Antennas Direct ClearStream MAX-V PRO Indoor Outdoor TV Antenna - UHF/VHF Multi-Directional Reception, 70+ Mile Range, 4K 8K UHD Ready, NEXTGEN TV Compatible with Wall Mount Bracket - Perfect for Home Theater, RV, and Outdoor Entertainment

Pros:• High gain bi-directional UHF reception• Medium gain bi-directional VHF high band reception• Modest wind loading• Mostly corrosion resistant plastic construction• Attractive, modern looking design• Weather boot for coax provided on antenna side (usually on cable side)Cons:• Each pair of UHF loop antennas is connected with a single screw• Mast mounting is with a single mount• No internal amplificationThis Antennas Direct ClearStream MAX-V PRO antenna is near perfect for my application. It works very well, and is able to receive stations that prior antennas could not for multiple reasons. The antenna has mostly corrosion resistant plastic construction. There is only a single screw holding the UHF loop antenna assemblies to the plastic base however. The plastic base mounts to the mast with a single mast clamp. There are somewhat weather protected connectors that go between the loops and the base that hopefully will not corrode.My application is in Southern Florida which presents a number of requirements for an antenna. Further, my location is almost exactly mid-way between two major markets. The Miami/Ft. Lauderdale market and related TV towers are almost due South. The West Palm Beach market and towers are almost due North.The bi-directional design of this antenna makes it perfect for my application with as described above the stations located near due South or due North. The “front” of the antenna has been installed facing the Miami stations to the South and is aimed about 2 degrees off of due South (about 178 degrees). The Antennas Direct specifications show a 33-degreee wide horizontal reception pattern which puts all the stations to the South and to the North well within that pattern.Some of the stations in my market are on High band VHF with most in UHF. As others have commented, this isn’t the best for VHF, but was more than sufficient in my location. Antennas direct does provide clear specifications, with VHF High (174-216 MHz) having a gain of 2.5 dBi. UHF (470-608 MHz) has a much higher gain of 11 dBi.The antenna is mounted on a mast about 3 feet above the roof and about 18 feet above ground. It has a clear view to the South, and is partially blocked by a peak of the roof about 50 feet from the antenna to the North. With this I am able to receive every station that is “Red” on the antennaweb results site, and more significantly the more marginal channels that are shown on either the Channel Master or Antennas Direct guides that show more distant towers. On the Channel Master site, I can receive every channel that is shown in green for my location, and most of the stations shown in red. This includes several stations that were out of range with my previous antennas. Specifically, WPBF the ABC affiliate with virtual channel 25.1 and physical channel 16 can be received. It is shown as 57 miles from my location. The Antennas Direct site shows this as weak. Note that all the televisions would find this station, and could be watched relatively well, but a Silicon Dust Flex4K would not find it even with multiple re-scans.The antenna claims up to 70-mile range. If given a few more feet of height it might make it. I’m finding its limit is right about the 57-mile range as noted above. I was not able to receive any of the West Palm Beach NextgenTV stations that are all shown as fair signal and were 49.59 miles away on physical channel 33. I am able to receive all the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale NextgenTV stations about 23 miles away.The primary reason I changed to this antenna from a smaller older Monoprice antenna was due to problems receiving the Miami ABC affiliate WPLG virtual channel 10.1 and the Miami Fox affiliate WSVN virtual channel 7.1, both of which transmit on the same physical channel of channel 9. With the previous antenna I had sufficient signal level, but the signal quality was so bad that no receiver would receive it. With this antenna they can now be received. One TV shows an SNR of 26 dB. Silicon Dust reports 87% signal quality and 100% signal strength and 100% symbol quality now. Many other stations show 100% for signal strength, quality, and symbol quality now.This antenna is not amplified. You will need to provide an amplifier if your installation requires it. Ideally the amplifier should be mounted as close to the antenna as possible. While Antennas Direct does offer amplifiers, I am using this with the Channel Master CM-7777HD amplifier. While this amplifier does support outdoor mast mounting, I only have about 25 feet of RG6 Quad Shield coax between the antenna and the amplifier indoors, with the amplifier set at the higher 30 dB gain setting. All of the performance and range numbers above are with this amplifier inline.As mentioned above, I am in South Florida. This presents many challenges for an outdoor antenna. It is hot and humid. It rains a lot. There are occasional hurricanes. These challenges make the design of the antenna important. For resistance to corrosion due to rain and humidity the plastic construction of the base and the UHF loop antennas should be good. Time will tell. What usually kills plastic is the extreme UV exposure and heat from sunlight. Again, time will tell. I am a bit concerned with the design of the connection between the loop antennas and the base. These are essentially quick release, threadless F connectors, with a male on one side and a female on the other. There is a plastic sleeve that goes over this, but certainly humidity can enter and possibly some wind driven rain. Time will also tell how well this holds up. This doesn’t appear to be the most robust design for weather resistance. There is a plastic sleeve, but no gaskets or O rings to provide a water tight seal.For hurricanes the design has somewhat limited wind resistance which is good. I am concerned with the strength of the plastic used for both the UHF loops and the plastic base. It is heavy, robust plastic, but how that holds up to a hurricane also remains to be seen. The mounting also is a bit questionable for strength. The UHF loops are attached to the base with a single screw. The strength is enhanced somewhat by the connector itself and the plastic sleeve, but ultimately only a single screw holds each loop assembly to the base. The plastic base attaches to the mast mount by 2 medium size screws as well, so those screws would have to withstand the entire wind loading of the entire antenna. The mast mount itself also is only a single clamp assembly with 2 wing nuts. The antenna that this replaced was physically far smaller, but it had twice this with it having 2 similar mast clamps, so twice the strength for far far lower wind loading. Again time will tell if and when a hurricane shows up, and if this antenna can survive 140+ MPH winds.As written above, this bi-directional antenna was ideal for my location and installation, and was a major consideration when selecting it. Your location may be different. Antennas Direct does offer a similar, but not identical antenna with a rear reflector. If you only have towers in one direction that may be a better option. Surprisingly they aren’t identical, and the VHF antenna mounts differently. Also surprising, is that the antenna with the additional reflector is priced lower than this one, so check your location. There are also options available with either only 2 UHF rings, 1 UHF ring, and with or without VHF support. There are many online resources that will show what is in your area. The Antennas Direct website has a selector and gives information and aiming and signal estimates. The Channel Master site has similar information. The standard reference is antennaweb, but as I mentioned it did not show some of the more distant stations for my location that were able to be received with this antenna. It is best to check these online resources to see what antenna you need, and if you have any VHF stations in your area.I also want to emphasize proper installation if you mount the antenna outdoors especially above the roofline. The downlead from the antenna should go through a properly grounded ground block before entering the premises (especially in an area like Florida). This installation has about 15 feet of coax from the antenna to a ground block and then another piece of coax entering the house where it then gets connected to a grounded surge protector before connecting to the amplifier. The ground block is connected directly to a ground rod hammered into the ground. The mast that the antenna is mounted on also extends all the way down to and into the ground. None of this comes with the antenna even if you buy it as a complete kit. The complete kit also only comes with a 20 inch mast that clearly would not reach into the ground, so all the more reason to add proper grounding for lightning protection.