Trouble receiving signal with homemade antenna.

Hello, I recently got rid of my cable service to save some money. After researching some, I decided to get a converter box and make an antenna. I bought the RCA box from Walmart and made the typical "whisker" type of antenna a couple weeks ago and when I hooked everything up I was getting 14 channels including Fox, Nbc, cbs etc. About a week back I started losing signal strength and it got worse untill I could only pick up a couple foriegn channels, now I can't get anything. The antenna is mounted at the peak of the roof on the gable of the house and I ran a new 50' coax straight from the transformer on the antenna to the converter. I've tried turning the antenna and it won't make a difference. Any advice or suggestions from the more experienced would be greatly appreciated.



My area is 22553 Spotsylvania, VA
Tvfool link TV Fool

What did you use to make your antenna? I suspect that you've made it out of materials that can't stand up to outdoor use. This means no wood, and only metals that don't rust - NO coat hangers! Suggested materials are zinc-coated steel, plastic, brass, stainless, aluminum, etc. Or, your balun may have failed if it got water in it.

Also, if you made the "youtube antenna" it has a number of flaws in the design. You can build it better using different dimensions.

So tell us about your antenna so we can figure out how to fix it.

amrva,

Mr Pogi's response is spot-on: another possibility is water has entered your coaxial cable which can attenuate the signals you were receiving.

Your TVFOOL report is based at ground level rather than the actual height of your antenna and it is based on your zip code, so it is not very accurate. I suggest you rerun it uing your address or GPS co-ordinance and you antenna's actual height, then post the result here. The website will automatically conceal your personal information for your security.

Jim

Here is a link of my actual address and height on tvfool TV Fool

I built another antenna today out of some scrap aluminum, its about 12 feet long and also mounted about 24' high on the gable of the house. The two sides of the antenna aren't contacting each other as the middle part is made of pvc. I have the balun connected one lead to each side of the antenna with 14 gauge copper wire. I'm picking up 4 channels now but they almost never show anything, sometimes they flash on for a second then lose signal and the signal strength meter is saying 15-22%. I'm not sure how I can get any better reception except for maybe buying an antenna from a manufacturer.

IMG_3148.jpg

amrva,

What is the name of that style antenna? How did you determine the lengths of the elements and their spacing? Which end of the antenna is the 'front' or is it meant to receive from its side?

Jim

While I'm curious about your homemade design, this is my suggested solution. Get an Antennas Direct ClearStream2 and use a compass to point it toward 222 degrees magnetic. It should get you a good variety of channels including all the major networks. Stations from both Charlottesville and Richmond.

I didn't really design the antenna because I don't really know anything about them, I just figured I would try to throw something together and if it was big enough that it might pick up better. I tried rotating it to all different positions and was able to pick up some channels, but not the ones I wanted. Guess I'll have to bite the bullet and buy one, thanks for the suggestions.

amvra,

To receive radio and television signals a properly designed antenna is required. They can be built for single-channel reception, single-band reception or multi-band reception. It is as important as selecting correctly sized tires for a Subaru and Monster Truck tires won't do the job.

If you're still game to build your own, there are many threads on this Forum covering home-brew antennas. Here's one thread showing antennas and construction methods and it would be a good choice for your area. Building these antennas this weekend

If you want to build a single-channel antenna, look at my photo albums here to see some of the Yagi antennas I have built. Here is an online calculator that will do 99% of the math for you including element lengths and element spacing. We're here to help.

Jim

Martin E. Meserve - K7MEM - VHF/UHF Yagi Antenna Quick Designer

On the bright side, the very fact that you got anything at all on an antenna you just "threw together" shows you could get a pretty decent signal with a proper antenna.

Thanks for the ideas. I'll probably build another bowtie type antenna with the right specs and see if I can get some decent results that way.

tried diff designs..most effective yet from the idea of antenna from paperclip...tried just stripping away shieling from about 6 inches of coax...just middle strand, used pvc to hold up about couple feet above my trailer...not having to turn antenna, omnidirectional...

Try the Gray-Hoverman antenna here at this link below. It is somewhat large, but simple and reliable and CHEAP. My version is featured in this link, and it is described in detail how to build it. Use the wire backed reflector version for best results. It may even work on some VHF high channels. My version picks up channel 13 from 30 mile away.

TVTechnology: Polarized Power for TV Broadcasting

Is that antenna made from crutches!?

????????????? Crutches ???????????????????

The things u use under your arms if you break a leg and its in a cast.

I use the following Gray-Hoverman antenna for UHF signals.

Gray-Hoverman 2.jpg

In the corner of my second story bedroom. It works like a charm!!!

Originally Posted by nbound-au

Is that antenna made from crutches!?

FOX wrote:

????????????? Crutches ???????????????????

Ha ha ha! Pretty lame, eh? I wonder if the signals break up? I have to cast my doubts on its design.

Think what you may. The antenna is effective and cheap to build, and it works well at over 8 DB gain over my reference dipole at my house, at 30 miles from the transmitter. I measured it at on channel 20 with a 2 EDGE path. dkreichen1968, that antenna works better with a with a back plane reflector, and is much more directional with one. Just a tip from someone who has built several different versions of it.,

There always has to be a skeptic or a joker, or simply a smart ass on here doesn't it? That's one reason I was off of here for so long, and I see things have not changed much. Must be one or the younger generation who has no respect for acquired knowledge from someone with lot's of it !!!

Go erect a pair of crutches at 30 feet and see how many DTV signals you get from it, and hope you don't break a leg doing it, because you would then need the crutches to walk, and may miss a lot of TV. Sorry you would not miss any TV because crutches don't work as DTV Antennas !!

Originally Posted by FOX TV

dkreichen1968, that antenna works better with a with a back plane reflector, and is much more directional with one.

The reason I don't have a reflector on mine is that I don't want it to be directional. I needed it to pick up Denver stations from the north while also picking up Colorado Springs stations from the south. On the other hand, if I only had weak signals coming from the same direction I'd certainly put a reflector on it for the extra gain. Otherwise, it works like a charm the way it is in my situation.