Computer and Antenna

Antenna

I started construction of my HDTV antenna this weekend. I’m following some instruction I found on instructables.com:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Large-DB8-HDTV-Antenna-Big-Bertha/

I thought by doing it myself I would be saving a lot of money, turn out, not so much. Best Buy (probably even cheaper elsewhere) has one that is about the same size as mine for $120. While I expect mine to be much more durable than the one they are selling mine is going to cost me about $95 (not to mention the time). While the durability is nice, I don’t think it is that important since it is going to be in my attic.

I should have it completed by the end of the week.

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Computer

I purchased a computer about a month ago with the idea of using it for this project. I wanted something somewhat inexpensive both in initial cost and to operate (since it is going to be on most of the time). So I bought a Acer Revo 1600. It was only $200 and runs on an atom CPU which requires very little energy to run (think light bulb). The problem is the atom processor is a little underpowered for this job. The computer also has an ION GPU which helps with some tasks (like High Def DVD playback), but it’s just not enough. So for the time being I’ve turned it into a desktop computer for my girlfriend.

So my next attempt at a suitable computer arrives today. It is a dell Zino. I happened to catch this thing when they had a two hour sale and got it for about $170!!!. That’s a stronger CPU than the Revo and includes a DVD drive.

I also bought a Logitech Bluetooth remote (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/keyboards/keyboard/devices/3848&cl=us,en) to control it and a TV tuner (http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=100-U2-IDTV-A1&family=inDtube) to receive the antenna signal.

I organized my media cabinet for the new hardware. It gets a little hot in there so I’ll be adding some ventilation soon.

So here’s what I’ve got into this:

Dell Zino – $185
Logitech DiNovo – $95
EVGA tuner – $35
Antenna  – $95

Total $410 (not counting the $200 on the Revo)

I expect to be ready to do a trial run in January if the antenna gets a good signal.

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