[kwlug-disc] Home made indoor TV Antenna

[Joe Wennechuk]

> Basically: more metal in the sky == more captured signal (YMMV) 
> 
You can also use fresnel lense, or some type of waveguide antenna to boost the signal. There is a lot of DIY about this. I have never built one for Television, but I did do a Pringles can waveguide for wifi, and it was amazing how good it actually worked.

________________________________
> Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2014 11:11:13 -0400 
> From: jvj at golden.net 
> To: kwlug-disc at kwlug.org 
> Subject: Re: [kwlug-disc] Home made indoor TV Antenna 
> 
> On 2014-04-16 09:55, Colin Mackay wrote: 
> I have one of these: 
> <http://cdn3.volusion.com/m5ytq.j6phj/v/vspfiles/photos/CM-3000A-2.jpg?1385029454> 
> [ edit ] 
> Did try an 8-bay like in the walmart link above, to no avail. 
> 
> While I do not have recent experience with RF, my experience with 
> antenna technology goes back, way back. Perhaps, a decade or 2 or 3 or 
> 4. 
> That said, IMHO, the basic principles remain. 
> 
> Please note that I am trying not to sound pedantic. Nor write an essay. 
> And I apologize for any perceived pedantry and the length. 
> 
> RF is really a higher frequency of the Electro-Magnetic radiation. 
> 
> And RF itself covers a wide range of frequencies, for the purposes of 
> this discussion from MW (medim-wave used for AM radio) though to 
> microwave. 
> 
> Excluding the plumbing and stripline technologies of microwave, 
> reception of the lower frequencies, including VHF, UHF, UHF-HD, etc. 
> depend on the first principle, i.e. signal capture. 
> 
> By "signal capture" I mean the capture of the RF radiation in "the 
> ether", in the desired frequency band. This "signal" will include a 
> multitude of channels or sources, each with its own content modulation 
> methods. This "signal" will also include channels or sources from 
> frequency bands outside of the desired frequency band. 
> 
> Presumably one of the channels or sources is the desired source in the 
> desired frequency band. After "signal capture" a variery of 
> technologoies come in to play to suss out the desired channels or 
> source from the "captured signal". These technologies include filters, 
> amplifiers, tuners, etc. And are not the point of this discussion. 
> 
> Returning to "signal capture", the first principle mentioned above, 
> involves the principle of induction, i.e. the generation of an 
> electrical signal in a conductor by the RF energy "in the ether". 
> Tesla, Hertz, Lenz, Faraday, Maxwell and Fessenden (a Canadian in the 
> bunch) and others have studied, researched and documented this process. 
> 
> However, basically, the strength of the induced electrical signal in 
> the conductor depends on the properties of the conductor and the 
> strength of the RF radiation at the point of induction. 
> 
> We cannot do much about the strength of the RF radiation at the point 
> of induction.* 
> 
> That leaves the conductor, and the properties of the same. One of the 
> properties of the conductor is its "size" or "length" relative to the 
> frequency of the RF radiation. The "size" or "length" of the conductor 
> can be used to "tune" the conductor to specific frequency bands. This 
> can be in a 1:1 relation (full wave) , or in 1:n where n is even 
> multiples, or more common n:1 where the conductor is in even fractions 
> of the frequency, e.g. half-wave, quarter-wave, etc. 
> 
> Basically: more metal in the sky == more captured signal (YMMV) 
> 
> IMO Antenna packaging like flying saucer is like that of fishing lures 
> at Canadian Tire. The item must first attract the buyer and whether or 
> not the item actually works in the wild is secondary. 
> 
> * Some technologies can improve the strength of the RF radiation at the 
> point of induction. These include placement and orientation of the 
> conductor, i.e. antenna. These also include additional elements, such 
> as directors and reflectors, as seen on Yagi VHF antennas and the 
> bow-tie on on the Walmart HI-DEF antenna. 
> 
> /essay 
> 
> Regards 
> John Johnson 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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