Al's Blog-o-Sphere

I decided not to build a high-gain UHF TV antenna. I looked into it and while it’s an interesting project and something I may still do, the materials would have cost me more than buying a new antenna, if I did it the way I want to do. That says something for the principle of cost reduction due to mass production.

This is what I ended up with. The top antenna, a Antennas Direct DB4, is pointed nearly south to pick up the Buffalo stations in the southern hills. The stations in Grand Island are only 12 miles away and come in with a rock-crushing signal no matter where you point the antenna. You might be able to get a null off the side if you needed to cut them out, but it would take some careful aiming.

The antenna below that, a multi-element corner-reflector yagi from Radio Shack, purchased in the 70’s, but never used outdoors, is aimed at Toronto. Specifically at the CN Tower. Almost every TV station in Toronto is located on the tower, or within a mile of it. That’s just about line-of-sight. I’m sure if they cut down every tree between my house and the escarpment, about a mile away, I could see the CN Tower from my roof. I know it can be seen from an overlook at a park in town on the edge of the escarpment.

Continue Reading…

One of the things I’m considering with the advent of Digital TV is improving my antenna situation. I’ve had a TV antenna on a rotator for many years inside my attic. It was more than adequate for my needs, and I could reliably get stations from Buffalo, Hamilton and Toronto with little effort.

But the new DTV signals are a little more demanding, at least so far. I get digital signals from all the Buffalo stations, but even when the antenna is aimed right at some of the stations, we on occasion have the picture drop out. DTV signals are all-or-nothing, there is no snow, there is just nothing unless it’s perfect.

So what should I do? The antenna in my attic is only a few feet lower than where one might be if I put it on my rooftop. It’s a VHF/UHF combination antenna of medium size, as big as I could get and still turn inside the attic crawlspace.

I’ve been researching this on the interwebs and combined with my knowledge of electronics and radio communications (35 years as an Amateur Radio Operator) I can weed out the misinformation. But it’s still not totally clear-cut. Continue Reading…

I’ve already talked here about the pros and cons of the switchover to DTV. Here’s another aspect of it I wasn’t fully aware of: Royalties are adding about $30 to the cost of your Digital-ready TV.

I won’t belabor the point here. Just click on the logo above to read all about it.

The return of the Lockport Molson Canal Concert Series is about a month away and the promoters released the schedule and lineup of entertainers on Wednesday.

As usual, there is a lot of fuss about the headliners, and has brought in a bunch of top-name acts that will undoubtedly have the square behind Ulrich City Center packed again. You’ve probably already heard the names and most of them were no surprise; they were almost all leaked/announced on the individual bands websites and show schedules.

But, unlike most of the local free summer concert series, they have also released the local or regional performers who will be opening for the headline acts. I think this is great as it gives the fans of the local bands some notice, give the bands themselves time to promote their appearance and in the end, brings even more people to the shows. Since the openers play first, this means more people get there early and probably stay longer which translates to more business for the vendors and surrounding businesses. It’s such a no-brainer, that I don’t understand why venues like Artpark and Thursday at the Square don’t put more emphasis on this.

So, let’s look at a few of the local bands: Continue Reading…