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Old 09-19-2012, 01:08 PM
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Jeffhs Jeffhs is offline
<----Zenith C845
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Fairport Harbor, Ohio (near Lake Erie)
Posts: 4,035
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ed in Tx View Post
Been on the lookout for old TVantennas in the neighborhood. Not much left anymore, but I do notice quite a few of the remaining Log Periodic and Yagi antennas pointing exactly 180° backwards, with the big end toward the stations. Oops.
Many people made that mistake with LPV antennas, thinking the large end of the antenna shaped like an arrow is the end to orient to the stations' towers. Of course, as you said, this is exactly 180 degrees opposite of where the antenna should be oriented. I remember reading in an old electronics magazine (I forget which one) the story of a TV repairman who made a house call for a TV that wasn't getting reception from any of the local stations. The technician found the problem in five minutes; the large roof-mounted log-periodic all-channel antenna had been installed with the large end pointed at the towers -- of course, exactly 180 degrees away from where it should have pointed. He mentioned this to the set owner, who answered (in paraphrase), "I always thought these new TV antennas were supposed to be installed with the large end pointing at whatever you were trying to catch."

BTW, I know what you mean about old rooftop TV antennas disappearing. I live in a very small town (population appoximately 3250) in which most of the homes and apartment buildings (including the apartment building in which I live) have done away with antennas, and are now either wired for cable or satellite TV. (My building has cable.)

There are very few outdoor television antennas to be found in this town, and those that are still standing are falling apart. There is one house down the street from me that has an all-channel TV antenna which is falling apart by degrees. It has already lost the first two elements, and the ones behind it are so loose that one of them flaps in the wind. I expect that element to blow off entirely in the first big wind or snow storm this winter (I live near Lake Erie, so we get very fierce winds right off the lake every year; that antenna likely will blow apart very soon, the way it's going now).
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Collecting, restoring and enjoying vintage Zenith radios since 2002

Zenith. Gone, but not forgotten.

Last edited by Jeffhs; 09-19-2012 at 01:28 PM.
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