Why Rabbit Ear Antennas Still Work!

[@TheQuickSilver101]

My grandmother had a huge antenna on top of her house for broadcast TV with a wire running to where the TV would sit. She hadn't used it much in probably many years when broadcasts went digital. A few years ago I hooked it up to her TV. It was shocking how many digital channels she could get with it!

[@louisax4058]

external antennas are the best

[@JmMateo933]

Cool

[@alexatkin]

@@louisax4058 Especially for catching lightening.

[@Montisaquadeis]

Doesn't shock me that she gets a TON of OTA digital channels with that sort of antenna.

[@Montisaquadeis]

@@alexatkin Those types of Antenna should be equipped with a groundwire for that exact purpose honestly.

[@beerye9331]

I love my HD digital coat hanger

[@jaydiesel9774]

… or that digital HD paper clip 📎

[@HeisenbergFam]

Legend has it wearing rabbit ear antennas gives you +50% hearing

[@ClellBiggs]

Hey Heisenberg, still think the PS5 is more powerful than the XBX? lol Good to see you again.

[@bootmii98]

It runs circles around the original Xbox

[@mrkitty777]

It actually only applies to cats

[@moji3812]

Yeah 💀👌

[@DxBlack]

Put the funnies away, waltuh.

[@Weneedaplague]

My grandparents used antenna out in the country where the cable company wouldn't go. Big enough antenna with some knowledgeable direction can get you so many free channels

[@Kochiha]

I remember my mom telling me I was wasting my time holding onto those things, so I managed to blow her mind when I used double-sided tape to hook the rabbit ears onto my flatscreen TV and then tune into local channels. The converter box was mounted onto the back of the screen in a similar way, out of sight.

[@slacksthegreat]

I just used a paper clip. It's the same size as a coaxial cable.

[@DavidsDead]

The old rabbit ears seemed to work way better than any of these flat antennas or powered ones.

[@MrJord1994]

It’s because the analog single could bend around stuff a bit and go through trees better.. you’re going to get a fuzzy signal but a signal nonetheless.. digital it’s all or nothing

[@TriangIe]

My 2017 Samsung TV actually has the ability to tune analog despite the FCC prohibiting analog transmission since 2009.

[@2nd-place]

@@morganrussman you owned that triangle dude

[@morganrussman]

@@2nd-place mind explaining?

[@tomiannucci2661]

All of them can actually. Just hook up a vcr and tune to channel 3.

[@SCP_Gate-Guardian]

@@tomiannucci2661 older TiVos and DVD/VCR combos can as well

[@Galidorquest]

@@morganrussman Antenna Man says that some 'digital' channels are "low powered standard definition channels" and it's not analog... So basically, the only difference is "low powered channels" apparently don't have the occasional static noise like a radio, but it *looks* like classic analog from what I've seen...

[@justindunlap1235]

The best reception ive ever got was using a 7x30 foot piece of garden fence, that i just atrached a coaxial cable to.

[@Mr.Morden]

To say that it works is relative. In order to receive broadcast tv from towers 30+ miles away you're gonna need something way better than rabbit ears. Sounds like a job for LTT labs.

[@enginerd80]

I think it also depends on whether receiving frequencies in VHF or UHF band. In my childhood home, antenna cable came down from the rooftop antenna only to the livingroom, so for the TV in my room I'd usually use this dual-telescope thing, apparently known as "rabbit ear" in English-speaking countries, and some channels looked almost as good as with the rooftop antenna, but other channels were pretty snowy, even though the whole set of channels came from the same transmitter. The place was almost exactly in halfway between two towers, so assumably 100+ km. At that time, in the 80's-90's in Finland, both VHF and UHF was used for TV, and the oldest channels, the state TV channels, were using apparently the VHF, while the newer commercial channels were using UHF. The state TV channels worked pretty well with the rabbit ears antenna, but the commercial channels not so much, so I assume that the rabbit ears work much better on the lower (VHF) frequencies. But anyway, would be interesting to see comparisons about received signal strengths between rabbit ears and some different sized rooftop antennas. Might need separate values at least for the VHF and UHF, and maybe the effects of their typical placements (rooftop antenna would be typically a few meters higher, avoiding some of the obstacles like trees in the way) could be measured.

[@moviesignsol]

@@enginerd80 I watched a video where an antenna installer explained current VHF and UHF. (Pretty sure it was Tyler the Antenna Man) I think I remember most of what he explained. I used to have rabbit ears for 2-13. Channels 14 and up had a round wire loop, so I had two antennas connected with screws. Tyler the antenna guy on YT said that VHF is gone like the dodo for the most part. UHF signal work over longer distances so there are seldom broadcasting with VHF signals. A station like channel 5 could be a UHF station. Channel 12 could be a UHF station. Just cause you see CBS 9 doesn't mean that it is VHF. (But they could still be using VHF and not UHF) The broadcasters can assign any number that they desire. I think the old lower channels that broadcast on a low number still want to use their legacy channel number. Some stations are still broadcasting VHF and rabbit ears would work better than a UHF antenna. But channels are now pumping out UHF so those flat antennas are fine and dandy.

[@enginerd80]

@@moviesignsol The antenna we had had no wire loops. It was just two telescopic prongs - like on FM radio, but two instead of one. Outside North America, I don't think there ever was such a connection between the number in the channel name and the "physical", or I'll call it here "frequency-channel" (the channel that corresponds a specific frequency range of some MHz). The, I'll call them "preset-channels" (channels name-number by which the general audience would know the channels) would each have multiple transmitters, to reach enough people to justify a channel, at multiple frequency-channels, so such connection would be just impossible. The number in the preset-channel is just a part of the name, and a new channel could just pick a number that hasn't been in use for a while, or the channel could use just a name consisting of word(s). The point of traditionally using the number was to suggest a preset number for the channel so that certain channel could be found in a familiar preset e.g. at hotels. I've understood that in the North America each frequency-channel has also been a preset-channel of its own, but things have been very different elsewhere. The wood-cased TV in my childhood home had 8 buttons to select channel, and behind a small door, for each of the 8 buttons, there was a tuning wheel like on analog radio, and a switch (something like VHF, UHF I, UHF II). You would there tune each of the eight presets (known as "channels" by average people) separately, and independently of what was in the other presets. Later, on TV's with remote controls and stuff, a frequency-channel would be set for each preset, either by automatically searching upwards/downwards the next transmission, or by entering the number of the frequency-channel. So, when browsing preset-channels from 1 to upwards, the frequency-channels would jump up and down, sometimes in VHF, sometimes in UHF, and it would be different frequency-channels in different towns, but even in different parts of the country, each of the preset-channels would usually have the same channel. In digital era, there are multiplexes (in most countries 8-MHz wide, but apparently some countries use 7 or 6 MHz wide multiplexes), and each would contain multiple preset-channels, usually from multiple TV companies (the transmitter companies with their tower networks are separate businesses to which TV companies pay, usually based on bitrate and coverage, to transmit the preset-channels). So now, when browsing through channels from 1 to upwards, the tuner switches or keeps at the multiplex (depending on whether the next channel is in the same multiplex), and then picks certain video, audio (and optionally subtitle and/or teletext) streams in there, whatever is assigned to the preset-channel. (The comments, at least in this thread, are a mess; each comment appears multiple times and a new comment might show up or might seemingly disappear. 🤷‍♂️🙄)

[@ex0stasis72]

Ya, with the move from analog to digital, instead of the video quality gradually degrading at longer distances, it either worked and looks better than any cable or satellite quality (and I do mean any) or it didn't work at all. Cable, satellite, and streaming over the internet all use compressed video to save on bandwidth, but that need to save on bandwidth is not necessary for over-the-air. So you could get the full quality for TV channels and for free if you use a TV antenna.

[@enginerd80]

@@ex0stasis72 I don't think the digital is in practice either working or not working. In my experience, there's usually breaking up at varying rate: it happens more often with weaker signal and more rarely with better signal. And yeah, it _could_ look better if the TV company would buy enough bitrate from the transmission company. In Finland, when the the digital broadcasts started, the technology was closely related to DVD* -- with the difference that the bitrate was typically a half or a third of typical DVD. There were 5-8 channels crammed in each 8-MHz wide multiplex, and while the quality was better than in analog, I often bought DVD boxes of the shows that I might have seen on TV, to see them in proper quality (without the picture turning into a pixel mess in scenes that had a lot going on). * It was possible (I did it myself) to record the bits of the signal and convert it later into a burned DVD, without re-encoding video, audio or subtitles. Only the surrounding data around the content (≈metadata?) had to be modified, and the result was split into files.

[@cirkus442]

i put a paperclip in the hole on the back of my tv once and surprisingly it worked

[@EpicWolverine]

Yeah the marketing around “HD antennas” is wack. The old ones still work, and often work better. A collab with the Antenna Man on KZbin would be cool. He knows his stuff but doesn’t have much reach.

[@morganrussman]

I second a collab with antenna man.🫡🤠

[@japzone]

More specifically, the loop is the most important part of the antenna, as it picks up UHF which is the frequencies most IS TV stations use these days. The actual "rabbit ear" rods are for VHF, which might be still useful for some people living near one of the remaining VHF TV stations.

[@someusername121]

I haven’t watched TV-TV in over 10 years. I was around when Hulu was founded and Netflix was DVD rentals.

[@thumpbutter]

The "ya dig" was amazing!! 😂😂

[@PlaceholderforBjorn]

The HD versions of antennas usually differ in one way. They have filters that are tuned for the DVB-T frequencies. At least here in Europe. So using them for common radio receiving isn't the best option.

[@mrkitty777]

The antenna size depends on broadcast frequency

[@idesofmarchUNIAEA]

Disco Sudeera was late 70s to early 1980s, they were actually use three decades before that in the 1950s

[@G0_D4WGS]

Wonder if he can catch burgers as well as those antennas can catch signal

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

My uncle got a nice big 75" but mostly does streaming services so he needed a way to watch the local news. So I just stuck the old rabbit ears from his old CRT he never used. Was funny seeing that low res staticky image on the massive screen.

[@Felttipfuzzywuzzyflyguy]

I dig, Anthony, I dig...😂

[@WT.....]

Moved house a few years back, the new place was an old house without any proper Radio antenna, but had a big set of those rabbit ears. For the first few weeks, had to watch grainy TV on my big flat screen.

[@anterorantamerta9353]

This dude really seems like he's an expert when it comes to TVs

[@kab43]

huh

[@Lex_M1911]

​@@kab43 He's insulting him, don't worry about it.

[@saysbadman]

The antennas were designed to pick up certain frequencies not certain content. The radio towers haven't changed frequency (terribly much) only the info they send over that frequency. So antennas still work as they should, but you may just need a new tuner. I got one of those flat wall antennas from Amazon basics, and it works great! I think they may have been made by mohu. I would look for one that allows you to change cables. I changed my cable to a short high quality one for minimal signal loss. Don't use an amplifier if you can. Those don't "pull down the signal" any better. They're for boosting whatever signal you get through a long stretch of cables and splitters. Amps will reduce the signal a little before amplifying it. They can also amplify noise. If you just have a short run of 10' or less you don't need an amp, and if you do have an amp it needs to be as close to the antenna as possible for the best signal.

[@ej_tech]

At least with my experience with ISDB-T digital TV, a regular "Rabbit Ear" antenna doesn't perform that well anymore. An amplified antenna is preferred.

[@ImbecileBoot]

This is bugging me so I have to say it: You look like someone that is constantly in a state of about to sneeze but also not

[@damianosplay9457]

He looks like he injects grease from the mcdonald’s frier into his veins

[@lasvegassecurity2958]

When Millennials think they know everything but weren't even alive during the analog to digital switchover everybody knows about converter boxes we all had to buy them

[@tabnumlock7790]

Those Phillips rabbit ears are nice. They work very well and look good. The VHF elements may serve somewhat as reflectors for the UHF element.

[@KevinT7274]

That Philips antenna he showed in the video is one of the best value indoor antennas on the market at a price of $12 on Amazon. If you're within 30-40 miles of the transmitters it's worth a shot.

[@perkiousmusic]

Yes I install these quite often the biggest advantage to this over a cable box is you pay for 1 and never have to pay past that the disadvantage is that you can only get local channels nothing that isn't broadcast nearby

[@SCP_Gate-Guardian]

If you chose to just hook it up to a tv than yeah it's just pay once but there are OTA DVRs you can get that you pay monthly

[@CrocoDylianVT]

Yep, my mom uses one in her 40" Samsung Smart TV but the HD thing is actually true, it can cast HD channels

[@DerpPrincess]

Ya dig! lol Love that

[@solo-ion3633]

Back in the analogue days, I found that I could get reasonable reception by stinking my finger into the antenna port. That doesn't seem to work with digital TV, though.

[@evilcactus9926]

This guy looks like a discord mod

[@averytucker790]

Yes, I knew this. I actually sold them. And was shocked at how many people still bought them.

[@chris-tal]

Your mileage may vary. This is mostly true on simple rabbit ears. Older cheap ass active antennas (that contain an RF amp) designed for analog reception can be overloaded by strong signals (or cell phone interference) to a point where linearity falls short and error correction (like Viterbi) can't do it's thing anymore. Especially when gain is set too high. At that point digital reception ceases or becomes intermittent. Modern active TV antennas with an amp also contain steep bandpass filters to get around this. Older ones do not. Also they are too wideband to still cover VHF+UHF altogether. So this happens if I remember correctly. This was a thing at digital switchover at least with DVB terrestrial and "Euro style" (ETSI) frequency bandplan here in Europe. :)

[@nono-oz4gv]

you can actually cut a coax cable in a specific way and use that as an antenna, might not be very efficient but i've managed to get 44 different channels in mid-texas with 2 cut coax cables sitting next to a window hooked into a splitter hooked into a tv and it looked pretty comedic but i got the simpsons with 50 ads in between from 50 miles away

[@mrkitty777]

Maybe you made a dipole antenna from the coax cable

[@mattzukowski1207]

Older rabbit ears may, or may not, be useful in your market. The loop antenna is most likely to be useful. If rabbit ears they don't need to be extended as far as 99% of markets don't have stations below 7 which are in an even lower frequency band than 7 and up. Some sets called 2-6 VLF and 7-13 VHF.

[@rashira9610]

So basically anything will work to act as an antennae, really, as long as your TV has a digital tuner built into it. When I was incarcerated, I found that the same coaxial cable used to transmit cable channels in SD to inmates personal TV's could be used to scan the airwaves and while it wasn't the greatest, a few extra OTA channels could be picked up in HD. Getting a hold of a spare coax cable and sticking a pencil on one end, then spending about an hour to find the best position netted by about 25 channels, some of which we already had with the basic cable package we had, except in (i think it was) 720p, and then several other channels we didn't already have. It was a neat little trick.

[@SCP_Gate-Guardian]

All TVs made after 2012 at least in the US have digital tuners

[@nikolaki]

Yeah, the slap HD onto any product name era.

[@Dalton-ke9rw]

My ass uses a paperclip and it works just the same

[@smokesmoke5980]

God damn where to chin is be

[@IndustrialParrot2816]

Yep modern Internet using radio waves to send information but they use a higher frequency portion of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum

[@jamesbrierton4727]

Subchannels aside, they really are "HD." And in many cases, they're actually more "HD" than satellite or cable because you're getting straight from the source: the broadcaster. You're not getting it recaptured, reencoded, and in some cases compressed, by the third party provider. And, of course, they're free 😊

[@gamecubeplayer]

hd digital broadcasts are still lossy compressed

[@jamesbrierton4727]

@@gamecubeplayer I think it might depend on the local station. If a station is dividing up their bandwidth for lots of subchannels, than absolutely.

[@gamecubeplayer]

@@jamesbrierton4727 digital broadcasts have always been lossy compressed mpeg2

[@jamesbrierton4727]

@@gamecubeplayer I'm excited to see what ATSC 3.0/NextGen can do. I've got a receiver and I'm awaiting to see what my local broadcasters do with it. They're simulcasting but there's obviously more than can do with it. 4k? Alternative programs? Over-the-air on-demand? Lots of cool stuff that could happen.

[@unknownsoul1206]

So the digital decoder Is what my grandpa n grandma were missing. I messed with their rabbit ear setup for hours. They didn't want cable anymore, and just wanted basic channels.

[@philfjfry1]

Never thought these would need explaining to people.... wow I'm old.

[@WalterKnox]

They still work on my 1985 Zenith system 3 just fine with a box, so yes... I know how an antenna works.

[@off-gridoutbackaustralia]

here's me using a old antenna from the 90s strapped to a Pole in the middle of nowhere 🤣

[@elroma7712]

Yep, my dad still has one of those

[@ClellBiggs]

I can honestly say I didn't know this. Haven't used an antenna since the early 90s.

[@SCP_Gate-Guardian]

You can actually get surprisingly good channels with antennas just none of the premium channels.

[@-----------------------------]

The government used to give vouchers for those converters way back when we went from analog to digital.

[@MrJord1994]

They are going to make radio digital someday too.

[@yo.adrian]

The only thing I hated about OTA TV signals is that for my house, some TV signals come from one part of the state, and some TV signals come from the opposite direction. Since I live on the first floor of a two-story house, I can only get a good signal on some TV stations, and the other stations would get bad signal.

[@DrBojanglez105]

If you have an old satellite dish, they work also. Especially if they are mounted high and pointing toward the transmitter. Also, there are websites to tell you what channels you might get at your address, before you invest in the tech.

[@stephanifelix86]

Fun tip! You can make one out of paper clips!! Open them up , twist a few together and plug it in to your cable on the back of the TV. You can do it with just 1, but many will pick up more channels. This is a great hack if your moving and haven't gotten the cable guy to come yet. You'll never miss the news. Or if you just don't want cable but want the news or other local TV networks. :) welcome

[@Jzxsot._.]

this man has taught me more than my entire computer science class

[@kensmith5694]

Many people can get over 100 channels with just an attic antenna. The picture quality is better than what you get on cable because there is less compression done on broadcast.

[@GrumpyTy34er]

I feel like some companies gave away free converter boxes. I definitely had one

[@poisonousdynasty]

These wikipedia mods need to start thinning out

[@thesupreme8062]

?????

[@jetstreamsam8486]

Gorlocks brother Garlack

[@impossiblescissors]

The only difference is we're only broadcasting over a smaller slice of spectrum. The highest channel has gradually dropped from 83 to 36.

[@untodesu]

IIRC you gotta make them shorter though, wavelength is different

[@searuxianstudios9200]

God people are so ignorant of other parts if the world. Here in aus alot of houses have an antenna on the roof, cable isn't as common, free to air antenna TV is super common and widespread

[@praiserdusty]

Not really. Most of those digital relievers don't have antennas. They are there for decoration. The same idea was thought with 90s cellphones where you had to pull the antenna out to get a better signal however those antennas were there to help appeal to a non computer savvy consumer who think antennas receive all types of signals and have to be there in order for it to work

[@CyFr]

Fun fact a lot of vord cutting Canadians in Ontario use hi-gain antennas to get free OTA television. Who knew cutting out cable would be so enjoyable.

[@Eklipz-sg8ex]

Converter boxes were huge in the change from analog to digital channels that lasted a couple years then every tv that came out included the digital reciever so no more need for the converter boxes

[@freedomiseverything2767]

This is true but if you want optimum signal you make the antenna half the length of the wave Also HD signals are broadcast on a different frequency so oldr antennas are sub optimal frequency

[@CrazyKiwiGaming]

I get my Freeview so I'm happy to have my rabbit ears

[@NathanHedglin]

The analog signals are used by some Spanish channels now lol

[@macmacox]

I'm disappointed the word "Dipole" wasn't in the script.

[@matteovanzant270]

I remember when they went from analog to digital. Them first gen digital boxes sucked. When I walked in front of the box, it was as if my body cast a shadow in the signal. If I walked in front of the TV left to right, the TV screen would display the disturbance from left to right.

[@jonboy4329]

you can even get a signal by putting a paperclip in the coax hole of your tv. reslts may vary.

[@johnfifita6718]

My parents canceled dish network so I made them an antenna with a 3ft copper pipe so they could get the news again. I sawed it in half, used a ballpoint pen to reconnect the two halves and wired it to where the satellite coax was. It doesn’t even look ugly, you can hardly notice it, and it gets amazing reception for all the TV’s in the house 😂.

[@metazoinqb3rt299]

my family still uses one!

[@_Doskii]

Not in Sweden, they've turned off all analog signals couple of years back. You won't receive anything now.

[@rb5090]

Same in Denmark. All TV Through Cable. So anoying.

[@mattzukowski1207]

First thing first. It's likely Sweden went the same route as the UK and switched from VHF (Black and White) to UHF (Colour) and UHF is the zone of loop antenna. It's funny watching Fahrenheit 451 the scene pointing out antennas. All were the OLDER B&W VHF antennas. Now there is nothing special to make an antenna B&W but it's just VHF was B&W and UHF was colour. I don't know the Sweden market, at all, but near as I can tell there is broadcast digital TV. It might be encrypted and you might need a decoder. If that's the case, well, if you have to pay a subscription anyway why not cable? America and other NTSC regions never went though a frequency change so for the most part a 1940s antenna is as useful as a 2020 antenna. For UK and I imagine other PAL regions it's more like a 1970's antenna is just as useful as a 2020 antenna.

[@SCP_Gate-Guardian]

They sell digital antennas

[@adityamendiratta3664]

My antenna is an led shoved into the port

[@Harry_Cunce]

Man, Anthony's hair is looking good

[@NielsSHansen]

Except if terrestrial transmissions has been discontinued.

[@xtremefps_]

Need more Anthony everywhere

[@M-DayProductions]

Thank you Einstein

[@alandecowski5945]

I didn't have an antenna. I put a 2" jumper wire into the connector. Managed to get like 25 channels lol

[@FingerTightRacing8]

I do dig

[@jsaiz681593]

I just use a piece of wire, works like a charm

[@Cultureshockcrew]

Subbed cuz this guys cool af

[@DawsonTyson]

I have a DIY DB8 style antenna made from an old coax cable, a pine 1"x2"x3' board, misc. screws for posts, and stainless steel safety wire. The wires from the coax cable are just twisted onto the safety wire. It w9rks better than any antenna I've ever bought lol which is sad to think about. Them poor Uyghur slaves.

[@Scrappygymrat]

Yup

[@iSecretHorizon]

Uh yeah? Go to any small shop and you’ll see all Kinds of antennas.

[@mimp8365]

I dig.

[@Instealer21]

Bring back Disco

[@mittens4859]

Congrats on coming out queen

[@sjsiemka]

I still use one.

[@phantomsoffical8756]

The dudes chins chin has a chin

[@exogator]

I wish they worked xD I need 2 roof mounted antennas and a powered booster to get a signal.

[@megamanx466]

It's amazing how almost all forms of modern communication use radio waves(e.g. cellphone, radio, TV, etc.). 🤷‍♂️

[@roundabout-host]

Sometime I actually plugged the cable out and it still catched one digital channel

[@WohaoG]

Bold of you to assume I have a flat screen

[@とふこ]

So 50 year old ago they produced future compatible 8K compatible antennas.

[@abcd124]

yes. the metal just picks up the radio waves (any metal object can, your doorknob, your spoons, anything), and the wire transfers all of those waves into the tv decoder, and the tv decoder (sometimes called a tuner) looks for digital data passing through the metal (pulses) it then interprets those as image data, audio, subtitles and PSIP data (channel name, channel number, channel logo on some tvs, program length, etc.)

[@abcd124]

the only thing that's changed is the way the radio waves are transmitted to television tuners essentially, the way the data is transferred has changed from reading any and all radio waves and narrowing it down to a usable image (analog) to scrambled data that is constructed in real time by a tv tuner (digital), and since both methods use metals picking up radiowaves, old antennas work with new tv sets

[@Miebo.]

Not in Germany since a few years. They changed the system. Now you need to pay for it. You need a receiver

[@gorila_playz9617]

Bro's grandma fed him a lot of cookies

[@fanglespangle110]

The "You dig?" at the end made me snort my drink out my nose. God dammit.

[@brendanshanley406]

darn take a walk😂❤

[@jammypencils8295]

Darn, mind your business.

[@Yovry]

I have a tuner USB for my desktop to watch live TV from my computer

[@TheCrazzyGuy11]

These were the only reason me and my moms even had any sorta tv. 5-6 channels but atleast at 7-9pm everyday there was 4 episodes of the simpsons on