Any links to online stores should be assumed to be affiliates. The company or PR agency provides all or most review samples. They have no control over my content, and I provide my honest opinion.
Indoor TV antennas are not the most exciting things but after renovating my house I had cut a couple of external antenna wires out that were making my mess of wires even worse. In general, I don’t watch much live TV so it wasn’t an issue, but after being offered the Monarch 50 and 40 to figured it would be nice to have the flexibility to still watch TV>
My past dealings with internal antennas have been quite poor, and they always used to be ugly hard to place devices. Well, it seems this has changed in recent years. The Monarch range still is not particularly attractive, but they are paper thing giving you the option to mount the aerial where ever you want including in discrete locations.
The flagship Monarch 50 comes in transparent or black and has a 50 miles range, is multi-directional, and has a 4G filter.
The 40 is a smaller model coming in white or black but has a 40 miles range instead.
You also get a stand with the 50 if you decide not to wall/window mount it.
The set-up is as easy as it gets, you literally just plug it in and away you go. Reception is obviously affected by where you locate the antenna, and both models have a nice long cable (15ft and 10ft) that allows you to position it anywhere you want.
It would be nice if they had a model with no lead so you can just buy a lead to the perfect length for where you mount it, making cable mess less of a concern.
Due to the flat nature of the antennas, you can easily stick them to the window, which is where I first tried them. Both gave perfect results. In fact, I had less interference than the external aerial I used for that TV.
Your mileage will obviously vary, but I decided to see how much I could get away with the Monarch 50, as a window mounting was impractical as the TV was in the middle of the room. Placed on the back of the TV I suffered massive signal issues, quite likely due to electrical interference. However, placed on the side of the TV cabinet it worked almost perfectly.
I had stupidly chosen the black model, but if I had used the clear model I could quite easily install this and it barely is visible. Which is a pretty big selling point.
Overall, if you don’t have access to an external aerial, these seem like a no brainer they are priced at £24.90 and £19.90 respectively. The Monarch 40 is smaller so could be more discrete, but personally, the clear Monarch 50 seems like the only logical choice to me. It is a fiver more, you will reduce the risk of interference and the flat clear nature of it means you can mount it almost invisibly.
I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.
As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.
In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.
I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.
