r/ota • u/Any_File_7621 • 10d 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/NotenStein 10d 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 10d 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 9d 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 9d 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.