This is the best performing antenna!!! Period. If you are comparing this APS 13 FM antenna to a Wingard on a tuner with just average sensitivity and adjacent channel selectivity then you may not notice a difference. However, if you are comparing the two antennas on a Magnum Dynalab tuner or a Mcintosh MR 78 FM tuner then you will clearly notice a difference. I have exchanged this antenna out over 15 times and keep going back to it. Atmospheric conditions can change within seconds to just doing a casual comparison is not going to show you what this antenna is capable of. The FB ratio of over 30 db is true and so it the gain. The antenna is no longer manufactured just like most FM antennas, sadly to say. But all you have to do is get the measurements from one of the sites and build your own. My APS 13 has been through several storms so all I did was rip off the cheap elements and went to Lowes and bought aluminum screen molding and cut it to the exact measurements of the elements. I have built at least 4 home made FM antennas, including a Yagi over 24 feet long. Although, the one I build over 24 feet long was about the same as the APS, it was too heavy for my rotor. I also think the FB ratio on the APS 13 is a little better. I have used that antennacraft FM6 antenna, several Wingards, channel masters, etc. Nothing can touch the APS 13. Also, since I rebuilt it, the thing is indestructible. Happy listening.

The box it came it in very nice.

flops around in the wind and folds like a wet comic book if iced.

If you've ever owned properly made antenna like a Channel Master or a Winegard you will not like this thing. If you're plum ga-ga about picking up your first radio station over 150 miles from your house then you'll love it and give it a good review.
Hey man, it's too light. When it first came out they included a piece of rope to support it and keep it from folding in half! Now they save 15 cents and don't give you the rope anymore!!
Mine is on a 68' tower and on the same mast as an HD6065 Winegard, the APS13 is 9' higher. My station is 250 miles from 2 major radio markets and I'm not seeing enough difference between these antennas to even mention. Storms have damaged it 3 times while the Winegard keeps on truckin'.

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Stereo Probe 8
Winegard HD6065
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Home Brews

For the price you pay? None

too light to be taken seriously. cheap contruction

I live 210 miles from Indi and Cincinnati. My APS13 sat on a 58 foot tower 9 feet above an HD6065 Winegard. An A-B comparison between the two showed very little difference between them when picking up stations in these cities. There were stations that came in better on the APS and some that did better on the HD, my log book shows the're very close in performance. Notice I said "sat" on a 58 foot tower? That's because it's not "sitting" there anymore. Ice knocked it down a month ago. Every antenna on my place made it through the storm except this piece of crap. Electronically speaking they took a good antenna design and built it as cheap as they could. Once upon a time the maker of the 13 (or was it a 14 at the time?) included a length of rope to support it because they knew it was not strong enough. Now they're saving 15 cents and not even putting that in the box anymore.

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Stereo Probe, HD6065, home brews.

Great forward gain. Good F/B ratio.

Poorly made. Overpriced.

The APS-13 is a very good antenna design, maybe the best out there. Don’t get too excited yet because while the performance might be good, the quality is a bit substandard. I was shocked to see that my $200 APS-13 was nothing more than an overgrown $25.00 Radio Shack FM-6. APS could have taken the high road and gone to a decent antenna cutter but instead they chose RS/Antennacraft who is known for manufacturing things to a price rather than to a standard. This 200” monster is made with the same ¾” square boom as it’s 70” Rat Shack cousin. The result is an antenna that droops slightly under it’s own weight. You get the identical cheap, blue plastic hubs used on other RS antennas and the same thin elements that are very bendable. Unlike the Winegard 6065, who uses a housing to protect your downlead connections, the APS-13 has exposed wingnuts and a cheezy matching transformer. FM DXers are drawn to this model, DXers tend to own towers with large masts yet this thing will only accept smaller pipe.
Antennacraft TV antennas in the same size class and weight as the APS-13 tend to sell for about $80 to $100 and that’s probably what this thing is worth if it were a mass produced product. Being a limited production item I can see paying a premium but $200 plus shipping? DANG!!!! Let’s get this thing down to $129.95 where it belongs!
Enough of that. I’ll say this about the boys at APS. They DO have a good performer and I’m sorta glad I got caught up in the hype and bought one. It’s a DX antenna that’s easily in the top 3 FM antennas on the planet when it comes to forward gain and side/rear rejection. So, if you DX and just gotta get one…get one. Just go into this deal knowing that it MIGHT come down in heavy wind or ice where a stouter antenna would survive. If you’re looking for an all around high performance antenna that performs almost as good, and will last forever, get a Winegard 6065. It’s less than half the price and built like a tank.

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Just about everything out there.

Strong performer. Good F/B ratio, nice gain.

Poorly built. Overpriced.

The APS-13 is a very good antenna design, maybe the best out there. Don’t get too excited yet because while the performance might be good, the quality is a bit substandard. I was shocked to see that my $200 APS-13 was nothing more than an overgrown $25.00 Radio Shack FM-6. APS could have taken the high road and gone to a decent antenna cutter but instead they chose RS/Antennacraft who is known for manufacturing things to a price rather than to a standard. This 200” monster is made with the same ¾” square boom as it’s 70” Rat Shack cousin. The result is an antenna that droops slightly under it’s own weight. You get the identical cheap, blue plastic hubs used on other RS antennas and the same thin elements that are very bendable. Unlike the Winegard 6065, who uses a housing to protect your downlead connections, the APS-13 has exposed wingnuts and a cheezy matching transformer. FM DXers are drawn to this model, DXers tend to own towers with large masts yet this thing will only accept smaller pipe.
Antennacraft TV antennas in the same size class and weight as the APS-13 tend to sell for about $80 to $100 and that’s probably what this thing is worth if it were a mass produced product. Being a limited production item I can see paying a premium but $200 plus shipping? DANG!!!! Let’s get this thing down to $129.95 where it belongs!
Enough of that. I’ll say this about the boys at APS. They DO have a good performer and I’m sorta glad I got caught up in the hype and bought one. It’s a DX antenna that’s easily in the top 3 FM antennas on the planet when it comes to forward gain and side/rear rejection. So, if you DX and just gotta get one…get one. Just go into this deal knowing that it MIGHT come down in heavy wind or ice where a stouter antenna would survive. If you’re looking for an all around high performance antenna that performs almost as good, and will last forever, get a Winegard 6065. It’s less than half the price and built like a tank.

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Almost every FM antenna known to man.

Exceptional forward gain and forward narrow beamwidth. Can pull weak signals that others probably won't and takes a questionable signal and makes it cleaner. All this without smoke and mirrors, just hard core engineering and size.

I would consider the overall construction a slight weakness, but have not put the antenna through a Pocono winter yet. Hope it survives ice and wind better than it does UPS. Also, can't get quite the f/b performance I would expect from an antenna with a rating such as that of the APS-13. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the performance of the two stacked 6 element antennas I was previously using.

The APS-13 is everything that others have said in recent posts. It is large, it does have tremendous gain, and the guy who designed it has created one hell of a DX monster. I have a warmed over KT-7500 tuner and can constantly pull signals from as far away as 200+ miles. The antenna is very directional and works well for DXing as well as clearing up that weak little 100 watt college station you like from over 70 miles away. However, I can not get the results I would expect from an antenna with such a high f/b ratio. That is one of the only things I was a little disappointed with. The antenna is large, but not impossible to work with and mount. The antenna is also quite light in weight and did not come built as solid as I would have expected. This may have also been a reason why the first antenna arrived badly bent on both main beams. The second one also came with some light damage that I was able to mostly correct. The elements were also thinner than I would have liked, but the way they are secured to the main beam, both active and directors, are done very well. Again, this is the best antenna on the market for raw gain and ability to pull a signal where others can not. I would buy one again if needed. But, I would also consider stacking two Winegard FM antennas, for less cost, if I didn't have the room for the longer APS-13. Shipping was $22 from Stark electronics.

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This APS-13 replaced a stacked (8 ft vertically) set of Radio Shack 6 element antennas. The APS-13 brings a little better gain and much better front directionality than the stacked array gave, but les

Exceptional directivity, high gain, If you like excellent sonics and ability to hear alternative views from those distant university stations (not corporate controlled cable) than this is the most cost effective way to do it.

Needs big rotor (Channel Master 9515 Rotor Recommended (rotor about $79; recommend getting digital readout with remote control option control box about $60), they will reportedly stop making this Rotor on Dec. 31, 2000)

While site unscene you might think, from the dimensions, this would be a real eyesore, it is far from it. It really cuts a small path for such a big antenna. Any day of the week I can pick up stations with at least 2kw from 60-85 miles away. Most nights I get stations from across Lake Michigan (I live in south central Wisconsin)using one of my several tuners including my McIntosh MR-7083, Onkyo 9090 II, Pioneer F-91, Roksan Caspian, Carver TX-11a, Yamaha TX-85. Bought this many tuners because of the absolute junk built into Home Theatre units. If you buy one of these I highly recommend getting one from www.antennaperformance.com (I had bought one from a well known distributor and it arrived totally messed up and had very poor customer service the whole way). This antenna is very light and need not arrive bent up (Airborne Express 2day or similar service recommended). I can not recommend an audio product more highly and that comes in the context of some of the best equipment from the former Threshold, Audio Research, and B&W. What this antenna does for the sound and ability to filter out corporate America mind control is simply amazing.

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Magnum Dynalab ST-2, Fanfare FM2G

Tight directional pattern, massive 10db gain

Large physical size makes for difficult installation, requires heavy-duty rotor

A superb antenna with impressive gain, F/B ratio, and a razor-sharp directional pattern. I live in a very difficult FM environment in a hilly suburb of Seattle between 2 ridges. My APS-14 (predecessor to the nearly identical APS-13) is turned with a Yaesu ham radio rotator and feeds a Magnum Dynalab Etude and Signal Sleuth. With it I can pull in all Vancouver BC stations with full quieting, and 16 of 20 from Portland 200 miles away. On a good day I can pull in 117 stations. A 6-element Radio Shack FM antenna, by comparison, could only bring in 66. The sharp directional pattern allows you to ignore stations to the sides and zero in on the one you want. The ultimate antenna for pulling in those low-powered unique-format college stations with rock-steady signals.

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Read the previous posts - nothing to add except that Ed Hanlon, chief designer and principal of APS, is one dedicated FM enthusiast. This level of expertise and dedication to excellence is w/o equal in the pursuit of FM nirvana. So, the company is the major strength.

NONE! Previous reviewers note the size of this antenna (which in many applications can appear modest) and the need for a rotor, but these are not inherent weaknesses of the product reviewed, but instead are requirements that cannot be negotiated if the results one seeks are to be realized.

Read Chris Fagas's review of the similar but larger APS-14 (http://www/antennaperformance.com/chrisfagasreview.html). I have no connection outside of happy consumer with APS, but you may wish to read this review, as it may help you understand the intracate nature of capturing FM sigals AND further appreciate the good fortune of finding such a - uh, obesessive - designer. IF you are educated on FM and associative signal patterns/reception, you are probably not reading this, so what follows is for those who are seeking enough information to make an informed antenna decision without having to spend as many hours as I have toward that same end.

Living in southwest FL, I am picking up stations previously unheard of - and clearly - in Miami (220+ miles southeast). While I live in a fringe area (defined as 40-50 miles from the transmitter), I now receive Tampa (50 mi. north) and Ft Myers (40 mi. south) with amazing success. If you REALLY want to hear the glory of FM, it will be complemented by an aesthetic and, depending on the depths of your pockets, a RELATIVE economic cost. There is NO other way to obtain similar results; those indoor gadgets, while appropriate for many installations, are the aural equivalent of fat-burning pills and other "treatments" so widespread and welcome in our culture. To wit, they offer a modicum of what you are searching for, and frequently disappoint those who pursue excellence.

I use Mcintosh Tuners (a Richard Modaferri tweaked MR71 tube tuner and an RM designed MR78 solid state), plus a yamaha tx-930 (which has been so ingorantly overhyped - but not out of malice - on these pages as to encourage nausia. I do however like the Yamaha for the AM section availability and its ability to accept 2 75 ohm antennas).

If you are into FM, and as Noel points out in his review, if you are likewise tired of all the garbage that litters the airways and wish instead to seek alternative QUALITY signals, this is the perfect antenna. Yes, there are tons of highly compressed signals, all of which you will be able to receive with this antenna (goofballs in broadcasting, including human cartoon characters like Rushbeau, actually taut this!), but there are enough wide open stations broadcasting that are worth capturing as to make the purchase of this antenna a joy.

I have never rated a product this highly, and unless I win the lotto, I doubt I ever will again. DO NOTE that I am NOT in a deep fringe area, and cannot replicate the excellent results experienced by others in such conditions. I do not doubt these expereinces, as they are consistent with such an excellent design.

For those interested in discovering what this kind of excellence might cost, here are the prices I paid for the "whole ball of wax."

APS-13 antenna: $199.95
1 HDuty Rotor, + remote unit no longer made but sold (Channel Master 9515A): 159.95
100 feet of RG6 co-ax: 41.93
shipping for above: $34.37
1 ground Rod w/wire (6 feet into the ground!): 8.95
1 Ground Block: 2.50
1 pr standoff brackets 4': 8.75
1 30 foot telescoping pole: 69.95
55' 3 conductor channel master rotating wire @ .15 ft 8.25
2 exterior connectors RG6 (use RG6 co-ax!): 1.50
1 satellite Ribbon Plate (for inside 75 ohmconnection ): 2.50
Tax: 28.50

TOTAL COST w/o labor: $538.60

If you can find an experienced installer, who will keep all the cable runs neat and who understands the critical non-mechanical requirements, you can expect to pay 50-70 dollars per hour. WORTH it unless you REALLY know what you are doing (one slip and you can lose MANY if not ALL of the benefits of such an installation).

Hope this was helpful,

-Kurt

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While this is only my second outdoor antenna, I have used all the alternatives (some of which perform quite well IF the user understands the inherent limitations of such applications, including the highly misunderstood Fanfare FM-2G, which is an inexpensive and viable alternative for you metropolitan dwellers who might consider mounting it OUTSIDE your apt/home, an application it appears to have been designed for.)

a fantastic antenna! i have a VERY difficult listening environment: towards the bottom of a ~1200' ridge, on the west side, w/washington, dc about 60 miles southeast. this antenna allows me to receive the 3 public-radio stations i care about that broadcast from dc - wpfw 89.3, wamu 88.5, and weta 90.9. the sounds from my onix bwd1 w/soap power supply are extraordinary! i can also pick up perfectly all the other commercial crap in the dc metro area. a must have antenna for serious fm listening.