Here is a simple approach that works quite well in many installations. It is a "quick and dirty" vertical center fed dipole antenna that should easily outperform the "T" antenna that your using or even one of those fancy $80 antennas from Fanfare or Magnum. I will give you the basics and you can improvise from there. You will need a section of coax to reach from the point of installation, a 60" piece of wire and some clear 2" packing tape. I would recommend using a LONG length of pre-packaged coax so that you can cut it to length as needed once your done. If you can solder, that would be great, otherwise simple wire wrapping will suffice as long as you make a secure connection. First of all, you need to locate a window that you don't mind leaving closed that faces the direction of the majority of broadcasts that your trying to receive. In other words, a window that faces the nearby City in most cases. Once you've done that, you will need to construct the antenna. You can use either insulated or uninsulated wire, either will work. Start off by cutting two 30" sections of wire. You will need to also strip the end of the coax that your going to use and seperate the center ( hot ) wire from the braid ( ground ). You will need about 1" of exposed wire from each of these, but you have to make sure that the hot wire is still insulated from the braid. If you can solder, attach the center wire to one 30" section at the very end and the braid to the other 30" section of wire at it's very end. Do this as neatly and as sturdily as is possible. If you can't solder, simply twist the wires as mentioned above as best possible without breaking them. You can apply a small amount of tape to hold them together and reinforce them, but DON'T count on the tape to make the connection. Now take the entire length of coax and the wire to the point of installation, the window facing the broadcast center. What we are trying to do here is to situate the antenna as high as is possible while still keeping it away from any metal framing that the window or sill might have. In other words, DON'T mount it off to the side or all the way up against the metal framing if at all possible. Running it down the center of the glass in an open area will give best results. Take the wire that is connected to the center section of the coax ( this is the "hot" wire ) and tape it near the very top of the window running vertically. This means that the "free" end of the wire is near the ceiling with the "connected" draping down towards the floor. Once you have the very tip of the vertical antenna reasonably secured, come down it's length and tape just above the connection to the coax. Keep in mind that you want to keep this straight and pulled reasonably tight. Once this is done, take a small piece of tape from the dispenser and place it nearby. Now you need to secure the bottom section of the antenna, commonly referred to as the "ground plane". This should be strung vertically down the window in the same fashion as the "hot" wire was done so that it looks like a straight line. Make sure that the "hot" wire and the "ground plane" are still isolated from each other but don't try to pull them too hard to keep them seperated. Your connections might pull apart and we don't want that. Now secure the "ground plane" just under the coaxial split with that small piece of tape that you previously set aside. Like you did with the top section, stretch the "ground plane" towards the floor as straight as is possible and secure that section at the tip. Once you are satisfied with the basic installation, run a piece of tape vertically on top of the wire the entire length if at all possible. If part of the ground extends below the bottom of the window and down the wall, that is okay. It is best if it is not right by a power outlet though as that means that there is conduit nearby and it might affect the tuning of the antenna. Once this section of the installation is done, it is up to you to route the coax to the tuner. Obviously taking the shortest path is best but as a matter of convenience and practicality, that might not be possible. You might want to try the antenna out BEFORE doing any type of permanent installation, as it would be a bummer to go through all of this without it giving you the performance that you were looking for. Once your sure that it is working to your satisfaction, route the coax as best possible, cut it to length leaving a bit of slack and then install a new "F" connector. This should do the job for you without having to go on the roof for anything. This basic design gives good omnidirectional coverage but could be affected by all of the conduit or aluminum siding on the house if you have it. This could also be installed outside by securing it to the outside of the building or a nearby tree. Don't run the wires vertically along a metal pipe or mast, as that will drastically alter its performance. Should the connection ever break and you need to shorten the antenna section for some reason, the overall length is not real critical. You would want to stay with something between appr. 28" and 32" for both sections though. Having them exactly the same lengths is not necessary, but they should be close. The shorter length of 28" will favor stations higher on the dial while the longer length of 32" wil favor stations lower on the band. If you listen to specific stations on one extreme or the other, you might want to take this into consideration when doing the initial install. Hope this helps someone out. Should you have problems or questions, hit me with an email. Sean
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