Did You Ever Fiddle With This?
It looked like nothing more than a simple metal ring, but this little loop once brought entire worlds into our living rooms. Before streaming, before cable, it was the trusty helper that pulled in those fuzzy high-number channels—sometimes with a twist, a tilt, or even a strip of tinfoil to make the picture clearer. Did you ever fiddle with this?
Image source: Reddit
This is a UHF loop antenna, the round companion to the “rabbit ears” that handled VHF channels. Popular from the 1960s through the 1980s, it was the key to tuning in UHF stations—channels 14 and above—that often carried local sports, kids’ shows, and quirky independent programming. Families would turn the loop this way and that, sometimes wrapping bits of foil around the edges, hoping for a clearer picture. Did you have one perched on top of your set—or did someone in your house have to stand there holding it while everyone else yelled, “Don’t move, it’s perfect now!”? Share your memories in the comments!
Take a trip down memory lane and share a nostalgic story or two!
