Questions About Digital TV Antennas

[vk6zgo]

If you are almost getting enough signal with what you are using now, you probably don't need a lot of gain.
You need to get a sense of proportion about this---- a UHF antenna is really quite small compared with the large structures normally part of a building.

In Australia, compact antennas are available for use on caravans (house trailers).
These are small, but still have quite reasonable gain.
I have one of these antennas on my house, as we have line of sight  to the TV transmitter sites.

That antenna would  just appear as a "glint" of aluminium on your balcony from ground level.

[bob225]

"digital" aerials don't exist there is no such thing, they are just wideband Yagi's

It sound like your in a fringe area, a high gain aerial with a pre amp should do the trick

If space is a issue, put it in a loft space if you have access if not a panel or parabolic maybe a option

[MarkF]

If you are looking to build something...  Drawings for a modified 4-bay Bowtie UHF antenna:

I believe this is where I found the designs:   https://m4antenna.eastmasonvilleweather.com/

[PA0PBZ]

Google WA5VJB log periodic. 24$ and shipping.
I find it very useful for TV and wireless microphone use in the 500-700 Mhz band.

Log periodic is nice if you need some gain at a wide band, but a Yagi gives you more gain on a single (+BW) frequency.
OP Says he is interested in a signal around 600MHz so a Yagi would be the better choice gain, aperture and F/B ratio wise.

[bob225]

Televes has some very nice kit not sure if there is a stockist in the US

eg.

https://www.televes.com/en/catalogo/producto/dinova-boss-terrestrial-antenna-uhf-ch21-60-g-7dbi-boss-g-34dbi-boss

[Bicurico]

"Digital Antennas" don't exist, of course, as the RF signal is received no matter what modulation is used. However, the "digital" keyword appears for both commercial and technical reasons: it might hint that a LTE filter is somehow included in the antenna.

Anyway, reading this thread is very frustrating. I do enjoy TV reception as a hobby (and more), including TV, CATV and SAT distribution.

But when someone wants:

- small antenna
- for fringe reception
- in DIY style that should be better than existing commercial products

I can only shake my head...

1) Commercial antennas are designed by clever people for the best cost/benefit ratio.
2) There is the first rule regarding antennas: the bigger, the more gain. Period.
3) DVB-T/T2 requires a good signal, otherwise the receiver cannot produce a propper image, despite error correction. This is actually the main issue with digital terrestrial televisio: it either works or not. While analogue TV allowed to see/hear a noisy broadcast at fringe reception, digital TV will simply fail.
4) DVB-T/T2 is transmitted with less power than analogue TV. Usually they implement SNF (Single Network Frequency), so all transmitters use the same national frequencies for their transponders. This causes ECHOES, if the antenna is not correctly pointed to the best local transmitter. Due to reflections, ECHOES can still interfere with the signal. The use of two antennas might help, where the second antena is connected with a cable with correct length to filter out ECHOES. The DVB-T/T2 standard included ECHOES correction within the GUARD INTERVAL.
5) UHF is preferrably received with line in sight. Those in ground level apartments should mount their antenna on the highest point (roof).

The OP does not provide enough information:

- location
- frequencies
- modulation
- line of sight background
- maximum antenna size
- ..

How can he possibly be helped?

Regards,
Vitor

[bob225]

Just the shear expanse of the usa makes transmitters and repeaters more localised than in Europe and the UK where DVB-T is abundant

where im located in the UK is a fringe area for 2 regions - at the highest point in a valley with hills on 3 sides I run a Televes Dat Boss 3 element Yagi with pre amp and a labgear distro amp that gives me near 90% quality and 90-95% signal strength - coax is also a big factor, standard air spaced coax drops the quality to <60% and the signal to <70%, double shielded PF100 (was CT100) and good quality connectors are a must

Its a bit of a RF black hole

I use to have a multi satellite system with steerable dish - now I have a fixed dish on astra 28.8º and hotbird 13º

[Richard Crowley]

@martys is doing himself no favors by concealing his location and the stations he is trying to receive.
He should AT LEAST do some real research into the ACTUAL frequencies/channels (NOT the bogus displayed "channel numbers").
And the azimuth and signal-strength of the desired signals (also not revealed).
He should have the information from websites like:

• https://www.antennaweb.org/Address
• https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps

[Lionered]

After reading your requirements I have figured out that you need a long range antenna. There are many options available under the budget and I think buying an antenna is a good bet rather than building your own.

You should consider these things before buying one:

1) Signal Report
2) Channels
3) Direction of Antenna
4) Antenna Installed location

Content source http://www.reviewwind.com/best-outdoor-tv-antenna-for-rural-areas/

Also one of my close friend using Marathon antenna and he is very happy with signals and quality.

Product  https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=0V5-00SX-00001

Enjoy!