Winegard HD8200A Long Range Outdoor HDTV Antenna - 65+ Mile Range, High-VHF/UHF, 4K Ultra-HD Ready, Free Local Channels, Amplify with Boost XT LNA-200

Disclosure: I’m the Chief Engineer for a group of television station and have worked in broadcasting for 53 years. I work on the transmission side but have also helped many viewers with reception issues over the past 37 years where I work.I've never been a fan of Winegard, but I thought I would try their model HD7698A "Long Range Outdoor" antenna. There are a couple quirks to it.It's not designed for channels 2 – 6, but most TV markets don’t have low band stations. It also does not favor the higher UHF channels, but channels 38 on up are not used by television broadcasters.It shines in the channel 7 – 13 (high band), and 14 -36 (UHF). Note: when receiving a TV station keep in mind there is an “RF” channel, and a “Virtual” channel. You design your antenna system for the “RF” channel only!The HD7698A has a rather large profile, 169 inches long, and 54 inches wide, and you need to get the antenna up over top the tower "neck" by at least 2 feet. Keep in mind the rotation radius, that when the antenna is rotated, it does not hit trees or other structures.The antenna was mounted on a 40’ Rohn 25 tower, and I used a Yaesu G-450ADC Medium-Duty Rotor.It HD7698A comes with its own balun, so you connect right to the antenna with a 75-ohm coax. Always use the rubber boot, and with a 7/16 wrench, make sure the fitting is attached to the balun snug but NOT overtightened.I used RG6 coaxial cable from the antenna to TV, 80’ long.Be sure to use a Channel Master CM-3201, or SiliconDust LPF-608M 5G/LTE filter. If you have any close by FM stations, install a CM-3202 FM Trap. These devices go just before an indoor splitter, indoor amp, or TV.On first scan I received a UHF station which was 74.42 miles on a vector of 14 degrees, but the antenna was pointed 0 degrees north. After readjusting the position of the antenna to 14 degrees, more stations were picked up on a scan. In total 28 stations were received from various communities for a total of 64 different stream choices.The antenna beamwidth is fairly sharp. Viewing a station on channel 19, 35.4 miles away, when I had the antenna at the station my signal reading was 98% on the TV, Turning the antenna 15-degrees either way and signal dropped to 68%. Turning it more, and I lost the station.I would NOT recommend using a preamp on this antenna unless you're more than 30 miles from any TV or FM RF!! The gain on this antenna is not specified as it changes with each channel. But I would grade it in the 12 - 14 dB range based on results.When either a Winegard LNA-200, or Channel Master CM7777/CM7778 were put on the antenna, the result was overload and intermodulation, and NO SIGNALS were received. Not even locals.The biggest mistake viewers have when installing TV antennas is thinking more is better. In many cases a preamp is unnecessary, and causes more problems. Also, this antenna is unnecessary if all you wish to receive is in town, local stations.As with any antenna installation, the results you get will depend on the proficiency and knowledge you have in correctly designing and building the system. In the picture the wires you see on the right are the guy wires to a 360' broadcast tower 90' away. For perspective, the fellow doing the installation is 6' 1" and he is 40' off the ground.I would give this antenna a very high rating. If you are in an area where you want out of town stations, or out in the country where there are no local signals, it does the job!

I should have cut my cable long ago and replaced with this roof antenna. I get all the major networks and quite a few of the ones in between with excellent reception despite 2 mountain ranges between my house and the tv tower.

It was difficult to assemble. We had to find a video to help put it together. It is very large but pulls in way more channels than any other antenna we have tried. It is very durable. It has survived 3 real bad wind storms and even a lightning strike and still works great. If you have the aerial space, it is well worth the money.

Easy Assembly and picks up stations 60+ miles away in mountainous terrain very well. Not designed to pickup low VHF r FM radio. That is the 8200 model and much larger. But this does a fantastic job in chalkengin terrain.However, it ships in a box with no bubble wrap or popcorn to protect the antenna from damage. I ordered multiple times and it kept arriving damaged but Wineguard wil make it right if Amazon doesn't. My biggest gripe is the diameter of the aluminum wire that connects the two sections and carries the signal. It is very THIN and BRITTLE s aluminum is. That diameter should be twice as big to ensure no breakage. But it does do the job but don't know how ling that smaller diameter wire wil last.My 30 year old RCA long distance antenna that cost $20 back then had an aluminum signal wire twice as thick as what came on the Wineguard.

very well pleased with performance!

I purchased the HD7698 thinking Winegard was a US company with a good reputation. I had purchased a HD8200 over 15 years ago for a different location and it has held up well.The HD7698 arrived in a severely damaged box. The black cartridge housing had come out of its flimsy white box and was free to bounce around in the shipping box. It had bent terminals that I straightened with pliers. I reviewed that parts pictured in the 4 page instruction sheet were there. I stored the antenna indoors until I had a chance to assemble the antenna and put it on the roof.I live in North Carolina in the area that was damaged by hurricane Helene. We were without power for quite a while. After dealing with all the storm damage, I decided to get the antenna put together and installed. The front assembly was very difficult to attach to the rear assembly - one square tube is supposed to slide into another. I had to use a hammer to drive the tubes together.The top boom brace is supposed to attach to the front corner reflector. However, the bracket at the front of the boom was missing.I called Winegard customer support, thinking I could get that bracket. I was told since I was a few days outside the 90 day warranty, they couldn't help me. I asked if I could purchase the part. No - it was not available separately. I was directly told from customer support that my $205.99 antenna, purchased 100 days earlier could not be fixed with replacement parts from Winegard. I will have to make my own bracket if I want to use this antenna.Since I have not finished assembly, I cannot comment on its performance.

I live 53 miles from Philadelphia, so I needed a long-range antenna that could also get the low band UHF station 6. This did the job. Much better than the long-range Yagi I had, which had a narrow beam. This antenna is a wide beam that picks up more stations without having to be dead accurate with the aim. BUT don't kid yourself, THIS IS BIG, 10 feet long and about 6 feet wide, and gets to be very heavy and clumsy with a rotor and 6 feet of steel mast. I had someone put it up for me and I used a heavy-duty eve mount that worked great and made installation easy and without putting holes in the roofing. Only needed one guy wire that way.

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