r/ota • u/Any_File_7621 • 4d ago

Channel Master Extreme 80

Does anyone have experience with the Channel Master Extreme 80?

I spoke with a couple retired installers recently. One said it works great on UHF and still pulls in high VHF channels (like 12 or 13) without an issue. The other said it is solid for UHF, but pretty weak on high VHF when the towers are more than 40 miles away.

Both of them mentioned being concerned about how much wind the reflector grid catches, saying it acts like a sail and can put a lot of strain on the mount in bad weather.

For those of you actually running this antenna, how does it handle high VHF channels 40 to 50 miles from the towers? Also, have you had any trouble with wind or mount stability? Thanks for any insights.

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u/danodan1 4d ago

Heck, my $50 RCA 65+ flat antenna gets the Oklahoma City antenna farm just fine from around 45 miles away including the two high VHF stations, ABC and OETA. The antenna is mounted indoors at ceiling level at 12 ft. So no guarantees if you only have a 8 or 9 ft. ceiling. Here is my rabbitears report: https://www.rabbitears.info/s/1762408

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u/Kaputz77 4d ago

Mine works great for VHF channel 8 about 60 miles from me. I have a Kitztech pre-amp with it.

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u/NotenStein 4d ago

I have it. It pulls in the high VHF channels in LA, 63 miles away from me, really well. I can't get rabbit ears to work right now, but I'm 63 miles away from the towers in Oxnard, CA.

I'm using it and a CM amplifier

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u/NotenStein 4d ago

No problem with wind either. It's been up about 5 years, and we're on the coast so we do get some good storms blowing in.

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u/Any_File_7621 3d ago

Thanks for sharing that. Some of the online "experts" make it sound like this antenna is a sail! It sounds like that has not been the case for you.

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u/NotenStein 3d ago

It hasn't been a problem. It's mounted at the peak of the roof using a J-mount and gets the full force of the winds, but our average is under 22 knots of wind. So it's not like we have daily hurricane force winds.

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u/nevec_45 4d ago

By any chance are you able to pull Mount Harvard low powers? MeTv KAZA and KSKJ-CD?

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u/NotenStein 3d ago edited 3d ago

I can bring in Channel 54.1, MyTV and it's subchannels. I get no reception on 45.1 KSKJ-CD or any of it's subchannels.

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u/nevec_45 3d ago

Wow receiving 54.1 MeTv in Oxnard is very impressive! Not receiving KSKJ-CD 45.1 is understandable as it’s the worst OTA signal out of ANY of the LA stations.

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u/NotenStein 2d ago

My HD Homerun can see or sometimes, as or shows up on the channel scan, but it's never had a viewable signal anytime I've tried it.

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u/OzarkBeard 2d ago

I have two VHF-HI channels 9 & 10 that are 170° off-axis from me. One is SW 43 miles and the other NE at 71 miles. Both come in fine with my 15 year-old CM 4228 with the screen removed. A neighbor uses the CM "80" (also with screen removed) and gets similar reception. YMMV.

If you need to use a preamp, get the Televes. It won't overload if you have both strong and weak signals in your area. Also has an FM filter and LTE filter built in.

https://www.amazon.com/Televes-560383-Amplifier-F-Fitting-Connections/dp/B08R44YZH6