Cutting the cord sounds better and better as cable and satellite TV costs keep going up. But can you get an HD signal for your TV, and what kind of antenna are available? Contributing editor Anita Edge checked out the Antop “Big Boy” HDTV Antenna to find out…
I cut the cable 6 years ago and never looked back. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have been my primary sources of entertainment and, at times, education. For news, I just use the web. No problem until the 2016 Summer Olympics. Searching the web for specific events and athletes I wanted was just not the experience I’ve come to enjoy over the years. It was a real hassle and not very entertaining. I love the network commentary, athlete interviews, and coverage of each event. So with the 2018 Olympics starting, it was time to get an antenna for local network reception.
The Antop AT-403B turned out to be exactly what I needed. I live at the top of Conifer Mountain, close to 10,000 feet up and about 45 minutes from downtown Denver. I wanted good channel selection and very clear reception. My ideal setup lets me position the antenna optimally – perhaps on the roof – and connect to multiple rooms and TVs via coax. That means an outdoor antenna with a long, sturdy, weather-proof cable.
I have a pole on the roof where one of those old-fashioned metal antennas used to be mounted. Wouldn’t it be great to just mount the new antenna on the same pole? It turns out the AT-403B is designed to handle every problem in my scenario.
It has a pole-mount on the back of the antenna; there’s a bracket mounted on a pivot that comes attached to the antenna. A separate metal piece goes around the back of the pole to anchor the antenna to the pole. Since this pole mount connects to the antenna on a pivot, you can attach the antenna to the pole and then pivot it to point it to the optimal signal. It comes firmly mounted so that rotating it meets resistance, but isn’t difficult.
We often get high winds here in Conifer, so I hope this means that once we get the antenna optimally positioned, it stays put – but we haven’t had the chance the test this yet. The AT-403B also comes with a 40-foot coax cable – long enough to reach from the roof to our main coax hub. The power supply is on a detachable segment of coax cable, which should be ideal for the scenario where most of the cable is outdoors while the power supply is indoors.
What I just described is my ideal permanent antenna installation, but the short-term scenario is quite different. I got the antenna less than a week before the 2018 Olympics. I just wanted crystal-clear reception quickly. There was no way I was climbing up on the roof. Next summer maybe, but not now. The AT-403B is an indoor-outdoor antenna, so it also comes with a stand so you can put it on a table or windowsill. I just put it on top of a table in front of my bedroom window, hooked it up to the TV, and it found 21 channels right away. I adjusted the angle a bit and got 28 channels. I’m getting perfect reception. Right now, the setup isn’t stable, so it can easily get bumped and on occasion I need to adjust it again. It’s so easy to do, this hasn’t really been a problem.
The AT-403B should be the only antenna I’ll need for the whole house. Of course, I already have a coax hub that supplies coax connectors to the major rooms, which should make the final installation brain-dead simple. Any downside to this antenna? Well, the highest windows in my house have window sills just 2 inches deep, not enough to provide stable support for an indoor installation. That’s pretty easy to handle, though; plus I expect my permanent installation to be on the roof. All in all, I’m expecting this antenna to handle all my broadcast TV needs for years to come.
ANTOP 403B Flat Panel “Big Boy” HDTV Outdoor Antenna with Smartpass Amplifier, $129.00 at ANTOPUSA.COM
Disclosure: ANTOP sent us the 403B antenna for the purposes of this review.