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Winegard Elite 7550 Long Range Outdoor HDTV Antenna review

The Winegard Elite 7550 is a very powerful HDTV antenna that is able to pull in high-definition television signals from as far away as 70 miles. Reasonably priced at $149.99, it works exceptionally well despite a somewhat fragile build and a plastic roof mount that you’ll want to swap out for something a lot sturdier.

What is it?

The Winegard Elite 7550 is a USB-powered, long-range, outdoor HDTV television antenna. These antennas are popular with cord-cutters because they allow you to access high definition over-the-air programming for free without the hassle and cost of dealing with a cable or satellite company.

What’s in the box?

  • The Winegard Elite 7550 Antenna with embedded ultra low noise amplifier
  • Inline 5V Power inverter with LED power indicator
  • 3′ USB power cable with 110V adapter
  • Mounting supplies (pipe, foot, and hardware)
  • Instruction manual

Hardware specs

  • 70+ Mile Range with “Clear Circuit Technology”
  • Optimized for Dual-Band VHF/UHF Reception
  • Dimensions: 30″ x 17.5″ x 5″
  • Weight: 1 lb
  • Directional
  • Embedded ultra low noise (1db) digital amplifier
  • LTE Filter

Setup

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when first beginning to assemble the Elite 7550. There’s no shortage of little screws, fasteners and delicate metal and plastic beams. Fortunately, after a quick perusal of the instruction manual, things will quickly make more sense.

Each beam and fin has a home on the Elite 7550, but you have to take great care not to over-tighten any of the screws or snap a beam when bending and inserting them into position.

Once assembled, the Elite 7550 is pretty impressive looking, in a futuristic sci-fi kind of way.

Design and features

The secret behind the power of the Winegard Elite 7550 is its embedded low-noise preamp and LTE filter. These two unique features help to filter out a lot of existing signal noise and boost weaker signals that might otherwise get lost.

As a perfect example to the power of the Elite 7550, after assembling the antenna we set it up next to the TV on a shelf in the back room of a house surrounded by woods in Westchester County, New York. Against all odds, the antenna STILL pulled in about 18 channels after we ran the Channel Search function on our test TV.

Every television and set-top box has a different way to search for HD channels, but they’re all pretty similar. Connect the antenna to your TV or box, find the “Auto Channel Search” or similar function, and sit back and let the process run.

With the great success the Elite 7550 had inside, we couldn’t wait to see how it did once mounted properly outside. The first step to that process was to visit the antenna selector at the Winegard website.

After inputting your address or zip code, the Winegard site will bring up a handy map showing you signal strengths, available channels, and the location of the nearest broadcast towers. The site will also show which Winegard antenna would work best for your location.

Once you’ve determined the direction of the nearest broadcast tower, make sure you align your antenna to face that direction BEFORE you mount it and start drilling holes through your house.

The outdoor mounting and directional adjustment allowed us to bring in even more channels than we had hoped for, over 50 in total.

We opted to mount the Elite 7550 on the side of the house instead of the roof, partially to protect it a bit from heavy winds and weather, but also because we were fearful of climbing up on the roof and potentially falling off.

As I mentioned previously, the supplied mounting bracket felt pretty flimsy and we were afraid that it wouldn’t hold up to the weight and mounting pressure, so we replaced it with an Ailuki J-Pole Antenna Mount we found on Amazon.com. We also hired a professional to drill through the house and run the coaxial cable into the living room right behind the main television.

Now that the Elite 7550 is mounted and working, every once in awhile we’ll run the Auto Channel Search again and discover that more channels have become available. The Winegard Elite 7550 has definitely made cutting the cord that much easier for us.

What I like

  • Relatively easy set-up
  • Very powerful
  • A number of mounting options

What needs to be improved

  • Care must be taken during assembly because of fragile elements
  • Plastic roof mount not adequate for permanent mounting
  • No coaxial cable included

Final thoughts

The Winegard Elite 7550 Long Range Outdoor HDTV Antenna is a great product. Once you do a little online research for signal towers and directional information this powerful antenna will pull in more free high-definition television channels than anyone would ever care to watch, even in some areas with tough terrain. The build quality is a little lacking for the price and some supplied coaxial cable would’ve been nice as well, but overall for $149.99 it’s a decent purchase.

Price: $149.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Winegard.

This murphy bed has gone to the dogs!

We recently told you about a queen-sized murphy bed that folded up into a console.  Today we’re back to tell you about a murphy bed for your dog!  The Ecoflex Abigail Murphy Classic Dog Bed is also from Wayfair.  Folded up, the bed measures 24″ wide x 13″ deep (the larger size is currently out of stock).  When it’s opened, the bed is sized to fit up to a 50 pound dog.  The furniture is made of wood polymer composite, and the bed has a memory foam cushion with a removable, washable cover.

The Ecoflex bed is available in espresso or white to best fit your decor.  When your pup is up and about for the day, the bed blends with the rest of your furnishings.  At night, he’ll sleep comfortably in his murphy bed.  The Ecoflex Abigail Murphy Classic Dog Bed is $144.00 at Wayfair.

Are you Ready for Braven’s new speakers?

Braven just refuses to rest. They are constantly updating their speaker lineup and have entered 2018 with their Ready Series of Bluetooth speakers. If you into music and like being outdoors, Braven has what you want. There are four Ready speakers—all ready (get it?) to add a soundtrack to your outdoor adventures.

The personal Ready Solo is lightweight, durable and loud. The Solo contains an extended range driver and all-direction subwoofer encased in a shockproof thermoplastic housing and aircraft grade aluminum grille. It is IP68 water and debris-proof, has a 12 hour rechargeable battery that will charge a smartphone and a noise cancelling speakerphone with voice control allowing you to give commands to your mobile device. It sells for $99.99 US.

The slightly larger Ready Pro has what the Solo has and more. It too is IP68 waterproof and totally resistant to dust and dirt. It sports a 14 hour battery and comes with an action mount that’s compatible with most of GoPro’s existing ecosystem. Pair any two READY PRO speakers together using BRAVEN’s TrueWireless technology for a true left and right stereo experience. The Ready Pro sells for $149.99 US.

Next up is the Ready Prime, with its dual passive subwoofers and twin full range drivers that can deliver music for 17 hours. There are reinforced alloy anchor points so it can be strapped to boats, motorcycles and outdoor vehicles. It can get as wet and dirty as possible with IP68 certification that’s designed to withstand up to 30 minutes in one meter of water. Charge any USB device from its 4400mAh battery bank when they’re running low. Two Ready Prime speakers can also be paired for true stereo. It sells for $199.99 US.

Then there’s the Ready Elite. Dual subwoofers develop deep bass balanced by twin, extended range drivers that deliver 12 hours of sound with its 5200mAh rechargeable battery. The Ready Elite has cast alloy tie down points that let you strap it to anything and a drop-proof thermoplastic housing with an aircraft grade aluminum grille. Strap it to boats, UTVs, or whatever—its IP68 certification makes it completely waterproof, dustproof and debris proof, enduring wet, muddy or sandy environments. Like the Ready Pro and Prime speakers, the Elite can be paired for true stereo. It sells for $299.99 US.

The Ready Pro, Prime and Elite speakers have Bluetooth Smart functionality facilitating power, customization, control, and connectivity in virtually any environment via the BRAVEN Smart App.

Visit braven.com for more info and a look at Braven’s many other speakers.

Warm your hands with this phone charger

Most powerbanks just sit in your bag, waiting until you need them to recharge your mobile device.  The Pisen Rechargeable Hand Warmer Power Bank 2-in-1 will be useful in more ways than one this cold winter.  The 7500mAh battery has enough power to recharge a phone up to 2.8 times (iPhone 6S).  But when you don’t need to recharge your phone, some of that power reserve can be used to keep your hands warm.

The Pisen is a double-sided hand warmer that uses NTC technology to heat to 122 degrees in 30 seconds and maintain that constant temperature for 3-5 hours.  It has multiple protections built in to prevent over-charging, over-heating, over-discharging, over-power, over-voltage, and short-circuit protection.  It’s sized to fit easily in a pocket or in the palm of an adult’s hand.  The Pisen Rechargeable Hand Warmer Power Bank 2-in-1 is available in gold, pink, or silver for $25.99 at Amazon.

Make your workouts feel like you’re in a video game

Chris Lawhorn sent me an email telling me about his just-released two workout albums that are inspired by the music from video games of the 80’s. The albums feature a collection of mixes where he’s taken beats from 8-bit games to create tracks that will inspire you to run, jump, and avoid bosses (calories). Best of all, all profits from the album go to charity. Lowhorn’s albums are 35minutes each and are selling as a set for $10. You can listen to a couple track snippets and find out more on Run Hundred, a site that helps you discover workout music based on your own favorite tunes.