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But at $35 the Terk does offer some improvement in reception and looks a lot nicer on your desk than the cheapo plastic loop that comes with most radios.For FM I also tested 3 antennas, the included telescoping antenna, the FM Reflect Antenna from C-Crane, and the Terk HDR-I.Again the C-Crane antenna provided the best reception, in fact the Terk HDR-I turned out to be a terrible FM antenna, also performing worse than the telescoping stick antenna that was built into the tuner. Ultimately I kept the Terk antenna for AM HD reception and the Reflect antenna for FM HD reception. I have tested 3 antennas for receiving AM radio in HD, the included loop antenna, the very expensive C-Crane Selectatenna, and the Terk HDR-I.While the C-Crane antenna provided the best reception, you will need to fuss with it a ton, including positioning and tuning of its dials. I kept the Terk antenna because it did improve reception over the included one, and that is worth the $35 to me, but it is still a long way from a miracle no fuss antenna.I highly recommend the Reflect antenna from C-Crane for FM HD reception. It is excellent for picking up HD Radio stations in town with rare signal drop out. For the high price it requires just too much fussing around with for the slight gain in reception.The Terk antenna performed slightly better than the included loop antenna and slightly worse than the Selectatenna, but honestly the difference between the worst and the best was slight. Unfortunately some of the weaker stations broadcasting outside of town still drop in and out, but even a regular FM radio has trouble tuning these stations without static.
Unfortunately it worked no better for me than the simple antenna supplied with the radio. Believe it or not I had much better luck with an old-fashioned "rabbit ears" TV antenna which was one-third the price. I bought this to use with my Radio Shack HD Radio unit because I have reception issues where I live. Don't know if it would work in a better location but it didn't help me.
Here's the shocking thing. So this comparison is only true for this radio and my location (just north of Washington DC). So the Philips wins on price. This makes the Terk very much a disappointment. The Terk (with the gain set to the maximum) and the Philips both worked better in this regard resulting in practically no drops in the same scenarios.The Terk costs 36.14 on sale; the Philips costs 9.99. The Terk did not pick up any additional HD channel 2 stations compared with the Philips (the ones I can't pick up currently on a regular basis are WWWT, WPGC, WBIG and WPRS). When I tried to tune into WAMU-HD3 or WTOP-HD3 or WCPS-HD3, the Terk had trouble picking up the signal unless I was positioned just right in the room (for example, if I was 5 feet from the antenna but not 3 feet, or if my TV was on, or.).
The Philips has no problem picking up these stations regardless. My HD radio is a Sony XDR-S3HD. The Philips box says it is for VHF/UHF/FM/HDTV.The dipole worked best overall of the two included with the Sony but I experienced a number of drops when there was movement, either by myself or even my cats, on the far side of the antenna relative to the general direction of the station's tower that I was tuned into. I tried the accompanying wire and dipole antennas first, and then tried this Terk HDRI Antenna and a Philips Magnavox MANT-110 Indoor Passive Antenna. The Terk box says it is specifically for HD radio. So if you're having problems with the wire or dipole antenna, then my suggestion is to pick up the Philips or some other cheap indoor FM antenna and forgo spending money on this overpriced Terk.Magnavox MANT-110 Indoor Passive Antenna
To make things worse, it requires AC power, but for what. It's totally useless. To lit the white LED light in front for show. This unit, at its max. Existing ones are not improved either. Seriously, it draws electricity for WHAT purpose if it doesn't improve reception ONE SINGLE BIT. gain setting, pulls in ZERO additional HD channels. Avoid at all cost.
I thought this unit would improve my reception, but their was absolutly no difference from the wire antenna which came with my Sangean HD radio.I live in the NYC area where signal strength is good. Would have returned it for a refund but I was to lazy.
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