Can you build your own TV aerial?
The part of Illinois I live in is the far Northwest Chicago suburbs that is far away from TV transmitters.
The channels I am listing are the former analog channels that I watched until my parents signed up for Dish Network 8 years ago. I think the new digital channels might use different frequencies now.
All of the houses in my town that don't have dishes on top seem to have TV aerials on top. The previous owner of my dad's house threw out the aerial and left a Dish but we can't afford Dish (my mom could afford Dish but my parents divorced and my mom moved to Florida).
Unfortunately it seems like a TV aerial is even more expensive than Dish, so we just didn't watch TV at all for a few months while living in that house and when there was a Bears game we either huddled around the radio like it was the 1940s or went to some one else's house to watch the game, until we bought a streaming player, but unfortunately the streaming player doesn't have the licensing to stream Bears games, so still hudling around the radio like its the 1940s or going to someone else's house to watch the game.
It really would be nice to watch the game in our own home, but an aerial is too expensive (for the size aerial needed for McHenry County, IL to receive stations from the Chicago loop it runs around $200 at Radio Shack).
If I can make a home made FM aerial out of random junk, can I build a TV aerial?
I have seen amplified aerial antennas sold at Radio Shack that are smaller, more affordable, and don't need professional installation on top of the roof, but these are still some what expensive at around $80 for questionable performance.
Is this amplified antenna not simply RF gain stage transistors that can handle VHF?
FM clock radios have RF gain stage transistors that can handle VHF too -- for $5 instead of $80.
Would it work if I connected my home made FM aerial to an FM clock radio with the RF gain stage transistors disconnected from the detector? Would that boost the VHF TV signal enough for TV reception on the VHF band?
The part of Illinois I live in is the far Northwest Chicago suburbs that is far away from TV transmitters.
The channels I am listing are the former analog channels that I watched until my parents signed up for Dish Network 8 years ago. I think the new digital channels might use different frequencies now.
All of the houses in my town that don't have dishes on top seem to have TV aerials on top. The previous owner of my dad's house threw out the aerial and left a Dish but we can't afford Dish (my mom could afford Dish but my parents divorced and my mom moved to Florida).
Unfortunately it seems like a TV aerial is even more expensive than Dish, so we just didn't watch TV at all for a few months while living in that house and when there was a Bears game we either huddled around the radio like it was the 1940s or went to some one else's house to watch the game, until we bought a streaming player, but unfortunately the streaming player doesn't have the licensing to stream Bears games, so still hudling around the radio like its the 1940s or going to someone else's house to watch the game.
It really would be nice to watch the game in our own home, but an aerial is too expensive (for the size aerial needed for McHenry County, IL to receive stations from the Chicago loop it runs around $200 at Radio Shack).
If I can make a home made FM aerial out of random junk, can I build a TV aerial?
I have seen amplified aerial antennas sold at Radio Shack that are smaller, more affordable, and don't need professional installation on top of the roof, but these are still some what expensive at around $80 for questionable performance.
Is this amplified antenna not simply RF gain stage transistors that can handle VHF?
FM clock radios have RF gain stage transistors that can handle VHF too -- for $5 instead of $80.
Would it work if I connected my home made FM aerial to an FM clock radio with the RF gain stage transistors disconnected from the detector? Would that boost the VHF TV signal enough for TV reception on the VHF band?
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