One of the interesting over-the-air TV products at CES 2004 was a compact VHF/UHF antenna suitable for DTV. The specifications for the Winegard SS-1000 look interesting. The antenna is enclosed in a square radome 16 inches on a side and only 4 inches that can be mounted on a wall, roof, DSS dish or inside in an attic. The specifications do not provide any gain data for VHF channels, but given the size is probably close to unity or perhaps a bit less at high VHF channels. At UHF, the average gain is 4.5 dB. Average VSWR across the band is listed as 1.3:1. The specifications include polar patterns for VHF Channels 7 and 10 and UHF Channels 14, 32, 56 and 69. The VHF patterns have a fairly large lobe off the back and the specifications reflect it -- the front to back ratio at channel 7 is 6.0 dB and only 2.6 dB at channel 10. Given the size of the antenna this isn't too bad. At UHF channels the pattern is cleaner, with the front to back ratio ranging from 20 dB at channel 14 to 12 dB at channel 69.
In the Press Release Winegard Company Wins CES Innovations Award for the SquareShooter SS-1000 High-Band VHF/UHF Digital/Analog/HDTV Antenna System in the 2004 Design and Engineering Showcase, Bob Howell, Winegard's Director of Distribution Systems/Off-Air Antenna Division said, "The antenna was specifically designed with a very high 20-to-1 front to back ratio that also accommodates the reception and modulation of both analog and DTV/HDTV reflected signals. This is critical for downtown urban locations where we might find, for example, viewers living on the wrong side of a 20th floor downtown high-rise with respect to the transmit tower of the TV station they want to receive. This antenna was specifically designed to allow pointing of the antenna at another building to zero-in on the desired reflected signal, reject all other multi-path signals and still be able to modulate analog and DTV/HDTV. This fact was proven in both our Chicago, IL and Tampa, FL beta tests."
Phillip Partian, Senior VP at Dow Electronics participated in the field-testing and commented, "I've been around this industry for 33 years. I've seen and tested a lot of antennas. That's afforded me a lot of practical experience with Off-Air antennas. I've conducted 50-60 seminars on Off-Air antennas over the past 5 years. And I've never seen an antenna like this antenna." According to Partian, the antenna outperformed a Channel Master four bay bow-tie antenna.
See the press release for more information on the Florida tests and the design of the antenna.
