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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.
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