[kwlug-disc] Home made indoor TV Antenna

Wed Apr 16 12:58:42 EDT 2014

The Baden tower is on very high hill. Which, by definition, is also 
between your house and Toronto

One of my earlier essays notes on this thread (or a similar) discussed 
how topography and the curvature of the Earth impact the reception of 
UHF and UHF-HD signals.

I am not sure a Yagi antenna would help much in your situation as its 
primary design intent is to favour signals from one direction while 
attenuating signals from others.

And the Baden tower would be, more or less, in line with the Toronto 
transmitters. The Yagi would be "pointed" both at the Baden tower and 
the transmitters in Toronto.

I would guess, that in your situation an active filter could come in 
handy. That is, of course, if you can get a signal from Toronto at all.

Regards,
JohnJ

On 2014-04-16 12:20, zixiekat at gmail.com wrote:
> I think one of the largest factors in me getting stations from 
> Toronto, is Baden tower is directly between my house and toronto. And 
> being only 4km away, CKCO interferes.
>
> I'd be willing to try a nice yagi antenna, but don't really want to 
> put out the money just to test something I get via streaming (CBC).
>
> Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the Rogers network.
> *From: *John Johnson
> *Sent: *Wednesday, April 16, 2014 11:43 AM
> *To: *KWLUG discussion
> *Reply To: *KWLUG discussion
> *Subject: *Re: [kwlug-disc] Home made indoor TV Antenna
>
>
> Thanks Joe, for reading and commenting.
> I did mention: additional elements, such as directors and reflectors, ...
>
> I would put your Fresnel lens and waveguide and "boost" technologies 
> would come under additional elements.
>
> Regards
> JohnJ
>
> On 2014-04-16 11:28, Joe Wennechuk wrote:
>>
>>    
>>> 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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>>>      
>>    
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>>> http://kwlug.org/mailman/listinfo/kwlug-disc_kwlug.org
>>>      
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