Is the TERK HDTVs just a Winegard SquareShooter in disguise? (1 Viewer)

In my old apartment I had almost perfect line of sight to all the broadcast towers in my area. I was 6 miles away. I used a small Winegard directional with wonderful results. High 90’s signal strength. In my new place that is 11 miles away from broadcast towers and is completely obstructed my by building.

I was looking at getting the Winegard SquareShooter and read that someone got one at BestBuy. I looked online and they had a Terk that was identical to it. When I looked at the online photos it even had the Winegard logo on it. I looked at Terks website and they have one with the Terk logo.

I want to buy the Wingard locally so if it does not work out I can take it back. So is the Terk HDTVs just a re-badged Winegard?

"Square Shooters", stealth antennas, flying saucer omi-directional antennas, etc all have one problem - they don't look like an antenna. An antenna's performance is directly related to it looking like an antenna. Will it still work? Maybe. At least you can take it back. I just don't buy Terk antennas on principle. Terk is the Bose of the antenna world. All flash but no substance.

-Robert

Doesn't look like an antenna? It looks like a standard "bowtie" antenna in a plastic case to make it look more like a dish.

Yes I know its not a conventional antenna. What im wondering is if the Terk is just a rebranded Winegard or not. The photos of the "Terk" antenna on best buy have a Winegard logo on it. I guess ill just have to buy it and find out.

I might try the radio shack bowtie antenna first. Is it safe for outdoor use?

That was a good one -- true, of course -- but the style just cracked me up. I know a number of Ham operators that would agree.

I do have a Terk (or jerk, whatever) TV55 antenna, specifically because the morons in my area complain about TV antennas. So, I put up a tower, hung some weather instruments on it, added the plastic thingy with coily antenna-like parts inside. I put a few odd looking bits made of plastic on the tower just for good measure.

Everybody thinks it's real scientific stuff, and not one person has said anything about an ugly antenna. Go Figure.

I should mention that the first Terk I bought had a dead amplifier, and I had to exchange it. I'm getting utterly sick and tired of brand-new stuff that is broken. I'm thinking of boycotting everything, and never buying anything, but that might not work out so good. the second Terk had such a crappy amplifier that I'm not using it. Instead I have a cheap line-driver distribution amp at the bottom of the tower, in my net, voice, and TV distribution center that doubles as a place to hang coats.

So is the Terk and Square shooter the same thing?
My Square shooters are not picking up the 2 stations that moved to VHF today so I'm wondering if the Terk is better at VHF reception since the Square shooter is really designed for UHF.

I've been using two Square Shooters for over 5 years with excellent reception until today when the local CBS and ABC station moved to the VHF frequency that their analog channel was broadcast at.