Hello,
Please help with antenna (Brookfield Conn.)
I've recently (the past two weeks) been learning about OTA and built three different 4 bay units for testing basing the design from
http://m4antenna.eastmasonvilleweather.com/index.html
What I have done and what my hopes are. -– Drop Cable TV – See my tvfool report below*
1. 4 bay (1st test)
- 9.5” whiskers, 9” spacing, 3/16” dia. metal whiskers (very sturdy). 1 1/2” forward bend.
- No reflector.
- #14 copper phase lines.
- CM-94444 Balun and or Radio Shack Balun.
- 10' RG6 cable
1. Interior test got the following.- WTBY-TV 27
- WTNH-DT 10 (8.1) ABC
- WZME 42 (43.1)
- WRNN-DT 48 (48.1)
- W22BN (Not interested)
- WVIT-DT 35 NBC
2. 4bay (2nd test)
- 9.5” whiskers, 9” spacing, 3/8 copper tubing whiskers.
- No reflector.
- #14 copper phase lines.
- CM-94444 Balun and or Radio Shack Balun.
- 10' RG6 cable
- Interior test. This seemed to get a few more channels than the 3/16” metal whiskers unit above but can't remember for sure.
- Flattened the copper where the two whiskers came together for screw hole attachment. This seems to be an area that would and did bend very easily.
- Elements broke (dropped), decided to move on to different build.
3. 8 bay (4 bay side by side 26” spacing between) (3rd test)
- 9.5” whiskers, 9” spacing, 3/16” dia. metal whiskers (very sturdy). 1 1/2” forward bend.
- #14 copper phase lines.
- No reflector.
- Co-phase lines connecting the two units together #14 wire non-stripped other than at connection points. They are separated by 1” using 4 plastic blocks with holes to feed wire through them. Both are exact length. Single balun connected at middle of phase line.
- CM-94444 Balun.
- About 100' RG6 cable.
- No amplifier
- This thing picks up some channels!
- Exterior test outside, mounted at about 18' from ground. Temp set up of pvc pole securely fastened to house wall up to 14'. The last 2' had a union and a 35-50 mph wind gust broke the union connection. Yeap it came down! No damage other than the unit itself. Rebuild needed.
- Antenna was pointing at about 227 degrees compass. Picked up the following channels (8 Bay metal whiskers exact location 227 degrees 20ft 2014-03-01 a.jpg)
- 4. Best I could tell from the TV info the signals were at around 50 % +/- on most channels (is this good bad or normal?). I noticed a few lost connection at times. It was a little windy and thought that had something to do with it.
8 Bay metal whiskers exact location 227 degrees 20ft 2014-03-01 a.jpg
8 bay metal whiskers exact location 227 Degrees 20ft 2014-03-01.ods
227 Degree View at Gable with proposed antenna.jpg
Chimney With 227 Degree View and proposed antenna .jpg
TVFool exact location 20ft 227 degrees.jpg
TVFool exact location 25ft 227 degrees.jpg
TVFool exact location 30ft 227 degrees.jpg
4 bay bowtie 2014-02-24_0 a.jpg
–---------------------------
Here are some questions and my goals. Any and all suggestions will be appreciated:
*
TV Fool at 20' or
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...46aed6c9ffbc1d
TV Fool at 25' or
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...5b9403fa207f4a
TV Fool at 30' or
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...5b94ff74ae86b1
I've attached some images which show exact location info from TVFool. There is also a speed sheet showing what received channels (signal) came in for the 8 Bay unit during its short life.
Cost is a factor. I'm using material on hand.
Don't have any equipment to discern signal quality or strength other than TV (
VIZIO E191VA) which shows a bar of 10 bullets with hi-lighting fill in to show signal. The channels that I could view seemed to look fine. This antenna was only up for a very short time and never got the chance to turn it in other directions.
My thoughts are to build an 8 bay unit. Two 4 bays and putting them together for an 8 bay. I'm leaning towards them being side by side rather than vertically stacked and directing it at 227 compass degrees.
Would the Co-phase lines that I used above be a good choice? #14 wire non-stripped other than at connection points. They are separated by 1” using 4 plastic blocks with holes to feed wire through them. Both are exact length. Single balun connected at middle of phase line.
Should 2 baluns instead of Co-phase line be used?
Reflector yes/no? Would I lose or gain channels? I have some 6” x 4” and 1/2” x 1/2” wire fencing.
Would #6 or #8 copper be a better choice over metal for whiskers? Seems like #10-12-14 would be much more flimsy in outdoor application.
Should whiskers and phase lines be made out of the same material and the same size in diameter?
Antenna to be installed above rooftop either chimney or gable mount about 20' - 30' off ground in total.
- TV = one
- Cable run about 100'.
- Mounting pole = 1 1/4” metal emt.
- Gable mounted 10' emt pole would only have about 2' of base pole mounting area due to another roof below giving a 20' - 25' ground height.
- Chimney mount would be the higher (25' - 30') but there a some trees in LOS (227 degrees) about 70' away and maybe about 20' higher (50' from ground).
What height can a 1 1/4” metal emt pole extend with out guide wires? I know this is relative to antenna and how base is attached but just looking for some general guidelines.
Is a signal from the TV info of 50% +/- going to be viewable and sustainable during the summer or anytime for that mater?
Is a 50% signal strength hi or low from TVFool report?
It appears there might be some co-channel problem's. How do I get the following channels:
- 7 (7.1) ABC, 13 (13.1) PBS, 31 (31.1) ION,
- 33 (2.1) CBS seems to be ok
Should I use a rotator or build multiple antennas placed in different locations?
If a rotator what style _____?
Should I use an amplifier and how much will/would this help?
What style ______?
How does one ground all this? The coaxial cable I have (RG6) has a separate ground wire molded on the side of it.
Thanks for the site and a special thanks to all you who have given of your time and assistance.