In article ,
Gordon wrote:

1) Right now all the digital transmissions are in the UHF band.
but in 6 weeks, three stations will move back to their VHF
assignments in the VHF high band.
How well can I expect my antenna to work in that frequency band?

Not terribly well. "Short" antennas (significantly less than 1/2
wavelength) have a very reactive impedance, and don't couple
efficiently to the E/M wave.

It may work well enough for your area (depending on the VHF signal
strength) or maybe not.

2) I have not trimmed or dressed the twin lead from the bowties.
I understand that twin-lead can act as antennas.

Yup. Sometimes a problem, sometimes not.

Sensitivity of twinlead to external fields can be reduced by twisting
the twinlead (one rotation every six inches or every foot is a decent
starting point) and by keeping it a few inches away from anything
metal. Use insulating standoffs to run it down the antenna mast.

Or, convert from the twinlead to a 75-ohm coax (e.g. RG-8) using a
balun, and run coax down to your TV.

So what
is the best way to manage the twinlead? Cut it back? I noticed
that when i laid the leads together, in an attempt to make a
neat assembly, I got signal cancelation.

Trim it back to a reasonable minimum length, don't loop it back along
itself or run it next to itself (or other twinlead, or anything
metal), and twist it periodically.

4) Any suggestions for alternitive DIY designs?

You may want to consider adding a "folded dipole" in parallel with the
bowtie arrangement, with the dipole being cut to the wavelength of the
lowest-frequency VHF channel you'll want to receive.

If you need more gain or directivity on VHF than a dipole will give
you, then using a log-periodic antenna (the classic rooftop VHF/UHF
type) may be your best bet. These *can* be home-brewed but they're
more complex than a simple bowtie-and-reflector.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
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