jg wrote:
Here's a link to a picture of my antenna, maybe someone can tell me
what I have. Also, does the fact that the "receivers" are off place
and therefore touching affect the signal? Since I will be up there, I
will straighten them, but odds are they will get crossed again. (I've
aready fixed this in the past.)

http://www.acequality.net/temp/antenna.jpg

It appears you have the Radio Shack model VU-120 antenna. The best
information I can get on this antenna is: gain is only fair to good
and directivity is probably below average to average. This antenna is
made mainly for local/suburb reception, NOT for distant stations. The
beamwidth on this antenna is NOT narrow enough - that is why you can
pick up San Francisco stations without turning the antenna. NOT A GOOD
ANTENNA FOR WHAT YOU WANT TO RECEIVE. Stick with Channel Master,
Winegard, or Jerrold brand antennas. They are built to last and have
much higher gain and much better directivity. In YOUR case, I would
add the Channel Master 8-bay bowtie antenna for distant UHF signals and
keep your other antenna for the locals. Otherwise, you are talking
about a $200 UHF/VHF antenna. The 8-bay antenna is not high priced,
and beats the UHF section of EVERY UHF/VHF antenna on the market that I
know of. But it is extremely directional and you will need a rotor.
Also, not only is the gain high and the directivity outstanding, but
the design of an 8-bay bowtie gives more "signal capture area" because
of the large screen behind the active elements. This really helps in
mountainess areas and other weak signal areas. The design of the
antenna also narrows both vertical and horizontal beamwidth, resulting
in less ghosting. If you can barely pick up a UHF signal with your
current antenna, chances are the signal will be very good with the
8-bay bowtie. And I'm talking about your current antenna with NEW
coax cable, not your current mixed lead.

Now if you really want to twist some wire,get somebody to hold on to one
end with a big Visegrip pliers and get an electric drill and clamp the
other end of the wire in the drill chuck and mash that trigger and turn
that drill motor on.I have here a Terk TV 50 antenna which I bought for
five dollars at the Goodwill store about a year ago.It is about seven
feet long and I think it is an amplified tv anteanna meant for
motorhomes,campers,etc.Since I subscribe to DirecTV,I dont really need
the Terk TV 50 for tv reception.I figure someday I will try it out on
one of my other tv sets to see if it works.I have been wondering if it
would work ok for a Shortwave Radio antenna,I guess someday I might try
it out on one of my old beat up Goodwill Shortwave Radios and see what
kind of noise it makes.
cuhulin

More info on your antenna compared to the 8-bay bowtie on UHF signals.
The following are approximate figures based on all the information I
can find. Your antenna gives an average gain of about 6 db while the
8-bay bowtie gives an average gain of 13.0 db. Depending on the
channel, the MINIMUM gain on your antenna is about 0 db while the
MINIMUM on the 8-bay bowtie is 9.5. I don't have specifics as to the
channels on your antenna. Every 3 db DOUBLES the signal. The average
horizontal beamwith of your antenna on UHF is about 31 degrees while
the 8-bay bowtie is about 21 degrees. BIG differences. The 8-bay
bowtie rejects signals coming from the sides and back several times as
much as your current antenna.

mm wrote:

My mother paid a tv guy to connect our tvs to the rooftop antenna,
back in 1957. When I was in the attic several years later, a little
before she was going to move, I saw that he had just twisted the wires
together, even though there was a flatlead antennal splitter hanging
right there, not being used.

Back in those days there were a lot of fly-by-night TV repair shops.
Most breakdowns didn't require a great deal of skill to fix, and the
industry was much less regulated than it is today. Someone could read a
few books, buy some tools and tubes, and set up a business.

On 10 Feb 2006 09:58:17 -0800, wrote:

In that particular area, you have to be very careful using an antenna
amplifier, especially if you are talking about a pre-amp mounted at the
antenna. Only a professional will know which amp will work in that
area. Some of the Sacramento signals are so strong on UHF that the
pre-amp can do more harm than good.

All I have is a RS amplified antenna in the attic -- the amplifer is
in the antenna -- and I love it because I'm in Baltimore and I can get
all the DC stations**. Rarely but sometimes, the signal is too strong
with Baltimore stations, so I have an A-B swtich that disconnects the
entire antenna if I want. Then I just use the one foot piece of co-ax
from the VCR to the A-B swtich, and even that little signal is more
than enough when I'm tuned to any station that overloads when using
the amplified antenna.

I suppose I could have gotten a variable reducer, or an amp with
variable amplification, and sought the best compromise value, but this
was simpler, and lets me use maximum for the DC stations. For
example, for a few months channel 9 was weak. Then it got to be fine
and about the same time channel 7 got weak. Now they're both fine,
but I want to keep amplification at its max for the hardware I bought.

**BTW, this is better than cable because cable doesn't have DC
stations. Often there is a sports game or even a non-sports show on
tv in Baltimore while DC is carrying the regular weekly show.

Also, once when I was watching Law and Order on two tv's at the same
time (fiddling with one of them) I saw that the last minute of the
show, the part after the last commercial, was shown on the DC channel,
but on the Baltimore channel, they put in another commercial. Very
distressing. The earlier part of the show they had been totally
synchronized. Channel 11 in Baltimore basically cheated everyone out
of that last minute or 30 seconds, which resolved some of the plot
issues. Now I watch channel 4 in DC more often.

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On Fri, 10 Feb 2006 02:05:08 -0600, wrote:


Geeezzzz, I'm having a brain fart.... Is that RG50U.... ????
Don't sound right.... The older I get the more my memory fades !!!

Not sure what you have but it may be called jamais vu, never seen.
The feeling that you've never seen something when in fact you have
seen it. You may even know logically that you've seen it, but you
feel like you haven't.

Sort of the opposite of deja vu, the feeling that something was
already seen.


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On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 01:29:15 GMT, Bob wrote:

mm wrote:

My mother paid a tv guy to connect our tvs to the rooftop antenna,
back in 1957. When I was in the attic several years later, a little
before she was going to move, I saw that he had just twisted the wires
together, even though there was a flatlead antennal splitter hanging
right there, not being used.

This is boring. Skip to the last paragraph at the end.

It's possible, remotely possible, that he brought the splitter, tried
it and decided he was getting better reception, all in all, without
it. I think the antenna lead only went to one room, the den?, and my
mother wanted a tv in the bedroom too. (Although I don't remember us
having two sets. !!! or what the second set would have looked like.
After the Dumont broke, we got a Zenith with remote control. But that
was in the den. Plainly I do remember the three runs of flatlead
twisted together,(one from the antenna and two from the sets) so we
must have had two sets.)

Or maybe the previous owner had an antenna wire in the living room and
that's why there was a splitter in the attic, but I don't remember
seeing such a wire.

Back in those days there were a lot of fly-by-night TV repair shops.
Most breakdowns didn't require a great deal of skill to fix, and the
industry was much less regulated than it is today. Someone could read a
few books, buy some tools and tubes, and set up a business.

The industry is regulated today? I'm serious. I haven't heard
anything about this.

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On Fri, 10 Feb 2006 22:30:11 -0500, mm
wrote:


Geeezzzz, I'm having a brain fart.... Is that RG50U.... ????
Don't sound right.... The older I get the more my memory fades !!!

Not sure what you have but it may be called jamais vu, never seen.

After David's post, I realize you really have never seen it.

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Is this the bad boy you are referring to?

http://salestores.com/chma428bouhf.html

jg wrote:

19. (I want my kids to watch Spanish cartoons and I refuse to pay for
cable.) I think Channel 19 is East of Modesto some place. (I had a


I don't think Univision shows cartoons anymore.