Test Results - JBX21WB vs. ATF-X100

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Test Results - JBX21WB vs. ATF-X100

Results Definition:

XX-XX = Measured signal strength level
0-XX-XX = Signal locks on briefly but keeps dropping out
0-50 = Signal was detected but not able to lock
N/A = No signal detected

Note: Signal level refers to the Dish 6000 indicator which measures the signal quality based on percentage of errors. As long as the indicator stays above 48-50%, the signal will lock. I assume that if you have over 50% errors, the Dish 6000 does not have enough good signal to decode properly. A reading of 100% would indicate no errors in signal. I have found that at 47% I will see pixelation in the picture and below 46% the picture will drop out completely.

Date: 08/05/01

I have built a custom antenna from scratch. I have been testing this antenna for the past three weeks. A one day test is not enough, because of the changes in weather and atmosphere conditions. I conducted the tests below today within a 2 hour window and I got very consistent results.

This new antenna allows everything to be adjustable:
-number and length of reflectors
-number, length, and spacing of director elements
-size and spacing of pickup element
-length of boom
-vertical tilt angle

Right now, I have only experimented with pickup elements. I tried the Blake PCB balun and pickup and four different custom made pickup elements using a standard channel Master balun.

The first test is the Blake JBX21WB. The rest are my custom antennas.

==================================================
ANTENNA= BLAKE JBX21WB
NUMBER OF REFLECTORS= 16
PICKUP ELEMENT LENGTH= 13.75"
BALUN= NEW BLAKE P.C.B.
AMP= CM-7775
MAST HEIGHT= 8'
VERTICAL ANGLE= +10 DEGREE
==================================================
MT. WILSON, LOS ANGELES, DIST= 15.5 MILES
KTLA 31...56-57
KNBC 36...48-51
KCAL 43...N/A
KABC 53...0-50
KCET 59...0-50
KCBS 60...0-48-51
KTTV 65...0-51-56
KCOP 66...0-50
MT. SOLEDAD, SAN DIEGO, DIST= 113 MILES
KGTV 25...87-93
KNSD 40...0-50
KFMB 55...88-90
MT. SAN MIGUEL, SAN DIEGO, DIST= 132 MILES
KSWB 19...68-73
KPBS 30...N/A
TIJUANA, DIST= 138 MILES
XETV 23...81-83

==================================================
ANTENNA= CUSTOM
NUMBER OF REFLECTORS= 16
PICKUP ELEMENT LENGTH= 13.75"
BALUN= BLAKE P.C.B.
AMP= CM-7775
MAST HEIGHT= 8'
VERTICAL ANGLE= +10 DEGREE
==================================================
MT. WILSON, LOS ANGELES, DIST= 15.5 MILES
KTLA 31...59-62
KNBC 36...59-61
KCAL 43...N/A
KABC 53...0-50
KCET 59...0-50
KCBS 60...47-51
KTTV 65...0-50
KCOP 66...N/A
MT. SOLEDAD, SAN DIEGO, DIST= 113 MILES
KGTV 25...87-90
KNSD 40...62-66
KFMB 55...89-90
MT. SAN MIGUEL, SAN DIEGO, DIST= 132 MILES
KSWB 19...73-81
KPBS 30...N/A
TIJUANA, DIST= 138 MILES
XETV 23...77-80

==================================================
ANTENNA= CUSTOM
NUMBER OF REFLECTORS= 16
PICKUP ELEMENT LENGTH= 13.75"
BALUN= CM
AMP= CM-7775
MAST HEIGHT= 8'
VERTICAL ANGLE= +10 DEGREE
==================================================
MT. WILSON, LOS ANGELES, DIST= 15.5 MILES
KTLA 31...64-65
KNBC 36...58-61
KCAL 43...0-50
KABC 53...N/A
KCET 59...0-50
KCBS 60...0-43-60
KTTV 65...0-50
KCOP 66...N/A
MT. SOLEDAD, SAN DIEGO, DIST= 113 MILES
KGTV 25...89-93
KNSD 40...74-75
KFMB 55...78-79
MT. SAN MIGUEL, SAN DIEGO, DIST= 132 MILES
KSWB 19...96-98
KPBS 30...N/A
TIJUANA, DIST= 138 MILES
XETV 23...81-83

==================================================
ANTENNA= CUSTOM
NUMBER OF REFLECTORS= 16
PICKUP ELEMENT LENGTH= 16.5"
BALUN= CM
AMP= CM-7775
MAST HEIGHT= 8'
VERTICAL ANGLE= +10 DEGREE
==================================================
MT. WILSON, LOS ANGELES, DIST= 15.5 MILES
KTLA 31...65-67
KNBC 36...59-61
KCAL 43...0-50
KABC 53...N/A
KCET 59...0-50
KCBS 60...0-50
KTTV 65...0-50
KCOP 66...N/A
MT. SOLEDAD, SAN DIEGO, DIST= 113 MILES
KGTV 25...81-84
KNSD 40...67-73
KFMB 55...79-80
MT. SAN MIGUEL, SAN DIEGO, DIST= 132 MILES
KSWB 19...85-89
KPBS 30...N/A
TIJUANA, DIST= 138 MILES
XETV 23...67-68

==================================================
ANTENNA= CUSTOM
NUMBER OF REFLECTORS= 16
PICKUP ELEMENT LENGTH= 20"
BALUN= CM
AMP= CM-7775
MAST HEIGHT= 8'
VERTICAL ANGLE= +10 DEGREE
==================================================
MT. WILSON, LOS ANGELES, DIST= 15.5 MILES
KTLA 31...59-61
KNBC 36...49-52
KCAL 43...0-50
KABC 53...N/A
KCET 59...0-50
KCBS 60...0-50
KTTV 65...0-50
KCOP 66...N/A
MT. SOLEDAD, SAN DIEGO, DIST= 113 MILES
KGTV 25...81-90
KNSD 40...63-67
KFMB 55...78-79
MT. SAN MIGUEL, SAN DIEGO, DIST= 132 MILES
KSWB 19...80-83
KPBS 30...N/A
TIJUANA, DIST= 138 MILES
XETV 23...90-94

==================================================
ANTENNA= CUSTOM
NUMBER OF REFLECTORS= 16
PICKUP ELEMENT LENGTH= 13.75" BOWTIE SHAPE SHAPE
BALUN= CM
AMP= CM-7775
MAST HEIGHT= 8'
VERTICAL ANGLE= +10 DEGREE
==================================================
MT. WILSON, LOS ANGELES, DIST= 15.5 MILES
KTLA 31...65-68
KNBC 36...63-64
KCAL 43...0-50
KABC 53...N/A
KCET 59...0-50
KCBS 60...49-53
KTTV 65...0-50
KCOP 66...N/A
MT. SOLEDAD, SAN DIEGO, DIST= 113 MILES
KGTV 25...88-93
KNSD 40...63-66
KFMB 55...77-78
MT. SAN MIGUEL, SAN DIEGO, DIST= 132 MILES
KSWB 19...71-77
KPBS 30...N/A
TIJUANA, DIST= 138 MILES
XETV 23...83-86

Conclusion:

The new custom antenna performed better than the Blake overall. The Blake worked a little better on local CBS and FOX, but the custom antenna pulled in NBC and KTLA better from Mt. Wilson. The custom antenna maintained a very good signal lock on the San Diego channels as well as higher strength readings. My guess would be that my custom antenna has a higher gain and less noise, I'm not sure why it is not getting the local FOX channel, but it pulls in FOX from Tijuana very well. The shorter pickup elements (tip to tip) worked better overall.