Kosmic Antennas: SuperQuad 4 Bay Bowtie

Yes. Its board made of PVC. You can use other plastics. Wood screws the antenna up electrically when it rains, and also wont last near as long.

Hi EV Thanks for all your help . What does Ground insulator on
Super Quad mean ?

It means that the material is non conductive. The primary purpose is to isolate the elements and feedlines from the mast which is likely grounded. In this design the reflector screen is also isolated from the mast. The use of PVC, a non conducting material (and also hydrophobic) or other non conducting hydrophobic plastics is desireable. Wood is not recommended, as it is hydrophilic, you can paint it of course, but the screws defeat that purpose.

EV ,Does the Screen have to be isolated from the mast? Can a 2 inch galvanized square tube be used between the mast and screen instead of 2 inch square pvc trim? Thanks a Lot For ALL your help. The reason i ask is because i have found all the material except the 2 inch square pvc trim

Yes...

HI EV - looks like you have a great product there in the KSQ!

OK, here's my situation: I live in zipcode 21904 (Port Deposit, MD) and the Baltimore TV station transmitters are 34 miles from my location. Here's my tvfool output:

TV Fool

I'm a bit unique since I'm using a HDHomerun dual-tuner HDTV box and am distributing my signal over my home computer network to three Home Theater PCs. Anyway, my house is actually three and a half stories tall (I'm about 35 ft AGL when I'm standing in the Master Bedroom) so I wanted to try an indoor antenna, so I bought the popular amplified Terk HDTVa. Anyway, I've spent a few hours trying to find a sweet spot for the Terk and last night I was able to pull in WBOC in Salisbury MD (at a whopping 80 miles away) and some of the UHF Baltimore stations (barely) but I can't get the the two main Baltimore channels (NBC and CBS) since they're VHF-Hi.

I want to buy a Kosmic SuperQuad and simply tuck it away behind my old big -screen projector TV that's in the Master Bedroom since it'll be out of sight and thus meet the WAF (wife acceptance factor). The wall the KSQ would be placed against directly faces the West/South West so it's pretty much already pointed toward the Baltimore towers. Also I noticed very little difference in placing the Terk in-front of a window or pointing it with it's tip touching against that same southwest-facing wall, so I'm assuming that my drywall and outside vinyl siding provide only slight signal degradation. I'm also considering buying the Channel Master 7777 hi-gain preamp to mate with the KSQ.

FWIW: The reason I'm not roof mounting the KSQ is simply due to lack of a _real_ professional installer in my area (and I'm way too chicken to risk my life doing it!). I've dealt with the local Dish and antenna guys in my previous house and the antenna guy, in particular, was someone that I had to spoon-feed all the technical details of what I wanted and how to set it up (in that house I used an Antennacraft HDX1000 and a rotor because of the community rules regarding outside antennas).

A couple quick questions:

1. Based on my tvfool chart, do you think the KSQ will pull in the Baltimore VHF stations? I'm assuming the UHF stations are a no-brainer for the KSQ.

2. Is the mating of the CM 7777 with the KSQ overkill?

3. What happens to this whole scenario if I mount the KSQ to the wall in a horizontal position instead of the normal vertical positioning?

4. If I ever do find the means to put it on the roof near my Dish Network dishes, can I use the same type of J-tube mount that Dish uses or is this too short for the KSQ?

Again, my main concerns are the KSQ's VHF-Hi capability, inside performance and horizontal versus vertical positioning.

Thanks for any and all help!

Chris R.

Hello CRodgers!

1. Based on my tvfool chart, do you think the KSQ will pull in the Baltimore VHF stations? I'm assuming the UHF stations are a no-brainer for the KSQ.

That is pretty iffy. Cant say for sure, but I would lean towards it not being sufficient. The RCA ANT751/Denny's EZ HD antennas are pretty small and give you about 7 dBd on VHF High. That would be my recommendation for an indoor solution. If you have a closet, you could hide it in there, mounted to the ceiling or something.

2. Is the mating of the CM 7777 with the KSQ overkill?

No, not at all. At those TVFool levels, the AntennaCraft 10G212 may be a better choice....for absolute gain of 30dB on both VHF and UHF, with only slightly worse noise.

3. What happens to this whole scenario if I mount the KSQ to the wall in a horizontal position instead of the normal vertical positioning?

You lose a tremendous amount of UHF gain. Not recommended.

4. If I ever do find the means to put it on the roof near my Dish Network dishes, can I use the same type of J-tube mount that Dish uses or is this too short for the KSQ?

Yes, you can use the J Poles. Some are 2 big for the supplied mounts though. Max Outside Diameter 1.5". Its easy to find U Bolt mast mounts with 2" OD clearance.


What is your TVFool at 35 feet? Its listed at 25 feet.

EscapeVelocity - I notice you don't have a KSQ listed on ebay, hopefully that changes soon as I'm interested in buying one.

I live in Jacksonville, NC TV Fool and I would like to pick up the Wilmington stations to the southwest.

I'm living in a 2nd story of an apartment and would prefer to keep the antenna indoors. (It may be feasible to have it on my balcony if its absolutely necessary) Will a KSQ on its own be adequate?

I realize every situation is different and there a no guarantees, just making sure I'm buying suitable equipment for my requirements. Thanks for the help!

-Dan

I'm convinced, but where can I buy it? The ebay listings seem to be gone. Are you still making these, EV?
It's perfect for HOA rules and nothing else seems to be comparable that fits in with the one meter restriction save possibly the Clearstream C4

Ill put some up today. Have a great Easter Sunday.


dhlogic, it will probably work well for the Wilmington stations, and you should pick up some stuff off the backside as well. I would use an amplifier, just to give yourself some margin. If you want to hedge for a future move and outside installation, I would get the AntennaCraft 10G212....else the KitzTech would be my recommendation.

EV,

I just wanted to thank you for your thoughtful reply! Rare is the man who suggests using his competitor's products, so I very much appreciate your honesty and excellent technical advice!

Thanks again!

Chris R.

crodgers, just to be clear, the RCA ANT751 wont be near as good on UHF as the KSQ. I would tie them together. You could try the KSQ by itself (with and amplifier) but the VHF stations would be really iffy (the UHF should be good to go). The RCA ANT 751 would be my top choice for an indoor solution to your VHF stations tied together with a 4 Bay (could be the KSQ but there are friendly 4 Bays for interior use...like the CM 4221HD which is the best of the other 4 Bays, but a bit more refined and smaller than the KSQ). Tie them together with a UVSJ and into the amplifier (or you could use the CM Titan 7777 which has inputs for UHF and VHF antennas and combines them itself).

Hope that clears things up a bit.

I dont mind recommending other products. I like helping people, and helping them pick the best products for their needs and wants. The KSQ is a great antenna but its not the best solution for every situation.

Thanks for your interest. Dont hesitate to ask for more advice.

Best

EV

Hi EV Tried to build the KSQ here are some pictures[ATTACH][ATTACH]lukes 035.jpg[/ATTACH][/ATTACH]

gaddah,

Good job! How well does it work? Where did you find the upper mast mount or did you build it?

Jim

Looks good gaddah.

I see you went with the 1x2 as spacer in the backside of the mast. This will bring the screen closer to the elements, which isnt ideal, but its not a tragedy.

You also improvised some spreaders, there, which is nice.

Looks like you got the mast attachments done right.

Tip on the insulating spacers that the whiskers attach to. Mark and X on the 3.25" blocks. Then measure 1 inch from the center left and right for the 3/16" drill bit which the #10 machine screws fit into nicely. The center x, use a 1/4" drill bit for the bolt and nut that attach the conduit hangers. Then take your straightened and folded whiskers and attach them to each insulator. Then slide them over the mast, measure 9.5" for each one, with one insulator in the middle being half the distance between the center 2 whiskers....this one will have the 1.5" #10 bolt with threads sticking out forwards, with a washer and a wingnut. Once you have everything the right distance. Square the insulators up eyeballing it down from top to bottom....then tighten down. From there you can measure the whiskers lengths, I usually measure from the inside of washers to the whisker tips, 10" mark with finger grasp and cut long of that which equals about 10.25" from the inside of the washer. That is the extra 1/2" for half of the washer length, if that makes sense. Then measure and position at 4 or 5" the whisker element spread at the end. Then back to the lengthwise view to get them in the same plane and put whatever angle you want on them. From there you attach the screen. Which needs to be done before you put the feedlines on, so you wont be obstructed drilling into the mast with the 3/16" drill bit, which the 2" #10 pan head metal screws will be inserted into and screwed into the 3.25" 2x2 PVC blocks. Then place the prefashioned screen on center and use another couple of undrilled 3.25" 1x2 PVC blocks to pinch the screen into those 2x2's attached to the mast. Then onto the feedlines which I line up on the blocks, and trim. Then attach all the 3 interior points tightly, then fashion the twists/insert into the upper and lower whiskers and tighten, and you are done.

Looks good, and you added your own improvement to boot, with the spreaders!

HI EV, Thanks for the nice comments AND TIPS I must say that i had seen a lot of DIY designs on different forums but yours was the best looking ,so i built my first DIY antenna based on your design All dimentions are within about 1/16".Regarding the 2x2 pvc trim i joint 1x2 trim with pvc glue,and also the spreaders are attached from the back with 1.5" no 10 metal screws the reflector is 2x2galvanized mesh. the distance between elements and reflector is 4.25 inches. It is a one piece built with the top rail of the fence post which was more than 10 ft long but had to cut off 30 inches cause it was swaying a lot when windy Still have to ground the mast and compare it with my 2CM4221HD that are stacked.thinking of installing a CM7777orKITZ pre amp any advice. Thanks forYour help

Thumbs up. Looks good. Let us know how it performs for you.

I cant really make out your TVFool to give you advice on the amp.

Originally Posted by EscapeVelocity

crodgers, just to be clear, the RCA ANT751 wont be near as good on UHF as the KSQ. I would tie them together. You could try the KSQ by itself (with and amplifier) but the VHF stations would be really iffy (the UHF should be good to go). The RCA ANT 751 would be my top choice for an indoor solution to your VHF stations tied together with a 4 Bay (could be the KSQ but there are friendly 4 Bays for interior use...like the CM 4221HD which is the best of the other 4 Bays, but a bit more refined and smaller than the KSQ). Tie them together with a UVSJ and into the amplifier (or you could use the CM Titan 7777 which has inputs for UHF and VHF antennas and combines them itself).

Hope that clears things up a bit.

I don't mind recommending other products. I like helping people, and helping them pick the best products for their needs and wants. The KSQ is a great antenna but its not the best solution for every situation.

Thanks for your interest. Dont hesitate to ask for more advice.

Best

EV

Thanks again for the _SUPER_ advice! I've been thinking and rethinking this situation and I've come up with the hybrid design you suggested with a slight twist, let me know what you think:

First I'm buying your KSQ to use in-the-box as my main UHF antenna. It'll sit inside the house behind the projection-screen TV on the third floor and sit directly against the wall that faces southwest toward the Baltimore towers that are about 35 miles away.

Next I'm trying to figure out what the very best VHF-Hi antenna is that I can fit in my closet. I haven't measured the closet space (I intend to sit it on the top shelf of that closet which is approximately 3 feet deep and about 7 1/2 feet wide. Right now I'm looking at the Winegard HD7694P, the Winegard HD-1080 or the ChannelMaster 2016 since they're (supposedly) tuned for VHF-Hi (although I just read 'not so much' for the Winegard HD-1080 so I may drop that option). I'm not tied to any one manufacturer so I'm open to suggestion as to what you'd recommend for an indoor VHF-Hi antenna. I'm still open to using the RCA ANT751 but I want something that's really optimized for VHF-Hi band and not just for general HDTV reception.

And yes, I came to the same conclusion as you did in getting the ChannelMaster Titan 7777 amp since it has two separate antenna inputs and combines the signals for you.

So, I've got a three-piece setup: KSQ and the ChannelMaster 7777 but I still have yet to make-up my mind about the thirds piece, the VHF-Hi antenna.

If any of you are computer geeks, I'm tying this all into a SiliconDust HD-HomeRun Dual Tuner box and attaching it to a Linksys WRT300N 802.11n MIMO Wireless LAN Access Point that I flashed with DD-WRT so it's now working in Bridge mode to my main wireless router, a Netgear WNDR3700. The idea is to distribute the HDTV signal wirelessly to three Windows7 MediaCenter PCs that I have running in the house.

As usual, any and _all_ help and suggestions are definitely appreciated!!!!
BTW, this weekend I finally got the green-light from the Wife-Unit, she even switched the closets around so that mine would be the one with the wall closest facing the south-west! She's a true gem and any woman that puts up with as much techno-gadgetry as I tend to immerse myself in is a rare find indeed!

Thanks again EV for the solid advice and support!!!!

Chris R.

Well, its worth giving the KSQ a shot by itself (with and amplifier).

The 2 highest gain for smallest footprint VHF High antennas are the RCA ANT751 and the Antennas Direct ClearStream5.

The RCA ANT751 can be gotten from a local Walmart, which has an easy return policy, keep your receipt.

Originally Posted by EscapeVelocity

Well, its worth giving the KSQ a shot by itself (with and amplifier).


The 2 highest gain for smallest footprint VHF High antennas are the RCA ANT751 and the Antennas Direct ClearStream5.

The RCA ANT751 can be gotten from a local Walmart, which has an easy return policy, keep your receipt.

EV,

Thanks again for more great advice!

I think I'll order your KSQ and the RCA ANT751 - I'd rather have the Clearstream5, but Amazon has the RCA for only $45 shipped (our local Walmart sells it for $20 more!) and the ClearStream5 is double that price (at $90), so the KSQ, RCA and CM7777 is my lowest-priced "bundle."

I guess next time you hear from me will be on eBay (to get my KSQ!).

Thanks again for the great advice!

Chris R.