Reception better from my RV antenna ... ?
Hey all,
Newb's got a question ... I just built a DB4 and mounted up on the roof. It sits about +40' off the ground, my RV's Wingard (model ?) sits about 12' off the ground and about 50' away from my new DB4. The RV will find 17 channels and the DB4 will only find 8 channels. I have an amp on the DB4 and the Wingard supposedly has an amp built in. How can the Wingard be getting better reception than the DB4 that's sitting so much higher. Is the RV just sitting in a hot spot? When the snow melts, I'm going to move the DB4 down by the RV and see what's what. Which antenna model/style would you try here ( at my location)? http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...dfaf44e4451727 Lots of people online claiming their home made antenna's perform better than the store bought versions, what's been your experience? Thanks, Mike. |
The devil, as they say, is in the details, many of which are important are missing.
1. Which Winegard? They have two generations of RV antennas, very, very different. One is very good on VHF but lousy on UHF, even with their slip-on attachment. The other is fair on UHF but lousy on VHF. 2. Which stations are received by each? Not "channels" since that count is usually inflated by the presence of several sub-channels that are all part of the same station broadcast. 3. Which preamp is on your home made 4-bay antenna (please don't call it a "DB4", we already have dibs on that term). 4. What design was used for the 4-bay? The homemade 4-bay antennas are UHF designs, and some of them are lousy designs to start with. 5. What direction is each antenna facing? 6. What, if anything, is out in front of the 4-bay antenna? Trees, building, etc? |
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Note: I actually seemed to get better reception with the RV antenna "before" the trees dropped their leaves. 7 would come in sometimes, now not at all. Thanks again. |
Yes you can easily make a 4 bay bowtie antenna that works better than any commercial 4 bay
Since most commercial versions still have most of their gain above 700 MHz, (where no dtv stations exist) they perform poorly on the lower half of the UHF channels I've found that whisker length of 10 inches produces excellent performance Below rf channel 40 where most of my channels are You should also use a screen reflector vs one made of wide spaced rods for better performance Curving the reflector and sweeping the whiskers forward will also improve gain and narrow the pattern Conversely, bending the whiskers back towards the reflector will widen the pattern and reduce gain Spacing between the bowties and reflector is also a huge factor 1/4 wavelength (approx 5 inches) works well on lower channels The Winegard TV antennas are amplified and omnidirectional while the 4 bay is directional so it won't pick up stations off to the sides or the rear |
So in my case, to recieve all available chanels, the bowtie would work best with a rotator. Which antenna would you recommend that would not need a rotator?
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I'll just say that I am not recommending our "e" series antennas for this location unless it is also paired with a suitable high-VHF antenna. Quote:
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Your best bet would likely be one of the medium-sized combo antennas (7-51 or 7-69) aimed at downtown Seattle. Note that any directional antenna aimed in this fashion would introduce the following concerns: 1. The primary transmitter for your Fox affiliate is located of to your northWEST. It's signal is quite strong so it probably will come in anyway. That station also operates a low-power UHF 22 transmitter from the downtown area, so there is a second opportunity to pick it up. 2. The PBS station in Tacoma, WBTC, will probably be lost as it's going to be in a significant null with any directional antenna. If this station is desired enough, you'd have to make special provisions for it. 3. You'll want to add a medium gain, high-input preamp to the system. |
You can make a 4 bay with better gain than you can buy.
BUT, the devil is in the details. You have to use the right plan and follow it exactly. Spacing and measurements are very critical. Wrong plan or poor spacing of elements and you might as well stick a coat hanger up in the air. The Mclapp M4 that Adtech pointed you to is one of, if not the best DIY bow tie style design out there. I've built a bunch of the 10 x 9 1/2 no reflector models using his plans and am very pleased with the results. I even get a Hi-VHF signal from 50 miles quite good. Design, adherence to the design specs, aiming and obstacles in the signal path, (trees, buildings, etc.), all are factors. Without knowing what plan you used or how well you followed it, or how you aimed it, you can't really say why it's not performing as well or better than the store bought model. |
Thanks guys ... good info!
The bow tie plan I followed called for 9" elements spaced at 9" o.c. with 5.5" spacing at the element tips. The importance of all elements to be, "on plane" was noted. Elements were attached to a board separated by 1.25". |
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