GSSI/Toptronics and Antennas Direct have announced the roll-out of the new DA-01 indoor antenna using Antenna Direct’s patented antenna element and a low noise amplifier designed for DTV reception. The antenna measures 12x8x13-inches and doesn’t look like a TV antenna.
The press release said that the antenna worked “exceptionally well” with both ATSC and NTSC TV tuner chips. The release also mentioned that the unit’s low noise amplifier had been computer-designed by Toptronics “to match the reception elements for extended reception up to 50 miles and farther…” It is supposed to cover frequencies between 55 and 862 MHz.
“In our conversations with broadcast stations, converter box and HDTV manufactures, we saw a need for a better designed indoor Off-Air digital antenna,” said Jerry Scarborough, president of GSSI (which is part of the U.S. Toptronics Group). “The old UHF/VHF antennas (rabbit ears) and most of the antennas on the market today, advertised as ‘HD Ready,’ have relied on updated and outdated analog technology to try to capture digital signals. There have been articles written saying old ‘rabbit ears’ will work. They will, if you’re close enough to the broadcast tower without line-of-sight obstructions and then, you still might not get all the stations available.”
The press release announcing the DA-01 has a picture of the antenna. It will be interesting to see how such a compact antenna works at low VHF frequencies.
