Hobbyist

Antenna Forums

There are many Antenna Forums of interest. I would recommend some of the following
highdefforum.com / avsforum.com / dtvusaforum.com
and even a couple of Canadian ones digitalhome.ca and remotecentral.com

The best forum may be the highdef forum. One key member of that forum is a fellow named Tigerbangs, who seems to have resided in Ottawa for a while. I remember one thread on that forum that contained a hundred post slugfest with name calling and lots of contribution to and fro from lots of people. The subject matter was only whether a certain mis-marked Radio Shack splitter was in fact a UHF/VHF Joiner Splitter or diplexer. It was like watching a bad episode of "The Office", cringeworthy but for some reason you don't look away. It was very spirited and occasional extremely heated, but in the end everyone kissed and made up and every single reader knew more about splitters because of it!

Antennas as a hobby?

You may ask yourself why would they have antenna forums. You may think that you just put the antenna in the attic or on the roof and point it at the transmitter and thats it. Well you are correct but a lot of people do get into the technical detail or practical fun of perfecting that antenna installation and improving their reception. Sometimes it hooks you in slowly, sometimes light speed. For myself television antenna DX'ing is fun. It has become, well, a hobby. Yes I admit it I am an antenna hobbyist. Some may view my admission as a first step to recovery, others as an safe harmless interest. I can think of many worse interests! To me, getting that station from 200 miles is the most rewarding part. I rarely actually watch the show itself after. If I do it is only to see how long it stays locked in.

You may wonder how does one end up becoming an "Antenna Hobbyist"? In my case it might be from when I was a kid and I would spin that dial trying to bring in remote television stations with my family's roof mounted antenna. I remember always trying to get "Channel 8 Polar Spring Maine". One time while fiddling, I remember getting (I was in south shore Montreal) a new station for 30 minutes, which after investigation, turned out to be a station from Northern Florida broadcasting the local news and weather. At that time I had only travelled as far south as Virginia, and this was Florida on my TV. Amazing for a kid back then. This kind of event can leave an impression on a future electrical engineer. I remember calling my mother into the living room to show her. She looked, smiled and then replied "That's nice, supper is ready in 10 minutes" and left the room. Oh well I at least I was hooked. I know that I will never get such a skip again. Tigerbangs on the highdef forum, tells an interesting story about testing a Sony watchman in a basement shopping complex in Montreal and only being able to receive one station - channel 22, from 80 miles away in Vermont. To some these are amazing stories, the 50lb fish stories of the antenna world, I guess.

Antenna hacking

Antenna hacks are common among certain antennas. The forums are full of hacking information. Here is an example of a antenna hacking website. Hacking an antenna of course voids all warranties, however antenna warranties typically only cover any initial manufacturing defect, which is rare for name brand antennas. A hack, if done properly it can add 2 db or more to the the gain of the antenna. Hacks usually involve only hand tools. Typically parts required include channel master outdoor baluns (CM94444 are recommended) and channel master splitters plus exact length coax or twin lead cable.

Build your own antenna

There is a lot of information available on the internet to build your own perfectly functioning antenna. These tend to be either basic yagi or bow tie style. One well visited forum rambles on about their DIY design and computer modeling thereof. In most cases, the builder, once complete, is rightfully proud of their antenna creation, but the precision, reception, durability or looks may not meet their long term needs. Real costs of DIY antennas seem to vary from $10 to $50. In the end most DIYers get into the antenna hobby with their first build and then tend to purchase a name brand antenna in their ultimate search for more and more gain. I have built my own antennas, all of which which I really like, but truthfully they pale in comparision to some of the name brand aluminium/platinum precision beauties available to purchase.

Antenna stacking and ganging

One common technique used to increase gain is to stack two or more antennas. The stacking of two identically antennas, if done properly, can increase gain 2-3.5 db, even after taking into account losses from the baluns (CM9444) and a good quality combiner (Winegard 7870). Stacking can be done horizontally or vertically depending on your desired result. Once again, the web is loaded with good information on stacking antennas. Stacking assumes both antennas are pointed in the same direction. If you wish to receive two towers in different directions, ganging is sometimes used. For some this may forgo the need for a rotor. Ganging can be tricky and reduce the overall gain of both antennas, while still allowing good reception in differing directions. A good ganging resource can be found here.

Television DXing

A definition of DXing from the Wikipedia page.
DXing is the hobby of tuning in and identifying distant radio or television signals, or making two way radio contact with distant stations in amateur radio, citizens' band radio or other two way radio communications. Many DXers also attempt to receive written verifications of reception (sometimes referred to as "QSLs" or "veries") from the stations heard. The name of the hobby comes from DX, telegraphic shorthand for "distance" or "distant".

Feel free to enter any of your DX results in our Television/Antenna DX Database.

Check back here as I am planing to expand this page to include some user feedback and experiences. You are welcome to email any stories of interest for me to post.

In the meantime, if you do get that antenna bug, we can help you with any parts required to satisfy your craving!

Comments

/groups/otacanada/search/index.rss?sort=modifiedDate&sortDirection=reverse&tag=infolist/groups/otacanada/search/?sort=modifiedDate&sortDirection=reverse&tag=infoInformationCustomTagSidebarCustomTagSidebar?sort=modifiedDate&sortDirection=reverse&tag=info0/groups/otacanada/sidebar/CustomTagSidebarmodifiedDate5CustomTagSidebarreverseinfoInformationcustom/groups/otacanada/search/index.rss?tag=hotlist/groups/otacanada/search/?tag=hotWhat’s HotHotListHot!?tag=hot5/groups/otacanada/sidebar/HotListadminadmin2011-09-09 20:42:09+00:002011-09-09 20:42:09updated47jeffjeff2011-02-11 00:08:49+00:002011-02-11 00:08:49updated46jeffjeff2011-02-11 00:07:50+00:002011-02-11 00:07:50updated45Added tag - bracketjeffjeff2011-01-30 14:40:46+00:002011-01-30 14:40:46addTag44jeffjeff2011-01-28 18:23:58+00:002011-01-28 18:23:58updated43Added tag - fmjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:47:46+00:002011-01-26 18:47:46addTag42Added tag - convertorjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:47:28+00:002011-01-26 18:47:28addTag41Added tag - switchesjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:46:48+00:002011-01-26 18:46:48addTag40Added tag - delhijeffjeff2011-01-26 18:46:48+00:002011-01-26 18:46:48addTag39Added tag - canadajeffjeff2011-01-26 18:46:24+00:002011-01-26 18:46:24addTag38Added tag - otajeffjeff2011-01-26 18:46:19+00:002011-01-26 18:46:19addTag37Added tag - attenuatorjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:46:02+00:002011-01-26 18:46:02addTag36Added tag - trapjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:45:54+00:002011-01-26 18:45:54addTag35Added tag - couplerjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:45:50+00:002011-01-26 18:45:50addTag34Added tag - free standingjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:45:33+00:002011-01-26 18:45:33addTag33Added tag - bracketedjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:45:25+00:002011-01-26 18:45:25addTag32Added tag - towersjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:45:22+00:002011-01-26 18:45:22addTag31Added tag - mountingjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:45:16+00:002011-01-26 18:45:16addTag30Added tag - groundingjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:45:14+00:002011-01-26 18:45:14addTag29Added tag - coaxjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:44:42+00:002011-01-26 18:44:42addTag28Added tag - splitterjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:44:40+00:002011-01-26 18:44:40addTag27Added tag - uhfjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:44:17+00:002011-01-26 18:44:17addTag26Added tag - vhfjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:44:16+00:002011-01-26 18:44:16addTag25Added tag - balunjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:44:11+00:002011-01-26 18:44:11addTag24Added tag - rotorjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:44:02+00:002011-01-26 18:44:02addTag23Added tag - pre-ampjeffjeff2011-01-26 18:43:52+00:002011-01-26 18:43:52addTag22jeffjeff2011-01-26 18:43:21+00:002011-01-26 18:43:21updated21jeffjeff2011-01-22 14:53:27+00:002011-01-22 14:53:27updated20jeffjeff2011-01-15 23:55:57+00:002011-01-15 23:55:57updated19jeffjeff2011-01-15 23:55:51+00:002011-01-15 23:55:51updated18Added tag - retailjeffjeff2011-01-15 14:58:35+00:002011-01-15 14:58:35addTag17Added tag - salesjeffjeff2011-01-15 14:58:33+00:002011-01-15 14:58:33addTag16Added tag - orderjeffjeff2011-01-15 14:58:29+00:002011-01-15 14:58:29addTag15Added tag - antennas directjeffjeff2011-01-15 14:58:23+00:002011-01-15 14:58:23addTag14Added tag - winegardjeffjeff2011-01-15 14:58:09+00:002011-01-15 14:58:09addTag13Added tag - channel masterjeffjeff2011-01-15 14:58:06+00:002011-01-15 14:58:06addTag12Added tag - antennajeffjeff2011-01-15 14:58:02+00:002011-01-15 14:58:02addTag11Added tag - availablejeffjeff2011-01-15 14:57:58+00:002011-01-15 14:57:58addTag10Added tag - stockjeffjeff2011-01-15 14:57:50+00:002011-01-15 14:57:50addTag9jeffjeff2011-01-15 01:33:10+00:002011-01-15 01:33:10updated8jeffjeff2011-01-15 01:32:28+00:002011-01-15 01:32:28updated7jeffjeff2011-01-15 01:30:22+00:002011-01-15 01:30:22updated6jeffjeff2011-01-14 00:48:32+00:002011-01-14 00:48:32updated5jeffjeff2011-01-14 00:48:22+00:002011-01-14 00:48:22updated4Added tag - otacanadajeffjeff2011-01-14 00:48:20+00:002011-01-14 00:48:20addTag3Added tag - hotjeffjeff2011-01-14 00:48:16+00:002011-01-14 00:48:16addTag2First createdjeffjeff2011-01-14 00:48:05+00:002011-01-14 00:48:05created1wiki2011-09-09T20:42:09+00:00groups/otacanada/wiki/58426FalseStock on Hand/Ordering/groups/otacanada/wiki/58426/Stock_on_HandOrdering.htmladmin47 updatesStock on Hand/Ordering[image]At the store location we try to keep a range of basic stock on hand. Items which would be useful in most installations and/or interest an anten...Falseadmin2011-09-09T20:42:09+00:00jeffjeff2011-09-08 20:05:39+00:002011-09-08 20:05:39updated33jeffjeff2011-09-08 20:02:46+00:002011-09-08 20:02:46updated32adminadmin2011-08-25 18:57:26+00:002011-08-25 18:57:26updated31adminadmin2011-08-11 19:33:53+00:002011-08-11 19:33:53updated30Added tag - winegardjeffjeff2011-03-18 14:42:56+00:002011-03-18 14:42:56addTag29Added tag - d2ajeffjeff2011-03-18 14:42:47+00:002011-03-18 14:42:47addTag28Added tag - rhombicjeffjeff2011-03-18 14:42:44+00:002011-03-18 14:42:44addTag27Added tag - pvrjeffjeff2011-03-18 14:42:35+00:002011-03-18 14:42:35addTag26Added tag - masterjeffjeff2011-03-18 14:42:32+00:002011-03-18 14:42:32addTag25Added tag - channeljeffjeff2011-03-18 14:42:29+00:002011-03-18 14:42:29addTag24jeffjeff2011-03-18 14:42:13+00:002011-03-18 14:42:13updated23jeffjeff2011-03-15 20:39:54+00:002011-03-15 20:39:54updated22jeffjeff2011-01-25 16:26:23+00:002011-01-25 16:26:23updated21jeffjeff2011-01-15 23:56:48+00:002011-01-15 23:56:48updated20jeffjeff2011-01-15 23:56:37+00:002011-01-15 23:56:37updated19Added tag - storagejeffjeff2011-01-15 15:00:25+00:002011-01-15 15:00:25addTag18Added tag - documentjeffjeff2011-01-15 15:00:19+00:002011-01-15 15:00:19addTag17Added tag - antennajeffjeff2011-01-15 15:00:17+00:002011-01-15 15:00:17addTag16jeffjeff2011-01-14 19:27:21+00:002011-01-14 19:27:21updated15jeffjeff2011-01-14 19:11:03+00:002011-01-14 19:11:03updated14jeffjeff2011-01-14 18:18:49+00:002011-01-14 18:18:49updated13jeffjeff2011-01-14 18:12:09+00:002011-01-14 18:12:09updated12jeffjeff2011-01-14 18:11:00+00:002011-01-14 18:11:00updated11jeffjeff2011-01-14 18:10:25+00:002011-01-14 18:10:25updated10jeffjeff2011-01-14 18:04:25+00:002011-01-14 18:04:25updated9jeffjeff2011-01-14 18:01:10+00:002011-01-14 18:01:10updated8jeffjeff2011-01-14 18:00:23+00:002011-01-14 18:00:23updated7jeffjeff2011-01-14 17:56:58+00:002011-01-14 17:56:58updated6jeffjeff2011-01-14 17:55:16+00:002011-01-14 17:55:16updated5Added tag - otacanadajeffjeff2011-01-14 00:46:41+00:002011-01-14 00:46:41addTag4Added tag - hotjeffjeff2011-01-14 00:46:37+00:002011-01-14 00:46:37addTag3jeffjeff2011-01-14 00:46:28+00:002011-01-14 00:46:28updated2First createdjeffjeff2011-01-14 00:45:36+00:002011-01-14 00:45:36created1wiki2011-09-08T20:05:39+00:00groups/otacanada/wiki/b9f03FalseDocument Storage/groups/otacanada/wiki/b9f03/Document_Storage.htmljeff33 updatesDocument Storage This is the document storage page of www.otacanada.com. Please Note: This page had be directly accessed via http://ota.arcticsurf.com ...Falsejeff2011-09-08T20:05:39+00:00jeffjeff2011-01-29 04:23:14+00:002011-01-29 04:23:14updated27jeffjeff2011-01-15 23:57:46+00:002011-01-15 23:57:46updated26Added tag - over the airjeffjeff2011-01-15 15:01:43+00:002011-01-15 15:01:43addTag25Added tag - freejeffjeff2011-01-15 15:01:38+00:002011-01-15 15:01:38addTag24Added tag - channelsjeffjeff2011-01-15 15:01:36+00:002011-01-15 15:01:36addTag23Added tag - stationsjeffjeff2011-01-15 15:01:28+00:002011-01-15 15:01:28addTag22Added tag - tvjeffjeff2011-01-15 15:01:24+00:002011-01-15 15:01:24addTag21Added tag - ontariojeffjeff2011-01-15 15:00:02+00:002011-01-15 15:00:02addTag20Added tag - ottawajeffjeff2011-01-15 14:59:52+00:002011-01-15 14:59:52addTag19Added tag - atscjeffjeff2011-01-15 14:59:48+00:002011-01-15 14:59:48addTag18Added tag - digitaljeffjeff2011-01-15 14:59:43+00:002011-01-15 14:59:43addTag17Added tag - listingjeffjeff2011-01-15 14:59:40+00:002011-01-15 14:59:40addTag16Added tag - televisionjeffjeff2011-01-15 14:59:37+00:002011-01-15 14:59:37addTag15jeffjeff2011-01-15 00:45:25+00:002011-01-15 00:45:25updated14jeffjeff2011-01-15 00:45:10+00:002011-01-15 00:45:10updated13jeffjeff2011-01-14 23:25:51+00:002011-01-14 23:25:51updated12jeffjeff2011-01-14 23:25:26+00:002011-01-14 23:25:26updated11jeffjeff2011-01-14 23:25:03+00:002011-01-14 23:25:03updated10jeffjeff2011-01-14 17:07:21+00:002011-01-14 17:07:21updated9jeffjeff2011-01-14 17:06:48+00:002011-01-14 17:06:48updated8jeffjeff2011-01-14 17:06:39+00:002011-01-14 17:06:39updated7jeffjeff2011-01-14 01:54:08+00:002011-01-14 01:54:08updated6jeffjeff2011-01-14 01:53:41+00:002011-01-14 01:53:41updated5Added tag - otacanadajeffjeff2011-01-14 00:50:41+00:002011-01-14 00:50:41addTag4Added tag - hotjeffjeff2011-01-14 00:50:39+00:002011-01-14 00:50:39addTag3jeffjeff2011-01-14 00:50:31+00:002011-01-14 00:50:31updated2First createdjeffjeff2011-01-14 00:50:25+00:002011-01-14 00:50:25created1wiki2011-01-29T04:23:14+00:00groups/otacanada/wiki/9f669FalseOTA Television Listing/groups/otacanada/wiki/9f669/OTA_Television_Listing.htmljeff27 updatesOTA Television Listing[image] See What's on Over the Air Right Now! Many will have you believe that there is little choice on OTA television. This page shows ...Falsejeff2011-01-29T04:23:14+00:00jeffjeff2011-01-26 18:50:15+00:002011-01-26 18:50:15updated22jeffjeff2011-01-22 15:02:57+00:002011-01-22 15:02:57updated21jeffjeff2011-01-22 15:02:41+00:002011-01-22 15:02:41updated20jeffjeff2011-01-22 15:02:36+00:002011-01-22 15:02:36updated19jeffjeff2011-01-22 15:02:22+00:002011-01-22 15:02:22updated18jeffjeff2011-01-22 15:01:44+00:002011-01-22 15:01:44updated17jeffjeff2011-01-22 15:00:44+00:002011-01-22 15:00:44updated16jeffjeff2011-01-15 23:57:11+00:002011-01-15 23:57:11updated15Added tag - tvjeffjeff2011-01-15 15:01:14+00:002011-01-15 15:01:14addTag14Added tag - televisionjeffjeff2011-01-15 15:01:13+00:002011-01-15 15:01:13addTag13Added tag - dxjeffjeff2011-01-15 15:01:07+00:002011-01-15 15:01:07addTag12Added tag - gangingjeffjeff2011-01-15 15:01:03+00:002011-01-15 15:01:03addTag11Added tag - stackingjeffjeff2011-01-15 15:00:56+00:002011-01-15 15:00:56addTag10Added tag - buildjeffjeff2011-01-15 15:00:52+00:002011-01-15 15:00:52addTag9Added tag - hackingjeffjeff2011-01-15 15:00:50+00:002011-01-15 15:00:50addTag8Added tag - hobbyjeffjeff2011-01-15 15:00:40+00:002011-01-15 15:00:40addTag7Added tag - forumjeffjeff2011-01-15 15:00:37+00:002011-01-15 15:00:37addTag6Added tag - antennajeffjeff2011-01-15 15:00:35+00:002011-01-15 15:00:35addTag5jeffjeff2011-01-14 00:47:28+00:002011-01-14 00:47:28updated4Added tag - otacanadajeffjeff2011-01-14 00:47:27+00:002011-01-14 00:47:27addTag3Added tag - hotjeffjeff2011-01-14 00:47:21+00:002011-01-14 00:47:21addTag2First createdjeffjeff2011-01-14 00:47:13+00:002011-01-14 00:47:13created1wiki2011-01-26T18:50:15+00:00groups/otacanada/wiki/48ec4FalseHobbyist/groups/otacanada/wiki/48ec4/Hobbyist.htmljeff22 updatesHobbyist Antenna Forums There are many Antenna Forums of interest. I would recommend some of the following highdefforum.com / avsforum.com / dtvusaforum...Falsejeff2011-01-26T18:50:15+00:00jeffjeff2011-01-15 23:57:28+00:002011-01-15 23:57:28updated24Added tag - receptionjeffjeff2011-01-15 14:59:25+00:002011-01-15 14:59:25addTag23Added tag - distancejeffjeff2011-01-15 14:59:20+00:002011-01-15 14:59:20addTag22Added tag - otajeffjeff2011-01-15 14:59:16+00:002011-01-15 14:59:16addTag21Added tag - televisionjeffjeff2011-01-15 14:59:06+00:002011-01-15 14:59:06addTag20Added tag - databasejeffjeff2011-01-15 14:59:01+00:002011-01-15 14:59:01addTag19Added tag - dxingjeffjeff2011-01-15 14:58:53+00:002011-01-15 14:58:53addTag18Added tag - dxjeffjeff2011-01-15 14:58:50+00:002011-01-15 14:58:50addTag17Added tag - antennajeffjeff2011-01-15 14:58:49+00:002011-01-15 14:58:49addTag16jeffjeff2011-01-15 01:22:06+00:002011-01-15 01:22:06updated15jeffjeff2011-01-15 00:54:42+00:002011-01-15 00:54:42updated14jeffjeff2011-01-15 00:54:33+00:002011-01-15 00:54:33updated13jeffjeff2011-01-15 00:54:15+00:002011-01-15 00:54:15updated12jeffjeff2011-01-14 17:09:43+00:002011-01-14 17:09:43updated11jeffjeff2011-01-14 17:09:23+00:002011-01-14 17:09:23updated10jeffjeff2011-01-14 17:09:12+00:002011-01-14 17:09:12updated9jeffjeff2011-01-14 17:08:51+00:002011-01-14 17:08:51updated8jeffjeff2011-01-14 17:08:38+00:002011-01-14 17:08:38updated7jeffjeff2011-01-14 17:08:03+00:002011-01-14 17:08:03updated6jeffjeff2011-01-14 17:07:47+00:002011-01-14 17:07:47updated5jeffjeff2011-01-14 00:49:25+00:002011-01-14 00:49:25updated4Added tag - otacanadajeffjeff2011-01-14 00:49:23+00:002011-01-14 00:49:23addTag3Added tag - hotjeffjeff2011-01-14 00:49:19+00:002011-01-14 00:49:19addTag2First createdjeffjeff2011-01-14 00:49:08+00:002011-01-14 00:49:08created1wiki2011-01-15T23:57:28+00:00groups/otacanada/wiki/a95a6FalseAntenna DX Database/groups/otacanada/wiki/a95a6/Antenna_DX_Database.htmljeff24 updatesAntenna DX Database[image] OTA Television/Antenna DXing Database Feel free to enter any Television DX results below. The table below may be sorted by any catego...Falsejeff2011-01-15T23:57:28+00:00hot/groups/otacanada/search/index.rss?sort=modifiedDate&kind=all&sortDirection=reverse&excludePages=wiki/welcomelist/groups/otacanada/search/?sort=modifiedDate&kind=all&sortDirection=reverse&excludePages=wiki/welcomeRecent ChangesRecentChangesListUpdates?sort=modifiedDate&kind=all&sortDirection=reverse&excludePages=wiki/welcome0/groups/otacanada/sidebar/RecentChangesListmodifiedDateallRecent ChangesRecentChangesListUpdateswiki/welcomeNo recent changes.reverse5search

Tags