Day 7: Whistle While You Work

In progress. The magic is in the patterns.

While the kids are at school, I'm doing all sorts of projects and activities around the house, and running errands all over the city. Most of it is costing us a fortune--new running shoes and socks (to match my new high-performance underwear), a trip to the eye doctor for new glasses, some replacement of various critical kitchen components (pans, spatula, um...television).

The completed antenna

The proof: 4 bars on elusive Ch 12

However, one of my associated home projects cost exactly zero, and is truly amazing. We get relatively poor reception to our kitchen TV, and usually maneuver the rabbit ears into an awkward position on the island counter, such that no one can really move from sink to fridge, etc. I stumbled across a web page that describes how you can create your own HDTV antenna using aluminum foil and cardboard, and it works as good or better than an expensive one you might buy. So, I made one. And it's awesome. It looks pretty ugly, but can be easily concealed and doesn't need to be adjusted all the time. The secret, I guess, is in the exact shape and arrangement of the metal--something about log periodic, I think a physics or electrical thing. It now gets great reception and cost nothing. I happened to have a small antenna adapter and spare coaxial cable in the garage. The rest was cardboard, aluminum foil, glue, and a few nuts and bolts. 

Below, a few pics of our fantastic students heading off to school this morning.