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Aluminum Foil On Rabbit Ears Revisited

S

Schroedingers Cat

In the old analog days of TV, many stations broadcast on Physical Channel 2, 54-60 MHz. Each rabbit ear would have to be about 52 inches long to have the best efficiency at 54 MHz. This was too long for most 8 foot ceilings without scraping the ceiling while adjusting them with many portable TV settings. So they usually were several inches shorter, which is less efficient at Channel 2. So people found that putting aluminum foil on the ends of the rabbit ears improved performance. This is another instance of top loading. But if you checked, it probably didn't work better on Channel 4. People on other boards are reporting that a 100 kW Channel 4 analog came in better than a 100 kW Channel 2 analog at the same distance away. This is one reason why 4 came in better than 2 without aluminum foil top loading. The other reason was that the man made electrical noise is greater on 2 than 4, such as vacuum cleaners. Now, very few stations are operating on Physical Channel 2. So if you had no Physical Channel 2s in your area, there would be no benefit.

Now, with digital TV transmission, even though people have indoor TV antennas, ideally away from the TV set, most are still designed for Channels 14 to 36. But even if the indoor antenna gets Channels 7-13 with rabbit ears, you might want o check to see if each rabbit ear on a good indoor antenna (Philips is good) is at least 16 inches long. You might try a proportionately small piece of aluminum foil on each rabbit ear.
 
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radiofan2023 said:
A lot of tv antennas now are flat or round pieces of plastic/composite:
www.cnet.com

Best TV Antenna for Cord-Cutters in 2026

These are the best indoor OTA TV antennas for watching free TV in 2026.
www.cnet.com www.cnet.com

I haven’t seen or used a “rabbit ear” antenna in at least 15 years.
Click to expand...
My 2010-vintage Terk antenna has rabbit ears for VHF. I shorten each element to about 14 inches, which is about 1/4 wavelength at 195 MHz (mid-band on VHF-Hi, and useful for our local Channel 10). The antenna contains a preamp, and I use an FM trap ahead of it, between the antenna and the preamp. It's not as necessary in Mesa, 25 miles away from South Mountain, but in the literal shadow of South Mountain, it was mandatory. It works just fine on the major channels, plus a couple of LPTVs, including CW7 (RF 36).
 
I had a Quantum 1160 with a CM Rotator on a 5 foot tripod on the roof. It had a preamp that fit into an enclosure. I found that when I tried to put a "TV in every room" like Mr. Green in "Pleasant Valley Sunday" (actually a few rooms didn't), the splitter and cable losses even with RG-6 were such that 3 was the maximum without compromising signal quality. So when my family demanded that we have another TV for the exercise area, I had to put a Philips unamplified antenna with the rabbit ears for 7-13, and it was actually less problematic with short cables and no splitters. I mounted the Philips on the top of the entertainment center. Roku and WiFi devices rounded out all but the priciest cable channels.
 
Aluminum foil shouldn't enhance performance, but folk wisdom swears by it, and like Brian Fantana's Sex Panther cologne in Anchorman, 60% of the time, it works every time. I've cheated and used it a handful of times myself (aluminum foil, not the cologne).
 
MarioMania said:
I always though just extend the Antanna for the Best Reception
Click to expand...
Mario, if you want to reach something on your top shelf but your arm only reaches to the shelf below it, whatcha gonna do? The antenna doesn't extend as far as it would have to to get optimal reception, that's the problem.

This is the antenna equivalent of grabbing a stepstool.
 
Weiserguy said:
Mario, if you want to reach something on your top shelf but your arm only reaches to the shelf below it, whatcha gonna do? The antenna doesn't extend as far as it would have to to get optimal reception, that's the problem.

This is the antenna equivalent of grabbing a stepstool.
Click to expand...
Lol

Soo let me try to figure it out in what I can understand

Let's just say I tune to 98.1 on FM, For the Best Reception on a Radio Antenna

1/4 Wavelength at 30 Inches

Does it depends on how much length is the Antenna?
 
MarioMania said:
Lol

Soo let me try to figure it out in what I can understand

Let's just say I tune to 98.1 on FM, For the Best Reception on a Radio Antenna

1/4 Wavelength at 30 Inches

Does it depends on how much length is the Antenna?
Click to expand...
The length of a 1/4 wave vertical, such as the single rod on a portable radio is 2808 / F(MHz), which is about 28 5/8" at 98 MHz. In reality, there is a lot of fudge factor there on the FM band, which is narrow enough to allow approximation of the antenna length. Propagation is little different at 108 than it is at 88 MHz, other than Sporadic-E skip which is normally limited to about 95-100 MHz (but not always; I've used it on the 2 meter ham band, but it's very rare). But for local reception, anything from 26-32 inches is just fine. Moving the antenna around does affect its characteristics.
 
People claim to have watched Sporadic E Skip on TV Channel 7. But troposperic effects CAN go as far as E Skip. If the signal rapidly varies it's Sporadic E. If it is fairly steady, it's tropo. They always used to say that the furthest tropo that has been recorded, on VHF and UHF frequencies, was 2540 miles between California and Hawaii. You need an S meter or field strength meter to see the signal level variations accurately. If there is a lot of AGC compression before the signal is measured, you won't hear the variation. I had a 1962 Magnavox AM FM TV Stereo Theater, with a tuning meter, and very little signal compression from the AGC, and the meter bounced all around on FM BC when a Sporadic E signal was present. It's easier to see on a d'Arsonval meter than a digital readout.
 
radiofan2023 said:
A lot of tv antennas now are flat or round pieces of plastic/composite:
Click to expand...
That's because they weren't designed for VHF. They were made with the thought that digital TV would be (and should be!) exclusively on UHF. As a result, they have poor reception of VHF-High and non-existent reception of VHF-Low.

 
kevtronics said:
That's because they weren't designed for VHF. They were made with the thought that digital TV would be (and should be!) exclusively on UHF. As a result, they have poor reception of VHF-High and non-existent reception of VHF-Low.

Click to expand...
Those little antennas like the one in the preview image are cute in appearance, combined amplifier and rotor, and are somewhat middling performers, not the best, not the worst, but they are fragile and break down after a couple of years out in the weather (especially in South Carolina summer heat). One of them that I bought had the rotor to fail about a year in, I bought a second one after the first one died. Both of them have long since given up the ghost. Those plastic directors are also kind of flimsy. Sending power to the rotor through the coax is an interesting concept.
 
kevtronics said:
That's because they weren't designed for VHF. They were made with the thought that digital TV would be (and should be!) exclusively on UHF. As a result, they have poor reception of VHF-High and non-existent reception of VHF-Low.
Click to expand...
I have one of the amplified flat plastic TV antennas on this page:

RCA Antennas

The RCA AMP1450F digital signal amplifier for indoor antennas add just the right amount of amplification to weak signals. Read more.
www.rcaantennas.net www.rcaantennas.net

It works great for all channels I want to watch, with no pixelating or anything.
 
radiofan2023 said:
I have one of the amplified flat plastic TV antennas on this page:

RCA Antennas

The RCA AMP1450F digital signal amplifier for indoor antennas add just the right amount of amplification to weak signals. Read more.
www.rcaantennas.net www.rcaantennas.net

It works great for all channels I want to watch, with no pixelating or anything.
Click to expand...
This is what I have, from ChannelMaster. WBTV was giving them away several months ago.

FLATenna - Indoor TV Antenna | Channel Master

It works better than I expected. I have wondered if similar technology could be used for a rooftop antenna (same configuration in a sturdy case). I have to think that wind load could be a factor.
 
radiofan2023 said:
I have one of the amplified flat plastic TV antennas on this page:

RCA Antennas

The RCA AMP1450F digital signal amplifier for indoor antennas add just the right amount of amplification to weak signals. Read more.
www.rcaantennas.net www.rcaantennas.net

It works great for all channels I want to watch, with no pixelating or anything.
Click to expand...
Have you checked the actual RF channels they're transmitting on? And how close are you to the transmitters? Even a paper clip can works as a TV antenna, in a strong-signal environment.
 
IM42A said:
This is what I have, from ChannelMaster. WBTV was giving them away several months ago.

FLATenna - Indoor TV Antenna | Channel Master

It works better than I expected. I have wondered if similar technology could be used for a rooftop antenna (same configuration in a sturdy case). I have to think that wind load could be a factor.
Click to expand...
I also have an antenna like that one, but it's called a Mohu Leaf. I haven't set it up here yet to compare it to the RCA one. My parents still have an attic mounted antenna, believe it or not.
 
kevtronics said:
Have you checked the actual RF channels they're transmitting on? And how close are you to the transmitters? Even a paper clip can works as a TV antenna, in a strong-signal environment.
Click to expand...
There aren't any RF channels below RF channel 14 around here. I don't know or care where the transmitters are, since I can get the major network affiliates, plus my Samsung has TVPlus channels/FAST channels.
 
I have rabbit ears on the television in our living room. It works fine with them not being near a window. But then again I live 6 miles away from the Cedar Hill, Texas antenna farm.
 


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