Far from the city? Don’t let it stop you. There’s a truly high-quality long range UHF antenna out there. It’s the answer you’ve been seeking. When you’re ready to upgrade from those $30 antennas, take a look at the DAT790 LR from Televes. It’s a European-made antenna that’s better built than anything you’ll find, and it’s engineered with features unlike other antennas. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I need to receive channels from up to 75 miles away?
- Do I have a roof or attic space where I can mount an antenna?
- Can I install this antenna myself?
- Do I need an antenna that will stand up to the elements?
- Are all my channels coming from the same location?
- How important is price?
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The antenna itself
Let’s start with the retail packaging. What you’ll see is an emphasis on trying to make the package attractive and also environmentally responsible. There aren’t any shiny coatings or styrofoam packing materials here, yet the box is still very eye-catching.
One characteristic of Televes’ entire DAT790 line is the triple set of “directors” in the front. These give the antenna its characteristic shape and help bring in more distant signals. The patented design used three sets of directors of unequal length to help focus ground-based signals and reject signals from cell towers.
The difference between this antenna and other members of the Televes line is the extra-long front “directors.” This is one long antenna, no question about that.
When you have an antenna this long, you need solid build quality. In this closeup you can see the heavy-duty laminated aluminum in use on this antenna. It’s a lot stronger than other similar antennas.
From this angle you can see the exceptional quality of the joints and connectors. The mating assembly where the reflectors meet the main body of the antenna looks like solid steel and holds up very well.
The optional amplifier
Amplified antennas are all the rage, because they let you drive multiple TVs and help you with fringe reception issues. This antenna comes with an innovative amplification system that is much better than others on the market for several reasons.
Passive amplification
Most mast-mounted amplifiers and amplified antennas put the amplifier outside near the antenna. This is done so that amplification takes place before any losses due to the cable between the antenna and the home. When you use an amplifier like that, you need to use RG6 cable with a solid copper core. This is the only cable that will actually carry power up the line so the amplifier can actually work. However, you can’t get that kind of cable at your local home store and you may not want to climb all around to install new cable.
That’s why the DAT790 is passively amplified, and it’s one of the few antennas on the market that is. Most amplified antennas won’t work at all if they’re not powered, but the DAT790 will. If you don’t need an amplifier, don’t use it.
The DAT790 includes this power injector that sends power up to the amplifier and also lets you run up to 2 TVs without adding an additional signal. It plugs into the wall inside and safely does its job.
Installation
Mounting the DAT790 LR is a little different from other antennas because of the size and weight of the thing. In other DAT790 antennas, the antenna mounts from a space behind the reflector. In this antenna, there are a pair of clamps that attach to the strengthening braces on the top and bottom. This allows the antenna to be mounted so it is balanced and this means it’s likely to stay in place better for years to come.
The mounting brackets are the same ones used in the rest of the line and allow the antenna to tilt up and down to make sure it’s on a level plane. With a very long-range antenna it’s necessary to get things as level as possible.
The brackets will accommodate any mast from 1.25 to 2.375 inches. With an antenna this heavy, a thicker mast is recommended. It may not fit on some smaller J-mounts due to the distance between the two clamps, which depending on their placement is about 15″.
They’re not a well-known company in the US… yet. Solid Signal chose to partner with Televes after an extensive worldwide search because Televes stands for the same things we stand for: quality, performance, and customer satisfaction. Televes is based in Spain and designs and manufacturers all their products in Europe. The manufacturing quality is far above other similar products.
The company has been around since 1958 and is a worldwide leader in antennas, satellite products and test equipment. They’re used by all the major satellite companies for their own test and measurement systems.
If you think Televes products look similar to Chinese-made products, there’s a reason for that; they’re the most popular antenna brand in Europe and therefore an easy target for reverse-engineering. The difference is obvious when you actually get your hands on an antenna, though. This is a solidly-built product designed to last for years.
Solid Signal is the exclusive direct retailer and distributor of Televes products in the US and we’ve worked hard to bring Televes antennas to our customers at a price that compares to much lower-quality antennas.
Why is LTE filtering important?
Televes antennas are the only brand to incorporate LTE filtering into their full antenna line. Every single antenna is designed to reject LTE signals from US carriers. This is incredibly important because as cell carriers build more towers, there’s an ever-growing chance that your home or office is going to be very near one, and that the LTE signal will be a lot stronger than distant antenna signals.
LTE provides wireless internet to cell phones using frequencies that were once used for TV antennas. Even though those frequencies aren’t used anymore, older antennas will still pick them up, and newer antennas can as well depending on their manufacture. LTE signals can even affect channels on “fractional” frequencies — For example LTE transmissions at 792MHz can also affect broadcasts at 396 and 198MHz, which are half and one-quarter of the frequency used by LTE. By blocking LTE transmissions completely you have the best chance of picking up all the channels you want, interference-free.
BOSS Amplification
Every Televes amplified antenna uses BOSS amplification technology. Televes’ BOSS amplifiers actively prevent control the amount of gain for every frequency. This is a major upgrade in amplifier technology that only Televes has. Auto gain control allows every channel to be strongly amplified without worrying that other channels are going to be “overdriven” which would cause picture distortion or even damage to a TV tuner.
BOSS amplifiers are compact, low-noise amplifiers that use advanced technology to actively reject signals that fall out of the bands the antenna should receive. This is another way that the antenna is even more efficient. Power use is minimal and the amplifier runs cool enough to be housed in a weather-resistant enclosure and no airflow is necessary.
Finally, all Televes amplified antennas use passive technology meaning that if the amplifier is not powered, fails, or just isn’t plugged in the antenna will still work. Televes is one of very few manufacturers to include this technology.
Performance on this antenna was far beyond other Televes antennas and approached the UHF results from Winegard’s class-defining HD8200U antenna VHF performance was extremely poor as is expected since this antenna is actively rejecting VHF signals. For this test, a 3′ length of bare wire was arranged in a dipole shape and tested for reception. The DAT970 was placed in the same position and tested with amplification off and on. In both cases the power supply was in line, proving that the amplifier will perform with or without power.
All tests were conducted on the same day with the same weather conditions, at our laboratory approximately 55 miles from broadcast towers.
As with other Televes antennas, the amplifier does a great job and intentionally does not amplify VHF frequencies. This is by design and allows you to use it with a specific VHF antenna if you are trying to pick up a single VHF station in your area.
Should you buy this antenna?
If you’re looking at a UHF antenna, I would certainly consider this one. It’s very well-built and should stand up to years of use. However, there are two factors which you should consider when deciding which antenna to purchase. All long-range antennas are intentionally built with a narrower “beam width” meaning that you’ll need to aim more carefully and if stations are far apart from each other it may not be possible to get full power from all stations. Also, this antenna is a bit more expensive than the base DAT790 model so if you do not need 75 mile performance you can save a little money by choosing the less expensive option.
On the other hand, there’s no substitute if you want a UHF powerhouse that you can expect to stay on your roof for decades. If you’re ready to put up the last antenna you’ll ever need, choose the Televes DAT790LR, now available from Solid Signal.
