It appears that the frequency can be adjusted by altering all dimensions by the ratio of newold frequency. Grayhoverman, the wideband tv antenna diy tv antenna. This all came about to finally obtain offtheair ota signals for our tv. Stack two grayhoverman antennas and the model shows better incore. This video shows how i designed, modeled, and built a grayhoverman antenna for tv reception. Hoverman antennas seems to be in the article pdf the hoverman, vud sept. The idea behind this antenna is to replace my existing channel master 4bay antenna cm4221. Gray hoverman, the wideband tv antenna air tv channels transmit on frequencies ranging from 170 mhz to 860 mhz. Grayhoverman uhf antenna sunday, 21 february 2010 asahjaya. What follows is a step by step photo shoot of my version of the venerable hoverman uhf tv antenna based on a design from the late 1950s. The gray hoverman if built right can do slightly better on some uhf frequencies but will not get any vhfok maybe if you live next to the transmitter if you want to really get serious in antenna building then you can move up to custom built yagis.
The model you see here is what results when a little grayhoverman antenna visits the beach, gets washed into. Once registered and logged in, you will be able to contribute to this site by submitting your own content or replying to existing content. I was intending on using this antenna for canadian broadcasts from toronto, but learned that mixing antenna types was not a very good idea. The grayhoverman or gh for short is a diy antenna for picking up television broadcasts in the uhf ultra high frequency spectrum. The singlebay grayhoverman antenna definitely is a compromise, trading size against performance to yield a small size that can easily be used indoors or in an attic. The hoverman antenna was invented in the 1950s by doyt hoverman.
Since wineaard actually controls the antennas production, it may not be available from any other source except radio shack, as it is not currently a popular antenna design. Please note that fringe television reception is very tricky. Grayhoverman antenna performance designs, schematics, and diagrams join the digital forum discussion the grayhoverman antenna designs, schematics, and diagrams. There is nothing wrong with the channel master antenna, mainly im just curious if i can construct a better antenna. The gray hoverman design is based on the hoverman patents but we are waaaaay past that into a range of performance that beats any comparable commercial antenna the sbgh smokes the cm4221, the dbgh smokes the cm4228 and any other diy antenna project of similar requirements. Build a massive hdtv antenna for long distance gains.
The gh designers mistakenly applied s, rather than patents, to their ideas thinking they were, somehow, protectingcontrolling those ideas. The grayhoverman antenna has been designed by doyt r. Grayhoverman antennas original hoverman variations, incl antennacraft g1483 and radioshack 151627, sbgh single bay gray hoverman and dbgh double bay gray hoverman analyzed for hivhf and uhf performance using 4nec2. Below is a link to the one i built, and it is much simpler than the others i have seen and a lot cheaper to build. Grayhoverman antennas original hoverman variations, incl antennacraft g1483 and radioshack 151627, sbgh single bay grayhoverman and dbgh double bay grayhoverman analyzed for hivhf and uhf performance using 4nec2. In the past, air tv channels were broadcast on frequencies ranging from 170 mhz to 860 mhz. The mclapp modified bowties are probably the best all around for capturing nearby vhfhi and long distance uhf.
Exceeded the performance of a channel master 4bay antenna. Compared with my previous antenna, i found that channel 31 from philadelphia came in with a noticably stronger signal. The grayhoverman antenna has its roots in a design dating back to the late. I decided to build the grayhoverman antenna after seeing the published simulation results. Im in a deep fringe area and my channel master 4228 with cm7777 preamp signal is scattered at best especially when the leaves are on the trees. I had chosen the gh10n3 version of the gray hoverman.
Some sources say they have had better success using a gray hoverman homemade antenna. For my practical application, im using two grayhoverman antennas in my attic. Fractal antennas as we see fractals have been studied for about a hundred years and antennas have been in use for as long. I decided to build the gray hoverman antenna after seeing the published simulation results. Digital tv coat hanger antenna page 3 digital tv coat hanger antenna step 3. Gray hoverman hd antenna, ota before actually making it, id like to know if anyone else here has made one, or tried one out, any experiences or suggestions really, ive never worked with antennas, and i imagine that they can be tricky to get right. The reasons were better gain and its dual band nature, uhf and vhf band iii. The grayhoverman antenna for uhf television reception. It looks like a bunch of enthusiasts updated the design for the modern uhf band and renamed it. The gray hoverman antenna construction for meteor observation. Receiving all these frequencies is difficult when using a single antenna. It does look like the one in the picture is over engineered, but it would last for years if erected outdoors. Half wave dipole tv antenna, impedance and gray hoverman.
Grayhoverman, the wideband tv antenna air tv channels transmit on frequencies ranging from 170 mhz to 860 mhz. The vhf dipole antenna at vhf and uhf, most antenna systems are derived from the dipole or its complement, the slot antenna. You can read more about the history of this design on their web page. The slightly shorter horizontal section in the zigzag element tips increase the range to cover todays entire uhf television band. The gray hoverman antenna final assembly is straightforward once all the parts are made. The tradeoff is that the gain of the grayhoverman antenna falls off rapidly at higher channels, and especially above channel 54. Many antennas are based on halfwave dipoles fabricated from wire or tubing. This jig makes it easy to form the zigzag active elements needed for every version of the grayhoverman tv antenna, using prepared links of common quarterinch diameter copper tubing. The original hoverman patent antenna dimensions provide coverage of only part of the uhf band. Vintage antennacraft g1483 hoverman antenna dtv usa forum.
The ideal antenna for the job appeared to be a grayhoverman gh, a design from the later 50s early 60s and one resurrected by canadian enthusiasts in the late 2000s around the time of. Grayhoverman, the wideband tv antenna one transistor. The time and effort needed to make the jig will pay off in the. I test both antennas on at a time in the same spot, at the same height and in the same direction. Stack two grayhoverman antennas and the model shows better incore uhf performance than the popular channel master 4228 8bay bowtie antenna. Thanks goes to the canadian nec geeks for figuring this out. In fact, rs used to offer an 8 bay version of this design several years ago, but apparently dropped it in favor of various overpriced yagi designs. In addition to the foam core board and copper tape, youll also need a really cheap balun transformer which you can get at any electronics store, two wood screws or solder to attach it, and a coaxial cable to connect it to. This study is to construct and modifying the grays hoverman antenna to obtain the highest gain thus improved its sensitivity. Hoverman and was invented in the 1950s and it was patented in 1960s. This antenna has moderately high gain, but its most important pattern feature is that the. Register now to gain access to all of our features.
It has a very high gain but a much narrower bandwidth at its design frequency. Use the grayhoverman plans any way you wish as the grayhoverman antenna designs are in the public domain thanks to the lack of a patent. Grayhoverman is an easy to build wideband uhf antenna. The grayhoverman antenna final assembly is straightforward once all the parts are made.
In late 2007 and through much of 2008 the hoverman antenna was subjected to computer modeling and a number of improvements were made by a small group of antenna enthusiasts on the digitalhome. I recently designed and built a homemade antenna for tv reception. The design presented here is an alternative to a doublebay hoverman antenna. I left the standard single bay gh6 gray hoverman antenna at the rented house when i moved out to my new place. The gray hoverman antenna has been designed by doyt r. Building an antenna for vhf channel 11 and uhf channel 16. The hoverman antenna was invented in the 1950s by doyt hoverman before the advent of computer modeling, and appears to be a variation for uhf of the much earlier chireixmesny shortwave antenna. Freshly exhumed writes retired and hobbyist antenna engineers working together in the digital home forums have taken an obscure 1950s uhf tv antenna called the hoverman pdf and subjected the design to modern softwarebased computer modeling in hopes of optimizing its middling performance. I only dare writing this title after try to search 3 times, and found no post about making gray hoverman super antenna from indonesia. Cut four coat hangers and remove finish cut apart four wire coat hangers as shown in the diargram below to obain eight vshaped pieces of wire, each side of the v being 8 long with a. In future, the current gray hovermans antenna can be improved by adding 2 or more antennas which are.
The antenna offers sufficient gain for dvbt, dvbt2, isdbt and atsc reception. Youll be able to customize your profile, receive reputation points as a reward for submitting content. This study is to construct and modifying the gray s hoverman antenna to obtain the highest gain thus improved its sensitivity. The grayhoverman antenna for uhf television reception march 11, 2008 updated march 22, 2008 corrected sbgh performance plots this project is dedicated to doyt r. John e davis has several antennas based on grayhoverman. This antenna was used primarily as an experimental to introduce me to the world of ota. I have avoided replicating gh results found elsewhere. Nvm will be going with a grayhoverman antenna design. The grayhoverman homebuilt tv antenna can be assembled from common plastic plumbing pipe and fittings. Hobbyists create gpled diy super tv antenna slashdot. Several web pages have sbgh plans, a good example is here. Gray designs, schematics, and diagrarrys ore copyr. Without much hesitant, i began on planning although i felt that this antenna was a bit on the hard. Pictured below is a schematic of the proposed antenna dubbed xgh8 along side the singlebay gh10 for comparison.
Hdtv antenna gray hoverman vs fractal bowtie youtube. Only recently that i had the time to construct an antenna again. The vhfhi band covers 175 to 230 mhz, while uhf covers 470 to 860 mhz. This is the last of several instructables covering construction of this antenna that receives uhf stations and, optionally, those in the high end of the vhf b. The grayhoverman antenna is well worth the effort to build. Part id description quantity 12 pvc pipe, schedule 40, 10foot lengths 3 a 12 pvc caps 18 b 12 pvc tees 32 c 12 pvc cross 6 pvc primer clear 12 pint 1. What made me attracted to this design was the high gain plateau that covered most of the channels im interested in. Here are some tips compiled from my build of a gh6 antenna having straight narods, but these hints can be useful no matter which of the many va. By adding some additional elements called narods you can also receive vhf band. The feed point is usually placed at the centre of the dipole, for although this is not absolutely necessary, it can help prevent. A photograph of a typical corner reflector is shown in figure. Design of the grayhoverman antenna digital home canada.