Average Customer Review: ( 37 customer reviews )
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44 of 46 found the following review helpful:
Okay but not great! Oct 29, 2002
By SuriKatta
When I bought my new flat screen TV/VCR/DVD combo, I thought I would "upgrade" my antenna as well. I have to admit that I now receive two more channels and some of the others come in clearer now. The only thing I don't like is that every single time you go to a particular channel you have to fool with this antenna to get a clear picture. My old antenna once you set it for a particular channel, that channel always came in clear and maybe the others a little shadowy but it was always great for that channel. This one is not that way,if you set it say for CBS to come in clear and you surf the other channels during a commercial break when you come back to CBS you have to twittle with the antenna again to get it to come in clear even though you never touched it when surfing through the other channels. The non powered rabbit ears with the halo works just as well.
The positive is that Amazon's price was a lot less expensive than the competitions.
20 of 21 found the following review helpful:
 Good Performance, Build Quality Could be Improved Jul 11, 2005
By Nathan Sheldon
I've had the RCA ANT1250 for over a year now and use it with my RCA HDTV off-the-air receiver and with my VHS VCR. I've tried 2 other amplified antennas (GE and Jensen) available from the local retailers (Target, WalMart, Best Buy) and of the 3 I've tried this one provides the best amplification.
It should be noted that the 45 dB gain is only for VHF and FM, not UHF. The UHF amplifies up to 35 dB according to the specs on the box. Even so, it performed better than the other two I tried. You do need to fine tune the direction of the dipoles (VHF/FM) and the loops (UHF) depending on the channel you are watching if the channels are weak. The other user here who noted the reception changes without moving the antenna was probably experiencing changes in the TV's internal automatic fine-tuning function (a common feature with modern TVs), and not a function of the antenna itself.
I have had to replace the antenna once, perhaps to a power surge. The amplifier simply stopped working. I've had the current replacement for over a year without trouble.
If you cannot use an outdoor antenna, the ANT1250 is a good indoor alternative.
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
 yeah, beats a bare wire Jun 03, 2003
Like other reviewers, I found it requires constant adjustment for the UHF loop, even though all my UHF stations broadcast from one of two locations within about 20 degrees of each other.Also, while the gain on the amplifier is adjustable (and adjustable separately for VHF and UHF), it is not adjustable down to zero; you must turn it off using a very stiff, teensy tiny fiddly little 3-way switch on the back (third setting was bypass, e.g. for cable). Since some local channels (both VHF and UHF) are strong enough that even minimal gain setting was too much, my switch got a lot of use. But it broke after 2-3 months. Why only 1 star? Because of the crummy design. Good signal quality (which it has, once adjusted) is the minimum expectation. I'd like to be able to easily use the device. So I'm looking for a replacement.
11 of 11 found the following review helpful:
OK for the price Nov 13, 2002
Generally a good antenna. I live in the Chicago land area and couple channels don't come out at all with my old out side antenna (channel 2 and 11). this inside antenna works better than my old outside antenna. Couple channels still don't come out very clear but very viewable. You have to adjust it a lot to get fairly clear pictures. Using flat sheet of tin foil on one of the arms improves my worst channels. My dad bought one and put it in his attic. After a lot of adjustments, most of the local channels come out clear. I think this antenna is as good as any outside antenna if you mount it up high in an attic. This will require some work to bring power to the antenna and run the cable down to the TV.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
RCA Amplified ANT 1250 Jan 29, 2005
By OnLine Shopper
"OnLine Shopper"
All in all the antenna works great. I was able to receive four additional channels that I was not able to see before. The only drawback, I just hate to fiddle with setting the reception for each channel. I was spoiled using the no longer marketed Jensen940 amplified antenna which had a feature to remember the signal settings for each channel watched. This antenna would be a perfect one if it incorporated that feature!! As far as performance, considering it has 45 db amplification, it works much better than most on the market. The receptions are clear with very little, if any, ghosting on the channels once you set the dipoles. I have tried other brands and found their performance lacking; so of course, I took those back. Looks like this one is a keeper.
As far as price, Target has a very reasonable price of around $28. I have seen this priced much higher, which to me is a price overkill considering the RCA ANT1250 has no electronic features for it's operation.
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based on 37 reviews
