Hi,

In Canada all the over the air channels have now gone digital and I need a
UHF antenna to pick up the local channels.  Where I live the two main
transmitters are roughly 180 deg. apart so I need something that will
receive equally in both directions as I don't want the hassle of turning th=
e
antenna while I switch stations.  This is also going to be an indoor antenn=
a
on my 3rd floor.

Currently I'm using rabbit ears set up as a straight dipole and collapsed a
bit from full length to maximize signal strength.  It works OK but a few of
the stations are breaking up a bit so I need something with a bit more gain=
..

It looks like the bow tie types of antennas are easy to build and I'm
looking at a two-bay design with whiskers of 9" length, spaced at 8.5" with
the feed lines spaced at 1.25".  Basically the center section of
http://m4antenna.eastmasonvilleweather.com/Drawings/PDF%20Drawings.html
this design.

The question has to do with the size of the wire.  From the little that I
know about antennas is that size matters.  It is supposed to be 1/8".  What
I have is #14 gauge (1/16") that I have wound together to increase size and
rigidity.

Will the twisted nature of the wire and the fact that it is not solid 1/8"
affect the performance of the antenna?

Thanks,

Gordon Williams


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