On July 31, 2009 at 09:40, wavest said...
I am located in Erie and I'm surprised that many can receive the Erie stations because the coverage locally is spotty for some. After many scans and re-scans, I was able to pick up 11.1 chch , 5.1 cblt, wned, and wutv. All of these stations are on a hit and miss basis with chch being the most consistent {if you call once every three days or so on an intermittent basis consistent}. I am using the youtube antenna outdoors so I guess I'm lucky to receive any of these stations. I am debating purchasing an antenna and trying to get feedback on what would be a smart choice, and I'm not sure if any antenna would give me consistent results.
www.tvfool.com/Pro setup: Having looking at your TVfool chart, I would recommend a deep-fringe Yagi or 8-bay style antenna. You'll want a rotor and quality preamp (CM-7777 or 7778) too. Get that antenna as hi as you can and use RG-6 or better cable to get that signal to your TV. PS: Try re-running your TVfool chart with more antenna height to see if there is anything else out there you can pick up.
Home built setup: However, if you want to homebuild another antenna, build an 4-bay with a reflector on the back. Your youtube antenna probably uses 7 inch dipoles with 7 inches between each dipole "feed". These dimensions worked great when the TV frequencies went up to channel 69. However today, they only go up to channel 51 or 52. So you will want to make the dipoles longer. I would go 9-1/2 inch dipoles with 9-1/2 inches between the dipole feeds. The longer dipoles will be able to tune in the lower UHF channels better. Use a thin sheet of aluminum or wire mesh for the reflector and keep that reflector about 4 inches behind the dipoles. For added fun, couple two 4-bays together! Good luck and let us know how you do.. . Bill
