Posted on 01/28/2012 2:05:41 PM PST by Paleo Conservative
Due to an ongoing dispute between Time-Warner and my local NBC affiliate KRIS, NBC is not currently carried on my cable system. It's pretty likely this dispute won't be resolved before the Super Bowl next weekend, so I want to find out what model of antennas, I should buy in order to watch the Super Bowl next week. I bought a Terk amplified antenna prior to the Houston Texan's game in the first round, and it didn't work at all. The clerk at the return desk at Best Buy said that lots of people were returning that model.
Go to a sports bar.
Hey, what a waste of a perfect abortion instrument!
LMAO!! The coat hanger and duct tape, the most widely-used products for the most unintended purposes in history!
1. Get a twin lead to coax balun. A couple of bucks at Radio Shack.
2. Connect a coax cable to your TV and run it to your nearest window. Connect the balun to the other end of the cable.
3. Get a 6 ft. or so length of twinlead and connect one end to the coax balun. Soldering is best but twist-on will get you by if you do a good job.
4. Split the twin lead with a pair of scissors and pull it out to two individual wires about a foot in length. Bend them out so they make a Y shape.
5. Hang the twinlead out the window and you will beat any indoor antenna every invented at 1/10 the price or better. You can diddle with the length of the split wires and the horizontal vs. vertical position to optimize reception.
6. Alternate plan: just hook the balun to the TV and run the twin lead to the window. You will need a short cable or an adapter for this scheme. Then follow 4 above. That will be almost as good.
I think this site is a little more helpful than antenna.web
Just enter your zip code.
http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=90
Tells you more about the stations.
From twenty miles with no obstructions, a plain old set of rabbit ears with bow tie should pull in the signal perfectly. Don’t pay extra for a digital antenna, the old fashioned kind works just fine.
I made an excellent antenna. It is a 4 element bow tie made from aluminum clothes line wire. The mast is 1 1/4 pvc pipe. The Bow tie antennas use a reflector and there are several alternatives. I had a spare Anderson window screen mounted on the opposite side of the pvc pipe.
I use it in my van when camping. While camping near fort worth I received 56 channels. It is directional when transmitters are distant but I can lock on to signal 30 miles away.
There are several excellent videos showing how to build them and they can be fairly crude and work well. People mount them in the attic and looks are not a problem
Mine is elegant and looks great. I made another that was also made from the colthsline but to what is known as a fractal design. It also worked pretty good but I used aluminum clad foam insulation board for the reflector and it wouldn’t stand the rigors of travel
I would recommend checking out the sources on Bing and make one. The simplest material is ordinary clothes hangers (assuming you still have metal coat hangers) that work well. The technology is very low grade and you can make one in an hour or so from stuff at hand. You need to buy a piece of cavle that converts the wire leads to a coax cable but they are available everywhere for cheap.
.
Both should be available at your local Radio Shack or the like. You'll need to get a 300ohm to 75ohm adapter as well (that piece at the bottom of the cord for the bowtie, so you can hook it up to your tv.)
It is a low cost solution that works better than any commercial solution I've tried (short of an attic antenna.)
I like your plan, though I’d be tempted to go from 75-ohm to 300 ohm right at the connector.
Also. a 4 inch wide strip of aluminum foil wrapped around the twin lead, after sliding around to find the best spot, may help the user hone in on channel 6.
I have a DB2 antenna I made myself from 2x4's coat hangers and cookie cooler sheet that works pretty good inside the house.
Kind of like this one, but I used some chrome plated coat hangers for the elements and some stripped copper home wire to connect the matching transformer.
Then you just need to aim it correctly.
From what you described, ANY good quality indoor VHF antenna should do the job.
C. Crane recommends the Comet, but any old line brand (Winegard, Jerrold, Channel Master) should be fine. Terk seems to make a lot of cheap stuff.
I stringly second the idea of using good ol’ rabbit ears. The bigger the better. In the fancy rigs, the circles or loops are usually for UHF. That does nothing for you. Channel 6 is right in the middle of the VHF band, so you should be okay there. With rabbit ears, the higher the frequency (channel #), the smaller the length antenna.
If you have old plaster walls, brick, or concrete walls in the way, a longer line with rabbit ears and a waltz around the room to find a hot spot can work wonders.
Stay away from the signal amplifiers. They generally include things that inherently weaken the signal before it csn be amplified. Another poster pointed out that you can’t amplify what isn’t there. He’s right. Knobs and dials on the antenna also usually take more than they give. The fellow suggesting that you run a wire outside the window also has a good plan.
In the pre-digital days,
Freeper help with antenna selection needed!
A friend recommended a home built one using wood, coat hangers & aluminum foil. I know sounds *and LOOKS* tacky but it works. EVERY channel possible is crisp and clear. No cable of course. Need to work fast for superbowl!!!!
LINK HERE FOR ONE (but there are various techniques/patterns)
I’m going to feed the internet stream from my son’s new whiz-bang gaming computer to the 55” Samsung his dad bought on Super Bowl day last year; then as now we have no cable.
You can put it on the roof or in the attic. If you are trying to get UHF the height of the antenna is more important.
I guess I could try connecting the HDMI cable to my laptop.
Thanks for the information about digital vs analog. I’ve had my digital descrambler(I have an 18 year old Sony Trinitron) wired to the old rabbit ears that came with the set and it seems to work well.
Channel 6 is actually Digital 13
I think you’re generally right about the signal amplifiers. I removed mine after getting a better antenna.
Branding 6 News
CW South Texas
(on DT2)
Slogan The station with the most local news in South Texas.
Channels Digital: 13 (VHF)
Subchannels 6.1 NBC
6.2 The CW
Owner Cordillera Communications
(KVOA Communications, Inc.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.