Home > Consumer Reviews > Winegard SS-3000 Amplified Indoor UHF/VHF Antenna

This is pure overpriced junk. Rabbit ears work much better. Don't bother with the hype from Winegard.

This antenna replaced a Terk HDTVa which was only so-so mediocre comparatively. Better reception from more channels-can't beat free TV. I don't get everything broadcast, but from my experience, much depends on locational situation. If I move to a higher upstairs floor or away from tall forest trees, I hope perhaps getting a few more channels.

I live in the eastern side of Pleasanton CA. [...] shows that my location can receive a handful of stations using outdoor antennas. A few weeks a go I came across [...] which shows you how to build your own indoor antenna using coat hangers. So I spend a couple of hours and built my own. To my surprise the antenna was able to let me receive around 30 channels (I used pre-amplification). I was able to receive channels from San Fransisco (SF) and Sacramento. I am not claiming that I got all the channels from San Fransisco or Sacramento. But the number of channels is much more than what [...] predicted.

I thought with a DIY antenna I got 30 channels , so may be I will be able to receive all the local channels coming from SF if I get myself a brand name antenna. I did some research and picked the Winegard SS-3000 based on the reviewers feedback. I was very disappointed with the SS-3000. It did not perform as well as my homemade antenna. Actually, it got me much less channel.

In summary for a few dollars build your own antenna and most likely you will happy. The SS-3000 might be a great product for some but it did not help me

I've had this antenna about a week and so far, we're loving it. There are no pixelated stations and no lost signals.

Situation: We're in a 2-story house about 17.5 miles away from where all the broadcast antennas are, on top of a mountain. We'd previously had RCA rabbit ears that picked up UHF stations ok, with a little bit of pixelation, but got no signal at all from the VHF stations, no matter how we turned the antenna, or ran cable to the attic. And of course, the stations we did get varied a bit day to day, which was very annoying, especially when hubby was trying to watch a game.

I'd been considering a different antenna for a long time. After checking antennaweb, i figured out I needed better VHF reception and got this.

It comes in a few pieces and the instructions aren't the greatest. I wasn't sure about it at first because it looks like pieces of plastic which you attach coax to. The instructions are pretty clear about putting the clips on the reflector thing -- just bend the reflector a bit until the clips snap on to the reflector. Connecting that to the base long piece was a bit more interesting but just remember it goes at an angle, as per the picture. Of the 3 coax cables, the thinnest one is the power cable for the amplifier. Leave that for now. Take one of the others or your own coax and connect that to the long part of the base, before attaching the foot part of the base. We actually used a much longer coax (our own coax, basically) here because of where we wanted to locate the antenna, which then runs to the amplifier. We used our existing TV-to-antenna coax to connect from the TV to the amplifier. The amplifier needs power, so its located close to a power source and further away from the antenna (therefore the longer coax from antenna to amplifier).

Attach the base last. I had to pull the reflector a bit to line up the holes to fit the screws through. And the screws do NOT attach to the reflector part, which made me wonder whether the whole contraption would work (you antenna guys probably know more about how this all works).

But once connected up, I put the antenna about 5 feet from the TV, in the downstairs living room, in the complete opposite end of the house from where the broadcast antennas are supposedly located, raised it about 4 feet off the ground and all the stations came in great. Yippee. We now have the antenna in the hallway, sitting atop a cabinet/buffet thing, pointed a little bit away from where the broadcast antennas are located because that gave the strongest signal and we haven't moved it since. It's been there almost the whole week and not one pixelated station and both UHF and VHF show up. Love it.

Hubby got to see his Yankees win and is having a good time watching football and basketball and no more talk about paying for satellite local stations.

This was the antenna that I thought about getting when I first looked into HDTV antennas. But the unwieldy size and the above $50 price tag pushed me away, even though it got excellent ratings (4.5 stars at the time). Having been disappointed by the poor reception of the RCA 1450M in my mom's house, the Winegard SS-3000 was my last hope for an indoor antenna. If it didn't work, I would have to climb up on to the roof to install an outdoor antenna.

Assembling this antenna is a pain. They included 3 coaxial cables in the antenna, and I mixed them up multiple times. I thought the thin coaxial cable is for the AC adapter, but it is for the antenna. I also had to loop that cable through a hole in the base, and connect that wire to the "wing". I attempted to tighten that wire when I already tighten the base to the wing (which is impossible as you have no grip on the wire through that hole). Then I found that you were suppose to connect the reflector panel before you connect the base. I probably had to unscrew the 2 screws that hold the reflector panel and the base at least 3x before I got everything right. This could have been avoided if they labeled each piece with an alphabet and if the pictures of the cables actually matched the thickness of the cables

After finally setting everything up, I plugged it in and turned on the tv and the DTV converter box. A green messed appeared on the screen. Navigating to the signal strength screen, I was shocked the antenna only got 21 out of 100 strength level (for NBC). I have acquired so much experience from trying to setup other antennas, I knew this could be a directional issue. I then pulled out a compass and aim the antenna as instructed by [...] (14 degrees due North). It barely improved to a 26, but still no picture or audio. I was confused, but undeterred. I then pointed the antenna towards the window (as per the manual), which made the antenna stick out from the top of the cabinet. Surprisingly, this worked (picture and audio, signal strength jumped to 40). It didn't make much sense at first since this almost place the antenna on the opposite direction of the broadcast towers. But after referring to the manual, it turns out that the reflector panel (the back of the antenna) might be better at picking up reflected signals. So I turn the antenna 180 degrees from where I originally pointed it, and the signal improved to 52. That's the best I can get the signal strength to be. Having re-scanned for channels, I was able to pick up all four major networks (CBS, NBC, FOX, and ABC) and their non-HD sub-streams. But I could not pick up PBS or Univision (the 1450M was able to pick up only that channel).

I'm satisfied with this antenna, although not impressed by its ability to pick up HDTV signals. I have read multiple reviews about this antenna and expected this antenna to pick up all HDTV channels in the area. It fell far short of that, and the directional requirement means if my mom decides to clean the top of the cabinet, she will probably need me to re-adjust the antenna. Although the sturdy base and the thin coaxial cable which doesn't affect the stability of this antenna will at least mean it won't be knocked off its perch like the Terk HDTVa.