Well that’s unfortunate.
Recently I was visiting with a friend and he showed me a brand new antenna with a broken reflector. It didn’t look as bad as the picture above, but I had to wince as he tried to bend one of the reflector elements back into place. It… kinda worked.
If a single metal rod on your antenna breaks or bends, it’s probably not too big a deal, honestly. The antenna will always work better if it’s completely intact but in most cases the antenna will still work as designed if one bit of it gets bent.
You’ll find that on a lot of modern antennas, there are two vertical panels, angled inward toward the center. These are the reflectors. They take the signals coming at the antenna and focus them toward the back surface. The antenna will naturally receive signals on the surface that’s closest to the towers. Reflecting more signal to the back surface of the antenna will increase the antenna’s sensitivity, usually making it work better. This is a form of passive amplification that has been used for well over 100 years, although it’s become more common lately. Reflectors can be used for UHF or VHF signals, although in most cases they only tend to be seen on the UHF portion of the antenna. In order for VHF reflectors to work, they need to be much bigger and that usually makes them unattractive to customers.
The only reason to try to fix a broken element or reflector is to make it look a little better. A bent bit of metal is going to look unsightly and sloppy. There is a very, very small chance that you’re going to bend it back so perfectly that it will work as well as it did before.
It’s really a better option to just replace the antenna. If you’re saying to yourself, “It’s just one bit” I get you. If you paid a lot for the antenna and don’t want to toss it, I feel your pain. As I said one bit of damage isn’t going to totally ruin it. So why get rid of a perfectly good antenna?
Only you can make the decision.
Once you bend a piece of aluminum you’ve permanently weakened it, unless you have a fancy forming machine at your disposal. That means sooner or later that antenna’s going to fail.
So, you have to make a call and I’d recommend asking yourself if you’re really happy with the antenna. Were you ever happy? Is it too big, too small, too weak? Is it the same one that was found on the house 50 years ago? Maybe it’s time to upgrade and this is just the push you need to do it.
And, if you’ve decided that it’s time to upgrade, the best place to look is SolidSignal.com, where you’ll find hundreds of antennas from all the major manufacturers, as well as free support and all the accessories you need. What are you waiting for? If you’re not sure which antenna to get, call the experts! We’re here at 888-233-7563 during East Coast business hours. If it’s after hours, just fill out the form below. We’ll get right back to you!
The post How do you fix a broken reflector on an antenna? appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
Continue reading...
Recently I was visiting with a friend and he showed me a brand new antenna with a broken reflector. It didn’t look as bad as the picture above, but I had to wince as he tried to bend one of the reflector elements back into place. It… kinda worked.
If a single metal rod on your antenna breaks or bends, it’s probably not too big a deal, honestly. The antenna will always work better if it’s completely intact but in most cases the antenna will still work as designed if one bit of it gets bent.
Real quick: what a reflector does and why you need one
You’ll find that on a lot of modern antennas, there are two vertical panels, angled inward toward the center. These are the reflectors. They take the signals coming at the antenna and focus them toward the back surface. The antenna will naturally receive signals on the surface that’s closest to the towers. Reflecting more signal to the back surface of the antenna will increase the antenna’s sensitivity, usually making it work better. This is a form of passive amplification that has been used for well over 100 years, although it’s become more common lately. Reflectors can be used for UHF or VHF signals, although in most cases they only tend to be seen on the UHF portion of the antenna. In order for VHF reflectors to work, they need to be much bigger and that usually makes them unattractive to customers.
Should you even try to fix a bent reflector?
The only reason to try to fix a broken element or reflector is to make it look a little better. A bent bit of metal is going to look unsightly and sloppy. There is a very, very small chance that you’re going to bend it back so perfectly that it will work as well as it did before.
It’s really a better option to just replace the antenna. If you’re saying to yourself, “It’s just one bit” I get you. If you paid a lot for the antenna and don’t want to toss it, I feel your pain. As I said one bit of damage isn’t going to totally ruin it. So why get rid of a perfectly good antenna?
Only you can make the decision.
A bent element will bend more eventually.
Once you bend a piece of aluminum you’ve permanently weakened it, unless you have a fancy forming machine at your disposal. That means sooner or later that antenna’s going to fail.
So, you have to make a call and I’d recommend asking yourself if you’re really happy with the antenna. Were you ever happy? Is it too big, too small, too weak? Is it the same one that was found on the house 50 years ago? Maybe it’s time to upgrade and this is just the push you need to do it.
And, if you’ve decided that it’s time to upgrade, the best place to look is SolidSignal.com, where you’ll find hundreds of antennas from all the major manufacturers, as well as free support and all the accessories you need. What are you waiting for? If you’re not sure which antenna to get, call the experts! We’re here at 888-233-7563 during East Coast business hours. If it’s after hours, just fill out the form below. We’ll get right back to you!
The post How do you fix a broken reflector on an antenna? appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
Continue reading...
