If the dipole using wire doesn’t work, @ericgus consider the following:
“A Square or Circular Loop antenna provides more gain than a Folded Dipole (squashed loop) and can be used with either a second Loop, Reflector Rods or a Screen Reflector.”
Holl_ands has some designs. Some of them allow for reflectors which will add to the antenna’s gain.
For better reception material, you might want to consider copper refrigeration coil ($20 for 240 inches - you’d need 156") which I have used successfully for a long distance FM radio antenna in my attic. The coil is soft to cut and shape and provides a larger surface area than a wire or cable for the signal:
These are remarkable. I’m beginning to foster the motivation to buy parts and construct my own antenna; did not know there was so much DIY in the antenna realm.
Seems I have some work … and lots to ponder about… I might just sit things out and see what the very smart people on AVS forums do … and of course the channel repack is in progress so stuff is in flux and not “final” yet… which makes matters worse. Do something now and it my not be ideal when everything is in its proper place.
One guy at Boston AVS had a VHF dipole available from the past and he mentions that he added some inches of wire to this existing dipole for the ch 5 length and now gets WGBH OK. So there is some room for optimism there.
WBZ was coming in poorly and readjusted their transmitter after receiving emails from users. So yup, the area is in flux. I’m in the same situation as the repack here is underway until October. Antenna power levels are attenuated for the construction crews and temporary alternate facilities are being used - no antenna work for me until the autumn.
After that, on to ATSC 3.0…
The LO VHF hourglass antenna intrigues me because one can stand it up straight and add elements to it (like reflector rods). I prefer that to stringing wire. Also can use sturdier elements and carry it around for testing (best location in the attic). It also has more gain than the hanging wire. You can trust a Holl_lands design - they always work. I have built antennas using his templates. He also runs computer simulations (NEC2) of each design and gets the figures quite well within actual range of performance.
For sure the DIY realm is alive and well. I build my own antennas because my signals come in all over the place. I can’t afford to buy an antenna for each location when I can build them for under $20.
Not only build them but customize them for specific channels. The store bought antennas have an average size but sometimes one needs an antenna cut to a specific size to get a hard to get channel.
This is the website that encouraged me to make my own (MClapp) 8 years ago. Rather than buying a DIY kit from him, I followed his instructions for doing it yourself and buying the parts locally. His preface is a good read for the DIY approach:
The following is another fascinating site that inspired me for DIY (this guy built an MClapp 4 bay bowtie and a GH - Gray Hoverman) to get both Toronto and Buffalo stations. Take a look at all the different antennas he built (great pictures). I used his design for a VHF loop that works great to this day. For awhile the GH was my favorite. He decided to build several antennas to aim each one at a particular location rather than aim somewhere midpoint between locations. The DIY approach saves you money in such a situation.
The next website is also wonderful for antenna research and development (I have used it many times - arguably the best site for antenna research on the Internet):
One of my favorite DIY projects was someone building his own flat panel antenna to place in the window using plexiglass and copper tape (as the receiving element).
BTW did I mention that I am building my own Antop? Just as an experiment because my antennas are working fine. I have looked inside one, got photos of the inside, I have all the measurements, and I understand the theory for this type of antenna. I am in the middle of constructing one (have all the parts). The only thing I am missing is the plastic casing. However I’m going to try it first indoors without the need for the plastic case. It’s just for experimental reasons as a hobby to test its theory and compare it to my other models so don’t sue me Antop - no one else is getting it!
@ericgus You might want to track Boston user pnkflyd51 at AVS (in the antenna section not the Boston thread). He’s in Hopkinton about 30 miles out. See this post:
Pnkflyd51 is working on a LO VHF dipole with help from others. He’s going to try and extend his rabbit ear antenna with alligator clips and additional wire (as shown above) when he gets his UHF\VHF joiner. Will be interesting to see how it works 30 miles out. He says that his current rabbit ear antenna without any change works sporadically. Another user has his rabbit ear antenna working for WGBH but he’s only ten miles from the station.
ABC philly.This w comes in and out for me, I seem to lose it for a couple of months each year! I’ve tri d everything and I mean everything and I still have issues.
@Canons900 you might want to take a look at the post above discussing the LO VHF Hourglass antenna:
I found some more notes on building a LO VHF antenna from Holl_ands (AVS Forum). I mentioned in another post above of using thick refrigeration coil which gives a larger surface area for the signal (I used this for my long range FM antenna - FM being mid VHF). He says about folded dipoles:
“Lo-VHF Band Folded Dipoles need to be FAT, e.g. 1/2-in Copper Tubing to cover Ch3-6 and Ch2-6 (although SWR is still a bit High)…and AWG24 Twin-Lead only has acceptable SWR across ONE Channel, which rules out one spanning both Ch2 and Ch4…which would likely require at least AWG12/10 (based on Ch6 AWG10 results).”
“HIGHER GAIN Lo-VHF DIY Antennas are FLAT, so can be hidden behind furniture or curtains (if in correct orientation)…the last two Directional Antennas might also suppress NOISE. Hourglass-Loops are VERY simple to build with AWG10 and do NOT require Very FAT Elements.”
The Hourglass antenna also has the advantage of adding reflectors to it or even doubling it with itself (2 Houglasses in a row). See his designs in the post above I just referenced.
( These construction notes might also interest you @ericgus )
VHF (Very High Frequency): Provides channels 2-13 in the frequency range 54-216 MHz.
UHF (Ultra High Frequency): Provides channels 14-51 in the frequency range 470-698 MHz.
Compatible with any streaming device with over-the-air integration, TV, DVR, or computer with a digital tuner.
5’ Swedged Mast (TB-0005) not included.
To receive programming, run a channel scan on your TV after setting up the antenna. To keep your channel lineup up-to-date, it is a good idea to run a channel scan monthly and anytime a channel is lost.
or even the HD7694P which is a slightly longer range version.
That’s a large 8 foot antenna. More for the rooftop unless you have space in the attic for it. UHF wise I don’t think it will be as good as your 8 bay (and I wouldn’t replace the UHF antenna you already have with this one). Would probably do the trick just for VHF though it is advertised at a 30 mile range (it has only one VHF receiving element which is shorter than the channel 5 wavelength). You could simply lay it down on the attic floor (I did that with my huge Radio Shack VU-210 which had LO VHF though I had no LO VHF channel).
Our attic is a crawlspace thats only half “finished” eg it has no flooring and just insulation so there is a lot of room it could sit on in the rafters… and no, I would just use the VHF part only, I have an Amp that has separate inputs for VHF/UHF and I would wire this antenna to the VHF part (maybe employ some-kind of UHF filter before hand)
Since it only has one LO VHF receiving element, it would be equivalent to the one in the drawing above (alligator clips, additional wire and rabbit ear). Or even less since it doesn’t have the full ch 5 length. At $40, you could make 4 of the rabbit ear extended one…
I would start cheap and follow first if the rabbit ear extension works for pnkflyd51. Let him do the hard work of testing one and see if he reports success. He’s about a week away from getting all his parts.
Yea i am just watching and seeing… but while I like the idea of the rabbit ear w/extensions, I am wondering if that would also let me tune into a few of the other VHF channels around me (they are more in the vhf hi range) … so I am more looking for an antenna that would make those potentially available too.
Then go cheap on the LO VHF ($10) and go expensive on the Antop ($140) which will give you HI VHF + UHF. Put the ugly in the attic and the beautiful outside…
BTW if you were to do the rabbit ear antenna, I’d suggest getting bare copper wire fat enough to go into the alligator clips and not using thin wire. Home Depot will give you the length of copper wire needed from their rolls at the gauge specified. They charge per foot. Would come out to about $8 for 13 feet.
BTW you don’t necessarily need a rabbit ear antenna to start off with. You could just do it with a wire and a balun. Shape the wire into a folded dipole (like the picture of the copper pipe above 1 to 2 inch gap between the ends) and attach one leg of the balun to the left end of the wire and the other leg of the balun to the right end of the wire. I normally get the Channel Master 94444 matching transformer. Strip 3 inches off the end and wrap it tightly around the bare wire\cable dipole ends.
Balun legs wrapped around my FM dipole ends (circled in green):
