Why the Mohu Leaf Is (Still) My Favorite Indoor Antenna

The Mohu Leaf was a revolutionary, nearly paper-thin, antenna that set it apart from the bulky metal antennas of the time. To give you an idea, Here is a photo of a big DB4 metal antenna next to the original laminated Mohu Leaf on the right:

Judging by size, you would guess that the big antenna on the left would pick up more channels than the one on the right, right? When I tested them, however, I was blown away at the results!

Testing the Leaf

I tested two Mohu Leaf models, the unamplified Leaf 30 and the amplified Leaf 50, attached to a 46″ Sony TV. How could these compete with a big bulky antenna many times its size? For reference, I also tested an old-school “rabbit ear” antenna.

I picked four different locations in my apartment to give a variety of results under different signal conditions. Here are the number of channels that each antenna “found” in each of the four locations (a bigger number is better!):

As you can see, there is quite a variation in performance based on signal conditions. In locations 1 and 3, the three antennas performed about the same. Although the Mohu Leaf 50 “won” in two locations, statistically these can be considered a tie.

The Results

I was blown away that the thin Mohu Leaf 30 found more channels on average than a bulky metal antenna! How could that be? Well, in Providence, RI, where I did this test, the TV signals come from almost all directions. The DB4 is good at receiving signals from only a narrow angle. It has a reflector in the back which blocks signals from that direction. The Mohu Leaf, on the other hand, is better at getting signals from all directions.

You might also be wondering why the unamplified Mohu Leaf beat the amplified Mohu Leaf 50 so handily in location #2. In general, when the antenna is indoor and the cable run to the antenna is short, amplification doesn’t give much benefit. In fact, if strong TV signals are present, a powered antenna can actually over-amplify the signal and distort the weaker channels which are part of the same signal. 

I confirmed these conclusions with an antenna engineer that I talked to. Also, if you read reviews online, you’ll see that many people see no improvement with an amplified indoor antenna.

I also tried an old-school rabbit ear antenna and confirmed that it was the worst. If you have one of these already, give it a try; you’ll probably get some channels. But, you could get more if you use a better antenna.

The Modern Mohu Leaf

The design of the Mohu Leaf has changed over the years. It used to be white, then white on one side and black on the other. Now it’s grey.

One more significant thing that has changed over the years is how the cable attaches to the antenna. The Mohu Leaf started out with the cable permanently attached. The next versions had a detachable cable. I actually preferred that because it enabled me to use an upgraded RG6 cable, AND choose what length of cable I needed, whether that was longer or shorter than what Mohu provided.

Now, the Leaf is back to having a permanently attached 12-foot-long cable. I was curious if this would hinder performance, so I tested the new Leaf against my old one which had an upgraded RG6 cable attached.

Testing the Old vs. New Leaf

I picked a spot on my window and ran tests on the old Leaf (using my Tablo Gen 4 as my tuner), then I removed it and placed the new Leaf in the exact same spot. To my surprise, the new Mohu Leaf, even with the thinner cable, got more channels! Over multiple channel scans, the old Leaf with RG6 coax cable picked up an average of 146.5 channels, while the new Leaf picked up an average of 151.4 channels in my testing in Los Angeles, California.

More importantly, some of the channels that the new Leaf picked up were major networks that the old Leaf didn’t get! These were actual channels that mattered, not just odd foreign-language channels! This was a big “win” for the new Leaf!

Why the New Leaf is Better

When I held up the new Leaf to the light, I could see a silhouette of the antenna elements. The new antenna shape is different from the shape in the old Mohu Leaf, which I saw when I gutted one of mine some years ago.

I can only assume that the Mohu engineers have refined and improved the antenna shape over the years, and that is why the new Leaf gets more channels, even with a longer and thinner cable!

What About Outdoor Antennas?

There’s no question that you’ll get the best reception and most channels by using an outdoor antenna versus an indoor one, even the Mohu Leaf. There’s no substitute for being higher up and having no walls between the antenna and the transmission towers.

However, for folks who can’t have an outdoor antenna (i.e., if you’re renting, etc.) the Mohu Leaf is the best indoor antenna I’ve found!

The Winner

So, to sum up, if you’re looking for an indoor antenna I would recommend the current unamplified Mohu Leaf for most people who live in areas with moderate to strong TV signals (i.e., most big cities).

Before buying anything though, please enter your zip code into the Station Finder to make sure there are channels in your area. If you live in a big city, you should be fine. If you don’t see a lot of channels, your best bet is to get an outdoor antenna.

Conclusion

After testing the Mohu Leaf over many years now, I haven’t found a better indoor antenna. The Mohu Leaf is STILL my favorite indoor antenna!! – Brian

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