Onn Indoor/Outdoor Antenna Amplifier and Signal Booster Review 

Thanks to Qubits for sponsoring this video. Check out their website at the affiliate link below: qubitstoy.com/ If this preamp doesn't improve your reception consider a custom antenna recommendation from me at the link below. I run a reception report at your location and determine what antenna would work best for your area. www.antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html

Who else watches these videos even though you're not experiencing any problems with your TV setup?

I came for the reviews, but I stayed for the snarky remarks! Made my day!

Tyler, you are a wise, wise man! I live on a farm 30 miles south of Mason City, IA. We have a 40' TV antenna tower that had a 30 year old rotator and an old Channel Master antenna. Watching your videos and taking your teachings to heart, i bought new quad shield cable, compression connectors, a Channel Master balun and amplifier, which i mounted just below the antenna. The rotator is shot - the antenna would turn at it's own whim. So I permanently aimed the antenna (using the antenna point app) to the Rochester MN TV stations. Previous to the new products, i could only get channel 3 (Mason City-Rochester) and it's decimal point sub channels. Once the new cable and amplifier were in place, I rescanned. My TV now gets over 35 additional channels. Not only Mason City, Albert Lea and Rochester, MN, we now get WKOW-TV Channel 19 in LaCrosse - 120 miles away, and WHO-TV channel 13 out of Des Moines though the back-side of the antenna. Since I also am a DISH user, with the Hopper3, I got their USB adapter to connect the OTA to the DISH. The OTA channels now show on the DISH television guide. I want the Mason City stations, because I'm 30 miles south of there. But since I'm 5 miles inside Franklin County, IA, the FCC in their grand wisdom, says we are in the Des Moines market, 90 miles to our south.

Love this channel. Don't know how many of his vids I've already watched. Very helpful. Very educational.

I also tested the Onn preamp on 1 TV. My results were good. Your results were marginal. 14 channels using no preamp. When I used the Onn, I received about 60 channels. Later, I attached a 2nd TV. Signal strength dropped, But the Onn was still watchable on 2 TV's. Many fine tuning changes and a new preamp to compare with the Onn now. 90+ channels now. Your area is quite different than mine, full of rolling hills and very challenging area for tv reception. You mention a splitter cannot be used between the preamp's 2 parts. I run 2 of my 3 TV's between the preamp 2 parts. After my "powerpass" grounding block. A "power pass" splitter is used. The DC Amplified signal splits in 3 coax direction. (DC power goes 1 direction in a normal 2/3 way splitter) My preamp power supply is inline before my TV1. (needs no DC blocking) I use a inline "DC Block" on 2nd and 3rd TV to stop the DC power. Very Happy with my results. I enjoy your channels content.

Thank you. Because of you I put in an antenna on my roof and now I got tons of free tv whenever I like.

Great job ! Your videos keep getting better !

Great review and assessment. Looking forward for the additional reviews. 😊 !

Love the new intro. And I’m in the market for a pre amp right now. So can’t wait

I love your music. Great video and description.

Thank you for the advice. I’m using the Onn pre amp your showing. It works great! I’m now able to receive weak stations much better.

I’m so grateful I found an old radio shack amplifier for less than $5 about 10 years ago at Goodwill. Works very well.

Just got one. Connected to my tv and I love it

Your video's help me tremendously.

Thanx antennae man! I was thinking about getting an antennae for my tv!

I really appreciate your balanced approach to reviewing this preamp. You could have exclusively bashed it, but you gave an even-handed response: yes, it boosted signals a LITTLE, but for almost all weak channels it wasn't enough... and there are many better pre-amps. I was surprised it wasn't better only because the ONN brand has surprised me with having pretty good stuff for the most part. However, a lot of the "good" stuff has been mechanical rather than electronic, so that may be my clue right there. :-) Thanks again for the review! You may have just saved me $20.

Well I just purchased a indoor antenna and recived 6 channels only. I added the onn booster and now have 60 channels. It works if you move your antenna around and watched the reception until it was clear. Then I researched for Air channels that's how I ended up with 60 channels. WORKS AWSOME. I highly recommend the booster for sure. For the price 20.00 who cares if it don't last a whole year. It's still cheaper than basic cable.

Best preamp for the money : Kitztech. Lowest noise and very good gain with a clean signal. I've installed 4 of these so far (my own setup + family) and zero complaints 4+ years down the road. They work just as good in attic installations as they do on the roof.

Thanks for clarifying what "before" the splitter means. Cuz I was confused each time you mentioned it. Because I wasn't sure if "before" was relative to the antenna or to the TV.

We used the RCA pre-amp from Walmart and it worked well for a year! Helping bring in channels 60 miles away with an attic antenna. But then it would intermittently block all signal, so its gone!

Good review. Thanks.

I bought this model from Wal Mart and connected it right after the antenna. There was no noticeable improvement in my reception or signal strength. Also, it did not bring in any extra channels upon rescanning my tuner.

I am going to watch all 8 minutes and 23 seconds of this video. When I go to Walmart and see the Onn brands I am skeptical about their products, I have not bought any as I am the type of person who wants the best. I would hurt anyone if they gave me this qubits flower antenna btw lol. :D I am still getting 43 channels with Danny Hodges TV antenna and Clearstream 4V antennas. And my channel master amplifier works great. Just spend the money if you want a good setup.

Thanks Tyler!

Great new intro !

Hi, thanks so much for another great video. I am pretty sure I need a preamp for my outdoor antenna and will check the options out. My setup is that the cable comes off my antenna (clearmax 2) then into the grounding block. Then the output from the grounding block goes to a flat coax cable which then goes into my house under the closed window (ie. I don't want to drill a hole in my house to get it in). both ends of the flat coax are female, so if I put the power inserter inside I will need to have yet another short cable going from the flat coax output into the power inserter and then into the tv. is that just too much splitting?

Hi and thanks for all the helpful information. I just purchased a Winegard Razar 6000 Antenna for old camper and not sure if I have a antenna booster wall plate which is included in package. Question if I may: Is it necessary to hook up the booster wall plate to power the Winegard Razar antenna and how is the best way to hook up if needed? Thanks for the info. Love your videos and follower. Adrian

I have an onn outside antenna on my roof and it has a built in booster can you add another signal booster

I have an outdoor antenna the tv in the bedroom that is closest to the antenna gets several channels the tv in the living room is about 20ft from the splitter it doesn’t get some of the channels or they only come in intermittently what should I do to get better signal in the living room

My Winegard LNA-200 Boost XT pre-amp seems to do a decent job. I tried to follow this up with a powered splitter since it then fed into three TVs at various distances from the pre-amp. The powered splitter was the radio shack one with the variable potentiometer built in. Then I tried a good quality unpowered splitter and the unpowered one actually worked better. The cable run from antenna to outdoor pre-amp is about 3' then 60ish feet to the power inserter. On the way there it goes through a ground block for lightning protection. After the power inserter there is a four way spitter going to 3 TVs and I have a terminating resistor cap on the un-used connection. The farthest TV from the splitter is about 30' away on a lower level of the house. Currently I do not detect any fewer channels on the longer run than on one with only three feet of RG6 from the splitter. I also didn't lose any channels with the splitter. I also do have a LTE filter. The best location is before the booster on the antenna mast, but I tried it indoors after the booster power inserter and before the splitter and real world use has been trouble free in this improper location.

I have a Bingfu antenna hooked straight to a Reolink go pt plus and not getting good signal in a low signal area how can I boost my signal?

Thanks Tyler! Good video.. Will wait for further reviews. Hopefully one of them will be the Juice. :)

How many db's does this kick out? I'm currently running with a 9db booster and I'm looking for something a little stronger to help bring in some weak stations. Thanks in advance

I have a 36 ft high antenna with an onn amp on it with the preamp at the TV and it works great, my question is can I split the line at the amplifier at the pole I have a preamp at one tv in one building can I run a separate preamp to another building and use the same amplifier for both preamps?

Can I use a preamp at the antenna,and use my indoor amplifier at my TV? I have about 110 feet from my antenna to my TV. Thanks! New subscriber,cut the chord a while ago, but just got a hand me down antenna a few days ago!

Will the inexpensive GE preamp be one of the ones you review? It seems to have good reviews for the price. I actually ordered it earlier, now wish I would have waited for your upcoming reviews.

what if you have a televese 560383. on the power supply it shows 2 ports one as an auxilary.do you put 2nd TV in as auxiliary?

Hi, I have an RCA indoor black flat antenna with a built-in-amplifier. I am wanting to put an amplifier on that antenna to get a stronger signal in my apartment. Any suggestions or recommendations thanks.

I bought this original for my truck(kenworth T680) and everytime I hooked it up I went from a bunch of clear channels to none(I think the truck might already have a boosted) but I hooked it up at home and it improved my outdoor antenna some(I do live far from local stations...50 miles or soo

What if i dont have the power box that plugs into the wall?

I have a an top big boy antenna and replaced the cable with an RG6 Quad cable and didn't need the power amp that came with the antenna any longer for the signal was strong enough without it.

I have been trying to figure out why a strong signal, such as CBS in my area seems to work fine all day. When the sun goes down I get a low signal message. I am roughly 12-15 miles from the transmitter. It used to work fine for several years. However, there is a hospital between me and the transmitter. Over the last year and a half or so, the hospital added 3 floors and I now don’t get CBS and ABC after the sun goes down. Any ideas about possible causes would help a lot. 7:00

i have that brand of roku tv and while it works pretty well, i can't pick up a single channel on the tuner

I sold mine and got another cheap one does ok but I need a strong one to bring in more channels

The damn thing better work good because I went off of your review about a year ago saying it’s good and I went and bought one.

If I have an antenna on a mast and then a short 4-ft coaxial cable going to a splitter for a ground and then a 75-ft coaxial going to the TV does the amp go before that splitter or after that splitter

Thanks for the review. As you said, for $20, you don't get a lot. I still like the good CM pre amps. Low noise and good gain.

Interesting and very nice vid . I have a few channels that come in good until poor weather happens then I get the similar pixilation you showed . Do you think a pre amp would help to keep the channels during the bad weather ?

i've had the previous one ( more squared off) made in taiwan for about 4 years. does as good as an older channel master i have. lucky? maybe hard to say. the biggest thing with a preamp is you MUST have good coax specifically the threaded barrel has to conduct the negative side of the power back to the inserter. this is for any make. seen coaxes brand new out of the box that wont carry current.

I figured out to maximize this product (just sharing) and It did absolutely nothing per instructions. Solution: I hooked the power directly to the amplifier with coupling and an extra coax. Signal went to 100% from 54% on channel 11 NBC Baltimore.

My $8 ONN Ads 3.8v Which Can Be Measured With A Multimeter At The Antenna Tip..All Cables Are Short And Im Using a 11 Yr Old TV....WORKS GREAT

I Googled the Onn Brand not to long ago and found out that Roku has a contract with Walmart and the manufacturing of the Onn Brand.

looking forward to the next review. I am in the market for a device to enhance my OTA viewing. im nearly 50 miles from broadcast towers in SF Bay Area. So this will help.

Tyler, what antenna are you currently using? You always make great videos.

Is this different than the original outdoor onn you recommended

What is the difference in placing the preamp inside right before the TV, instead of up at the pole? Does it make a difference?

Thank you Antenna Man - was trying to improve my WFSB signal thinking anything might help - but this device did not help me - did listen to the info you gave on WFSB and followed the info on getting a better RG6 cable and that worked best! Now have to ground my antenna attached to my chimney in the middle of my roof.

Hey Tyler do you think you could do a video about grounding an attic mounted antenna? Can't find anything definitive and wanted to see your thoughts. Thanks for considering!

Thanks for the coverage on this model. If it's from Walmart, its probably from China which also produces the Pingbingding antenna. I would anticipate similar reliability issues.

The question is well these preamps work with the new atsc 3.0 signals I have an old preamp that I bought from radio shack it would not work when we switched from analog to digital

One thing he doesn’t mention regardless of preamp quality is the coax being used . It needs a pure copper solid core for that section of the installation as the wire is sending voltage. CCS or copper coated steel

Question? Will these boosters work for boosting the reception on an FM radio?

I hope it works better than my ONN 4K 50IN tv always freezes when adjusting the volume tv wont change channels switch input volume control have to unplug to reset

Who remembers ON TV. Think that was the first cable company. Was only on for a couple hrs a night and like 6 hrs on the weekends

I as well tried that amp and actually got worse reception, the previous version of this brand did better for some reason, but this newer version got returned.

Hey Tyler I Remember You Doing A MagicJack Review about a year ago and I was wondering if you could do an update.

My Onn is still working after more than year. I might upgrade to Channel Master CM-7777HD if Tyler gives it a thumbs up.

I bought the Channel Master CM-7778 Preamp last year and it burned out in 6 Months. The Power Inserter burned out and had a brown color on the antenna input as well as in the PCT-TRS-6L coax connector. I bought a new inserter but that didn't help and I lost most of my channels. I took down the antenna and remove the burned out preamp and all the channels came back. I get by pretty well with the CM-3414 or CM-3418 indoor amp. the only problem is with ABC WVNY on RF Ch 7.1, They're in and out. My antenna is the Channel Master CM-4228HD but the High-VHF range is only 45 miles compared to 80 miles on UHF and all the Stations are in the same place 75 miles away. I think the FCC is trying to kill Broadcast TV by moving Stations to HIGH-VHF. ABC WVNY on 7.1 only puts out 10kW but CBS WCAX on UHF 20.1 puts out 423kW and NBC WPTZ on 14.1 puts out 650kW. I don't think the FCC really cares about the public because most people bought the new compact mostly UHF antennas but the FCC wasn't finished hijacking frequencies from the UHF TV Band so from analog channel 83 we're down to digital channel 36.1. So now by moving Stations back to High-VHF people find themselves either spending money again on a new antenna as in ABC WVNY's case or forgetting about the channel and going without it altogether. With the power restrictions imposed on digital VHF, it has become a mostly useless Band good only for short distances. So from analog channels 2 to 83 we're down to digital channels 14.1 to 36.1, a huge chunk of Bandwidth was hijacked.

Keep in mind that crapy coax can also act as an antenna itself and pick up interference and multipathing. Spend the money for good quality cable and good connections.

Would Flatline be better for long runs?

I tried that amplifier and it didn’t work so well and then got the channel master titan and imho the channel master is the top amp

To Start: Is Good to use a Quality Pre-Amp given certain conditions.. Typically though a Pre-Amp is used upon Outdoor antennas..Connecting Directly from the antenna..through a Very Short coax..out of the Pre-Amp and down to ones TV ( or to splitter to more then one tv..Better yet a Quality Distibution box ).. Like a TV antenna..Best reception starts with an antenna Designed to pick up the Stations you seek.. That is determined by knowing or finding out Exactly what Frequency(s) the channels you seek are on.. TODAY most of the free over the air channels are on the UHF band ( UHF high actually) Although some are upon VHF band ( vhf high ) So...as it is Importent to have an antenna to address your needed frequencys and or bands...So TOO if getting/using an Antenna Pre-Amp then one needs to be sure ( just like the antenna ) that the Pre-Amp is Well designed for Highest gain upon the frequencys you need to recieve.. This Pre-Amp is clearly pretty much a piece of garbage to low mid end at Best.. Do NOT confuse a Antenna Pre-Amp with an Amp.. A Pre-Amp mounts to or very close to the Antenna..so Good signal is Boosted and thius sent down the feedline to bring a hopefully stronger clean signal to your TV(S) where a more simple amplifier hooks typically closest to the tv..thereby boosting not just the good signal but the poor/bad signal and if there is considerable Bad signal then effectively an Amp alone just creates a Stronger BAD Signal and thus useless for your needs.. Let's NOT Forget..Coax feedline plays a Big part in this. Not in a 6 or 12 foot length..but rather past 25 feet or so ( most try to say only after 50 feet..but PL59 or Poor Quality RG6 will diminish and kill what signal you are Trying to get to your TV) I Suggest 30 to 50 feet..High Quality RG6 ( at least) with high Quality connectors.. Anything over 50 feet ( even shorter runs ) use Very High Quality RG-11 Coax feedline with high quality connectors.. For fringe areas..and or trying to recieve lower powered stations... An Exturnal High power Directional antenna..( High up .. height is Might ).. An Quality antenna mounted Pre-Amp.. Running through Quality RG-11 Coax To your tv.. If you need to hook to a 2 way spliter.. Be sure it's a High Quality splitter If the coax from antenna is 50 ft or more and both splits are say 20 or more ft long.. then get a Quality amp with 2 outputs..or a Quality antenna Distibution box. Do your homework. Getting the Best Quality Equipment.. Taking the time to use All Quality Equipment. ( Hire an Installer if you are new or Not used to installing all of this ) The more time you take to get it Right from the start.. Will pay back Greatly Not just from not wasting your time in the beginning..but over the years of use..given far less replacement and or upgrading of above items will be needed... So spending more upfront usually is the best spent money With

Hey Tyler, you might want to test the $20 GE preamp, it works really good for the money

I bought one of these then took it back when I read in the instructions that it was not intended to be used in wet environments. Not sure if the instructions were wrong do to a translation error when converting from Chinese to English.

Hope your all ready for charges coming ..

I was really hoping to get to see the Onn preamp get blowed up reeeal goood! LoL.

So mine lasted about 14 months, then dead. Removed it from system, and lol. don’t really need it anyway.

What's some good pre amps

Onn did not work for me. The"junk" antenna works great until the attached amplifier quits working.

👍

this is the preamp you had us buy.

Ok so what’s the top pre amp? Currently on market? When I say top I mean top performer in reality testing

What are you using for a signal meter now? I remember in the not too distant past that you liked the Onn pre-amp. Too bad they have gotten worse.

Just a warning for people, I've bought one of the smaller onn amplifiers, and it broke in a few days. STAY AWAY FROM IT!

I’m hoping on getting Baltimore&Philadelphia channels combined is this possible

Hey Tyler: Coax (which is unbalanced) is very very lossy, especially at TV frequencies. TWIN LEAD (which is a balanced line) has very little loss. Throwing the COAX cable away, and switching to good old fashioned TWIN LEAD WIRE helps GREATLY to ELIMINATE LOSS. And you might not even need the amp if you try this, and that's Awesome Sauce. You just use the little 300 to 75 adaptors on either end of the twin lead.... Try It in a comparison test for yourself....You'll Like It! All the Best! DE W8LV BILL

tyler i saw kreosan do signal tv boosting to bad one to best with just a amp and some filters they are in ukrainian or russian with analog channels if u miss the fuzz get a travel ask kreosan whares the analog channels and u would be good to go

Is this the same as a line amplifier?

I love free tv.

The next thing we will see is a ad for this "thing"to improve your signal so good that you will be Getting true HD (even on a old zenith tv)and 150 channels no matter where you live including Antarctica!

it also depends on the antenna used. You cant compare a 20 dollar amplifier to a higher end like antennasdirect juice!

I was wondering if you've had any experience with the Kitz Technologies - pre-amps (KT-200, KT-500)? www.kitztech.com/products.html I've heard good things about them. Plus they are made in the USA.

For some reason Walmart is still making this thing and it hasn't gotten any better. It didn't improve my signal in any way.

I swear this is mark dices little brother

He recommended this pre amp 3 years ago. Look up the video.

Is this the same as a pre-amp? It is the one I have and I use to to boost weak signals, not just because the coaxial cable is long.... antopusa.com/product/smartpass-amplifier-kit-white-at-601w/

The amplifier is strong with this one .......

So, like, I have a 400ft coax run

I saw the entire Onn line advertised by Walmart on Facebook the other day and immediately thought "This stuff all looks like junk. I wonder if Tyler will review it."