviews

EscapeVelocity

EscapeVelocity

Moderator, , Webmaster of EV's Antenna Blog
#23
#23
Large, 8-bay bowtie designs like the U8000 probably sport average VHF-high gains in the -6 dBd to -8 dBd range
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From my experience...

This one is one of the better ones. Goes something like this...

Channel Master 4228
AntennaCraft U-8000

Winegard HD-8800
Antennas Direct DB-8

With the first 2 showing positive gain on VHF High, and the second 2 being more inline with your -7dB range.
 
D

dave73

DTVUSA Member
#24
#24
Don_M said:
I'm glad the repair was so quick and straightforward. Still, I've read way too many stories like this one about FedEx. I really wish antenna vendors would stick with UPS for their superior attention to detail.
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I know this posting is a bit old, but I have to comment on it. I don't know about other parts of the USA for UPS, but I used to work at the hub in Hodgkins Illinois, and they're just as bad at keeping damage to a minimum. I also worked for FedEx Ground in Hammond Indiana and saw a lot of the same stuff there too. Both places don't pay people good enough and expect people to work part-time, that people at both companies don't take enough pride in making sure packages don't get damaged. I used to see people use some packages as stepping stools at both facilities. Not only that, working at the UPS hub, if a package is small enough, it could easily be misloaded because supervisors are required to intentionally to place a package into a trailer just to see if someone will catch it. That's bad news if it's a hot load because trailers get slammed with packages, and people don't always catch those packages. I'm not lying about that because I've had my fair share of supervisor incompetence in intentionally tossing packages into hot loads & I didn't always catch that package. As for the higher cost of the shipping thru UPS; the cost is higher because they're union whereas FedEx is non-union. I just hope I don't get myself in trouble on this board for disclosing some of this stuff.

As for the antenna itself, I'm considering this antenna along with the Antennacraft MXU47 for UHF. I'm planning to get the Antennacraft Y-5-7-13 for VHF since Chicago has 2 VHF stations (WWTO doesn't reach my area & I don't consider them a Chicago station due to location), & need this antenna. As much as people have claimed to get 7-13 on a 4 or 8 bay antenna, it's no guarantee I'll get VHF stations on an antenna that's marked UHF. I'd rather be safe by getting a separate VHF antenna than sorry if I can't get VHF stations on a UHF antenna. I know someone who has a 4 bay antenna, & doesn't get a steady signal of a channel 8 (actual channel) with a 4 bay UHF antenna.
 
dkreichen1968

dkreichen1968

Moderator
Staff member
#25
#25
dave73 said:
I know this posting is a bit old, but I have to comment on it. I don't know about other parts of the USA for UPS, but I used to work at the hub in Hodgkins Illinois, and they're just as bad at keeping damage to a minimum. I also worked for FedEx Ground in Hammond Indiana and saw a lot of the same stuff there too. Both places don't pay people good enough and expect people to work part-time, that people at both companies don't take enough pride in making sure packages don't get damaged. I used to see people use some packages as stepping stools at both facilities. Not only that, working at the UPS hub, if a package is small enough, it could easily be misloaded because supervisors are required to intentionally to place a package into a trailer just to see if someone will catch it. That's bad news if it's a hot load because trailers get slammed with packages, and people don't always catch those packages. I'm not lying about that because I've had my fair share of supervisor incompetence in intentionally tossing packages into hot loads & I didn't always catch that package. As for the higher cost of the shipping thru UPS; the cost is higher because they're union whereas FedEx is non-union. I just hope I don't get myself in trouble on this board for disclosing some of this stuff.
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I design packaging for a living and we consider UPS to be the test. If a package will survive UPS overnight with no damage to the contents we consider that it will survive about anything.
 
dkreichen1968

dkreichen1968

Moderator
Staff member
#26
#26
By the way, the U8000 is the UHF antenna I use. I have it comboed with an Antennacraft 5-7-13 and mounted in my attic. I use a Antennacraft 10G201 pre-amp to drive 2 TVs on two floors. I pick up low power KLPD from Look Out Mountain (49 miles away) with a good signal (very few drops or cases of interference). The thing I don't like is the narrow beam width since I would like to pull in the former KWHD (KETD), but that is the down side of an 8 bay. If LeSea ever gets KWHS converted to digital KWHD won't be an issue. (I'd like to get my digital "Hogan's Heros" fix.) But since they are channel 51 I don't know if they will chance it with the FCC theatening to take their channel.
 
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R

rickcain

DTVUSA Jr. Member
#27
#27
I guess this is an update to my original post. The U8000 continues to amaze me. I reversed the antenna 180 degrees in a little experiment and picked up 3 new channels from 78 miles away with 65% signal strength, unamplified no less. The local stations still come in strong enough so I only had minor signal degradation which was of no concern since none were below 85% signal. High VHF channels are still coming in fine and I'm a happy camper.

I can only imagine what this thing can do if it actually was on a tower and not in my attic...
 
R

rickcain

DTVUSA Jr. Member
#28
#28
Update #2. In my never-ending quest for reception, I have added a Winegard AP-8700 preamp. It has improved the signal even more, and now I occasionally am getting a station or two from 100 miles away!. I think I'm losing a lot of reception from attic mounting, so I'm going to experiment with having it in the backyard on a post. I'm lucky enough to be on a very large hill so there's not much of anything blocking the signal except maybe for other houses but its still a pretty clear shot in most directions. I'm going to have to look up how to mount this safely outside for lightning and static protection. The only thing I don't like about the preamp is that it gets pretty hot, and in a hot attic I'm afraid it might burn out early.
 
Fringe Reception

Fringe Reception

Super Moderator, Chief Content Editor
Staff member
#29
#29
Rickcain,

When you move your antenna outside, I suggest you first try it without the preamp, then again with the amp. I'm sure your reviews and shared experience will be appreciated here.

Jim
 
G

gridironmike

DTVUSA Jr. Member
#30
#30
I found a couple of these for sale (locally) for $25 today. Last year, I bought a Channel Master DVR+ and it's pretty much laid in the box unused while I waited to find a good deal on an antenna. $25 is cheap enough, but I'm afraid this won't be much of much use to me. Thoughts?
 
Fringe Reception

Fringe Reception

Super Moderator, Chief Content Editor
Staff member
#33
#33
Mike,

I don't know if that 8-bay antenna has any ability to collect low-band VHF signals and if it does, it would be gathering signals do to its size and not because its designed to. Sorry I can't be any real help for you.

Jim
 
MrPogi

MrPogi

Moderator, , Webmaster of Cache Free TV
Staff member
#34
#34
G

Greg

Guest
#35
#35
The U8000 is a fantastic, underrated, but now discontinued antenna for my situation, which is extreme deep fringe, but does nothing for me on RF-8 or RF-10 VHF-high signals from 70-80 miles away; whereas adding the largest VHF-only antenna ever built on a separate coax and a UHF- VHF combiner gave me RF-10 probably 60% of the time but never RF-8 which is a lower power signal. I'm 56-82 miles and 264-276 degrees from all distant transmitters. I use no rotator. Until the repack, I almost always received 8 out of 9 UHF signals from this great distance mounted 20' from the higher ground end of the west gable end of my home and a CM 3777 preamp pointed at 272 degrees magnetic.
 
J

Jim Navotney

Guest
#37
#37
The U8000 is a excellent 8 bay bowtie and it's peak gain is 12dbd which is about 14.2Dbi so it has just as much gain as the rest
 
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