The Case of the Disappearing Antenna

Now you see it...

Now you don't...

I have been using the Philips Silver Sensor for over 3 years to capture over the air high definition television. My position in the sky facing south means I get a large number of channels from both Toronto and Buffalo for free. Obviously, free is great.

What has not been great is having a big antenna pointing out the window at all times. It was too wide to hide behind the TV and so I had to have it on display at all times. I thought this was just what I had to live with in the name of free TV until I suddenly realised there might be other options out there.

Enter the Terk Omnidirectional Flat Antenna. Omnidirectional means the antenna can pick up signal from all directions. The Philips Silver Sensor is directional, meaning it needs to be pointed directly at the signal.

I found the Terk on Amazon for less than $50 and had it in my hands within about 48 hours*. And so far, so good.  It tucks in nicely behind the TV and picks up the channels I watch most often. I will have to pull it out towards the window for certain channels with weaker signals, but all in all, this is the solution I was looking for.

Now that I have solved that issue, I just need to sort out the mess currently happening behind my TV. It's very obvious from one angle.

But thankfully less obvious from the other more frequently seen angle.

My future plans include:

• Covering the thermostat
• Hiding the dvd player in a drawer (big plans for this, I hope it works!)
• Moving my modem and router onto one of the shelves by drilling holes in the back of my tv unit
• Covering up the air intake vent with a plant
• Tacking the extension cord to the baseboard (after the baseboards have been freshly painted)

Yep, I have lots of plans.

But for now, I will just enjoy my free crystal clear TV picture without having to look at an unsightly antenna.

*The Amazon price has gone up since I ordered my antenna.