ANTENNA recommendations?

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Paul Kienitz wrote:
>
> Who has a recommendation about what kind of antenna to use? I'm in a
> ground-floor apartment with a low hill between me and the transmitting
> towers, about twelve miles away... I'm using a small amplified
> antenna, something like this guy --
> http://terk.com/images/items/TV5.jpg -- but I often have to move it
> around whenever I change channels, so I'd really like something
> better. Is it really desirable to get an old-style roof antenna,
> perhaps a slim UHF-only one like this Rat Shack model here:
> http://www.radioshack.com/images/P [...] 5-2160.jpg
> ? Or is it better to get something more futuristic?
>
> I was thinking of trying a log-periodic indoor antenna such as the
> Zenith "silver sensor" type, since some have reported good results
> with them... and then I thought: hey, I can fake up a log-periodic
> array out of cardboard and tape and copper wire, to test the idea...
> So I did (is that geeky or what --
> http://paulkienitz.net/img/log-periodic.jpg) and despite the
> directional design it was hardly competitive with the existing indoor
> POS I'm using.


Paul:

Just Burn $25 on a Superb UHF Channel Master 4 bay bow tie Model
3021...

THis antenna is very Flat outdoor unit that can be stuffed

in a closet or hung from a plant hook.... IF your home

does not have aluminum sides.... Best 4 antenna to be on the

Tower side of the house too. Use RG-6 dual shield antenna cable!

It will cover VHF Channels 6-13 well & UHF 14 thru 59 Superbly!!


THe Indoor Zenith Silver Sensor may set you back $45....

and be an OK choice IF it works.....

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

On 20 Nov 2004 01:38:40 -0800, Paul Kienitz <paul-NOZPAM@paulkienitz.net> wrote:
> Who has a recommendation about what kind of antenna to use? I'm in a
> ground-floor apartment with a low hill between me and the transmitting
> towers, about twelve miles away... I'm using a small amplified
> antenna, something like this guy --
> http://terk.com/images/items/TV5.jpg -- but I often have to move it
> around whenever I change channels, so I'd really like something
> better...

Whether an indoor antenna will work well depends upon the walls of your
apartment. When I was in an apartment my cell phone would not hardly work
indoors.

I am now in a 2-story wood frame home with vinyl siding, and have
accumulated assorted amplified indoor antennas, earlier just trying to get
analog reception 40+ miles out behind a 2 story brick office building.
When I got OTA digital set top box, no antenna worked on 1st floor, but I
could get most channels most of the time with an older Terk with square
hoops or Terk TV55 on 2nd floor closet shelf, further amplified with 30db
Radio Shack amp. But like you, I had to move either antenna a bit to get
a couple of the channels. And when it recently started raining steadily,
other channels started getting spotty.

Since I often heard Zenith Silver Sensor mentioned, I got one ($40 at
Sears). With it on 2nd floor shelf using the 30db amp, I now consistantly
get all Chicago digital channels except channel 3, without having to move
it. But it is a UHF antenna, and that station's website says rabbit ears
would have to be 80" long (due to lower frequency).

I think the Silver Sensor is rated for 20 miles, but it works for me with
external amplifier 40-50+ miles, even channels on near side of that range
almost 90 degrees off from its direction.

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

In article <slrncq0hd6.rrb.efflandt@typhoon.xnet.com> efflandt@xnet.com
(David Efflandt) writes:


>Whether an indoor antenna will work well depends upon the walls of your
>apartment. When I was in an apartment my cell phone would not hardly work
>indoors.

>I am now in a 2-story wood frame home with vinyl siding, and have
>accumulated assorted amplified indoor antennas, earlier just trying to get
>analog reception 40+ miles out behind a 2 story brick office building.
>When I got OTA digital set top box, no antenna worked on 1st floor, but I
>could get most channels most of the time with an older Terk with square
>hoops or Terk TV55 on 2nd floor closet shelf, further amplified with 30db
>Radio Shack amp. But like you, I had to move either antenna a bit to get
>a couple of the channels. And when it recently started raining steadily,
>other channels started getting spotty.

>Since I often heard Zenith Silver Sensor mentioned, I got one ($40 at
>Sears). With it on 2nd floor shelf using the 30db amp, I now consistantly
>get all Chicago digital channels except channel 3, without having to move
>it. But it is a UHF antenna, and that station's website says rabbit ears
>would have to be 80" long (due to lower frequency).

>I think the Silver Sensor is rated for 20 miles, but it works for me with
>external amplifier 40-50+ miles, even channels on near side of that range
>almost 90 degrees off from its direction.

The Silver Sensor is arguably one of the very best "indoor" antennas
available and by the same token I would have to say that 100% of the Terk
models are shining examples of the worst. (If a Terk works inside for you,
then likely so would a 10-penny nail or a coat-hanger)

David's remarks about building construction are right-on. Virtually ANY
metallic construction materials will seriously hamper all indoor antennas.
Any (commonly used) foil-backed insulation materials or metallic siding
can be a virtual Faraday Shield. Simiarly, zinc-impregnated shingles (used
for mold abatement) will effectively shield your attic or at least
seriously impair the performance of an attic-mounted indoor antenna. All
metal roofs (common in Colorado and California for fire protection) will
also be an almost insurmountable problem for an attic antenna.

Bottom line, if you are able to achieve satisfactory performance from any
of the indoor antennas, consider yourself lucky (and in the minority).

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

>
> Anyway, since I may move within the next several months depending on
> where I get a job (http://paulkienitz.net/resume2.html), I've decided
> to put off any major antenna decisions until I'm more certain of where
> I'm going to live. But maybe I'll try, like, one of those indoor
> dual-bowtie-with-reflector types and see how that works.
>
> What's a good bowtie span -- about 15 inches, maybe? That seems to be
> about the size of the clip-onto-the-rabbit-ear single bowties, and
> seems to be about a half wavelength for channel 14 if I'm not
> mistaken. Maybe I'll stick some aluminum foil onto a couple of
> shoeboxes and test it out...

Yep....a good bowtie with a reflector behind it can do wonders!

I hear what you say about moving. I recently moved to Chilliwack, BC
from Nova Scotia and one of my criteria was a south-facing apartment. My
antenna problem is solved with an elliptical satellite dish on the
balcony.


--
Dave Oldridge+
ICQ 1800667

A false witness is worse than no witness at all.

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

paul-NOZPAM@paulkienitz.net (Paul Kienitz) wrote in
news:e5747637.0411230346.5dd62568@posting.google.com:

> Dave Oldridge <doldridg@leavethisoutshaw.ca> wrote in message
> news:<Xns95A97707EBE8Bdoldridgsprintca@24.71.223.159>...
>
>> > But maybe I'll try, like, one of those indoor
>> > dual-bowtie-with-reflector types and see how that works.
> ...
>> > Maybe I'll stick some aluminum foil onto a couple of
>> > shoeboxes and test it out...
>>
>> Yep....a good bowtie with a reflector behind it can do wonders!
>
> And here is my experimental dual bowtie mockup... no reflector aside
> from holding a cookie sheet behind it...
> http://paulkienitz.net/img/dual-bowtie.jpg
>
> It certainly does better than the log-periodic mockup did. And it can
> get VHF too, more or less. But the Terk thing still holds its spot.
> Maybe if I put a proper cable on it, I can spray plastic on it, stick
> it outside, and hang it in a tree...

If you're going out to the trees, you might do a lot better to get a
decent Channelmaster UHF or VHF antenna and put it up somewhere in the
clear. Use a good mast-mounted weather-proof preamp and a good run of
RG6 to the set-top box and you should do fine. The only other thing you
might need is a rotor if stations are spaced around the compass.


--
Dave Oldridge+
ICQ 1800667

A false witness is worse than no witness at all.

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Paul Kienitz wrote:
>
> By the way, the electrical connections on the back of that bowtie are
> held together with... paper clips.

I realize that you are having fun playing with making an antenna, but
imagine what kind of reception you could get with a well designed and
executed $30 antenna from Radio Shack.

Matthew

--
Thermodynamics and/or Golf for dummies: There is a game
You can't win
You can't break even
You can't get out of the game