IP-003 Should I have a Rotor Outside?
Reader Paul tossed an Internet Pumpkin that he noticed the antennas in my videos had rotors, and wanted to know if it’s worth installing one.
In my opinion it is essential. The major networks are located in one place for a reason; to make it as simple for the viewers as possible to aim antennas. However, ION, PBS, Telemundo, Univision, and the low power stations are in different directions. Since PBS is essential to every household, let’s see how to get them. Being on the Eastern side of Raleigh, I can pick up 3 different PBS transmitters; Chapel Hill, Roanoke Rapids, and Greenville. I have to rotate my antenna in order to get any of them, as they are in three different directions, and the rotor makes it easy. As a kid, one of my jobs was to turn the antenna with a pair of Vice Grips snapped on the mast when we needed to watch a station in a different direction. My Grandad was a huge fan of Jim Crocketts’s Wrestling!
Another option many are trying is to co-phase two antennas in different directions. While it can be successful with analog, it is extremely tricky with digital due to the fact you’ll be increasing the possibility of multipath. The same goes with omni-directional antennas, which I am testing later this month. The key is using highly directional antennas, and mix them together as near the antennas as possible, not on the ground. Run equal length cables from antenna A and B to the combiner around 30″ long, and a single down-lead to the TV. You can then try adjusting the length of one of those cables into the combiner to help phase the two antennas for maximum transfer. It’s easy to tune with the old fashioned twin-lead, but use what you have.
The rotor is only about 70 bucks, and you’ll spend that much on a second antenna, and a lot of headache tweaking two antennas to get it right. The rotor will give you a lot more bang for the buck, and less trouble!
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