{"id":103700,"date":"2021-04-26T23:14:59","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T23:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.snapwhole.com\/index.php\/ham-radio-digital-mode-frequencies\/"},"modified":"2023-01-17T01:05:10","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T01:05:10","slug":"digital-tv-antenna-build","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.snapwhole.com\/index.php\/digital-tv-antenna-build\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital TV Antenna Build"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Digital TV Antenna Build<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Return To Ham Radio Projects<\/a><\/d3><\/center>

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\"DTV<\/a>
DTV Antenna Build<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

With the high cost of cable, not all of the TVs in our house have cable boxes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The non Cable TVs are smart TVs, so we can watch Netflix, Prime and Plex on these TVs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I wanted more options\u2026\u2026
So I decided to build a DTV (Digital TV) Antenna<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Materials Required<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 Ft mast<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

 \u2013 I recommend Wood \u2013 but other materials can be used, as long as they are non-conductive, or insulated from the antenna parts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8 pieces of wire<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

 about 16 inches long (I used 12 gauge house wire, just about any wire will work, but its best to use wire that will hold its position)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8 wood screws<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

 \u2013 I used 1 \u00bc dry wall screws \u2013 if mount in the weather, you might want stainless steel, or paint the screws to protect them from the weather<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8 washers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1 Balun<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

 \u2013 Balance to unbalanced connector (coax to 2 wire)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coax<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

 \u2013 to connect the antenna to the TV, custom length to your setup<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paint<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

 Required to pass your spouse\u2019s inspection (you want to put that ugly thing in my house? \u2013 best to avoid this all together)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The design looks like 4 butterflies on top of each other on a single upright beam<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"DTV<\/a>
DTV Antenna Build<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Each butterfly is 2 wires bent in a V and mounted opposite each other on the Beam<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each butterfly root is about 8 inches apart from the other butterfly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"DTV<\/a>
DTV Antenna Butterfly Elements<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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I measured off the location of the V roots, and drilled a screw with a washer into each location<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"DTV<\/a>
DTV Antenna Screw\/Washer Mounting of Elements<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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I then mounted the V wires and tightened down the screws, the washers held the V wires in place<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The top and bottom butterfly need wired to the adjacent butterfly, right to right, left to left<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"DTV<\/a>
DTV Antenna Base Straight connection<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The two center butterflies need wired to each other, left to right and right to left, a crossover wiring<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I soldered the connections together with my 60 Watt Antique Soldering Iron<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Antenna<\/a>
Antenna Base Crossover<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The antenna as constructed is 300 Ohm balanced connection, the coax to the TV is 75 Ohm Unbalanced, so a Balun(BALanced to Unbalanced connector) is required, these used to be very common up until about the 1990s, you can purchase one online, but I happened to have one, so the balanced end gets soldered to the crossover connection<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Balun<\/a>
Balun mounted on the antenna<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Now install the antenna, you can use coax to attach the antenna to the TV, and the higher the antenna, the better reception you will get, I mounted mine on the floor under the wall mounted TV<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"DTV<\/a>
DTV Antenna with TV Display<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Construction is finished!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How many channels do I get? 14<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will vary by your location and where you mount the antenna<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was it worth the effort? YES<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I get 14 channels, and while that is a small number compared to the 600 channels I rarely watch on the Cable enabled TVs, it does give me something to watch, I mostly use the TV for background noise<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COST?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Zero \u2013 but if you had to buy the materials, you should have to spend less than $10, which btw is about what a discount store wants for a DTV antenna<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are ways to improve the reception, on the roof, with a metal mesh behind the antenna should get more channels and better reception, I was ok with mounting it on the floor under the wall mounted TV<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quick Video of the Building process<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HcLU-Ll15HY\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Digital TV Antenna Build<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Return To Ham Radio Projects<\/a><\/d3><\/center>

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Digital TV Antenna Build Return To Ham Radio Projects With the high cost of cable, not all of the TVs in our house have cable boxes The non Cable TVs are smart TVs, so we can watch Netflix, Prime and Plex on these TVs But I wanted more options\u2026\u2026So I decided to build a DTV […]<\/p>\n

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