Sent DB2 back: Homemade HDTV antenna idea?

I sent my DB2 antenna back. Didn't perform any better
IN the house than cheap rabbit ears.

So..... I recognize that what I need is an OUTSIDE
antenna and one as high as possible.... matter of fact
these two parameter are more important then the
'design" of the antenna I gather?

So..... what if I take some coax and strip off a long
section so that the inner wire is bare...no shielding.

Then I get this "end" outside ... maybe up an outside
wall..... or along a banister on my apartment.

This likely to work well? It would be cheap anyway!

On Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:28:49 -0600, wrote:

I sent my DB2 antenna back. Didn't perform any better
IN the house than cheap rabbit ears.

So..... I recognize that what I need is an OUTSIDE
antenna and one as high as possible.... matter of fact
these two parameter are more important then the
'design" of the antenna I gather?
Wrong.

So..... what if I take some coax and strip off a long
section so that the inner wire is bare...no shielding.

Then I get this "end" outside ... maybe up an outside
wall..... or along a banister on my apartment.

This likely to work well?
No.
It would be cheap anyway!
Yes. But you could save even more by simply attaching a shoelace to
the end of the coax.

On Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:28:49 -0600, wrote:

I sent my DB2 antenna back. Didn't perform any better
IN the house than cheap rabbit ears.

So..... I recognize that what I need is an OUTSIDE
antenna and one as high as possible.... matter of fact
these two parameter are more important then the
'design" of the antenna I gather?

So..... what if I take some coax and strip off a long
section so that the inner wire is bare...no shielding.

Then I get this "end" outside ... maybe up an outside
wall..... or along a banister on my apartment.

This likely to work well? It would be cheap anyway!

Probably work somewhat on UHF channels, but it will work a lot better
with any kind of antenna up there, and if you want VHF channels,
you'll need more than a bare end, esp 2-5.

J.

wrote

So..... I recognize that what I need is an OUTSIDE
antenna and one as high as possible.... matter of fact
these two parameter are more important then the
'design" of the antenna I gather?

Wrong.

Partly right. A lesser quality antenna high and in the clear outside will
generally outperform a better one indoors at ground level. The experimenter
in me would try making a dipole antenna out of the end of the coax. Strip
off about one foot of the outer insulation, exposing the shield. Now strip
back the shield, intact, making a foot long "wire." That's one half of your
dipole. Now completely strip off the inner conductor's insulation. That's
the other half of your dipole. If the coax is held "vertically," the two
dipole wires are to be extended horizontally (I think - are UHF signals
horizontally polarized?), making a T with the coax. Hang that thing up, in
the clear, and see what happens. If the picture still stinks, connect a
decent outside TV antenna to the end of your coax!

Correction!

"Howard Lester" wrote

in me would try making a dipole antenna out of the end of the coax. Strip
off about one foot of the outer insulation,

OOPS! Make that six inches, not one foot.

I commend you for your resourcefulness, but if you're gonna build for
the outside, why don't you take an ohmmeter down to the hardware store
or scrapyard and find something more durable than unshielded coaxial?

wrote

I commend you for your resourcefulness, but if you're gonna build for
the outside, why don't you take an ohmmeter down to the hardware store
or scrapyard and find something more durable than unshielded coaxial?

Who are you directing this to, and what good is an ohmmeter at a scrapyard
or hardware store?

On Mar 4, 4:28*pm, wrote:

So..... I recognize that what I need is an OUTSIDE
antenna and one as high as possible.... matter of fact
these two parameter are more important then the
'design" of the antenna I gather?

Right now the active element of my HDTV antenna is two 6" aluminum
rods jammed into the ends of a short horizontal plastic tube. I
drilled and tapped through the inner ends of the rods for stainless
steel screws which hold the rods in and connect to the 300-75 Ohm
matching transformer. Come spring I'll redo it by mounting slightly
longer rods in opposite sides of a plastic box which will protect the
connections from the rain better.

It's actually a home-made replacement part for a Radio Shack UHF
antenna that was damaged in a storm.
Depending on whose formula I use, the end-to-end distance should be 15
to 16 inches. The original was 14.6" but it was made for older, higher
UHF channels.

Jim Wilkins

wrote:
I sent my DB2 antenna back. Didn't perform any better
IN the house than cheap rabbit ears.

So..... I recognize that what I need is an OUTSIDE
antenna and one as high as possible.... matter of fact
these two parameter are more important then the
'design" of the antenna I gather?

So..... what if I take some coax and strip off a long
section so that the inner wire is bare...no shielding.

Then I get this "end" outside ... maybe up an outside
wall..... or along a banister on my apartment.

This likely to work well? It would be cheap anyway!

Of course, a thinking person would have taken the DB-2 antenna an placed it
in a suitable location outside and used it as originally intended and
probably had a good signal with little effort, no experimentation, and no
return necessary. To quote the maker: "...the DB2 was originally designed
for outdoor use..."

http://www.antennasdirect.com/DB2_Indoor_antenna.html

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

wrote:
I sent my DB2 antenna back. Didn't perform any better
IN the house than cheap rabbit ears.

So..... I recognize that what I need is an OUTSIDE
antenna and one as high as possible.... matter of fact
these two parameter are more important then the
'design" of the antenna I gather?

So..... what if I take some coax and strip off a long
section so that the inner wire is bare...no shielding.

Then I get this "end" outside ... maybe up an outside
wall..... or along a banister on my apartment.

This likely to work well? It would be cheap anyway!

Here's what one guy did:

-- stripped about 10" from the coax
-- removed some dry wall next to a plumbing vent.
-- drilled a hole in the vent pipe
-- forced the coax up the vent pipe until it
just protruded above the roof.
-- Sealed the hole in the pipe around the coax
-- replaced the piece of dry wall, using a
wallplate with a coax fitting on it...looks like
a cable outlet.

Not kosher. Not legal. It's worked fine for
almost a year and no one has noticed it.

--
pj