Hobbyists Create GPLed DIY Super TV Antenna

Freshly Exhumed writes "Retired and hobbyist antenna engineers working together in the Digital Home forums have taken an obscure 1950s UHF TV antenna called the Hoverman [PDF] and subjected the design to modern software-based computer modeling in hopes of optimizing its middling performance. The result: the new Gray-Hoverman antenna is more powerful than similar commercially manufactured consumer antennas in every category, sometimes by whopping amounts. Best thing yet: they've released the design, diagrams, and schematics under the GPLv3 so that we can roll our own! Quoth one of the testers, a former U.S. Government antenna engineer: 'Boy, this antenna is hot... This antenna is a vast, and I mean REALLY VAST improvement over anything I have used.' The home thread of the Gray-Hoverman development gives the background of their great work."

Comments

Renewed niche for broadcast TV?

[timeOday]

Just a few years ago I thought broadcast TV and "rabbit ears" were pretty much gone forever. Now, broadcast TV is often the best quality high-def signal available. What makes broadcast relevant again is having the Internet to compliment it. With cable TV you get something like 120 channels, which is both too many to flip through, yet not enough to get whatever you want whenever you want it. I think a great combination in the future will be Broadcast TV for shows with huge audiences (like football and network news) plus Internet for pre-recorded stuff people want on demand.

Re:Renewed niche for broadcast TV?

[darjen]

Personally, I don't even bother paying for cable TV anymore. I have an early gen hdtv (at least 3 years old) that I use with a cheapo Radio Shack HD antenna. Gets me all the local HD channels. Before that I was paying an arm and a leg for HDTV from Time Warner. I also downgraded my internet to first tier, so now I pay only $15/month for that. Huge difference and great pictures. If I really want to watch something I can download it, but usually Netflix fills the gap for me. The time you speak of in the future is pretty much here for me.

Re:The article

[Bruce Perens]

Soldering is nice because it gives you a more reliable connection. Loose connections blowing in the wind are going to cause visible problems. An unsoldered connection of oxidized wire can actually act as a diode and create interference problems.

The models are obviously made with wire. You have some leeway on cross-section. Clothes-hangar wire might work :-) Solid copper somewhere between 12 and 18 gauge is easier to work and has the mechanical stiffness you will need.

Regarding your CB tweaking, there are a few things that can make a big change, but it is very easy to decieve yourself, too. Stereo tweakers are notorious for that.

Bruce