When I set up the DIRECTV HD DVR, DIRECTV doesn’t give local channels in HD, so you need to connect an ATSC antenna. I first tried the Zenith Silver Sensor Digital HDTV Indoor Antenna. It only worked for some channels. When I looked closely at the box, it was only a UHF antenna.
I then bought the Terk HDTVi. This antenna allows me to receive most of the ATSC channels in my area.
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I have the same antenna, but I don’t use the rabbit-ears part, but honestly, I haven’t tried. Do they make a difference? Can you get 20-1 and 44-1 reliably? Oh, and did you decide to point to the SF tower, or to the San Jose tower?
Before using the rabit ears. I wasn’t getting 7-1 or 11-1. I am getting 20-1 and 44-1 reliably.
I am pointing at the San Francisco tower. I should try to point at the San Jose tower to see if I get better reception.
Shape the ears into a narrow vee
of 45 degrees or slightly less.
Point the open end (horizontally)
toward the transmitting tower.
Use http://www.antennaweb.org to find
the direction if you don’t know.
This applies to ears that don’t
have an integrated uhf loop or
bowtie. The vee is superior to
the loop and bowtie when used
correctly.
You can extend the ears to 2M if
you want more UHF performance and
even extend the response down to
VHF-Hi channels 7-13.
You may snub the open ends by wrapping the last few inches
with lossy magnetic materials.
Steel wool, or a few wraps of
insulated steel core wire (no
electrical connection!) This
can improve the front to back.
Don’t use high quality ferrite.
The idea is to disrupt signals
gradually at the open ends, not
cut the wires short with a hard
magnetic choke all at one spot.
The last tuneup would be to
slowly taper the twinlead from
2cm spacing (at the center of
the vee) to 1cm at the balun.
This taper should be at least
several feet to benefit. It
corrects a 600ohm mismatched
impedance for a vee antenna.
VEE ANTEENA