Review: Winegard FlatWave Antenna

Many years ago, I had no desire to get cable TV, so I suffered with various antennas trying to tune in a picture. Of course, I never had a great signal and was always fiddling with the antenna to watch TV. At some point, I got tired of this game and subscribed to local basic cable which was the over-the-air channels, but delivered to a cable. My hassles of trying to get a clear picture were over. However, this convenience cost me about $15 per month.

When the digital TV transition happened, I started thinking about antennas again. I’d either get channels or not; there would be no more fuzzy pictures. A few times, I was tempted to get an antenna, but due to where we lived, I would have had to mount the antenna on the roof or in the attic and that required effort!

Now that we moved, it’s been on the back of my mind to try again. A few weeks ago, I saw the Winegard FlatWave Antenna at Costco, so I decided to give it a try.

When I got it home, I plugged it in, scanned the channels and it picked up all the channels we watched. I was completely amazed as I just put it on the window and it wasn’t line of sight to any broadcast tower. I was all set to cancel cable when I decided to actually watch TV and see the performance. The picture was crystal clear, but instead of a fuzzy picture, we saw the picture stutter and drop frames. I tried to adjust the antenna and finally gave up. The antenna (or maybe a more powerful antenna) has a lot of promise now that we have all digital signals.

I can’t fault the antenna as I simply placed it in a westerly facing window. According to AntennaWeb, I should have aimed the antenna northwest and southwest to get the channels I want. (I suspect that since the signals were basically opposite, I received some signal.)

So when we move and purchase a house, I’m going to look into an attic antenna or an outdoor antenna; I suspect I would need a large one given the decent results with this very small antenna.

Pros

  • Small footprint.
  • Easily to install.
  • Long cable.
  • Low price.

Cons

  • Design of antenna may only work in some situations.

Summary

If you only watch the basic channels, giving this antenna a try is worth your time. However, I’d purchase it from some place that has a return policy. Your mileage is going to vary based on physical location.

2 Replies to “Review: Winegard FlatWave Antenna”

  1. Thanks for your Review. I tried to buy at Costco but in the website it is not available I live in Faifax, Va. Can you pls help.

    1. This appears to be an in store item only and selection varies by store. You might check Amazon and buy it off there; it might be a little more, but if Costco no longer carries it or doesn’t carry it in your area, there isn’t much choice, but to shop elsewhere.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.