Comments on: Various Cantenna builds

By: Bwankya andrew

Bwankya andrew — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 13:46:58 +0000

Hi there,I have one question can a tin cantenna work on a Tv set?

By: Tachikoma

Tachikoma — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 04:41:10 +0000

Nice link, Space. Cheers!

By: space

space — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:03:57 +0000

check out http://yu1aw.ba-karlsruhe.de/vhf_ant.htm

this ham dude is offering complete plans in PDF format for various types of high gain WiFi antennas and feeds for dishes, both on 2.4 and 5.6GHz. there is also an gallery of antennas made by his friends.

By: Wwhat

Wwhat — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:00:48 +0000

Pfft, californian desert, dry air and no obstructions whatsoever and no competing signals either, what does that mean to you and me really? Nice to know for if we ever get banished to a shack 12 miles into the desert I guess :)

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:27:49 +0000

BTW, there was an article in either pop sci or pop mechanics two or three years ago where the dish method was used to successfully transmit and receive a signal over 12 miles in the California desert.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:25:54 +0000

@ arrangemonk, If the lnbf arm is an edge mount then you need to compensate for elevation. The dishes that dish network and directv use don’t actually see the signal coming in directly at the face but from 5 degree’s (might be less or more, just woke up and heads fuzzy still)above. For instance the standard dish that Echostar uses to say pick up signal from 110E would have an elevation of 30 but the signal comes down at an elevation of into the face of the dish at 35 degree’s. Knowing the elevation of your source transmitter will help but you will run into a problem with the elevation settings on the dish assembly not having ticks any lower than say 25 so you will have make your own markings to go lower. Once you have that done and the elevation set to 5 degree’s below that actual elevation of the source you just need to face the dish in the direction of the source and fine tune, the nice thing about these dishes is they have allot of slop built into them to get signal from sats and as such should work well.

By: xrazorwirex

xrazorwirex — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:49:15 +0000

@dstrcto

yeah, the point was they are completely different things and to use the end result instead of a constant isn’t good for measurements since it would be different for each person – it’s like saying “I use 25mpg gas” instead of saying you use premium; it wont be 25mpg for the guy in the F-450…

By: tom mac

tom mac — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:24:38 +0000

Boy, what a diff a little “e” makes :)

Not dealing with a perfect parabolic shape… just make do with the best focal point, some bowls are just shaped better for focus.

Also ,Tx power isn’t changed, but the Effective Radiated Power is.. as it’s power is also directed to a narrower angle ( not omni ).

By: arrangemonk

arrangemonk — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:19:01 +0000

got out an old sat antenna and put my umts stick where the lnb is, and targeted the next umts station, but the signal didnt get better, what did i wrong (does the stick need a can as housing?)

By: dstrcto

dstrcto — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:57:08 +0000

@xrazorwirex

Not to nit-pick, but octane is gasoline’s resistance to detonation due to pressure and has nothing to do with MPG.

I can’t think of a better analogy atm though, sorry.

By: nick

nick — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:23:18 +0000

my comment was not lame, the ghost post was lame.

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:42:34 +0000

I’m a different nick than that guy up there. With the lame comment.

By: Rockzo

Rockzo — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:40:03 +0000

Anyone know where to find info on the scanning cantennas?

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:40:00 +0000

Little tip for everyone. I used to work at the MIT FabLab in Accra, Ghana. For any decent cantenna set up (especially point to point), or for finding the apex of a dish. You have got to get one of those handy green lasers. Attach the laser to one antenna, and a graticule to the other and, presto.

By: nick

nick — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:20:42 +0000

this is an old promising trick for wifi, but how well would it work for cellular phones using a external antenna with no repeater. The external antenna i got is on the roof an i don’t feel like getting up there because its currently raining.