Dissection of "200 Mile Range" "HD" TV Antenna.

September 5, 2019

#326

Gentle reader,

Yesterday, I introduced you to our new $55 Channel Master 3016 TV antenna. You may read about it here:

Cord Cutting. Get TRUE HD Televison Via A Roof Mounted TV Antenna.  

NOTE: To view the images larger, click on any one and a second window opens over this one. From that, you can click on each one or, use the < and > arrow keys to cycle through them.

My reasoning for taking it apart was two-fold, we recycle everything, and I wanted to examine it to see just how it worked.  It is illegal to just throw away electronics. They must be disposed of properly.

As I wrote in the previous article, the old one, which was the second one we'd had, wasn't working very well. I'd bought an identical one even though the first one failed somehow. I did not learn from that failure and bought the same one. Which is the definition of.....

Back then, having never had an outside antenna, I wasn't aware of how electricity from the control box got to the antenna. As a result, I'd bought two fifty foot coaxial cables and situated the control box on top of a kitchen cabinet, with the cables coming and going through the kitchen ceiling even though the TV was in the living room. WAY too much cable and more work than needed.

These images are from Internet, advertising for this particular antenna. The one shown is an update for "4K". So the control box looks different and is a little larger.

Here you see it as it has been pulled from the box. Blue instead of light grey. Funny thing is, there are MANY different brands and variations of THIS antenna. And vastly different prices.

Walmart wants $65 for the blue LAVA model, but only $26 for this one under a different brand. The difference is semi-loops instead of half "X" blades hanging off the front.

On our much-used workbench is the subject, awaiting dissection. It is upside down. There are some damaged bits because I tossed it off the roof when I removed it, pole and all. Surprisingly little damage, actually.

Here is the top, it's "reflector" must have snapped off in a wind storm, which allowed rain to enter the unit. No telling when or where it landed.

The end that points towards the TV transmitter towers. And The, what I call, half X, pieces. Their job is to direct the signals to the top and bottom reflectors.

I bent the reflector back to show you the aluminum that is attached to the plastic cover. The protruding square piece houses the rotor motor.

And here it is, after removing the piece that is secured to the pole, mast is the correct name, and the covers.

The motor was off center to allow the whole unit to rotate centrally on the mast.

All the bits. The two metal pins on the box (above, left) are spring loaded and touch the bottom of a small circuit board inside, below.

You can see the color it was originally in the image above.

A jumper from inside the top at the rear where the two U shaped rods attached.

I had forgotten there were screws inside the corners and ended up prying the two halves apart, below. Oops.

Below, the corresponding attachment points for the U rods with wires soldered to the bottom of the circuit board. 

The part with the X's on it has been removed, you can see the single screw inside the loop. The rod at the front is not electrically attached to anything. 

The C shaped rod is the UHF element. The little circuit board above it is where the motor gets its electricity. The green stuff is glue.

The rusty piece of metal is a reflector, I believe that bounces the signals directed by the half X's to the C shaped rod. 

I don't think it was reflecting very well any more.

Here are all the parts that had electricity or signals running through them.

A closer look at the signal preamplifier and motor control circuit board. I have seen over and over, that regardless where circuit boards are manufactured, they always have English lettering and numbers on them. For example, the "UF" of 220UF, is short for micro farad. Why a U? I don't know. Even the sticker, "QC" for quality control.

All of the pieces of aluminum that gather and catch the TV signals. The X pieces were actually in front of the C rod and small rod in the unit.

Compare those four pieces which are supposed to pull signals from 200 miles away to this one factually rated at 45 miles. Channel Master makes one rated at 100 miles but it is almost nine feet long!

Three of these actually carried the signal to the circuit board. The little rod, I don't know it's purpose. But, they would not have put it there if it was not needed.

The half X assembly completely disassembled.

All the pieces ready for the recycling bin. The electronics are destined for the local hazardous waste collection facility. 

Our county has a wonderful public-friendly landfill. It is setup in such a way that one backs their vehicle up to toss all their trash and debris into roll-off dumpsters. The tops are level with the area one drives and parks on.

There are collection receptacles for all kinds of recyclable items and the hazardous waste building is separate. You drive up, friendly people take all of our stuff and off you go.

Once again, I thank you for taking the time to read my humble blog. It is your kind words and comments that keep me writing them.

Scott

September 5, 2019

#326

Cord Cutting. Get TRUE HD Television Via A Roof Mounted TV Antenna.

September 4, 2019

#325

Gentle reader,

My earliest memory of having a television in our home was around 1960 when my dad drove up to our small house in a borrowed pickup truck with a used TV in the back. 

We lived in a small rural town in Kansas where dad was the Presbyterian Church minister.

There was a man-made hill outside of town with a tall pole on it. I realize now that it was the town's TV receiver antenna. We were a LONG way from any city. So, we must have started out with cable TV then. Less than ten stations, more likely four or five. ABC, CBS and NBC and perhaps a couple UHF stations.

If you are in your twenties or thirties, you may not even be aware that television stations all over the world transmit their content Over The Air (OTA), just like radio. 
And it is in FULL HD. To get as many stations as they can crammed into one physical cable wire, Cable TV providers have to COMPRESS the signals, if you think your HD TV picture looks great, you haven't SEEN HD TV until it comes into your home FOR FREE over an antenna. 

This photo and the one below of the old antenna are taken from our deck. The antenna MUST be oriented so that the ARROW points AWAY from the transmitter towers. Think of the antenna as your arms, spread and waiting to give that certain someone a hug. Or block a basketball opponent, if you are too many to hug someone.

NOTE: If you click on ANY picture, a second window will open OVER this one, and the pictures will be larger. You can click through them or use your < and > arrow keys.

As you are no doubt aware, cable TV, including Verizon's FiOS which uses fiber optics, is expensive. Aside from the cost of the service, you RENT each cable TV box and your modem as well.

And you don't get to choose which stations you want to watch. You have to choose "packages" each more expensive depending upon how many cable channels you want to receive. The VAST majority of those countless channels you will never, ever tune to. So why pay for things you will NEVER watch?

We stream via our Samsung Blu-Ray player, Netflix and Amazon as well as YouTube. You cannot truly appreciate YouTube until you've seen it on the big screen. So, I am not some geezer living in the last Century. Just looking to Cut The Cord and save a bunch of money.

ALL of the pieces I used to install this antenna TOTAL less than one hundred dollars.

Some years ago, before I knew anything about TV antennas, I put up a cheap "HD TV" antenna as have countless others who did non know better. It is seen below:

If you compare the two photos, you see this one is a LOT smaller and mostly plastic. Despite that, it was not too bad. It has a built-in rotator motor and cheap preamplifier.

It was the second one I have bought, I don't know what went wrong with the first one. I came across the old one in the basement and took it apart. Those "X" shaped things are not connected to anything. Inside the front is one rod which is, and the two "U" shaped ones are connected as well. That's it, three small pieces of metal that actually receive the signals.

The thing hanging down behind the mounting piece (a second one was once on top, but must have been snapped off by the wind) has metal reflectors facing the front of the antenna.

The photo below is full sized so that you can see all of the pieces. Kind of hard with the trees in the background. And I have no way of knowing how large it can be seen on a "device" since I only use a PC for going on the Internet. 

The long pairs of rods, that's what they are called, are for VHF channels: 2 through 13. Each pair is longer than the previous, since the lower the channel number, the lower the Megahertz frequency and longer the TV radio waves traveling through the air. The higher the channel number, the shorter the waves, thus the shorter the rods to capture the signals.

Each long rod is electrically connected to the cable that travels from the antenna into the house and screwed into the back of the TV.

For a much better explanation of how OTA TV transmission and reception occurs, please check out this excellent web page:
Television antenna - Wikipedia

These photos were shot when the antenna, after assembling (consisting of unfolding the element rods and attaching the wires) and mounting it on the two five-foot-long (stacked to make ten feet poles, is standing on the deck where the patio umbrella usually stands.

These much smaller rods and blades which are perpendicular to the antenna shaft are for UHF channels: 14 to 53. The rods on the large "V" shaped structure and the blade shaped pieces are used to narrow the UHF frequencies and focus them on to the two blades which have electrical connections seen below, which have yellow labels on them:

Above, you can see where the wires attach to the antenna. The thin wires are attached to a transformer that changes the antenna's 300 Ohm rating to 75 Ohms for the white RG6 coaxial cable carrying the signals to the TV. 
Each black piece which has rods or blades attached is an insulator. The large rods and that pair of flat metal blades are all connected together electrically, but insulated from the antenna's aluminum shaft.

These blades which are each angled up or down a specific way are time proven to capture and focus the UHF signals. They are the end of the antenna that MUST be pointed towards the TV station transmitter towers.

This image was downloaded from the Wikipedia site. It is an UHF (only) antenna.

What first got me started on this quest to get HD TV into our home and save us considerable MONEY, was a young Pennsylvania man named Tyler, AKA Antennaman on YouTube. Antenna Man - YouTube  

He speaks from experience after installing many antennas for customers and from buying and testing numerous antennas for his YouTube channel. His unique experiences have allowed him to figure out which antennas to recommend and which to avoid.

Oh, and he often points out, "There is no such thing as an 'HD' TV antenna. All TV is broadcast over the air with the same frequency bands that they always have used. The signals are just digital instead of analog." 

I recommend your checking out his channel on YouTube, it will be worth your while and will save you money and heartaches by avoiding buying crappy antennas.

To learn what TV stations YOU can receive for FREE in FULL HD, go to: AntennaWeb.org - Antenna Signal Prediction
Type in your address and it will list all the stations, what channel frequency they ACTUALLY transmit on, how far away they are, and what compass direction they are from your home.

The antenna I chose, since all of the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD stations are northeast of us in northern Virginia, and all the DC stations are less than thirty miles from here, is a Channel Master 3016. It has a 45 mile "range" and if oriented properly does a superb job of receiving over 50 stations in our area.Yes, 50.
Channel Master: Over-The-Air Broadcast Entertainment Products 

Channel Master has been around since broadcast TV was first available. So their products are guaranteed to work and are of high quality. All of their outdoor antennas are made of aluminum, with the only plastic used for insulation and they made strong to last for decades.

This is a TV and radio signal amplifier. It was probably made in the 1960's. I found it in a thrift store. There are ones that you can buy new that are similar. While effective, the best are ones that you mount near the antenna. I just looked at Nippon America's site and they sell an almost identical one.

Warning: Do not attempt to install an outside antenna by yourself. I am a retired electrician and was trained to safely work on roofs and ladders. Hire a professional to install your antenna.

While this is an FM radio antenna, it pulls in many HD TV channels with a superb quality. Not nearly as many stations as the new Channel Master 3016 antenna does, however. But that it gets ANY TV stations was a surprise to us. 
And FM? Wow! It pulls in stations from all over the place excellently. This is the opposite end of the house from the chimney, so it is forty feet away from the other antenna. In both cases, the RG6 cable passes into our attic and from there through the ceiling via a plate with cable screw terminals.
Note the ground cable coming down from it. Just in case lightning strikes it.....A very important precaution.

One of the best ways to mount a TV antenna is to your chimney, if you have one OR beneath the roof as you can see (above) the way I mounted the FM antenna. 
I just noticed there is some paper inside the pole/mast, I did not see before uploading this photo.
I should have spread the chimney straps further apart, top to bottom, for this antenna, but being the entire assembly is very light and has no large pieces the wind could push against, it should be fine. 

Looking at these two photos, you see things the white RG6 cables attach to. The bottom one is VERY important. 
It is a Lightning Arrestor. And by it's name, if lightning strikes the antenna, it is directed to the ground via the wire attached to it which is connected to a copper rod driven into the ground.
It also protects the TV attached to the other end of the cable since the rods and blades are insulated from the mast and antenna shaft and thus the outside of the arrestor. But it is designed to pass the lightning's energy to the case and discharge it to the ground. That happens, time to install a new arrestor.
Plus, the TV/home theater components (and FM radio attached to the FM antenna) are plugged into a massive surge protector/power strips as a backup to the arrestor. One cannot be too careful when it comes to lightning. 

The black box mounted to the mast is a preamplifier. Unlike a preamplifier used in a stereo system, this one boosts the signals received by the antenna to counter any loss of signal strength due to cable length resistance. I used a total of 25 feet so it may be unnecessary. 
It is one of two components, and was made by Nippon America. It is model number W-15-259. Their official photo is below. I did not use the thin black cables that came with it.

Their website is here: nipponamerica  The other portion, a second black box is the main distribution amplifier to which the "wall wart" power supply is attached, provides the 12 volts DC that powers both pieces, and provides TWO outputs, for two TVs. 
The DC voltage travels to the preamplifier using the cable wire that carries the signals from the antenna. Being DC, it does not interfere at all.  The preamplifier has a switch on it to either block FM radio, or let is pass.
The distribution amplifier has a gain control in case signals are too strong, in which case, rotating it to the left will attenuate the signal. This black box is NOT meant to be used outside.

NOTE: Cable splitters, while convenient are NOT a good idea to use. Each split steals 3 decibels from the signals. A distribution amplifier sends full strength signals to each output.

While the white cables look confusing in the photos, I made them longer than needed on purpose. And thus looped them and wire-tied them to each other and the mast. It's easier to make a long wire/cable shorter than it is to make it longer.

The signals path is: Antenna to transformer to preamplifier to lightning arrestor to distribution amplifier to the TV. A total of five white cables, I use RG6 cables and bought the tools to trim and crimp them. RG6 is far superior to cheaper thinner cables and will last for many years with no troubles.

You can clearly see the new RG6 cable as it enters the attic via the vent. It is staked inside and out to prevent movement.

And now some antenna porn photos!

While the antenna was standing on the deck, above, you can see the structure from a tail-on angle.

The shot above shows the antenna pointed towards 40 degrees, the compromise angle in the middle of all the towers to the northeast.

These last two pictures clearly show the construction of the Channel Master 3016 antenna.

I wrote earlier "what channel frequency they ACTUALLY transmit on". 
Despite the channel number, in many cases, the actual frequency that the stations transmit on are often quite different that what they identify as. 
For example, here we receive VHF channels: NBC4, FOX 5 ABC 7 and CBS 9. As well as UHF: 14, 20, 22, 26, 32 and 50 66 and 68. MANY of them have side channels, 7.1 being the main channel, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, etcetera are side channels, many of them are older programing or kid channels.

Channel 4 transmits on channel 34.
Channel 5 transmits on channel 36. 
Channel 7 is still on 7, as is Channel 9.
But, Channel 68 is actually also sent on channel 9.
Channel 20 is also no channel 36.
Channel 22 is on channel 21.
Channel 26 is on channel 31.
Channel 32 (Maryland station) is on channel 33.
Channel 50 is on channel 15.
Channel 66, of which there is TEN side channels is on 35.

We also get Channel 44, but it is all in Spanish so we removed them from viewing. My wife was born in Puerto Rico, but lived here since she was two so speaks little Spanish.
There are four low-power stations that do not come in clear enough for our TV to accept. So the TV rejected them. I tried tuning to them by entering their assigned number, but they were very fuzzy.

All told, we get 31 channels we are willing to watch, having removed: QVC, HSN and other other "shopping" channel.




Final warning: Do not attempt to install an outside antenna by yourself. I am a retired electrician and was trained to safely work on roofs and ladders. Hire a professional to install an antenna for you!

Thank you for taking the time to read this rather lengthy article. I love to share what I've been up to and to my utter delight, plenty of people read my blog!
Your kind words and comments (below or on Facebook) are encouraging to me to keep the stories coming.

Scott
September 4, 2019 

ISLANDIA by Austin Tappan Wright. A Book Review.

September 2, 2019

#324

Gentle reader,

Of the many articles I've written, this will be my first book review. 

NOTE: I found all of the images in this article on the Internet. Clicking on any image will open a window over this one with all the images in order, and larger than seen here.

Sometime in the 1970's, a friend told me about this book. I'd never heard of it, but based upon their enthusiasm, I went out and purchased a large paperback version of it that looks like the one above.

Another image, this of the back of the illusive dust jacket. When I read a book, if it has a dust jacket, I remove it and carefully store it upright until I am done with the book. I reinstall it and shelve the book. Part of my OCD, I guess.

I read the book lo those many decades ago and picked it up to re-read it at least two more times since. I came across the well worn book recently which I'd had reattach the front cover to and decided to donate it. 

But first, I found and purchased a hardcover copy of it. It looks like this, except the letters were once gold colored: 

But, mine has not fared as well. It is ex-library, in fact from the campus library of Occidental College of Los Angeles, California. It still has the library card pocket and card in the back. Last checked out on August 13th, 1958. I was not quite two years old that day.

 

For FAR more information that I am about to give you, here are some links:

Islandia (novel) - Wikipedia  and Wright, "Islandia" | Libertarianism.org The latter is succinct and personal, I enjoyed reading it.  

My copy is 1014 pages long, according to Wikipedia, the original manuscript was well over ten times that. Mr. Wright had apparently begun writing it as a child and continued it for decades. He died in 1931 and the manuscript was edited down by Mark Saxton for publication in 1942.

 

Mark Saxton wrote three books taking place in Islandia before and after the times (early 20th Century) in which the story takes place.

It is written first person by the main character, John Lang. A young man from a wealthy Boston family, he attended Harvard and at a gathering there met a large man who looked quite out of place. 

His name was Dorn. Just Dorn. He was from Islandia, a country on the Karain continent in the southern hemisphere. Here is an image of a map inside the front and back covers of retail editions of the book:

And here is another map I have also found on the Internet:

The Wikipedia article has a couple color maps which show details of the rest of the continent.

 

Dorn was in the same class as John and they became friends. Dorn played American football for Harvard at the insistence of those that wanted his size and strength on the team.

John was so intrigued by tales of Islandia from Dorn, he began learning the language. There was not much written about Islandia in the rest of the world as Islandia preferred to remain apart from the industrialized world. Similar to Japan prior to Commodore Perry showing up in Tokyo harbor in the 1800s.

John's uncle Joseph, an ambitious man, whom John went to work for, learned that Islandia under it's new leader, Mora, was entertaining the idea of trade with the rest of the world. 

His uncle suggests young John be chosen as Counsel representing US business interests in Islandia under the State Department. He is chosen mainly because he speaks Islandian and knows at least one person there. And off he sails.

 

He lands in The City aboard the St. Anthony steamship. Steamers only land every few months there and thus international mail can be sent and received but a few times a year. He settles in The City and meets the French and German ambassadors and their families and others in the very small diplomatic colony. 

He had written to Dorn prior to sailing and Dorn comes to see him. Together, they travel by horseback to Dorn Island. John meets his sister, Dorna and is taken by her beauty and complete difference from girls and women he has known. 

Islandia is an agrarian society. There is no industry. No electricity, nor power of any kind. There are more than 150,000 farms in the country. Families have lived on the same lands for as far back as any can remember. 

Family is of foremost importance to Islandians. As is tradition. Most have a great love of beauty, especially when it comes to their immediate world, their farm.

Rather than naming their children, girls names have an "a" added to the end. Each child is further identified by a number which indicates birth order.

Previous generations are like this, Dorn, Elder or Dorn, Younger. 

Dorn's father is Lord Dorn, who served as Premiere prior to losing the last election to Lord Mora. The Dorns are firm believers in keeping Islandia just the way it's been for 1000 years. 

The City is like many other cities, but completely lacking in modern amenities. There are businesses which serve the people and things are manufactured, but nothing is powered. Lighting is by flames only. 

The rest of the Karain continent, of which Islandia is at the Southern end, is occupied by other types of peoples, mainly dark complected. Especially directly over the border of the Sobo Steppes. Like Australia, the majority of the continent is quite hot most times of the year. Islandia being more temperate with regular seasons due to it being so far south. Their calendar is different than the rest of the world.

Foreign powers, as had gone on all over the world, had occupied portions of the rest of the continent and were serving as protectorates. They looked longingly at Islandia thinking that Islandians should welcome "modern" peoples in the form of tourists, but especially as investors to "help" them catch up to the rest of the world by letting them mine their mineral wealth, build railroads, provide power with coal power plants, run wires for power and more. Lord Mora was keen on just that happening.

I could go on and on. The gist of the story is John Lang, called only Lang by the residents since Lang is also an Islandian name, who by virtue of knowing Dorn and speaking their language, is welcomed far more readily into society than other diplomats.

He, instead of doing Uncle Joseph's bidding by pushing American business interests, travels widely with Dorn and spends time with Dorna (and of course falls in love with her) and as a result is fired from his post. He remains in the country and meets another family called Hyth. They have a number of daughters called Hytha. Of which Nattana he is very attracted to. Much happens with her. She is banished to their upper farm which is not far from the border.

John is asked by Don, a huge man with hair perfectly parted in the middle, to join him and others in watching the border since the Germans had convinced Lord Mora that they would be glad to "protect" Islandia from the Bants on the other side of the border. As a result, the Islandian troops had been withdrawn from the border forts.

Some things happen and John has to ride as quickly as Fak, his sturdy mountain horse, can go to warn the Hyths and other farmers in the area. It turns out that Dorna was traveling in the area. He saves all the people from the invaders who trash and burn farms but did not get to kidnap people and make slaves of them or worse.

John stays with another family the rest of his year after being fired. He works with them and his love for the people and their lifestyle and mindset continues to grow. He becomes skilled at working as they do.

The King thanks John for saving all those people by allowing him to remain in Islandia. This is amazing for the Law is that any who is allowed to visit is first subjected to an extensive medical examination and if cleared can only stay for one year.

John had been writing back and forth with a young woman named Gladys back home his entire time in Islandia. He also wrote a history of the United States in Islandia and has is published there.

He decides to return to the US and give living and working there a try. He discovers Gladys is no longer the gangling girl he remembers. They began dating and get to know each other better. 

And this is where I'm going to stop. The book is excellent. Some have called it utopian, other's science fiction, albeit without much science. The author goes into much detail as to life in Islandia, the people, their three forms of love, their history and even quotes from their literature. He clearly captures John Lang's feelings and what he has going through. All I know is it is a wonderful story and I intend to read it again. I have also read Tolkien's books several times. While not as epic as those, Islandia is epic is scale and depth.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. It is your kind words and comments that keep me writing.

 

Scott

September 2, 2019

#324