Gray Hoverman TV Antenna Active Element Jig

This jig makes it easy to form the zigzag active elements needed for every version of the Gray-Hoverman tv antenna, using prepared links of common quarter-inch diameter copper tubing. The time and effort needed to make the jig will pay off in the quality and consistency of the elements produced, and the jig can be used many times if friends or neighbors also want to build their own antennas. My method produces elements that are durable, lightweight, have the desirable sharp corners and have holes for mounting the elements to the antenna's framework. This is one of three Instructables about making the active elements. To see the other two and my related Instructables, click on unclesam in the INFO box to the right, then repeatedly click NEXT to page through them all. To receive automatic notice when I post future Instuctables about my method for assembling the entire outdoor antenna, members can click to subscribe  to me.

Step 1 Materials and Tools

Materials
Base: particle board or plywood, flat, 12 inches by 32 inches, one half to three quarters of an inch thick; edges do not need to be perfectly straight or smooth, nor the corners perfectly square.
Screw Posts: nine 6-32 screws, one and one-half inches long; twenty-seven 6-32 nuts; eighteen number six flat washers.
Tools
Drawing paper 12 inches by 32 inches (Optional) You can also draw directly on the base board, but paper will allow greater precision.
Drawing compass(es), having hard, very sharp pencil lead or dividers having very sharp points; capable of drawing arcs up to 7.07 inches (180 mm) radius, such as Dasco Pro, Inc., Giant Circle 12-inch Beam Compass shown in photo.
Pencil having hard, very fine point
Straight edge, such as yardstick, metal version preferred
Framing square
Ruler, one foot long, divided into tenths of an inch or in millimeters
Drill press
Drill bit nine sixty-fourths (0.140) inches diameter; another bit about half that diameter for pilot holes
Center punch
Screwdriver, for 6-32 screw head
Wrenches, two, for 6-32 nut
Medium-width permanent marker

Comments

[smessud]

Thanks for the ible but could you make the legal story clearer?

Step 2 says "The design (...) and its dimensions are protected under license (by others). This information is offered free for personal use, but no commercial exploitation is permitted.", and step 9 shows us a GNU license.

I believed the GNU license let you free to copy, but you had to distribute under GNU, that is you also could be copied.

What exactly is copyright, is it design, dimensions or the clever tubing element?

Have a nice day.

[unclesam]

smessud, the design of the Gray-Hoverman antenna, including its specific dimensions, is covered by GNU (by others). Further information about that may be found at the links I provide in the final step at digitalhome.ca and to the GNU. I have nothing to do with the design of the antenna.
My innovation is the construction of the antenna's active elements using links of copper tubing by the methods I include in my three Instructables. The dimensions are copyrighted, my method is not. The three Instructables are covered by the Instructables license, as seen on the INFO box to the right. More about that can be found at this website.
Bottom line, if you want to build yourself a Gray-Hoverman antenna, you are allowed to, and if you want to use my method to make the active elements, you may. That is my sole purpose for providing this information. If you have some other use in mind, you should address your questions to either Digitalhome.ca or Instructables.com, whichever applies. My interest is not in the legal issues, it is in sharing how to build things with other like-minded people.
Unclesam