Anthony and Kayla Schaefer's Blog » Antenna http://akschaefer.com A technology and personal blog. Sat, 21 Aug 2010 03:48:43 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 DIY 4-Bay UHF Antenna http://akschaefer.com/2009/12/28/diy-4-bay-uhf-antenna/ http://akschaefer.com/2009/12/28/diy-4-bay-uhf-antenna/#comments Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:42:01 +0000 tonyscha http://akschaefer.com/?p=640 I decided to try and make a TV antenna from many different online resources I have read. The Antenna I made was a 4-Bay bow-tie antenna. You will see this called a coat hanger antenna also, because you can make the whisk out of coat hangers easily. I first read about this antenna from this website, but I am sure its been on the internet long before this. My goal was to get some vhf channels in ( channel 7,9 and 12) , and since this antenna is mostly UHF, I found some modified designs by mclapp that help produce a small gain in the VHF-HI range.

http://www.frontiernet.net/~mclapp/Antennas/4baystuff/4%20bay%209%201-2%20element%20layout.pdf

http://www.frontiernet.net/~mclapp/Antennas/4baystuff/4%20bay%209%20inch%20phase%20line.pdf

Unfortunately the antenna didn’t work as well as I was hoping it would. The antenna worked for 12,51 (2-1), and 20 in my area, even though there is channel 48 and 28 which it was missing. My guess is I did something wrong.

The antenna was fairly cheap to build from all store bought parts. It was under 9 dollars from my local Menards.
Wire ( I used 14 gauge galvanized steel)
#6 wood screws
#6 washers
Board from the scrap bin ( 15 cents !!! )
Balun – Converts it over to coaxial cable.

If anyone has any suggestions on why it doesnt work as well as my DB2, let me know :)

I would like to note: I am not an antenna expert, just a beginner. Just going off what I have read online for information.

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