I thought I'd share my experiences with the DBGH.

I live in Toronto near the 401 and Meadowvale Road. I'm upgrading from my 60" Yagi (AT-YG17B by Antra), so you'll know what I'm comparing against.

I spent about a week picking out materials and parts, until I finally settled on the following:

40' roll of #8 Aluminum wiring (The Source)
3 x 8' Anodized 14mm Aluminum trim polls (Home Depot)
8' 2x2 wooden poll (Home Depot)
Channel Master Balun (Sals TV)
Lots of clips, bolts and Nylon Bolts to hold the Wiring

I decided to use a 95mm spacing between elements, as my main goal was to get CHCH (DTV 18) in Hamilton. I found that my initial prototypes were very heavy and akward to move with the screen and switching to the 11 pair reflectors solved most of that.

I'm using a Preamp (CM7777) and a Rotor (CM9521a), so my tests were all facing the optimal direction for each channel.

I've always received all the Buffalo and Toronto stations, and on good days I can get the Rochester channels aswell. My problem was I could never lock on to CHCH or CTS in Hamilton, no matter what the weather or time of day.

After spending $80 in parts and 12 hours of my life assembling this things (WITH NO POWER TOOLS!) I got the chance to set it up and give it a try.

My initial impressions were good. The signal strength increased about 20% - 50% across most stations, but I didn't see any real increase in Global, City or Sun but this was expected.

The good news was I could finally lock onto CHCH with no troubles! I can see a signal on CTS, but no lock. Too bad...

One thing I did notice was the DBGH has a MUCH smaller beamwidth than my previous 4221 or even the Yagi. Even a 10 degree shift in any direction away from a distant signal would cause it to drop. I could go 20+ in each direction with my Yagi. This is a definate positive for an Attic install as it almost eliminates multipath problems.

Overall, it's a very impressive Antenna. I would recommend it to anyone that has lots of spare time and is handy with a hammer and saw. Otherwise just wait a while... I'm sure a refined commercial version will be available soon enough.

Great job guys!

After spending $80 in parts and 12 hours of my life assembling this things (WITH NO POWER TOOLS!) I got the chance to set it up and give it a try.


Its a shame you had to spend $80, but chalk some of that up to entertainment/education. :p Fortunately, I already have a lot of scrap materials about. :)

What are "3 x 8' Anodized 14mm Aluminum trim polls (Home Depot)" used for ??


And.....Power Tools are your friend. Invest in some, theyre worth it.

Yes, its a very good design. I like the way its gain curve is high and pretty flat all the way from channel 22 to 50. I can feel that in operation too.

In reality, this project shouldn't "need" powertools, but it sure would have helped.

As for the Aluminum polls, I used them for the reflectors. Hacksawed them into the appropriate sizes.

$80 wasn't too bad, the bulk of the costs were the reflectors ($30) and the various screws, bolts and clamps ($30).

I just wanted to make sure anyone planning on doing this project is aware it's not a $20 / 20 min investment!

Yes,yes,yes they will always screw you on the screws, nuts and bolts. Actually, Home Depot seems to screw less than Lowes on those items for now. I could go on and on about this subject, but wont.


As for the Aluminum polls, I used them for the reflectors. Hacksawed them into the appropriate sizes.

So what do you exactly mean by aluminum polls ? What department are they in ? :p Is polls a Canadian term I dont understand ?


I just wanted to make sure anyone planning on doing this project is aware it's not a $20 / 20 min investment!
Today 06:26 PM
Yes and no, the time comsuming part is the precision of it IMO. But that would apply to any good antenna building, unless multiple jigs were built. One on prototypes are always pricey in anything.

Keep tuned to this thread if you want to build more (Im planning on about 6 or so for relatives, friends, etc) various people come up with ideas to reduce cost and improve build quality.

Yes,yes,yes they will always screw you on the screws, nuts and bolts. Actually, Home Depot seems to screw less than Lowes on those items for now. I could go on and on about this subject, but wont.


So what do you exactly mean by aluminum polls ? What department are they in ? :p Is polls a Canadian term I dont understand ?

I know what they are talking about. In Laval, Quebec I saw those polls at Home Depot and Reno Depot. In both stores they were in a section for building security cages for doors and windows. At that section they have several different types, lengths and thickness of edges, square polls and cylinder polls like he bought. It's a small section in the store. At Home depot it was located in the door knob section, while at Reno Depot it was located at the screws & bolts section. 8 feet were the longest poll. The polls seems ideal for reflectors, but are too thick for elements unless you've got some specialized equipement for bending those thickness.

aluminum *poles*

Ya poles not polls (doh!).

They also had I think galvanized ones too. Another thing they had in that section were long rectangular (like a ruler) aluminum pieces (4'x1"x1/8") which I was thinking on using as a mast for the antenna since it's light and very sturdy. Only problem is the conductivity it will cause. I'm still unsure how to insulate elements at the screw sections.

Gah, can't beleive I spelled it polls! I need to sleep more and drink less. :P

I acutally found the Aluminum poles in the Trim section, not with the nuts and bolts like almost all the other poles.. Incase you're curious, the trim section is a litte display about 6' wide hidden in most Home Depot's with the stairs and railing.

As for insultation, I used Nylon bolts and nuts for any location the elements or reflectors were secured. (Nylon bolts are the plastic ones used on toilets and such, they can be found mixed in with the regular bolts at Home Depot, not in the plumbing department as you would think!)

Are nylon bolts strong enough for an outdoor installation?

Oh, poles. :)

The only thing I could find in polls was like in surveys and polls, heh. Pretty hard to build an antenna just using opinions and no metal. :)


quick question about the mesh screen. Does the 1" split run horizontally or vertically? (eg. top half and bottom half, or left half, right half?)


You mean the 20mm gap in the colinear reflectors ? The mesh would be split the same way. It would be split so you have a right half and left half sections of the reflector screen. As noted in the model, you do get a small increase in gain with the split screen version of the SBGH.

1in X 2in or even 2in by 4 inch galvanized fencing would make for a good reflector material. Turn it so the short gap of the fencing faces up and down. If you have a old hardware store in your area, they may cut and sell it by the foot, making it very cheap since you only need 3 feet. A 25 foot roll 30 inch high will set you back about $15 however. You dont really want to use any mesh small than about 1in by 1in for an outdoor installation because of wind load issues.

Are nylon bolts strong enough for an outdoor installation?
Depends on how thick they are relative to what youre trying to hold together.

I only used Nylon bolts to connect the elements to plastic boards (pieces of cutting board from the dollar store). So the only load they have to worry about is a few oz of wiring. I still used standard 6" bolts to secure the plastic boards to the mast.

As for the reflectors, I used Nylon clips secured to the wooden mast with regular screws.

My only concern with using Nylon for outdoors is the livespan of it. Never installed a toilet outside before, so no clue how long those bolts will last.

Nylon lasts a good while outdoors, like about 5 years or so depending on the quality. I have some nylon ties holding some stuff outdoors that has been up that long. Eventually the sun will get to it. And it can stretch and shrink slightly from temperature changes.

Oh, you used nylon toilet bolts ? Those are like 10mm thick and should last even longer.