totally confused .. which antenna design????

[xtal_01]

OK, so I understand there is no "perfect" antenna design.

I also understand that what works for one person may not work for another just because of location.

I have read dozens of posts and been to just as many web sites.

It seems everyone has an opinion ... bow tie, hoverman, folded dipole, .... people can't even agree on one or two bays ( 3 db gain with two bays but then loose 3.5 with a "splitter/combiner").

So, someone like me is lost.

I live in VT (already done the channel search see link below).

I need something that will hold up outside in ice and snow (no foil reflector).

If there is no "best" design, is there a "most likely to work" design?

I have a $35 Winegard up right now, no amplifier. I can see three of transmitting towers (LOS ... EAST) and am receiving those stations off the back of the antenna. They are 8.5 miles away.

The antenna is aimed West and I am getting one station 46 miles away 2 edge.

At a minimum, I would like a better antenna since I loose some of the stations I am getting off the back of the antenna once in a while.

What I really want is the impossible .... a Canadian station 75 miles north 2 edge .... probably impossible.

So, my main stations are 8.5 miles east (most of them) and 46 miles west (completely opposite).

I want to receive stations 75 miles north and there are a few south that I "might" get ... but probably too far away.

Oh forgot to mention, I am in a hole (valley). The only reason I can see the towers is that they are on top of the mountain that I am looking at.

WOW .... lot to take in.

So I am totally lost!

I am thinking anything I build should be better than a $34 home depot antenna.

Everything I look at with a reflector has no gain in reverse ( thought I only need to get 8.5 miles LOS ).

If I aim something west ( like I have now ), there will be no chance of getting the Canadian channels to the north.

I have read all the nightmares of trying to hook up two antennas even if they are aimed in opposite directions.

HELP!

What antenna design should I try and what direction do I aim it?

Here is my channel search: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...5134375956524e

Right now I get 3/5/33/22/44/57 ( funny since the antenna is aimed at 57 the rest are off the back of the antenna).

Thanks so much ...... Mike

[Greenish Apple]

xtal_01 - (speaking as a tinkerer, not as a technician)

I don't think you will get the Canadian stations unless there are some tropospheric effects happening in your favor. I live on the north shore of Lake Ontario and only see US stations when tropospheric effects are on.

My TVFool We only get real channels 6, 11, 26, 27, 30 (attic installation, if outside we would get ch12 but it is another CTV station).

As a tinkerer, I have built a dozen antennas, wire bowties, tube bowtie, Hovermans, Super Stealth Hawk, yagi, a few clones of Clearstream C2 & Winegard Freevision, loops and more. The best antennas I've found are the bowties, Hovermans and SSH. Initially I was using two SSH with ZZ4 reflectors. I'm currently using a mashup of a Freeform 4bay bowtie and a Kosmic SuperQuad pointing west. I started with the FF4 but changed the bowties to the KSQ lengths to add a channel (real ch27).

An amplifier might stabilize the channels you have. I'm using the RCA TVPRAMP for our setup.

If you build an antenna, the SSH is quick to build and test. The KSQ takes more time to build but is a solid performer.

David

[rabbit73]

Hi, Mike:

3 db gain with two bays but then loose 3.5 with a "splitter/combiner").

Not true. When a splitter is used as a splitter, the loss is 3.5 dB, but when a splitter is used as a combiner, the loss is 0.5 dB.

I have a $35 Winegard up right now

Which one?

At a minimum, I would like a better antenna since I loose some of the stations I am getting off the back of the antenna once in a while.

For best results, the antenna must be aimed at the transmitter.

What I really want is the impossible .... a Canadian station 75 miles north 2 edge .... probably impossible.

If you mean CFTM or CFCF, yes, impossible.

Everything I look at with a reflector has no gain in reverse ( thought I only need to get 8.5 miles LOS ).

That's normal. The reflector adds more gain in the front by taking it from the back.

Right now I get 3/5/33/22/44/57 ( funny since the antenna is aimed at 57 the rest are off the back of the antenna).

I don't think you are going to be able to much better than that.

At a minimum, I would like a better antenna since I loose some of the stations I am getting off the back of the antenna once in a while.

You will need two antennas. A low gain antenna aimed at the local stations, and a high gain antenna aimed west (WCFE PBS?). They are not easily combined, so you will need an A/B switch to select the antenna, or connect the west antenna to the TV antenna input, and connect the local antenna to a separate tuner that connects to the aux input of the TV.