OT digital TV antenna

I've spent too many hours trying to learn the black magic of antenna selection. Time Warner started requiring set top boxes and additional fees for local channels and I canceled. So have a lot of people around here as Walmart and Best Buy antenna shelves are bare. With prices from $10 to $200 it's hard to know what to do. I have stations on 3 towers clustered 10-15 miles SSE of me and stations on one tower 40 miles NNW. All are UHF. I've assumed I'd get an outdoor antenna, but it seems everybody wants to sell me a flat indoor amplified antenna to put on the wall, so I've been playing.

I've found:

* Attaching a piece of coax of any length to the TV will bring in channels as long as the other end of the coax has some copper wire sticking out of it--I guess that piece itself is acting as the antenna as if it's cut flush with the shielding I get no channels regardless of coax length.

* Outside is definitely the place to put this coax end--much better reception.

* An 8db amp (previously used with the cable TV/Internet setup) definitely helps this cable antenna.

I get most everything I want now with good pictures but the signal strength meter on the TV shows all as very weak. i have about 3 inches of the center copper wire sticking out the end of the cable and it's laid in the top of a bush at the corner of the house.

So, what do I do for a real antenna? I want omni-directional. Prefer the ability to put it outside. Don't want to pay a fortune to find it doesn't work better than a wire in a bush.

Oh, BTW, anyone know the dimensions used in making this one that's being sold on Craig's List?
home made antenna selling on CL

There are several videos on YouTube showing you how to make the "coat hanger" TV antenna.

I got this one for my vacation home in the hills south of Palm springs, CA. We're about 90 to 100 miles from the transmitters near LA and get pretty good reception, though I'm going to try a booster amp as the weather seems to affect some of the channels I want. Since you have transmitters that are so widely separated, you might need two of these.
db4 bowtie antenna from amazon

(quoted from post at 16:47:24 01/29/16) There are several videos on YouTube showing you how to make the "coat hanger" TV antenna.

Click to expand...

s Gambles said check you tube. I made several that worked very well. I used bare copper wire so rust wasn't an issue.

My last antenna was ruined in an icestorm. Next antenna will be this unit. No elements for channels 2-6 and no FM broadcast elements. Thus less metal for ice to hang on and the wind to shove. Best of all the nearby broadcast FM radio transmitter will overload my TV signals less.
http://www.channelmaster.com/Digital_HDTV_Outdoor_TV_Antenna_p/cm-2020.htm

I'm using a 35 year old yagi with several elements broken off, it still works very well.

What you found on CL is commonly called a bowtie. You are in luck that your towers are 180 deg from each other. A basic dipole antenna will pickup signal from front and back.

At my previous house, I had a big yagi I built. It was close to 10 feet long, but could pull in signal from 120 mi away.
Diyantenna

Check Winegard. They are highly recommended and good reviews. I just ordered one, but not multi-directional. I have never had anything but an outside antenna, but an oak limb fell on it a while back and pretty much wrecked it. Surprisingly it still works fairly well at times, but it was time for a new one, hence the Winegard.

Here is the antenna I currently use. It is a fractal. Framed it and hung on the wall as "art".

There are not too many stations left that broadcast on VHF. Digital stations are broadcasting in UHF frequency. The thing on your outdoor antenna that looks like a screen, is your UHF receiver, and is really all you need anymore.

Dumped my dish nine years ago. Figure i have saved over $9k since then. Those monthly fees can really add up over time.

Google "WA2608" (several sources sell same antenna). Bought one a couple years ago and have been very happy with it. Pulls channels 40-50 miles in regardless of direction pointed. Often pull in channels up to 70-80 miles or more when aimed right.

I'm pulling channels 90 miles away. That is fringe stuff. I'm well set on top of a hill with no trees in that direction, 2.5 strore house with 12 g
Foot mast on the roof.....

You don't need that much pull. You can likely use one of the lesser antennas.

Dennys on the Internet is a straight shooter, you can learn all you need to know on his site. I got his stacker antenna, and it really works.

Do a little reading here.

Paul
Dennys

My store sells the Winegard antennas. Right now the best one for our area is the HD-1080. (Nope, this is not an advertisement, nor am I trying to drum up business, we have plenty already)

Google it and see how it's made. It's not very big and will pick up stations up to about 40 miles away in most cases, sometimes more. It is directional, but will pick up just about as well from the back as the front. I think you can buy it online direct from Winegard for $40 to $60.

Around here most people put it just at the rooftop to clear the obstacles.

That being said, you are right about needing just a wire outside in the bush. Strip back another foot or so and hang it up at the roof level and see how that does. You may decide to call it good and go watch reruns.

The local electronic shop makes them. They say the loop needs to be 28 inches long to

catch the signal. On my shop tv I have a 28 inch loop of fence wire, steel, screwed to

a collaxal adaptor. on the back of a converter box.

what gauge wire did you use? Did you put a reflector behind it?

Cool, where'd you find it?

I have bought several antennas of different strengths
for myself and others from the link below. I live 80 miles from
the nearest transmitter so I have a deep fringe antenna and
a booster amp.
Antennas

If you buy an antenna, I would start by checking what type of antenna you need at your location. These sites are pretty good at factoring in elevation and terrain.
www.antennaweb.gov
www.rabbitears.info
www.tvfool.com