Hi everyone, this is a great forum!

I've spent the last few days pouring over the DIY antenna builds and am a little overwhelmed with all the info. Maybe some of the experts here can provide some additional advice...

I bought the new DB8 antenna and am pretty pleased with the results so far, except for it's performance on ch14 (29.1) and the lack of VHF. I only need one VHF channel, ch9, so I built a folded dipole to get that. No biggie.

According to this graph (http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html), it appears that the new DB8 is only achieving a gain of ~5.5dBi on ch14. As a result, I'm getting at best from 40% to 45% signal on this channel with the DB8. Clearly, I more gain for this channel.

My TV fool is here: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d40332664cd6113

As you can see, ch14 is 2Edge -5.6NM, 59 miles away. Similarly, ch43 is 2Edge -4.4NM, broadcasting from the same location as ch14... But I can pull in (marginally) ch43 with the DB8 @ ~50% to 60% signal. According to the graph posted earlier, the new DB8 achieves a gain of ~13.5dBi for ch43.

So, What I would like to do is construct an antenna that gets the maximum gain on CH14, while maybe also increasing the gain (>13.5dBi) on ch38-43.

I took a look at the GH10 and it appears to be an improvement gain-wise for ch14, with a small improvement on ch43 also.

It looks like the GH10 design was from 2009, and I'm not sure if there is an updated model out there with higher gain for the channels I want to improve...?

Additionaly, the one problem with the GH10 is that I would lose ch65(41.1) which is also an important channel. Ugh. I should mention that an antenna like the XG91 is out of the question as this is going on an apartment balcony... which is also why the DBGH or an XGH8 is not ideal (vertical space-wise)

Any advice?

Thanks!

It looks like the GH10 design was from 2009, and I'm not sure if there is an updated model out there with higher gain for the channels I want to improve...?

The latest optimized models are here : http://clients.teksavvy.com/~nickm/gh_n_uV.html
You dont need much gain at all for channel 9, so I would build a GHn model instead of a GHn3 model. (if you attach a solid piece of mesh about 32" X 32" to your DB8 reflectors, or even just a couple of 32 inch rods, you should also get channel 9 without a dipole)

It looks like a GH8n would suit your needs with less material. A GH10n would budge the needle up on channel 43 maybe another 10 %.

Additionaly, the one problem with the GH10 is that I would lose ch65(41.1) which is also an important channel.
With a 39.7 NM on that station, I wouldnt worry at all about that. When a GH's straight ahead forward gain breaks up (dead straight ahead gain is what the charts show), theres still a lot of gain off center up and down. When I had channels in the sixties before the transistion, I had no problem getting them 90% on 25 NM stations 60 miles away on any of my SBGHs or DBGHs, even though the dead straight ahead gain was like 2 dbi, heh.

Edit: Ok, on nikimls GH8n for channel 65, the dead straight ahead gain is 4.92 dbi with an SWR of 2.3. But 30 degrees up or down from dead level, the gain is 11.27 dbi with an SWR of 2.3.

3D radiation pattern at channel 65 for the GH8n:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53555219/Nikiml_GH8n_Channel65_3dpattern.jpg

If you only need a uhf antenna then this GH10 (http://clients.teksavvy.com/~nickm/gh_u/gh10_15u15.html) has the highest gain and it also provides around 5dBi on channel 65 @ 20deg horizontal (which is where CN tower is when you point towards Fox/PBS)

Am I missing something? Isn't ch 65 off the air now? CIII Global should be on RF 41 in Toronto now, no???
Also keep in mind CH 14 WUTV is using a directional antenna facing away from Toronto, so that has a lot to do with why you have trouble with it also.
Ch 43 WNED might get impacted by a stronger local CH 44 (CITY?)