Mount a Wi. Fi Antenna on a Satellite Dish. Repurpose the Junky Old Dish. Fig. 1 Large (7. 6cm) dish with a biquad antenna. A satellite dish is a powerfull signal booster when used in combination with a Wi. Fi biquad antenna. I see lots of satellite dishes laying in trash when driving. ![]() Grab one next time you see an old dish laying on the sidewalk. I have tried using both smaller Dish Net dishes and larger 7. The larger dish will give you some extra gain but even the small one works really well. How far you can go with this booster? I have tested it up to 2. Netgear router on the other end and it worked flawlessly. The router was using the stock antenna it came with. First disconnect the so called LNBF from the dish . Then mount your biquad antenna in place of the LNBF. Ideally, it should be in the exact same position as this is the focal point of the parabolic dish. Fig. 2 Dish 5. 00 and LNBFFig. Unprotected biquad antenna will corrode outdoors. Fig. 4 This antenna was housed inside an enclosure and it did not corrode. You can mount the “naked” biquad . I tried mounting the antenna directly to the arm of the dish . In addition, an exposed antenna can be easily damaged should the dish lose footing. A better way is to house the antenna in an enclosure and mount it using a support made of PVC electrical conduit pieces . ![]() Dish Net dishes have a chunky LNBF that sits up high. Anything you can do to lift the position of your antenna and make it close to where LNBF sits will help. Fig. 5 Mounting biquad antenna on Dish 5. Make a provision to rotate the antenna 9. The ability to rotate 9. Need a DVR to record over the air broadcast TV from an antenna? We look at Tablo, Channel Master, and more to find the best OTA DVR for those without cable. No, this antenna requires drivers to be installed so it is only compatible with computers with a full operating system such as Windows(2000/XP/Vista/7/8/10), Mac OSX. This Works ONLY when your PC is DIY Parabolic Reflector. I swear I was fixing to go to buy a $30 antenna from the store for my wireless router, when I suddenly snapped out of my dull torpor. Fig. 6 Biquad antenna polarization. Fig. 7 Dish 5. 00 fitted with Wi. Fi antenna looking down. All satellite dishes are designed to point up to the sky. Even when the dish is seemingly 9. To properly aim the beam you will need to point the dish down . Using a free tool like Netstumbler is a good way to aim your dish properly. Once you lock the maximum signal tighten the screws on the dish and rotate the antenna 9. One of the two polarization positions will give you stronger reception. Securing the dish with bricks like I’m doing in this picture is a very bad idea. Winds can easily knock the dish down or lift it off your roof. Crane’s core mission is to improve weak signals. In most cases, we can boost a weak unreliable WiFi signal to usable strength and reliability. Use something heavy to hold the dish down while locating a good spot to place it. Once you find the spot mount the dish permanently with heavy screws. Keep in mind that RF cable attenuates high frequency signal a lot. Keep the cable run at the absolute minimum or else all the signal gain of the antenna will be devoured by the cable. If you don’t have a proper Wi. Fi directional antenna, you could try mounting a USB wireless adapter on the dish instead. Finally, there may be regulations determining maximum signal strength for 2. GHz frequency in your country.
In the United States FCC regulates such matters. It is not likely that FCC would take any action unless they receive interference complaints from people or business in your signal path. Also, this setup is fairly limited and without powerfull amplification you will probably not bother anyone. The Best OTA DVR for your Antenna. If you discover that much of the content you watch is over the air, then you may want to purchase an OTA DVR. Together, we’ll figure out which over the air DVR is right for you. We’ll even examine if you can get by without purchasing a DVR. Contents: DVR Options. There are a few things to consider when deciding which OTA DVR to buy. The most important of which is the DVR guide. In order to schedule show recordings, the DVR requires a means of knowing what times your favorite shows air. Cable subscribers already have a TV guide with their cable subscription. However, we are using a DVR without cable. So we will either have to pay a monthly or one time fee for a DVR guide. Don’t worry though, considering that cable providers charge about $2. DVR service, we will still be saving a sizeable amount of money using our own OTA DVR. Aside from the DVR guide there are other options to consider when purchasing an OTA DVR. They are: Can the DVR stream to multiple TVs? Does the DVR support Wi- Fi? Do I need a DVR that can stream to a mobile device? Does the DVR require a TV streaming device to watch recorded shows? How many shows can I record at once? Does the DVR require external storage? So lets get started by taking a look at my top pick OTA DVR. Best OTA DVR For New Cord Cutters. As of May 2nd 2. 01. TV has removed it’s monthly subscription fee and added more storage to the device bringing it to 1 TB. The company that brought us the DVR is my top recommendation for those that want to record over the air television and prefer an all in one device. The strength of the Ti. Vo is it allows you use a single device to meet your DVR and content streaming needs. It’s a one stop cord cutting device. This makes it the perfect device for those new to cutting the cord. With Ti. Vo Roamio OTA you can record and playback shows just like any DVR you’ve had with a cable or satellite TV provider. Ti. Vo provides a TV guide that allows for easy series recording. Additionally, Ti. Vo Roamio OTA includes Apps for Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, and Netflix, allowing you to substitute the Roamio for set top streaming devices like Roku, Apple TV, and Chromecast. Is there a DVR guide fee? No, there is no longer a monthly fee. Do I need to own a streaming device with Ti. Vo Roamio OTA? No and Roamio OTA includes Apps for Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, and Netflix, allowing you to substitute the Roamio for set top streaming devices like Roku, Apple TV, and Chromecast. Does Ti. Vo Roamio OTA support Wi- Fi? Yes. How many shows can Ti. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Vo Roamio OTA record at once? Ti. Vo Roamio OTA can record up to 4 shows at once. Can multiple devices view recordings simultaneously? Yes, but with an added device. For each extra TV, a Ti. Vo Mini will be needed to watch recorded devices. Note that the Ti. Vo Mini requires an Ethernet connection to operate. You can also watch recorded shows on an Amazon Fire TV or Apple TV if you have the Ti. Vo Stream device. The Ti. Vo Stream will allow you to download live and recorded TV to i. OS and Android. It will also allow you to watch your recorded shows on an Amazon Fire. However, be aware that the Ti. Vo Stream must be connected to the Ti. Vo with a wired Ethernet connection. Does Ti. Vo Roamio OTA require external storage? No. Ti. Vo Roamio OTA has an internal 1. TB hard drive. Total Cost of Ti. Vo Roamio OTAThe TV Roamio costs $3. However, if you want the privilege of streaming to a mobile device, even within your home network, you need to pay an additional $1. Ti. Vo Stream. Furthermore you are currently tied to using the Ti. Vo app that’s only available on Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV. Otherwise you will need a Ti. Vo Mini on each TV. If you use Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV, this may be a feasible solution for multi- room functionality. However, if you have to use the Ti. Vo Mini device, then the costs can add up quickly depending on how many TVs you want to add the DVR functionality to. Still, considering multi- room DRV functionality can run between $2. Ti. Vo Roamio pays for itself fairly quickly. If Ti. Vo isn’t workable as a multi- room solution for you, then you may want to look at the Tablo DVR which excels at multi- room DVR function . However, if you want an ultimate replacement to the traditional cable TV DVR service, then look no further than the Ti. Vo Roamio OTA. Why Not the Ti. Vo Bolt. I’ve been getting a lot of questions as to why I don’t prefer the Ti. Vo Bolt to the Roamio as an OTA DVR. While the Bolt offers some advantages over the Ti. Vo Roamio OTA, I feel the Roamio OTA provides better value for cord cutters. The Roamio requires the purchase of Ti. Vo Stream device for that capability. The Bolt has GB Ethernet, where the Roamio offers 1. MB Ethernet. While I’ll agree that there is better functionality with the Bolt, the fact that it costs more than double the Roamio makes it a poor value for cord cutters. While both Ti. Vo devices can stream, I recommend using a device built for streaming to accomplish that function. A Roku device will provide better streaming functionality than a Ti. Vo device. Streaming video is Roku’s primary focus, where the Ti. Vo is a DVR that can stream. This renders the 4. K video less of a perk, as OTA signals will most likely never go to 4. K video. The 1. 00 MB Ethernet offered by the Roamio is more than adequate for the DVR functionality. Furthermore, the added RAM and Processing speed is mainly a benefit to those using streaming apps. Since I recommend an OTT streaming device for that, yet another benefit of the Bolt is inconsequential. That said, there isn’t a noticeable difference in the devices when it comes to using the streaming apps. If you want to use i. OS or Android devices, then the Roamio can accomplish this with the Ti. Vo Stream for an additional $1. That’s still $3. 00 cheaper than the Bolt. The only benefit the Bolt offers that actually matters for cord cutters is the 8. Wi. Fi, and that’s hardly enough to recommend the Bolt over the Roamio given the massive difference in price. Best Multi- room DVRNext to the Ti. Vo Roamio, the Tablo OTA DVR is my favorite DVR, but its most impressive quality is it’s multi- room capabilities. The device connects to your network as opposed to your TV. This allows easy access to your Tablo from any device on the network. Tablo doesn’t require a subscription to their DVR guide, but if you do want the guide, they offer both a recurring subscription or a one- time payment. They support every major streaming device and there is functionality from third party products like Plex. There is even a function called Tablo Connect that works like Slingbox, allowing you to access the recorded programs while you’re away from home through the internet, Wi- Fi, or cellular data connection. While it’s a bit more complicated than the Ti. Vo it is easily integrated with other cord cutting tech you may have in your home. This makes it a better choice for techies. Tablo offers 2 versions of its over the air DVR, a 2 tuner version for $2. However, Amazon sells the Tablo DVR at quite a discount. Is there a DVR guide fee? The Tablo DVR can be used without a subscription. When purchasing a Tablo DVR you are provided a free 3. After the 3. 0 day trial you can opt to not use the guide or purchase a guide subscription. You can purchase a lifetime subscription for $1. Otherwise you can purchase a $4. Do I need to own a streaming device with Tablo DVR? If you’d like to watch recorded shows on your TV, you will need a streaming device. Tablo will work with Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV or a Chromecast dongle (casting from an Android device or Chrome browser). Apple TV 4th Generation supports a Tablo App. However, previous versions of Apple TV will have to use Air Play. You can also use the Tablo web app on your PC or laptop and hook your computer to the TV with an HDMI cable. Does the DVR support Wi- Fi? Tablo DVRs support both Ethernet and Wi- Fi 8. Ghz. How many shows can the Tablo OTA DVR record at once? The Tablo 2- Tuner OTA DVR can record 2 shows at once while the Tablo 4- Tuner OTA DVR can record 4 shows at the same time. How many devices can view recordings simultaneously? Shows recorded by the Tablo DVR can be watched on up to 6 devices at the same time. Does the Tablo DVR stream to mobile devices? Not only does Tablo DVR support mobile devices, but with Tablo Connect you can access your recordings from anywhere in the world. Tablo offers apps for i. OS, and Android devices. You will need to have external storage for recording shows. Tablo supplies two USB ports for external hard drives. I recommend this Seagate 2. TB external drive. Total Cost of Tablo OTA DVRWhile could spring for the 4 tuner DVR, I think the 2- tuner is sufficient. The only required cost aside from the device would be external storage. It’s easy enough to find a 1. TB external hard drive for about $6. Therefore, the minimum cost of a Tablo OTA DVR is about $2. If you decide to use the guide I recommend the lifetime subscription priced at $1. That would bring the total cost to $4. Considering the monthly cost of cable TV DVR service, the Tablo OTA DVR pays for itself in the second year of owning the device. Cheapest OTA DVRFor those looking for a bare bones solution to record OTA TV the Mediasonic Home. Worx PVR is just that. This DVR doesn’t even need an internet connection. In fact, there isn’t even a way to connect it to the Internet. It’s just the essentials. The box is a digital tuner that records your over the air signal. With that said, there isn’t any real guide data Therefore, you can’t actually set a TV show to record by name. Instead, you have to set the Home. Worx PVR to record a certain channel at a certain time. It isn’t pretty, but it works. As far as storage is concerned, you can use an external hard drive or even a thumb drive. The device will support up to a 2 TB external hard drive via it’s USB port. It can connect to your TV via HDMI, coaxial, or component Video. This DVR isn’t much, but for under $3. OTA TV on a budget. DVR without a Subscription.
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