let's play "Name That Antenna!"

[powerdog]

I haven't found any photos on the web that look like my rooftop antenna. Overall, it looks like an arrow with a long tail. But most such antennas have horizontal bars along the tail of increasing/decreasing width. The ones on mine are all the same width, only about 6 inches across. That's probably less than half the width of the bars on the arrow-part of the antenna.

I'm not too interested in the brand or model, just what kind it is. I do know that I told the installer (maybe 5 years ago) that I was only concerned about getting the best PBS reception, which was Channel 33. The tail points toward the mountain the transmitter's on. Does a good job with HDTV now, too.

[SWHouston]

Powerdog.
We're good, but, not THAT good! How about a Picture !?

Have a good Day !

[powerdog]

Awww, I was CERTAIN you were that good!

I'll take a picture.

[powerdog]

I finally found a photo on the web that looks like my antenna. The unusual thing is that the crossbars along the length are uniform and narrow. Most antennas have bars that go from wide to narrow as they approach the "V".

So what kind is this? Thanks.

[SWHouston]

powerdog,

First of all, I’ll admit that (picture) of that Antenna is not recognizable to me.

Could you have meant that the Horizontal elements of most antennas, go from narrow to wider as they approach the (back) “V”?

I believe I do see an FM element on it, the Oval part toward the rear. You might try tying it into you FM, and see if it pumps the signal up.

hdtvlabs is pretty good at this, maybe he can chip in an help. But, without a “actual” pick you took of your antenna, it may be a little difficult to do. I’ll keep an eye out.

Have a good Day !

[powerdog]

OK, I'll post a real pic of my antenna, because I see now this one's a bit different.

[WHAnderson]

Typically an Antenna of that design is optimized for Rural UHF reception, your channel 33 for example. I would say it is a Highly Directional Long Range UHF Antenna. To find out what make and model would require searching the different manufacturers for a picture of your antenna. Depending on its age, you may not find it.

[powerdog]

Rural UHF reception is exactly what I asked the installer to optimize for.

SW, no, they don't get wider. All elements exactly the as you go front to back. That's what I noticed was so unusual about mine.

(Still haven't taken that picture!)

[hdtvlabs]

powerdog,

The picture you posted doesn't look like any major brand. It looks like one of the cheap and low-quality (sorry ) "made in China" antennas. These antennas have no model number, and the model number has no meaning anyway, cause many manufacturers copy the same design, and produce the same antenna under different model numbers. Let me know if I am wrong , I'll be surprised if this antenna is manufactured in the US.

Now, regarding the elements length. It is a well known fact that Yagi antennas with gradually decreasing elements length achieve higher gain than the antennas with the same number of elements when all elements are equal. As a result, in commercial antennas, elements length is typically decreasing towards an antenna front. However, sometimes manufacturers prefer antenna designs having a minimal number of different parts, as it simplifies the manufacturing process, packing, etc. This is especially true for cheap antennas made from low-quality materials. When a single element's cost is low it doesn't pay off to reduce the number of elements at the expense of making each element unique, even if the same gain can be achieved with less elements.

Equal length elements are usually a sign of low-quality materials. You won't see such antennas from the respected brands such as Winegard or Channelmaster ...

Hope this helps,

hdtvlabs

[powerdog]

Since I get very good reception now, does it make any sense to upgrade?