30-second review
Mohu’s Arc indoor antenna is easy to set up, fairly compact, and nice-looking enough to blend with a range of decors. Its clip-on bracket allows wall-mounting or tabletop use – though the latter arrangement is a bit tippy.
The Arc’s construction could be more robust, and its clip-in installation could be better. But despite its compact format and passive, un-amplified design, we encountered impressive signal-pulling performance.
Design
The Arc is the only non-flat-membrane model from Mohu, which is owned by Antennas Direct. Mohu lists the Arc as a 40-mile antenna. (There is also an amplified version, the Arc Pro, with 20 miles of additional claimed range, for $30 more.)
This antenna’s gently curved profile, 12 x 8-inch dimensions, and the white finish of my review sample should allow it to blend unobtrusively in most rooms. It mounts via a clip-on plastic bracket that snaps into cutouts on the rear surface, with the natural flex of the bracket holding it in place. This was a bit finicky, and a better locking system could be devised.
But despite these gripes it worked fine, providing a workable, if a bit tippy, tabletop installation, plus a stable wall-mount option via two teardrop-shaped slide-mount screw slots (the screws are not included). The Arc’s connecting cable is only 10-feet long, mandating installation fairly close to the TV.
Performance
Mohu’s 40-mile rating seemed fairly accurate at my semi-rural, hilltop test location, which enjoys good elevation and clear line-of-sight over nearly 360 degrees to TV transmitters ranging from about 15 to about 70 miles, scattered in all directions.
With the Arc located in a south-facing, second-story window, the antenna tuned 11 main carriers, with around 44 total sub-channels. (For comparison, an inside-the-attic rooftop-type antenna at the same location pulls 15 carriers and almost 70 total subchannels.) Mohu claims the Arc to be “multi-directional; no aiming necessary,” and indeed, at the test location, it usefully tuned stations from all points of the compass, as do most antennas, depending on broadcast signal power.
The vast majority of antenna designs are directional to some extent, however; proving the point, at a second, much poorer-performing location, the Arc tuned a lower-power signal when “aimed” directly at it easterly, but not when turned 90 degrees, i.e. southerly. Nonetheless, the Mohu Arc proved less sensitive to orientation and placement than many antennas I’ve tried.
Note that the Arc is not amplified, so if you need to extend its feed to a more-distant TV set, an amplified model like Mohu’s own Arc Pro is likely a better bet. But for a simple installation in an urban or suburban locale of reasonable terrain and elevation with desired signals in multiple directions – within the range of, say, 40 miles or even a bit more – the Arc should be an effective choice.
Should you buy the Mohu Arc?
Buy it if…
You want a powerful indoor antenna in a suburban neighborhood
You live in a suburban, urban, or fringe-suburban location and want a compact and unobtrusive non-window-mount antenna.
You’re looking for an antenna with easy setup
The Arc can be installed on a tabletop or other flat surface, and also comes with hardware for wall-mounting.
Don’t buy it if…
You need to pull signals much more than 50 miles
There are larger indoor antennas that will do a bit better, and especially if you are surrounded by hills or tall buildings, a raised, outdoor unit will be a better option.
You need an indoor antenna that’s completely out of sight
The Arc comes with a relatively short connecting – just 10-feet long – so you’ll need to install it fairly close to your TV.
