Antenna for free OTA HDTV

Last weekend I finally finished my DYI antenna project. I built a Gray-Hoverman without a reflector since we’re so close to the local transmitters. I’m getting all 3 local HD stations (CBUT, CHUN, CIVT) with 94% strength. The antenna was super easy to build and really cheap. The most expensive bits were the screws and the 15m of RG6 cable. The antenna array is 1/8"OD aluminum rod. The antenna spine is some cedar I had kicking around (I coated it with polyurethane) and the antenna mast is 3/4" PVC electrical conduit.

The most difficult part of the project was drilling holes in the chimney. I used Tapcon anchors which are designed for brick, but even using those were hard to use. One drill bit broke and most of the holes wandered when first starting. You’ll notice that the antenna isn’t really all that vertical.

The interesting bit about this is that not only do we get 3 HD channels OTA (Over The Air), but the signal themselves are very good. I’ve read that most cable and satellite companies somehow compress their signal a bit to help with bandwidth or transmission.