Homemade antenna?

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.)

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

I made one too. It did a decent job.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

Not in Canada and Mexico.

 

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

 

Is Christina Crawford still around?

 

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

 

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

 

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

BOb

 

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.

 

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.