- 1). Cut a piece of 2-by-4 to 41 inches using a hand or power saw.
- 2). Measure 5 inches down the narrow side of the 2-by-4 from the top. Make two marks with the marking pen 1/2 inch in from each side of the 2-by-4. Then make three successive marks at the same indentations from the board's sides every 7 inches from the previous marks. You will have a total of eight marks; these are the screw positions.
- 3). Obtain 10 wire coat hangers from your closet or a laundry. Snip off the curved top of each hanger with the wire cutters. Untwist and straighten all 10 hangers. Cut eight of the hangers to lengths of 14 inches, and bend these hangers at their center to create eight V-shaped wire segments. Make the open space at the top of each V 3 inches long.
- 4). Drill pilot holes at each marked point on the 2-by-4, then attach the screws with washers at each pilot hole. Drive the screws in barely halfway.
- 5). Sand or scrape any paint or insulation on the V-shaped hangers at their bend, so that bare wire contacts each washer. Attach one V-shaped wire beneath each washer/screw combination with the V-shape facing outward. Tighten the eight screws semitight with the Phillips screwdriver.
- 6). Cut the two remaining straightened hanger lengths to approximately 21 inches. Bend each end of these two hangers approximately 90 degrees in the same direction 1/2 inch down each wire end. These two hangers will interconnect four V-shaped hanger segments each and cross at two points themselves.
- 7). Attach the bent wire end to the left top V-hanger position, underneath the metal washer. Securely tighten the screw to hold the wire. Next, attach this hanger to the second and third hangers on the right side. The fourth and final connection is the bottom V-hanger on the left side. Tighten these three screws securely using the Phillips screwdriver.
Repeat these connections with the second straightened hanger, starting at the topmost right hanger position. Connect this wire to the second and third hanger positions on the left side, and bend the wire enough to finish with the fourth wire position on the right side. Tighten all screws securely. These two wires cross at two points; at these crossing points, wrap insulating tape around one wire at each crossing point. - 8). Drill two pilot holes using a 1/8-inch drill bit midway between the second and third wire positions, immediately to the inside of the two lengthwise wires. Attach the UHF/VHF matching transformer with a screw/washer combination, making sure each contact of the matching transformer makes contact with each wire.
- 9). Screw on a 75-ohm coaxial cable, the usual cable for cable TV connections, to the screw-on connector on the matching transformer. Connect the other end of this coaxial cable to the cable/antenna input on your flat-screen TV.
- 10
Tune your TV to the antenna/cable input (or whatever it is called on your TV) to view HDTV over-the-air channels.
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