The CM-3020 Deep Fringe Advantage is one of Channel Master’s most impressive HDTV antenna models. It has fantastic signal pick up quality and range, but it is nearly 13 feet long and eight feet wide. Although this size makes it a hassle to set up and mount, the CM-3020 can gather signals from a greater distance than any other HDTV antenna on the market. This astonishing 100-mile range is what earns the CM-3020 our TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award.
Channel Master has been making and selling television antennas and accessories since 1949, when it produced the first preassembled TV antenna. Since then, it has manufactured items across the gamut of television and radio products, from TVs and CB radios to satellite accessories and antennas. Now, Channel Master has a large collection of quality HDTV antennas for all living situations and urban environments.
Although we recommend this HDTV antenna for people who live in rural areas, it will also work well in urban and suburban areas. With an antenna this size, you could easily pick up signals from distant cities as well as your own. If you don’t want a 13-foot piece of metal on your roof, you could easily hide the antenna in your attic. If you live close enough to broadcasting stations, storing your antenna in your house or attic should not affect the signal quality.
This antenna gets great reception in most areas. Because it has such strong signal-grabbing technology, most signals within about 65 miles won’t have any interference problems. As with most antennas, signals at the edge of its pickup range may be fuzzy. To fix this, Channel Master recommends using a preamplifier for weak signals.
As well as picking up UHF and VHF channels, the CM-3020 amplifies FM radio signals. It provides a sharp HD picture with little interruption.
This HDTV antenna has the largest signal pickup range of all the antennas we reviewed. Channel Master states that the CM-3020 can grab signals from up to 100 miles away, which should be enough for anyone who wants HD television, no matter where they are. Although some HDTV experts argue that no antenna can pick up signals from more than 70 miles away, many customers using this antenna claim to get channels from transmitters more than 80 miles away.
We gave the Cm-3020 a low score in the ease-of-use category because of its gargantuan size. Although Channel Master says the antenna comes preassembled, you’ll still have some assembly to do, not to mention getting it onto your rooftop. You should always read any safety information that comes with digital TV antennas, but you will want to be especially careful while setting up an antenna this size. Be wary of windy or stormy conditions, and set up your antenna as far away from power lines and trees as possible.
The antenna comes alone. It does not include a coax cable, a mast or mounting poles, so be sure you have these items before you plan to set it up.
Channel Master’s customer support contact information is easy to find on its website and in the CM-3020’s installation manual. There is a useful FAQs section on the company’s online store, but it took a bit of clicking around before we realized that the only link to the FAQs page is at the very bottom of the Customer Support page.
We also had this problem while searching for warranty information. Neither its product page nor its user guide has warranty or return information. When we did find the warranty terms, we were slightly disappointed to find that the warranty only covers 90 days.
The manual itself is quite confusing; the words are cramped and there are few pictures to guide you through the assembly process. Since there are so many parts to this antenna, proper assembly is pertinent, and if you mess up, starting over will be a pain. The instructions are in English and Spanish but are poorly organized, the result of which is a bilingual mess.
Although the setup instructions are a little confusing and the antenna’s size can be difficult to manage, the CM-3020 Deep Fringe Advantage is one of the best HDTV antennas around. If you can get past the immense size of this digital TV antenna, you can enjoy quality HDTV from up to 100 miles away.
