Free OTA HDTV

[Neuro]

I know it's not really audio related but I made a couple of HDTV antennas and it's a fun project for those that like to tinker. My sister complained of poor selection from her cable provider so I made a antenna from plans off the net and Youtube. It worked so well I made a DB4 antenna for myself. The cookie tin lid antenna is dead simple and doesn't require a balun transformer. We get four HDTV stations in our area. Your mileage will vary. My sister loves the picture quality and saves 40 bucks a month. Here's some pics of the home built antennas...Cheers...Ted.

http://neuro.smugmug.com/Other/DIY-HDTV-Antenna/26191631_cVB5PK#!i=2178490203&k=c5XSL6H

 

[hjames]

Cool - it would be interesting to know what market you are in and relatively how close to the transmitters you are.

I'm about 25 miles from DC, probably 75 or so to Baltimore in a similar direction, so we have tons of stations available.
But we have a pretty good forest of trees between my TV on the ground floor and the direction of the city. When they are fully leaved up, it really cuts the signal levels down.
I did pop a high gain Winegard UHF antenna on a ground-mounted mast with a rotor beside the house a few years back, just around the time all these HDTV broadcasts began, just to see what it would do. It was pretty enlightening - but we have no chimney, the house is covered in siding, and I don't want to mount a tripod on the roof and puncture the old shingles.

Thanks for the info tho - nice to see what works

I know it's not really audio related but I made a couple of HDTV antennas and it's a fun project for those that like to tinker. My sister complained of poor selection from her cable provider so I made a antenna from plans off the net and Youtube. It worked so well I made a DB4 antenna for myself. The cookie tin lid antenna is dead simple and doesn't require a balun transformer. We get four HDTV stations in our area. Your mileage will vary. My sister loves the picture quality and saves 40 bucks a month. Here's some pics of the home built antennas...Cheers...Ted.

http://neuro.smugmug.com/Other/DIY-HDTV-Antenna/26191631_cVB5PK#!i=2178490203&k=c5XSL6H

 

[Neuro]

Sorry...I forgot to mention the antennas only work on newer tv's that have a digital tuner. Most flat screen units have a built in digital tuner... An older CRT tv will require a converter so it's probably not a worthwhile investment.

 

[Neuro]

Cool - it would be interesting to know what market you are in and relatively how close to the transmitters you are.

I'm about 25 miles from DC, probably 75 or so to Baltimore in a similar direction, so we have tons of stations available. But we have a pretty good forest of trees between my TV on the ground floor and the direction of the city. When they are fully leaved up, it really cuts the signal levels down.
I did pop a high gain Yagi UHF antenna on a ground-mounted mast with a rotor beside the house a few years back, just around the time all these HDTV broadcasts began, just to see what it would do. It was pretty enlightening - but we have no chimney, the house is covered in siding, and I don't want to mount a tripod on the roof and puncture the old shingles.

Thanks for the info tho - nice to see what works

We are in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada. Stand on a beer can and see the north pole...The Canadian broadcasters are slower at adopting HD transmissions due to the high cost of switching up equipment. I'm sure there will be more selection in the near future. Our closest transmitter is roughly 2 miles away and the furthest is 25 miles. We have an older story and a half home with a full basement. Both antennas work well anywhere inside the house. The cookie tin lid antenna is more direction sensitive but works surprisingly well for it's size. If a news announcer has one hair out of place I'll notice it. From what I've read 60 miles would be the limit for the db4 antenna. I was also concerned about punching a hole in the wall or roof for a cable but it's not required. I have the cookie tin lid lying on the floor behind the tv and it works very well. I don't know how much effect trees or line of sight would have in your area. Canadian HD transmissions are 720p and look great on a 51 inch Samsung plasma. I hope this helps...Cheers...Ted

 

[westend]

Congrats on making an antenna that works well. I built one of these Gray-Hoverman UHF antennas:

The antenna hobbiests say it has the highest gain for OTA HDTV of any built. The picture is freaking awesome. A double G-H array can have reception of up to 150 mi., according to users.

 

[Poultrygeist]

Those work great no doubt.

A few years back I bought the largest old fashioned outside mast TV antenna that I could find and mounted it in my attic. I hung it from the rafters by a broom handle that I could turn. I get an excellent HDTV OTA picture and FM stations 100 miles away. The nice thing about an attic mounted antenna is there's no need for a ground and no chance of a lightning strike.

 

[mrdbdigital]

Sorry...I forgot to mention the antennas only work on newer tv's that have a digital tuner. Most flat screen units have a built in digital tuner... An older CRT tv will require a converter so it's probably not a worthwhile investment.

There were a lot of HD CRT television sets sold near the end of CRT's that had digital tuners. I have a 32" Sony that is simply gorgeous.

Dave

 

[Neuro]

Congrats on making an antenna that works well. I built one of these Gray-Hoverman UHF antennas:

The antenna hobbiests say it has the highest gain for OTA HDTV of any built. The picture is freaking awesome. A double G-H array can have reception of up to 150 mi., according to users.

Nice work on your G-H antenna! Guess I should have put a little more effort in the appearance department with mine but it's out of sight. I don't watch much tv so four channels are more than adequate. I think pulling a signal out of the air at no cost is pretty cool. If it's free it's for me...Thanks for your reply...Cheers...Ted

 

[mhardy6647]

An 2 x 4 bow-tie array will have more gain (3dB?) than a 1 x 4 array I'd have to think a log-periodic or Yagi would have more gain than a 1 x 4 bowtie, too - the most 'spensive UHF antennae in the early days of UHF were the big parabolics... again, I have to think that'd be the sine qua non for modern broadcast HDTV... but I don't think that anyone's making them any more. For an example (5 foot reflector) see, e.g., page 135 of http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/catalogs/1966/

To the original post(er) - I think (?) your 1 x 4 array would be a tad more effective with a reflector. I use a commercial 1 x 4 with a reflector up on the roof (with a rotator) and it works pretty well in the deep, deep NW fringes of Boston (right on the edge of the digital cliff).

 

[hjames]

That Winegard I was talking about was a Yagi with a corner reflector (?) at one end of it - has about a 14db gain at ch32 - plus it has an optional low noise preamp that adds another 10db or so of amp gain ... I bought it back in the early 80s when I lived at home - and pulled it off Dad's house just before he sold it and moved into managed care. When the atmospherics were right, my old Sony Trinitron could pull in stations from an amazing distance with it!

 

[westend]

Nice work on your G-H antenna! Guess I should have put a little more effort in the appearance department with mine but it's out of sight. I don't watch much tv so four channels are more than adequate. I think pulling a signal out of the air at no cost is pretty cool. If it's free it's for me...Thanks for your reply...Cheers...Ted

Understood! Yeah, OTA is very cool. The picture quality from the G-H on an LED/LCD is better than the cable feed to the Panasonic plasma. Here, OTA network broadcast is 1080p and cable is 720p.

 

[westend]

That Winegard I was talking about was a Yagi with a corner reflector (?) at one end of it - has about a 14db gain at ch32 - plus it has an optional low noise preamp that adds another 10db or so of amp gain ... I bought it back in the early 80s when I lived at home - and pulled it off Dad's house just before he sold it and moved into managed care. When the atmospherics were right, my old Sony Trinitron could pull in stations from an amazing distance with it!

That is some pretty good gain, Heather. I bet if you put the antenna on a mast, you'd be pretty happy. Line of sight is supposed to be very important for OTA HDTV but I'm 30 mi. away from the towers and no where close to line of sight.

 

[mhardy6647]

Cool - it would be interesting to know what market you are in and relatively how close to the transmitters you are.

I'm about 25 miles from DC, probably 75 or so to Baltimore in a similar direction, so we have tons of stations available.
But we have a pretty good forest of trees between my TV on the ground floor and the direction of the city. When they are fully leaved up, it really cuts the signal levels down.
I did pop a high gain Winegard UHF antenna on a ground-mounted mast with a rotor beside the house a few years back, just around the time all these HDTV broadcasts began, just to see what it would do. It was pretty enlightening - but we have no chimney, the house is covered in siding, and I don't want to mount a tripod on the roof and puncture the old shingles.

Thanks for the info tho - nice to see what works

I hear you... but you know you've gotta get some altitude on that Yagi! Put it on a big ol' pole or in a tree - just be sure to ground it properly!

 

[hjames]

I hear you... but you know you've gotta get some altitude on that Yagi! Put it on a big ol' pole or in a tree - just be sure to ground it properly!

He he I do get it - but right now that antenna and Rotor are stashed in the shed and not in use ...
Like I said, I'd love to get it up on the roof - but with no chimney to lash it to, I don't like the alternatives.
And - we get nice pix off the FIOS feed ... for now.
I do plan to get it back online in a few years before we retire ... it'll be nice to cut the Cable bills ... !