bionsociety.blogg.se - Hdtv antenna booster

#Hdtv antenna booster how to
#Hdtv antenna booster tv
#Hdtv antenna booster free

Starting from either bottom screw, your wire will cross over to the next screw up, run up through the next two screws, then cross over again to the top-most screw on the other side. Leave enough room so that the washer can fit your wire underneath.įix larger devices, appliances, and cars with 48 heftier ¼” bits.Ĭut a length of wire about 30 inches, or a bit more if you bought lots of it. Put a washer over each point you marked, then lightly screw into each point, but not all the way. Now a different measure: 4.5 inches down for the next set, then another 4.5 inches, and then finally, a 9-inch gap for the final set. Measure down the board nine inches, then place another two points, 1.5 inches apart. Starting near the top, mark down two screw points, 1.5 inches apart. The video takes you step by step through the building process, but I’ll outline it here. He recommended this video from CBC host Giacomo Panico in Ottawa as a good tutorial for those who can’t make the flight to Buffalo for his workshop (but, seriously, great wings, wonderful parks, Niagara Falls is worth it, stop by). Flat-wall antennas often have one medium antenna pair, or two small pairs.

He told me that one of these DIY antennas, with four pairs of antenna “whiskers,” is like daisy-chaining four flat-wall antennas to each other.

#Hdtv antenna booster how to

O’Brien had done a fair amount of research on how to make a good HDTV antenna, and use it to good effect. (A bit of disclosure: I’m a board member of Awesome Buffalo, which awarded a grant to O’Brien’s project). I learned how to make a DIY HDTV antenna from John O’Brien, who hosts occasional Cutting the Cord workshops at the University Heights Tool Library and aims to spread throughout Buffalo, NY.

#Hdtv antenna booster tv

The length depends on how far the antenna will be from a TV or tuner. It has two prongs and takes in a coaxial cable. Technically a “75 to 300 Ohm Matching Transformer,” you might remember this from the days of tube TVs, VCRs, and Nintendo. If you’re buying new screws and washers, you can get the same size (like #6)

10 washers, with a hole large enough that you can fit the threads of the screws through, but not so small the head of the screw can fit through.

Ensure they aren’t long enough to pierce through your board. You can use coat hangers, for the wings, so long as they’re not coated. Buy at least 20 feet of it, for safety against goofs. Other metals would likely work, but make sure it is not coated or sheathed, and is 8-to-14-gauge. But a good old-fashioned 2×4 is likely the cheapest. It can be anything, really, so long as it’s deep enough to drill short screws into. At least 3 feet long, and more than 1.5 inches wide. Let’s screw some wire onto a wood board, get way better reception, and stop buying new gear to watch the TV we can get for free.

This thing that looks like a prop from a conspiracy theory website works just like any antenna you can buy in a store, but better. Or you can set up your home network to watch TV on nearly any device, with a network tuner like the HDHomeRun. You can get TV on your computer or laptop with a USB tuner. You can run coaxial cable from the antenna to a TV (or two, with a splitter) and watch live HD television. If you have a place you can hide this antenna, preferably higher up in your home, or you don’t mind your handiwork being visible, you’ll end up with a truly effective indoor antenna. With the antenna I built in 30 minutes on a Saturday, with about $15 in materials, I jumped to 35 channels and all five of the area’s major networks in high definition ( with better picture and sound). With the different wall-mounted antennas I tried, I received 15 channels, and only two major HD networks. Instead, build a cheap, weird, but highly effective four-foot antenna, possibly with hardware you already have. Might I humbly suggest a radical fix: don’t buy a new antenna (or three, like me), and don’t pay for cable or a live-TV package.

#Hdtv antenna booster free

But unless you happen to live within a lucky nexus of strong signals, your small antenna cannot defy the physics of distance and frequencies, and you’re missing out on free channels. It might seem logical that technology has advanced to where a small, paper-thin antenna stuck to an inside wall can do the job that set-top rabbit ears or roof-mounted poles once did.

There is one area where smaller is not better, however, and that is antennas. TVs, game consoles, even streaming devices are thinner and more powerful. We’re posting it again now because we figure it’s a good time to look into free, cheap HDTV programming options, while you might have a bit of time.Īlmost everything about the modern TV experience has become smaller and better. Note: This post was originally published Aug.