Building your own HDTV antenna -- a success story

Chronicle reader lesfoster verizon.net offers his success story and this advice if you plan to tackle the project: "I have a 2002 vintage TV that is "HDTV ready," that is, no digital tuner. I purchased an HDTV OTA receiver - not an analog converter. It only has digital output. I mention this as background for the following antenna success story.

I used a 1960 vintage antenna that had been lying unused in the attic for 30 years. The antenna is in the attic of a single-story ranch aimed to south Grand Rapids. I receive WOOD Channel 8, WXSP Channel 8-2, WXMI Channel 17, WGVU Channel 35 and WTLJ Channel 54. I also have intermittent reception on WOTV Channel 41. Maybe after the switch.

The reception is as good or better than cable, either standard digital or 720 1080 HDTV, whatever the particular channel broadcast. Not real cheap, but if I could receive Channel 3, which may be possible after the switch, it would be feasible to eliminate cable completely. According to the antennaweb.org site, the Grand Rapids channels are just over 50 miles away.

Note that WZZM Channel 13 broadcasts from the Grant area, only about 20 miles from Muskegon. The digital antennas advertised assume that most digital broadcast are on the higher UHF channels shorter wavelength, not the lower VHF channels longer wavelength. In this area, all three major network channels will use the lower VHF channels as their final DTV channels. Channel 8 DTV is Channel 7, and Channel 13's final DTV channel will be 13.

See www.michguide.com. The wavelengths for channels 7 and 8 are 31 and 32 inches. Keep this in mind if your try to build your own antenna." Here are some Web sites with further information: For information about the switch to digital TV, visit www.pbs.org digitaltv. For information on the DTV converter box coupon program and to apply for coupons, visit www.dtv2009.gov.

Source: http://blog.mlive.com/beentheredonethat/2009/02/building_you~.html

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