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SBGH-10 Gold Standard is done and on the roof

5K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  firimari 
#1 · (Edited)
I am located in Toronto, HWY 400 and HWY 401.
I have built a GH10 rev2 design by John and is now on the roof picking up "ALL" signals available in the area; I mean the ones broadcasting from Toronto and those from Buffalo.
Even in a day like today, snowy, cloudy and cold, all stations come in with good signal strength.
Later on I am going to post a list of all the channels I am receiving with details but right now I am going to talk a bit about how the antenna was built and the materials I used.

For the mast I decided to use square vinyl downspout 2 1/4"X21/4". I bought it at Home Hardware, it comes in 10' lengths white or brown. It sells for $9.49 Canadian Dollars. Home Hardware Item # 2636-151

I bought 3 poly cutting boards at the dollar store for a buck each + tax. I cut the into 5/8" strips.

For the reflector bars and the zigzag driven elements I used 1/4"X1/8" solid copper bar.

To float the zigzag driven elements I used 3/8" threaded galvanized metal rod, 1/2" copper pipe as spacers and 1" strip of the dollar store cutting board.

The following is a picture of the antenna in the roof



added info:

I put 1/2" plywood on the inside of the gutter pipe, forming an L shape, to give it more strength and to be able to fasten the elements to it.
 
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#2 ·
Nice design!
I like the use of the cutting board material as spacers.

Could you indicate where you bought the copper?
 
#3 · (Edited)
Here is a close up of the picture above



I have a Sony Bravia2 LCD, the Frequency and Current Level are taken from the diagnostics screen of the tv
Next, I am going to list all the channels this wonderful antenna is allowing me to receive:

Actual Ch---Virtual Ch Network------------Power Level--Current Level--Frequency KHZ
14.1-------- 29.1-----------Fox WUTV 29-1000 kW-----71------------473000
14.2-------- 29.2-----------Sub Channel----------------71-----------473000
20.1-------- 5.1-----------CBC CBLT5-----38kW--------98-----------509000
24.1-------- 25.1-----------CBC CBLFT25--2.5kW-------98-----------533000
32.1-------- 23.1-----------CW WNLO23---1000kW-----87-----------581000
33.1-------- 2.1-----------NBC WGRZ2-----480kW------87-----------587000
33.2-------- 2.2-----------Sub Channel------------------87-----------587000
34.1---------49.1----------My TV WNYO49-175kW-------49-----------593000
34.2---------49.2----------Sub Channel-----------------49-----------593000
38.1---------7.1-----------ABC WKBW7----358kW-------87-----------617000
38.2---------7.2-----------Sub Channel-----------------93-----------617000
39.1---------4.1-----------CBS WIVB4-----790kW-------65-----------623000
40.1---------9.1-----------CTV CFTO9----17.4kW-------93-----------629000
43.1---------17.1-----------PBS WNED17--156kW-------65-----------647000
43.2---------17.2-----------Sub Channel----------------65-----------647000
43.3---------17.3-----------Sub Channel----------------65-----------647000
44-----------44.1-----------OMNI2 CJMT69--15kW------98-----------653000
53.1---------57.1-----------Citytv CITY57---2.2kW-----65-----------707000
64-----------64.1-----------OMNI1 CFMT47--15kW------71-----------773000
65.1---------41.1-----------Global CIII41-----3kW------98-----------779000
66.1---------66.1-----------Sun TV CKXT52--2.81kW---93-----------785000
 
#5 ·
Looks nice.


For the mast I decided to use square vinyl downspout 2 1/4"X21/4". I bought it at Home Hardware, it comes in 10' lengths white or brown. It sells for $9.49 Canadian Dollars. Home Hardware Item # 2636-151

I bought 3 poly cutting boards at the dollar store for a buck each + tax. I cut the into 5/8" strips.
The cutting boards are the same price in U.S. dollars here at the $1 store, heh. The 2" X 3" vynil guttering is $7.94 at my Home Depot.

You dont have that mounted to a vent pipe, do you ? Mounting to a vent pipe is not a good idea. It could crack the vent pipe further down and then you would have to cut open a wall to fix it, which is never a fun time.
 
#6 ·
Looks nice.



The cutting boards are the same price in U.S. dollars here at the $1 store, heh. The 2" X 3" vynil guttering is $7.94 at my Home Depot.

You dont have that mounted to a vent pipe, do you ? Mounting to a vent pipe is not a good idea. It could crack the vent pipe further down and then you would have to cut open a wall to fix it, which is never a fun time.
Thanks 300ohm.

I did not mounted on the vent pipe :) ....... It is mounted on the side of a dormer. I used the full length of pipe ........ 10'
I believe the The Home Depot up here carries the same 2"X3" vynil with some kind of round design on it .
What I like about the one I've use is that it is flat on the four sides and smaller than the one at the home depot.
It makes everything easier when working with a flat surface instead of the round pipe.
What I like about it is that the reflectors can be completely exposed, as oposed to the other designs I have seen where round pipe is used.
I have to figure out a way of grounging it......... I would like to hear about ways to ground the antenna.
Does the antenna itself needs to be grounded or should I ground the cable is coming into the house by using a coaxial grounding block?
 
#7 ·
What I like about the one I've use is that it is flat on the four sides and smaller than the one at the home depot.
Ah yes, I think Ive seen that same stuff somewhere.

I have to figure out a way of grounging it......... I would like to hear about ways to ground the antenna.
Does the antenna itself needs to be grounded or should I ground the cable is coming into the house by using a coaxial grounding block?
Well, the plastic mast doesnt have to be grounded. Ground the cable coming into the house by using a coaxial grounding block. The block is then connected to a ground rod 8 ft deep via a thick 6 gauge wire. Im not sure of the Canada code, but then another 6 gauge wire is supposed to be run to the electrical box ground, per the new code.
 
#11 ·
Thanks teenie.

Right now the antenna is in a fixed position. There is no way of rotating it. I really have no need for it.
A way of rotating could be easily incorporated into the diesign.

If one were to lined the gutter pipe with 1/2" plywoood it would leave you with 1 1/4" square space; then a 1 1/4" pipe coud be inserted and fasten to it. You could then use a motorized or manual rotator.
 
#12 ·
Very cool design, northyork. How did you form the zig-zags, by bending, or did you solder the pieces together? And your reception results are quite impressive, roughly how high off the ground is the antenna mounted? I have been wondering which GH would give me all T.O. and Buffalo stations with no rotator, looks like this may do the trick!
 
#13 ·
thanks.
I managed to bend the copper bar. No need for soldering. What I did solder is the balun.
Actually, I first soder a piece of copper wire joining the driven elements, then I cut around two inches off the wire, from the center 1" to either side and then solder the balun to it.
I have not been able to find any post/thread describing the ideal way/distance to install the balun on Jedss GH10 rev2 antenna.
Opinions are welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
#14 ·
Two quick questions about this design

1) Can it be made into a double bay setup? I know that a double bay will be almost 9 feet tall, but I'm just wondering.

2) Is there any reason to actually make a double bay GH10 Rev 2?

I'm in North York, ON as well but I'm in a bungalow, and there are some big houses across the street, so I was wondering if a double bay GH10 Rev 2 would help compensate for a lack of line of site?

Thanks!
 
#15 ·
The Gold Standard GH10 is a precision modelled setup. You _could_ make it in a double bay version, but you would (probably) get better results running a model through 4nec2's optimizer, like j3d's gapless double bay model. (bottom of the page there)

(added caveat: j3d uses his own custom setup for optimization, not 4nec2, even using his own scripting language to automate the NEC2 program.)
 
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