[shipfaced]

Quick update.
Finally got something up in the air, have properly mounted the DIY antenna on the 22ft. S.B. mast. It peeks over the roof by maybe 10ft. giving the antenna a vista to the North. With a bit of hit and miss tuning (the antenna still faces South) we scanned a total of 53 CH (including NBC's WESH 70 mi N.)

Got a cheap POS walmart pre-amp just to see what happens. WOW the superior reception that mtownsend predicted has convinced us that a better quality pre-amp is definitely in the cards! A CM-7777 is coming.

The mast is located on the south-facing deck, out back of the house, we moved the mast so it reaches another 5-6ft higher (but still at the south). We were going to make another copy of my DIY antenna to equal an 8 bay bowtie antenna but there really is no sense in that. We get all the networks and many local channels .. there is very little to be gained now except needless duplication. In review we ended up with a cheaper and better solution than the 14 ft long Winegard that we were going to get. The tough little DIY antenna has a much smaller wind profile plus I made everything from items we had on hand ... total out of pocket $55 for pre-amp.

BTW I still have an analog TV and you can easily see the HD difference, better than satellite and much better than cable. To the other noobs out there .... it's not that hard.