Homemade antenna?

clanonperson · 12-04-2009, 08:06 AM

do any of you guys use this antenna its homemade

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWQhlmJTMzw

any thoughts on it? have you heard anything

i live 17.4 miles from broadcast center in chicago and my cheapo 50cent antenna just isnt cutting it anymore

socrplyr · 12-04-2009, 09:11 AM

The antenna works great. I don't personally use one, but my sister does. She hasn't had any problems with it. The only drawback is that it doesn't pick up VHF very well (most channels these days are on UHF anyways). So if you have channels broadcasting on real channels 2-13, you might not get great reception with it. If you look carefully at the construction of the one on youtube, it is the same as the db4 ( http://www.antennasdirect.com/DB4_HDTV_antenna.html ). The only difference is the grid reflector behind the antenna, which you could make yourself as well if you really wanted. I just looked at your market and both your abc and cbs stations are morons and didn't change to uhf frequencies. You are pretty close, so you might be able to still pick them up with the youtube design even though it is meant for only for uhf frequencies. (I used zip 60601 on antennaweb.org to get my info about Chicago.)

foamy909 · 12-04-2009, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clanonperson

do any of you guys use this antenna its homemade

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWQhlmJTMzw

any thoughts on it? have you heard anything

i live 17.4 miles from broadcast center in chicago and my cheapo 50cent antenna just isnt cutting it anymore

The AVS Forum is a great resource for Chicago OTA.

As socrplyr said, WBBM may be an issue with that antenna, as it broadcast VHF-hi on channel 12. WLS recently switched to 44, I think.

pilotbob · 12-04-2009, 09:24 AM

Cool... looks like a project I could try.

Ok, where do you get wire hangers? Most places just sell the plastic/pvc ones now.

BOb

clanonperson · 12-04-2009, 10:01 AM

i have a lot since i used to get my shirts dry cleaned or laundered at the dry cleaners. so you might find some there.

i hope this thing picks up everything going to home depot tomorrow to pickup a 2x4

steve614 · 12-04-2009, 10:22 AM

I made one of these.
Instead of clothes hangers, I used #10 ga. suspended ceiling wire which you can get from Home Depot.

It works well for me.

RoyK · 12-04-2009, 11:06 AM

I made one too. It did a decent job.

jtrain · 12-04-2009, 11:33 AM

I spent time with my two boys to build one and see how it would work, i use it on my primary tv (an SXRD Sony KDS-50A2020) with a Series3 TiVo and it works great. I have a shelf next to my entertainment center and i inserted a small hook in the back of the shelf and one in the top of the 2x4 and hang it off of the back of the shelf.

i'm about 5 miles from the towers here in Portland, Oregon. I get many channels off of the antenna, including all of my local network HD channels...the signal strength is excellent...no complaints at all.

cowboydren · 12-04-2009, 01:00 PM

I built that antenna, and it was okay. For $36, though, you can have a factory-built one sent to your door from SummitSource.com. Search for Antennacraft U4000. From that range, a 2-bay should be fine, so also look at the $15 Eagle Aspen DTV2B-UHF, which works better for me than the handmade antenna did.

Lazlo123 · 12-04-2009, 01:12 PM

I built one and it works great. I have had absolutely no reception problems for over a year since I went all OTA. For the VHF I just got some rabbit ears and a vhf/uhf combiner for all of about $5 from radio shack - no problems with that either. I live about 22-25 miles from the broadcast antennas.

classicsat · 12-04-2009, 04:43 PM

I built one of those antenna. My local stations (within line of site of the towers; I can see the lights If I look), come in fine, although they are just analog. I can get digital stations with Tropo though.

pilotbob · 12-05-2009, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by classicsat

I built one of those antenna. My local stations (within line of site of the towers; I can see the lights If I look), come in fine, although they are just analog. I can get digital stations with Tropo though.

I think analog has been shut off since June 12, 2009 except for a few low power stations.

BOb

JimboG · 12-05-2009, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I think analog has been shut off since June 12, 2009 except for a few low power stations.

BOb

Not in Canada and Mexico.

Adam1115 · 12-05-2009, 07:47 PM

Uhm, no, my big attic mounted antenna only cost about $40...

gastrof · 12-05-2009, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Cool... looks like a project I could try.

Ok, where do you get wire hangers?...

Is Christina Crawford still around?

gastrof · 12-05-2009, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam1115

Uhm, no, my big attic mounted antenna only cost about $40...

Uhm, Adam? Who/what are you replying to?

Adam1115 · 12-05-2009, 09:57 PM

The OP? Why go through all that effort to make an Antenna when they are cheap.

pilotbob · 12-05-2009, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimboG

Not in Canada and Mexico.

Ah... I had no idea TiVo was marketed outside of the US.

BOb

steve614 · 12-06-2009, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam1115

Why go through all that effort to make an Antenna when they are cheap.

For me, to see if it would actually work.
I work in construction and had all the parts available. Cost to me? $0.00
It literally took me 15 minutes to build it and another 15 minutes hooking it up and getting it positioned.
Wasn't that much effort to me.

Lazlo123 · 12-11-2009, 02:43 PM

It requires less effort than it does to drive to the store and buy an antenna, see if it works and then return it because it doesn't.

cowboydren · 12-11-2009, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lazlo123

It requires less effort than it does to drive to the store and buy an antenna, see if it works and then return it because it doesn't.

That much is true. But if you build one out of wire hangers, and it works, punching in a credit card number and twiddling your thumbs for three days for a factory-built, $36 U4000 or $24 DTV2B-UHF would have still been easier, and you'd have even better results.

(Again, my DTV2B-UHF 2-bay antenna works much better than my hand-built 4-bay did, nevermind being smaller, more rugged, and more weatherproof.)

Lazlo123 · 12-11-2009, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowboydren

That much is true. But if you build one out of wire hangers, and it works, punching in a credit card number and twiddling your thumbs for three days for a factory-built, $36 U4000 or $24 DTV2B-UHF would have still been easier, and you'd have even better results.

(Again, my DTV2B-UHF 2-bay antenna works much better than my hand-built 4-bay did, nevermind being smaller, more rugged, and more weatherproof.)

Better results that signals in the 90's on all channels? I don't think I need to worry about that.. and with your way I'd still be 3 days without a signal vs. 30 minutes...

steve614 · 12-12-2009, 12:36 AM

I'm sure it is true that with the success strories and my own experience, that this antenna works...for people who are relatively close to the broadcast towers.
Once you get into the fringe area, I would think an antenna designed and manufactured specifically for the task, and sold in a retail store/online would surpass the home made version.
This thread IMO is not about the capabilities, but more about the DIY aspect.

socrplyr · 12-16-2009, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve614

I'm sure it is true that with the success strories and my own experience, that this antenna works...for people who are relatively close to the broadcast towers.
Once you get into the fringe area, I would think an antenna designed and manufactured specifically for the task, and sold in a retail store/online would surpass the home made version.
This thread IMO is not about the capabilities, but more about the DIY aspect.

Actually, the antenna works better than most store bought antennas that sell for <$40 for the UHF band. There is nothing all that hard about making an good antenna once you have a good design. As I noted on the link in my earlier post this same antenna sells for $70 MSRP. This antenna is specifically designed. The distances and measurements are very important. Agreed that a DIYer wouldn't necessarily be as precise when putting it together, but they could be if they wanted.

cowboydren · 12-16-2009, 11:33 AM

No, you can get four-bay antennas, with reflectors, brackets, and baluns, for well under $40 shipped, as I and others keep saying, time and again. Made of heavier wire, on machines that make many fewer mistakes than DIY builders are likely to, and can actually withstand weather elements. If you want to play crafty, fine, but don't try to tell me that your $7 antenna works just as well and will last just as long as my $36 (Shipped!) Antennacraft U4000 will. There's just no way. Additionally, the fact that your $7 antenna didn't work is not an indication that the U4000 won't work; UHF antennas are extremely sensitive to design deviation, especially the driven leads (not only gauge but distance apart) and reflector spacing. Antennacraft has already fixed this variation for me; who's going to fix yours?

clanonperson · 12-17-2009, 01:22 PM

http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp...03_TV_Antennas

me thinks im going to buy one...

do any b&m places sell this for this cheap?

flatcurve · 12-17-2009, 02:51 PM

I made two of these actually, but I used some solid core 10 gauge copper wire I had "just lying around." They work great. I get every chicago channel with no problems. All of the stuff I used to make the antenna was stuff I found in my garage, so it was free to me. Also, I didn't watch that video the whole way through once I recognized what kind of antenna it was, but I attached my balun in between the two bow ties, not at the bottom. I don't know if these instructions did that or not. You can get cancellation and drop outs if you don't do that part right.

I did find some of the cheaper antennae that people are talking about in this thread, but none of them were cheaper than $0.

I suppose I should also add that I had the 10ga solid core wire from when I built a J-Pole antenna for a low power FM radio station I was working with. So I have experience building antennae. There's nothing inferior about this design when compared to commercially available models aside from aesthetics, provided that you build it correctly.

Lazlo123 · 12-17-2009, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowboydren

No, you can get four-bay antennas, with reflectors, brackets, and baluns, for well under $40 shipped, as I and others keep saying, time and again. Made of heavier wire, on machines that make many fewer mistakes than DIY builders are likely to, and can actually withstand weather elements. If you want to play crafty, fine, but don't try to tell me that your $7 antenna works just as well and will last just as long as my $36 (Shipped!) Antennacraft U4000 will. There's just no way. Additionally, the fact that your $7 antenna didn't work is not an indication that the U4000 won't work; UHF antennas are extremely sensitive to design deviation, especially the driven leads (not only gauge but distance apart) and reflector spacing. Antennacraft has already fixed this variation for me; who's going to fix yours?

Yikes..Somebody's special time of the month...