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Ask Slashdot: DIY 4G Antenna Design For the Holidays?
eldavojohn writes "This holiday season I will return to the land of my childhood. It is flat and desolate with the nearest major city being a three hour car drive away. Although being able to hear the blood pulse through your ears and enjoying the full milky way is nice, I have finally convinced my parents to get "the internet." It's basically a Verizon Jetpack that receives 4G connected to a router. My mom says it works great but she has complained of it cutting in and out. I know where the tower is, this land is so flat and so devoid of light pollution that the tower and all windmills are supernovas on the horizon at night. Usually I use my rooted Galaxy Nexus to read Slashdot, reply to work e-mails, etc. I would like to build an antenna for her 4G device so they can finally enjoy information the way I have. I have access to tons of scrap copper, wood, steel, etc and could probably hit a scrap yard if something else were needed. As a kid, I would build various quad antennas in an attempt to get better radio and TV reception (is the new digital television antenna design any different?) but I have no experience with building 4G antennas. I assume the sizes and lengths would be much different? After shopping around any 4G antenna costs way too much money. So, Slashdot, do you have any resources, suggestions, books, ideas or otherwise about building something to connect to a Jetpack antenna port? I've got a Masters of Science but it's in Computer Science so if you do explain complicated circuits it helps to explain it like I'm five. I've used baluns before in antenna design but after pulling up unidirectional and reflector antenna designs, I realize I might be in a little over my head. Is there an industry standard book on building antennas for any spectrum?"
Something like this costs 30$
http://www.wpsantennas.com/700MHZ-LTE-4G-Antennas.aspx
Ebay has things for 20-25$
Did you look at these options before deciding to building your own?
My Aurora : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o91ZsGwJYyg
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Start with ARRL (http://www.arrl.org/)
Antenna Handbook: http://www.amazon.com/dp/087259694X/
*The* Handbook: www.amazon.com/dp/087259419X/
As the Jetpack is so small, could you mount it inside a parabolic dish - i.e. WOKtenna?
See: http://www.usbwifi.orconhosting.net.nz/
http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/homemade_yagi
Or course the page is for Aussie 3G freq., but the links available will give you a starting point.
if the place is as boring as you imply, making your own will give you something to do :)
Regards
g@z.
At the higher frequencies like 1.3GHz (LTE), the wavelengths are so small that the corresponding antenna features are also very small. They have to be extremely precise if you want the gain to actually be at the right frequency, and even then it usually takes some trial and error. Do you have a chemical or laser PCB etching machine, and a cellular antenna analyzer (Saw one SUPER cheap on ebay for $300 once). Otherwise, just making random things could result in reflections damaging your transmitter. This isn't like putting together a 1/4-wave dipole on 2 meters.
But you could try fashioning a parabolic reflector dish and put your existing antenna in the center of it. I've heard of people doing that with cell phones and wi-fi adapters before.
How about posting some pictures of the milky way? I've only barely seen it once while on Hilton Head island.
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r27484816-DIY-3G-4G-LTE-Yagi
http://bcbj.org/antennae/lte_yagi_diy.htm
Something like this costs 30$ http://www.wpsantennas.com/700MHZ-LTE-4G-Antennas.aspx
Ebay has things for 20-25$ Did you look at these options before deciding to building your own?
If you're telling me that works and that's the best I can do, then okay, you've got it figured out and I just don't understand antennas at all.
Like I said, I googled and looked for costs. The models that I see on your link that are $30 are 7.72” in length and look like the same things that come with any wireless router. I assume the Verizon Jetpack already has an antenna of this quality. What I was hoping for by asking Slashdot was that someone would belittle me and tell me how to build something more like this but without the $120 price tag since it's probably just a bunch of metal configured a certain way connected to a balun connected to the device. I know where the cell tower is from my parent's house, I just don't know how to construct something that will function better than the little device they have.
Also, I was kind of hoping that there were really cool designs people knew of that consisted more than just "a big stick of metal you point at the tower." However, like I admitted in the submission, I don't know jack shit about antennas.
My work here is dung.
From my limited knowledge of physics, it sounds like a custom-built cantenna waveguide would be perfect for you, although I can't help you with the design - the length and diameter of the can and the positioning and protrusion depth of the tranceiver element need to be calculated depending on the frequency of the signal you're trying to pick up. I imagine there are formulae or even online calculators for this stuff online, so if you can find those you may only need to find out the frequency band you're trying to select to get the design calculated. Then it's a matter of making it precisely enough.
your library should have a copy of 'The Amateur Radio Handbook'. If I remember correctly, there is some sort of log periodic design calculator that will design a fairly broadbanded yagi that can be adapted to different frequencies.
Just use a classic design for the carrier frequency your parents' system uses. That should be fine. New antenna designs for cell phones are driven by the need to fit in the handset.
http://bcbj.org/antennae/lte_yagi_diy.htm
Decent instructions for an LTE yagi.
If you dont know how to ground this properly please ask or hire someone who knows what they are doing. You could kill someone with improper grounding in case of a lightning strike.
something more like this but without the $120 price tag
It seems to me that if it works, it would be $120 well spent. It would improve your parents' internet connection, which is your main goal, right? It would also require a minimal time investment on your behalf, which should also be a goal for you as you did not mention making frequent visits there. Third, if something goes wrong you have a manufacturer and a vendor to talk to - rather than having to rebuild the damned thing on your own.
One way to look at this is that if you visit once per year (you do see your parents once a year, right?) this will cost you only $10 per month. That is nothing. Besides, if you're three hours from the closest town, what are the chances you'll be able to get anything useful for building / repairing an antenna when you're out there? You seem to be about to start yourself on a project with very low probability of success for no apparent reason.
Buy the antenna and then spend your time building them a home file server to back up their important documents instead. Much better use of time and more tangible results.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
scrap the tons of copper and steel you have, then buy an antenna.
Is there a reason they did not opt for Home Fusion? The rates are much lower and the directional antenna and transceiver is $100. I believe it also transmits at 3 watts instead of half-watt.
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/homefusion/hf/main.do
If you get a USB adaptor for your 4G signal, and stick it outside on a long pole nice and high up plugged into a USB extension cable it'll work just fine. Remember to tape the whole thing up with self-amalgamating tape (not lx tape) to keep the water out, and leave a drip loop where you bring the cable into the building.
It's the simplest thing that could work.
I don't have any information to help, just wanted to say this is an awesome question!
Finally something that's not "I can't do my job and am too cheap to hire a consultant" or "I don't know how to use google, please spoonfeed me".
I'm actually looking forward to some interesting answers (amongst the "just buy something" crap) even though I actually have no use for the information. This is what being a geek is all about :)
....is a corner reflector for an existing dipole antenna. The only critical
dimension is the spacing of the dipole from the corner, which can be
adjusted rather easily. I seem to recall that there are two sweet spots
with different patterns and gains. No cables or soldering, plus at
those frequencies you'll only need two or three sq ft of screen or
aluminum.
http://www.alternativewireless.com/cellular-antennas/mobile-signal-booster/novatel/novatel-4620l-jetpack-signal-boosters.html
I got that when I googled "novatel 4620l ports"...
BlackNova Traders
They don't really advertise this service, but you can get Home Fusion from Verizon. If you sign up, they'll send a professional out to install a 4G antenna. A little on the pricey side but if you are a heavy internet user it's not a bad deal:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/homefusion/hf/main.do
use this website for the math: http://www.changpuak.ch/electronics/yagi_uda_antenna.php then simply use the wire you have to build the yagi antenna. highly directional with a large forward lobe this should do the trick. I see the boom length is small for 800/1900Mhz (I think that's 4G freqs). Naturally purchasing one will save the time/effort to solder/clamp the elements to the boom and the coax to the antenna/connector but there's nothing more satisfying that a bit of home-brew kit. HTH
LTE doesn't really mean anything for an antenna designer. It's all about modulation type, rate and protocol. What matters for antenna design is center frequency and to some extent bandwidth.
In North America, there are several LTE bands in use: 700/800, 1700/1900 and 2500 MHz. If you can, find out what bands Verizon uses in your area.
Don't buy a cheap 2dBi antenna. The antenna in the module is probably around 0dBi already so it won't help much. What you want is a directional antenna you can point at the tower to get a big improvement. The good news: this IS something you can build yourself. If you need to cover all three bands, you'll might need a log-periodic. If it's one frequency you can build a Yagi and it will do better than the log-periodic.
Books for antenna design for amateurs:
AARL Antenna Book
AARL Wire Antenna Classics
There are more books that are written at various levels. I suggest the AARL books because they assume you have some technical knowledge but aren't necessarily an electrical/electronics engineer. You can also find free designs on-line for antennas made by radio amateurs. These are often very helpful and tell you exactly how to build their antennas and show you pictures. Some engineering and science libraries will let the public come in and peruse their books. If so, you can go there with a pad and pencil and design your antenna right in the library.
Since your antenna will be bidirectional (same antenna for up and downlink) you will need to use low-loss cable to connect them up. This is very important because if you use the wrong cable or too long a cable, you may overcome the gain of the antenna! That's another reason to build a high-gain antenna.
Pointing a high-gain antenna at the tower also gets your RF out of the house where it's less likely to interfere with other stuff that might be in your house, like phones.
heavy internet user no way at $10 per gig overage
Find out where the closest 4G transmitter mast is and then move the router to that side of the house, preferably with a little additional material between it and the outside. Maybe put the router upstairs. You can always pull cables and stick an additional wifi routers around the house to provide complete coverage.
We have low signal at our cabin. I took an old satellite dish, duct taped the 3/4G modem at the focal point and aimed against the tower.
Worked perfect.. signal went from 10-15% to 40%.. way better speed and lower latency.
To answer your question about digital TV antennas:
Despite the marketing implications, there really is nothing different about antennas for Digital TV. The encoding is not important. The frequency is the main factor and that has not changed substantially. Most digital TV stations are on the UHF band around where I live. So, if you are lucky, you can get by with just a simple UHF antenna if the stations are nearby.
Here is where you can find your nearby stations:
http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/#
I built a simple 4 bay bow tie antenna for UHF. Mine looks like the one pictured at the top of this thread.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/consumer-electronics/614073-how-build-your-own-4-bay.html
Here is a really nice example of one:
http://www.dtvusaforum.com/dtv-hdtv-reception-antenna-discussion/8629-kosmic-antennas-superquad-4-bay-bowtie.html
I also built a folded dipole for VHF: Here is an example:
http://crdahl.com/antennas/dipole.html
My stations were fairly close by. These two antennas are not high gain antennas. I added a Winegard preampt to bring up the signal a bit. I have been very pleased. So, in summary, there is nothing different. Just look up your local stations and pick an antenna based on band(s) and distance.
I would suggest to design and build a log periodic antenna. You probably need bandwidth, and some gain. Log periodic antenna patterns can be printed on a PCB, and will last longer than a Pringles can. A search on google will show up to you several antenna examples and antenna calculators.
There's some good advice about the antenna above, but you may find the the quality of the coax and it's length have more affect on performance than the type of antenna you use.
You might even be better puting the entire router/antenna system up high, and running power and ethernet down. (Of couse putting the whole thing in a waterproof plastic box.)
You can prototype it with a laptop and a ladder.
All ideas^H^H^H^H^Hprocesses in this post are Patent Pending. (as well as the process of patenting all postings)
I've got a Virgin Mobile MC760 3G USB Modem, and am wrapping up using a wok skimmer as a parabolic antenna for it. I'm using a 11" skimmer, and went from two to four bars signal. Just have to finish the mounting and I'll be able to use it with our house wifi network through our router (it has a usb port and with dd-wrt I can use that for a failover connection when Comcast goes down). Here's the basic idea of it: http://geobray.com/2010/02/07/woktenna-for-3g/ Same idea, using USB wifi adapters: http://www.usbwifi.orconhosting.net.nz/
Can makes you pop signals!
I will not disclose a 0 day again I will not disclose a 0 day again I will not disclose a 0 day again I will not disc
It's easy, use what the phone makers do-> fractal antenna's
how do you thing they manage to get such good reception these days with 'built in' antennas?
they use a square form of this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierpinski_triangle
actually this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierpinski_carpet
thats it... the design is magic :) read about it seriously
perhaps use a 3d printer with copper based 'ink' or whatever
Google for "Cantenna". Works for WLAN, will work for UMTS. Believe me.
Another thought comes to mind. . . what is the cause of the interruptions the parental units are experiencing with the set-up they already have?
How far is it to the tower? what is the noise floor like between the tower and their house? [What happens at your neighbors house that may interrupt the signal gettting to your parents house?] Are they enjoying any other wireless-frequency obtained signals, like satellite? Do any of your neighbors enjoy broadcasting CB or single side band radio? Around their antenna in the home, are there any other electronics radiating interference, like wireless dvd or bluetooth, for instance? Do their interruptions happen at certain times of the day (you can ascertain what other activities happen at that time of day that may be causing interference)? Do mom & pop have metal implanted in their bodies which may be bouncing the signals coming in? If they are receiving their signal to the house, wirelessly, and then also they are wireless between their router and the device they use to get information, that presents multiple points of potential failure. Is the placement of the router in the house near a window that faces the direction of the tower? Are they then on the other side of the house away from where the router is placed? Would a signal booster work on the side of the house where the user is located? cjacobs001
Use the knowledge and experience of the local ham radio operators and build a simple dipole http://www.hamuniverse.com/dipivcal.html more than enough to receive from and more importantly transmit the signal back to the tower. Basically 2 pieces of wire at the right height of the right length and you are done.
Dude that's not normal. Got see a doctor, you probably have high blood pressure.
While 4G was 2.3 Ghz, microwave range and therefore a cantenna style waveguide would be good, LTE is 750 Mhz. For LTE you would want a more conventional desig.s. (Antenna designs are pretty much the same until you get about 1Ghz or so, then you use different designs.)
Unless the frequency turns out to make this design prohibitavely small, try a Moxon: http://www.moxonantennaproject.com/design.htm/
I built one for OTA TV broadcasts (somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 MHz) using spare wire I had laying around and had good results. There's a calculator program at that URL that will give you the dimensions of the elements for any given frequency. All you have to do is bend the wire and find a way to keep them at the required distances.
If your antenna needs to be really small you could get some copper clad from RShack and etch/scrape out the elements.
HI all, This is Mike from wpsantennas.com. If anyone has questions on specific antenna options let me know. We have quite a few different options available ranging from a $35 for a magnetic antenna http://www.wpsantennas.com/MAGLTEANT---Magnetic-Mount-Antenna-for-LTE.aspx that can typically boost your signal 1-2 bars (10-12dB) to a high gain yagi like the 477-yb for maximum gain. The current price on the 477-yb http://www.wpsantennas.com/477-YB---Digital-Antenna-700-MHz-Yagi-Directional-4G-Cellular-Antenna---9dB.aspx is $120 but because of all of the questions from this blog I am lowering that down to $89 for the day. Once again any questions let me know.
I do MMIC design, not antennas, but here's my opinion:
Build a massive parabolic reflector and put your existing antenna at the focal point. The focal point is the spot the reflector is focusing to. If you build it out of something shiny you can find this by pointing at the sun and finding the hot bit, this could be quite hot. Also be aware of wind as you're building a sail.
If you want to get fancy build a cantenna/rectangular horn and use that as the feed instead. (In a compound antenna the feed is the antenna that's doing the waveguide/free space conversion i.e cable in, raditation out)
Roughly, no matter how fancy a design you use, you cannot get out more power than passes through the area of the antenna. Therefore if you want a high gain antenna it has to be big. Reflectors are good as they're frequency independent and focus the radiation into a tight spot where you tap it out with another, smaller antenna.
There's a lot of information on google about these. Try searching for 'parabolic reflector' or 'heliostat' . The ARRL do good books, the microwave one is quite good and there's an antenna one, I haven't read it but its probably good. You can get an older edition if you want to save money.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Arrl-Microwave-Experimenters-Manual/dp/0872593126
http://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Antenna-Book-22nd-Softcover/dp/087259694X
"Although being able to hear the blood pulse through your ears and enjoying the full milky way is nice, " - Irrelevant to the question.
"...this land is so flat and so devoid of light pollution that the tower and all windmills are supernovas on the horizon at night." - Turn down your bloom settings.
" Usually I use my rooted Galaxy Nexus to read Slashdot, reply to work e-mails, etc." - Irrelevant to the question. Who cares what device you use and whether it's rooted?
And more. You could have said this in about 5 or 6 sentences.
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
...how are you going to plug it into your phone? I'd like to know having a galaxy nexus and a shoddy signal.
One of my friends did exactly what you're describing - he works on an offshore oil rig, and used a high gain antenna pointed at land to get cellphone service. It worked great... until he came ashore and his phone didn't get a signal.
Turns out the RF connector in the phone is only there for production testing of power/RF compliance - it's only intended to be connected to once, and it's not designed for daily connections/disconnections. The datasheet for one replacement connector we found was only rated for 10 cycles.
To be honest, there's a time an place for homemade equipment, and this isn't it. You've admitted this isn't your area of expertise. Neither is it your parents'. If it breaks, what are you going to do? The idea of using a a Pringle's can is absurd. Get a strong, professionally built antenna and mount.
Some things to think about: the higher gain of a highly directional antenna comes from focusing the energy more tightly than a lower-gain directional antenna. The more directional an antenna is, the more precision and accuracy must be used in aiming it. It will also, presumable, but outside in the elements, with wind, rain, snow, animals, and sunlight. All of these can degrade the antenna or interfere with its aiming. Therefore, a very strong mount must be used when using a high-gain antenna.
My suggestion is to go to your parents' house well prepared, with antennas of differing gain. Use the one with the lowest gain which gives a moderately strong signal. For instance, if 5 bars means the strongest possible signal, use the antenna that gets your 4 bars. The antenna which gives you 5 bars is most likely providing unneeded signal strength, at the cost of requiring better aiming. This doesn't mean you should use the antenna that provides one or two bars, however, because the extra signal strength might be needed during strong rain or snow. you should also go prepared with a proper knowledge of antenna installation, including lighting protection and grounding, use of a drip loop, know the signal loss of the cable you are using, etc. You should already have calculated the path loss from the cell site to your parents' house, and know the receive sensitivity and transmit power of the cell site and the 4G device for your parents' house. You can then figure out if this is in the realm of possibility. When you go to do the installation on site, bring spares, the proper tools, some general tools, gloves, clothing appropriate to the task, safety gear, and make sure that you have health insurance coverage.
It's easy to do a bad job of antenna installation. Sometimes you get lucky, and it will be sufficient -for a while. But then it will fail and you're up a creek without a paddle. Spend the money and do it right, or hire a professional to do it. These are your parents, after all, you don't want to disappoint them.
Take a look at what this guy does with PC boards:
http://www.wa5vjb.com/products1.html
If you can get your hands on a discarded/unwanted satellite dish, put any old outdoor or weatherproofed 4G antenna at the focus and point the dish at the tower. Never tried it, but in theory it should get you the amplitude you want.
I would add the old "Antenna data reference manual" and a somewhat newer book by the same author, Joseph Carr, Practical Antenna Handbook.
The thing with my "hotspot" is, there is no place to connect an external antenna to point at the cell tower. I intend to one day soon try an experiment where I put the hotspot at the focal point of one of my old Dish Network dishes and see if I can get better signal.
I live in an Internet desolate place and we use an AT&T "hotspot" that connects to a cell tower and is a little Wi-Fi "router" (that seems to only have one route, but that's a different rant). AT&T recently upgraded a cell tower in my area to LTE and the little hotspot connects LTE - but with only one bar. It actually seems to work though.
The hotspot does appear to have two places to connect external antennas, but I'm almost positive they're for the Wireless-N router part - not for the LTE part.
I think what you're looking for is the 30' tall Lightning Bringer 2000!
(House) Fire Walk with Me!
What's the legality of building your own cell phone antenna, though? (If that matters to you.)
I've build several cantennas for 2.4gHz WiFi. The dimensions of both of the commonly-recommended cans (pringles and chock-full-of-nuts) are not ideal. The length-width ratios are off. I can see a few hundred WiFi signals off my balcony, including ones across San Diego Bay, a couple miles.
I found a can that is ideal, and the coffee (from a local San Diego coffee roaster) is excellent:
http://www.caffecalabria.com/coffee/tins.php
Don't know if it's distributed nationally, but available in S. Cal Whole Foods stores.
I use an N connector on the can, because they are easy to work with. You can pick up an adapter cable on eBay for next to nothing. I epoxy a nut on the outside of the can for attachment to a camera tripod.
As others have pointed out, you will have to determine what band is used in your area. Dimensions would be radically different if it's not 2.2 gHz. If it is, though, this can is ideal. You will just have to run the formula for the feed distance from the back of the can.
I would just buy a commercial antenna for this, though, as it will likely be better built, have an appropriate mounting option and weatherproofed for outdoor use, etc. etc.
Oh, forgot to mention, I don't actually use an adapter cable. Instead (for WiFi) I use a small external USB-connected WiFi adapter (since my Macbook doesn't have an atenna connector) and a small metal adapter from the WiFi adapter connector to the N-connector on the cantenna. Zero cable length. The USB adapter just hangs on the side of the can. Cable loss can be considerable at these frequencies. Obviously, suitable for indoor use only. If you are using a USB dongle, and it's not very heavy, this could be an option.
Verizon sells a device that does just what you want. It provides microcell functionality in homes where signal strength is low by acting as a "bridge" cell, and routing your calls and data over your home's broadband connection.
Should work great for you.
Look for the ARRL Antenna Book. Its a good reference for DIY hobby type projects.
Based on the commercial offerings, I'd look at building a log periodic Yagi. That should give you decent gain plus directionality over a wide frequency range. If the gain from one beam isn't enough, you could build several in an array. Its all in the above book.
Most of the skill you will need will be in metal/plastic working. At the frequencies in question, a few millimeters will affect the antenna pattern and gain, so attention to detail is important.
Have gnu, will travel.
Get an old satellite dish (just a small one you'd use for your satellite TV). Calculate the focus. Point the satellite dish in the direction of the tower. A lot of dishes anymore are designed so that the focus isn't in the exact center of the dish so you will have to research your specific dish type. Mount your 4G receiving device in the focus of your dish. This setup will focus the radio signal, that is normally scattering in all directions, in a single direction more like a laser instead of an uncovered light bulb. This gives an enormous boost in transmission and reception signal strength... There's a very good reason why we use dishes to communicate with satellites ;).
One time when I was living at home in a location that is similarly rural, I did this with a 3rd generation ipod touch and picked up a neighbor's wifi a half mile away (okay it was .41 miles according to google earth)... and the signal was strong too. Granted, holding up the 8 foot dish I was using and holding my ipod in the right spot was hardly worth it, but if you can find a good permanent spot for your setup, it should work fine.
Also, the dish setup need not be outside and exposed to the elements... it would help, if your situation permits, but is not necessary. Or, if you do happen to build an antenna, you can likewise give the signal a boost by putting your antenna at the focus of the dish instead of your 4G device. Good luck.
A small active antenna can give tremendous improvement over a passive antena. calculate dipole length based on your frequency, and then look up some simple circuits for active antenna.,
From your post it appeared that you wanted something cheap.
20$ will give you some real good antennas from ebay
My Aurora : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o91ZsGwJYyg
FB : https://www.facebook.com/TanveersPhotography
I know this isn't what you were looking for based on the summary, but you never know, sometimes there are options you've never thought about, so I'll posit it anyway:
Verizon Wireless offers HomeFusion Broadband for a professionally-installed, rooftop-mounted 4G home broadband service. It sounds like it's ideally suited to your parents, and for $6.99/mo, you get the peace of mind knowing that they will send a technician out to fix any issues that may arise.
I don't know if it's in your parents' price range (it starts higher than a Jetpack, but with a higher monthly bandwidth limit), but it's a fantastic option for those currently struggling with satellite or dial-up and have access to 4G LTE.
I'd have to disagree with you. The changes are a matter of degree rather than principle, but they are real.
VHF-lo has be largely (but not completely) eliminated, meaning new (digital) VHF antennas are VHF-hi only, rather than full range.
UHF channels 52-69 have been eliminated, meaning many UHF antennas that performed best at those higher frequencies, are now poor performers.
For VHF in particular, but UHF to a lesser extent, many old (and often cheap) antennas were considerably less directional than modern antennas designed for ATSC. The "fringe" antennas were always highly directional, but many (most?) were not. This would cause multipath interference, which NTSC would handle better than ATSC tuners will.
In the digital cutover, broadcast power was reduced, so now, many areas that needed only modest antenna must upgrade to higher-gain models to continue with decent reception.
Antenna "fine tuners" found commonly on old TV set-top antennas, are detrimental to ATSC reception.
ATSC receivers are generally much more sensitive than NTSC TV sets. High-noise antenna amplifiers that previously helped the signal, may now be harming the signal.
And finally, as you said, a number of broadcasters moved from VHF to UHF. In many areas, people only had VHF antennas, and now NEED UHF.
All that said... There are no standards for labeling "digital" or "high-def" on TV antennas, and so it is very often a flagrant lie, and even the worst antennas, which have ALL the problems I've listed above, get labeled as "digital HDTV ready deep fringe 150mi+".
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
http://www.arrl.org/arrl-antenna-book
There is nothing wrong with yr Internet. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling the transmission - NSA
Yes, the user will have to pick the antenna appropriate for their situation. If your antenna didn't receive UHF before, it will need to now. But there is nothing new here. You had to pick the antenna appropriate for your situation when the stations were analog as well.
Like I said before:
"Just look up your local stations and pick an antenna based on band(s) and distance."
I guess I could add pick it based on direction as well. In my case, all of the transmitters were in the same general direction and they were nearby. So, I used low gain antennas with a broad reception path.
I don't think the power reductions are much of a factor. And yes, the maximum effective radiated power has been reduced. For example, on UHF from 5000kW to 1000kW. But that is 5000kW pep vs 1000kW avg. So, that difference is much smaller than it looks on first inspection.
Even with my low gain antennas, I am astounded at the stations I can pick up. Any loss in broadcaster output power seems to be more than made up in the reduced signal to noise ratio requirements.
It is true that in fringe conditions you will probably get a good picture or no picture. Where with analog you might have gotten a noisy but usable picture.
Concerning preamps. if you buy a good preamplifier (mine is a winegard that is mounted up at the antenna) it really can help. My favorite channel changed from unwatchable to a good rock solid picture.
My problem with the marketing is the following:
Companies market these antennas implying there is something different about digital TV signals and the newer antennas are designed for these differences. But, the reality is that the radio signal really doesn't care whether the antenna was marketed as a digital TV antenna or not. The antenna is designed to capture radio waves and it does. The radio waves themselves are no different than before. It is the information that they carry that has changed.
You're just speculating. I am not. Broadcast radius has been reduced. Go read up on the subject if you don't want to believe me.
Whether a preamp helps OR HURTS depends on the sensitivity of your tuner, the noise figure on the preamp, and the distance of your cable run from antenna to TV.
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
no idea. maybe put it "inside" a weather proof container and stick it on a pole, so it can "see the 4G signal better".
there's something like cable loss : P
as you connect to the "mifi" jetpack via wifi, add just a a repeater that repeats (duh)
the wifi signal from the jetpack into the house:
this is a cheap ($ and wattage) repeater:
http://www.tp-link.com.au/products/details/?model=TL-WR702N
in short: place the jetpack on a pole ... extend the wifi signal coming from it, via a wifi repeater.
I understand DIY provides a fun project, but you can buy what you're looking for directly from Verizon for under $100. Coincidentally, that puts it in the right price range to make it a great Christmas gift. Since you're going home for Christmas. Something you buy will be more rugged, you can mount it outside on the roof or the side of the house and run a cable back inside to the hotspot/usb modem.