It took me awhile, I guess I'm slow but the cable bill seems to go up every month. I finally hit the limit and I decided to see if I could get local tv stations like I did when I was a kid. You remember those 'rabbit ear' antennas with tin foil flags. Since I was the youngest kid in the family, I always got stuck holding up the antenna and moving it around the room to get the best reception. Times change and now I'm the oldest kid around so I get to hold up the antenna and move it around the room.
I went digging around the house for things to make a make-shift antenna. What I found:
some pieces of stiff cardboard about 7" X 5" (size doesn't really matter)
a balun transformer (I explain after the list)
two lengths of tin foil (to cover the cardboard)
transparent tape
stapler
pliers
A balun is a device that is used when you connect an unbalanced signal to a balanced signal.
Parts used
Close up of the balun
First step was to cut some slits into the cardboard to attach the spade connector from the balun to the cardboard.
Next was to cover the cardboard with tin foil making sure the foil makes a good connection with the balun connectors.
You need to separate the 2 tin foiled pieces of cardboard so they don't touch. I used another piece of stiff cardboard to mount the 2 foiled covered cardboard pieces and the balun so they would become (sort of) one unit.
This shows that I was not receiving any channels before installing the antenna.
This is one of the channels I was receiving after installing the antenna. I got a total of 6 digital channels. Unfortunately, all these channels were in Chinese. I think I have to check on an external antenna.
If you live near a fairly large city and not mountainous, you should be able to catch several stations. Where I live is fairly mountainous. Thank you for reading.