stampeder, yes it was bought locally. I read on another forum from a poster who had a similar issue with a slight bowing of the horizontal reflector elements. IMO the manufacturers are just packing up the antennas as quickly as possible and "cheaping out" on packaging protection like bubble wrap and styrofoam. As a result of this these antennas may be prone to some slight damage during handling and shipping. I don't know if the original cm4228s were packaged any better or not???

OK I think you need to be talking to the person you bought it from here in the Vancouver area to explain the problem when you unpacked it. You said it was shipped so maybe that's how the problem happened. Also you'll find that straightening those parts is easy to do.

Just like to clarify that I just wanted to alert prospective DHCers who may wish to purchase the above antenna in the near future to inspect their purchase,if possible, before bringing it home to make sure elements aren't bent. I don't know if antennas of this size are commonly shipped in cardboard boxes without styrofoam or bubble wrap protection so I have no reference to other antenna companies in this regard. The reflector elements were just slightly bent and I needed to view the antenna sideways to notice this. I just wanted to shed some light on the poor packaging of this product which may leave the antenna prone to damage during shipping and handling. IMO this is the fault of the manufacturer and not the retailer.

Thanks petlaur, that's good information for anyone about to pick up a CM4228HD. :)

petlaur - I was fortunate enough a while back to find an original CM4228 from a distributor in the USA, and when it arrived I had similar issues. The reflector is more of a mesh than the larger elements on the CM4228HD, but I had the same problem where some of the edges were bent inwards. The packaging was terrible - aside from the carton itself, there was no padding whatsoever. I don't know why they don't package these items with a bit more care... Fortunately in my case, with some gentle bending I got the reflector in more-or-less original shape; not sure if that's an option with the new 4228hd though..

tczernec, thank you for your reply, so it appears that cm has been shipping these antennas this way for quite awhile now. It's likely because of "profit margin" considerations that they are doing this but when I pay around $95 CAD for this product you would think that there would be more protection than just the cardboard box.:rolleyes: I haven't straightened out the elements yet but it seems to be easy enough to carefully push the two elements back out. They are bowed inwards about half an inch right smack in the middle of the antenna so not a big problem and it wasn't worthwhile to exchange the thing.

Same thing happened to me back in 2007. Stampeder posted a guide to tuning up a bent antenna sometime around then. I used that as my guide and my bent/repaired 4221 works great. ;)

I put those posts all together in this thread awhile back:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=63437

So for any bowtie antenna shipped bent, there is hope! :)

I wonder if Channel Master were to offer the 4228HD as a kit if they would sell more. It would certainly lower shipping costs, which is probably a big chunk of the base price, not to mention the cost to ship one to your door.

Thanks El Gran Chico and stampeder, yes I did spot that tuning bent OTA equipment thread a couple of days ago. Appreciate the info!:D

300ohm

You are probably right about being assembled incorrect. I have found that the assembly criteria of this 4221hd design leans toward accomodating appearance, packaging and shipping criteria rather than the end user's reception quality and performance.

To clarfy what I'm saying. The manufacturer in China gave the design priority to fitting this product into the shipping box.

[note: this exact same antenna design from China is also marketed in Australia as a different product code under the name of a different manufacturer/re-seller, using the same carton design but with a different product name]

this exact same antenna design from China is also marketed in Australia as a different product code under the name of a different manufacturerOn Nov. 6, 2008 tenstu was the first to notice a similarity with the Australian company's products, but he didn't have the company name right so I dug into it for him and found all that stuff out:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=95467 (see Post #18 and newer)

So yes, these are mass produced antennas that are designed, engineered, and built in China for the world UHF TV market.

Australia dtv range is supposed use the UHF channels 21-69, whereas in north america we are looking at channels 7-50. The old Hill's brand antennas only had 5" long V elements stamped from flat aluminum stock which make sense given the higher frequency range. I wonder if Australia is now going to do a 'turn-about' and follow the American standard of our dtv's broadcast range, hence the need for the longer elements in the made in China antenna. I believe they're analog drop dead date is set for the year 2012.

The old Hill's brand antennas
I like the build quality on those, they are one tough antenna. But they have to be, with their parrot problem, heh.

PCT/Channel Master are importers of these antennas, they do not make them.

These CM4221HD antennas are believed to be manufactured in China by an Australian owned company.

This is the manufacturing facility in China:

Digitek Electronics Technology Co., Ltd
Lianrong Road,
Gaosha Industrial District 2,
Dongsheng Town,
Zhongshan
Guangdong
China 528414

Digitek is an Australian owned company committed to manufacturing high quality heavy-duty Television Antennas, Mounting Hardware for TV, Satellite applications, TV Wall Plate Outlets and Inserts for the TV and home theatre markets. We also provide OEM/ODM service for international export markets.
We have achieved significant International market share in just over three years. This is a reflection of the high quality and unique features of our products and our cooperation with distribution and OEM partners worldwide.

At Digitek, our R&D engineers can tailor make to your specifications, ensuring a wider range for your selection. Our manufacturing facilities are located in Zhongshan, China. We currently have over 170 employees, in our 3 new factories completed in April 2009, giving us over 10,000 square metres.

The above quote is from their website:
http://digitektv.manufacturer.globalsources.com/si/6008827622187/Homepage.htm

_________________________________________________________

Here is a quote from the companys own marketing strategy that supports my theory about this product being designed for packaging is the manufacturers priority over designing for product performance. [hence the need for the end user to do these required hacks to achieve better performance]

http://www.globalsources.com/gsol/I/Slim-UHF-antenna/a/9000000101300.htm

The unit’s slim form factor allows for maximized packaging and reduced transportation costs. It comes in contractor-style polybags and outer cartons as well as individual gift boxes.


Digitek Electronics Technology Co. Ltd
Booth no. 7M41

Yep, someone reported their dissatisfied observations of the CM4228HD's packaging in Posts #479 through #489 earlier in this thread.

Frankly I don't know if PCT has a quality control loop with the Chinese factory. I sure hope so as they have got to be reading about the hardware hacks people are now doing to their Channel Master antennas. I've been meaning to wander over to the Aussie OTA forum to see if anyone is discussing Digitek PA hardware hacks there. :)

Anyone have an answer for Post #34?
? Whats the question, heh. :confused:

The specs on the CM4221HD look reasonable, but an odd way to express a gain range in three digits, heh. They could have said Gain: 8 to 9 to 10 to 11 to 12 to 12.5 to 13 to 13.5dB, heh heh.

I dont believe the 16.5dbi gain on this one though : http://digitektv.manufacturer.globalsources.com/si/6008827622187/pdtl/Outdoor-TV/1008876665/Outdoor-TV-Antenna.htm

14 to 14.5dbi I could believe, but 16.5 dbi, no way Jose.

I moved a bunch of posts here from the CM4221HD Hardware Hacks thread to keep it more tightly on topic there, so Post #34 back in that thread is the question so far unanswered, keeping a poor member in suspense! :D

Here's the manufacturer link I have for the Digitrek PA-2:

http://digitektv.manufacturer.globalsources.com/si/6008827622187/pdtl/Outdoor-TV/1008876670/Outdoor-TV-Antenna.htm

Your link seems to go to a tribeam corner reflector yagi-uda model.

I know the CM4251 is the greatest UHF consumer antenna ever sold. However, how does it's smaller brother the 4250 stack up? Worthwhile? Anyone know the specs on it (besides being a foot shorter)?

Too big, too complex, too costly and your neighbours will hate you :D

Here's a link to a private site about the 4251 and some other 'extreme antenna' combos http://www.rocketroberts.com/cm4251/cm4251.htm...