So, money being tight, I have opted to give up my cable and go back to the old-fashioned way of watching tv. I will miss not seeing some shows that I’ve gotten to like but having spent most of my life without cable and even 8 years without a television at all, I can adapt.
I’ve only had cable this time since last April when the company was running a special. At that time, I threw away my ratty old rabbit ears. Now I’m in need of a new set. I went to Radio Shack yesterday to see what they have. The salesman immediately pointed out the most expensive set, of course, and said it was the best because it had a power booster dealybob. It also looked different than the standard rabbit ears, having this big plastic “O” thingy which, I assume, has a wire or wires inside. It didn’t seem to have the standard antennae that one is accustomed to seeing on these things that I noticed in the few moments I looked it over.
There were two other models available: the bare-bones basic standard rabbit ears for about $10 and a fancier-looking (but probably no better working) one for about $23. I don’t have the brand names for any of these so I’ll call the most expensive one The Big O, which is a phrase I haven’t thought of in quite this way before. It cost $30. I didn’t have enough money for it at the moment (Remember, I’ve cancelled my cable because I’m financially strapped.) Though I could have afforded the $10 one, I decided to think it over first.
Now I know you can only expect so much from these kinds of antennae. There’s only so much they can do, despite the maker’s claims to the contrary. I know I’ll only get maybe 8 to 10 channels, with 2 or 3 of those being cable quality and the rest varying from so-so to abysmal. In this city of hills, you takes what you can get.
I admit The Big O had me drooling for a moment. (No, not THAT way, you silly goose!) It’s a purty piece of utilitarian eye candy at least and, apparently, you don’t have those unwieldy long bits to deal with. But I’m aking you, does it really work any better than the two other models? Have any of you Dopers tried The Big O or a reasonable facsimile thereof? Is it worth shelling out the extra bucks or should I just stick to the basics?
Your humble and maybe not-so-humble opinions are appreciated.