OTA TV Antenna  DIY

In Vancouver Canada, you can receive free OTA digital and HDTV signals from CBC, CTV, Global, CityTV and OMNI.

You need a direct line-of-sight (some trees in between are usually OK) between the antenna and the TV station broadcast transmitters.

Aim this DIY antenna towards Mount Seymour. CBC's transmitter tower is located at GPS coordinates (49.35361, -122.9567) at an elevation of 850 meters. The other TV station transmitter towers (CTV, Global, CityTV, Omni) are in the same vicinity. This antenna can be used indoor or outdoor. For indoor use, place the antenna behind a window (standard glass does not block radio signal, except some tinted glass and metal mesh/film glass, which block radio signal).

CBC's transmitter tower, location on Google Map  (49.35361, -122.9567), (49°21'13"N  122°57'24"W), (MGRS: 10UEV03146676), (Plus Code 84XV923V+C8V) is serving several metro municipalities except for those houses/condos where the line of sight is blocked by other buildings or mountains or facing the wrong direction.

The copper wire can be made from 14 AWG electrical wire (length of the whisker/bow tie is approximately 7 inches). The pipe and coupling can be 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch PVC pipe (sprinkler pipe). There is no need to use adhesive to join the pipe to the tee coupling if it is a snug fit. The black transformer is a 300 ohm to 75 ohm "Outdoor TV matching transformer", available from store that sells TV accessories. You also need to run a length of 75 ohm TV coax cable (Dollar store) to connect from the matching transformer to your TV's antenna connector. Program your TV to perform an automatic channel search on "Air" input.

If the signal is weak, you can improve it significantly by placing a metal plate (or metal screen found in kitchen) about 3 inches behind the antenna. The plate is called a "reflector" in antenna terminology. The reflector size is not critical, a 14 inch X 6 inch plate will work. The reflector's length must be longer than the
bow tie.

Commercially made antenna based on the bow tie design with higher gain is available, Google search keywords are "DB2 antenna" or "DB4 antenna". The DB4 antenna can be used for line of sight up to 100 km away, provided the transmitting TV station has sufficient output power and antenna gain. Home Depot also sells OTA TV Antenna.