If you suddenly need a television antenna while staying at the dacha or on vacation, and you don’t have a factory model at hand, you can do without your favorite TV programs, but it’s much more interesting and faster to make such a device yourself. It can be made to receive certain channels in the meter or decimeter range. Next, we will look at how to make a TV antenna with your own hands in several ways, from which you can choose the most suitable one for yourself.

A fairly simple version of an indoor antenna that can easily be implemented at home in a short period of time. Designed to receive television channels broadcast in the UHF range. To make it, you will need a piece of coaxial cable, plywood or other sheet material as a base, electrical tape for fixing, a knife and a soldering iron.

Rice. 1: Coaxial cable antenna

• Take a piece of coaxial cable 0.53 m long and bend it into a ring shape (1) with open edges and fix it in this shape on a sheet of plywood;
• From the same cable, cut a piece 0.175 m long for the loop (2) and connect as shown in the figure.
• Connect the cable (3), at the other end of which install a connector for connecting to the TV.

The simplest antenna is ready, but it may not be enough to receive the signal, so you will need an active amplification unit. Or make a more complex figure-eight model.

Figure-of-eight antenna

A fairly simple version of a homemade antenna, it can be assembled within a few minutes. To do this, you will need any cardboard box, in this case you will use a shoe box, a plug, a utility knife, a soldering iron, tape, foil and glue.

The manufacturing process consists of sequentially performing the following steps:

• Open the box and clean the inner surface of accumulated dust and debris; if there is none, you can immediately proceed to pasting.
• Apply a thin layer of glue to the bottom of the box; it is important that it does not change the geometric parameters of the foil located on it. Cover the bottom with foil - it will act as a signal reflector.
  Rice. 2. Cover the bottom of the box with foil
• Close the box and seal it with tape so that it cannot open spontaneously.
• Place two pieces of cable on the cover in the shape of a figure eight, the sides of which are secured with tape.
  Rice. 3: make a figure eight and secure with tape
• In the middle of the figure eight, strip the cable and make two leads from the metal braid to connect the antenna.
  Rice. 4: in the middle of the figure eight, trim the ends
• Cut a piece of conductor to connect the antenna to the TV; its length is selected in accordance with the distance from the installation site to the TV or.
• Strip one end of the connecting cord under the connector, strip the other in such a way as to assemble the lead from the screen and the lead from the central core through 1 - 2 cm of insulation.
  Rice. 5: Strip the cable
• Connect the cable leads to the figure eight pins as shown in the figure.
  Rice. 6: Connect the cable leads to the figure eight pins

Connect the TV connector to the second end and connect to the TV.

The G8 antenna is ready for use; today it will be an excellent replacement for satellite television, since the picture of a digital signal is in no way inferior to it.

Double and triple square

Unlike the previous version, assembling an antenna in the shape of a double and triple square will require significantly more effort. But such a device will allow you to receive even weak television signals, the main thing is to ensure precise orientation to the repeater. At the same time, the quality does not depend on the distance to the source; the main thing is to maintain the overall dimensions. To make it you will need: metal tubes (copper, brass, aluminum) or rods, a dielectric rod, a wooden base for the supporting structure, connecting wires.

Depending on the diameter of the tubes, the antenna will be able to receive a different number of channels in a certain frequency range:

• 10 – 20mm is suitable for reception in the meter range, can catch from 1 to 5 channels.
• 8 – 15mm is suitable for reception in the meter range, can catch from 6 to 12 channels.
• 3 – 6mm is suitable for channels in the decimeter range.

As you can see in the figure, structurally, a double and triple square consists of two and three frames of regular shape, differing in size. Depending on the overall dimensions, the received wavelength will also change.

For a triple square, the dimensions are shown in the table below

Table: dependence of dimensions on the received wave of the meter range, mm

Table: dependence of dimensions on the received wave of the decimeter range, mm

The short-circuited bridge shown in the figure is designed to connect a symmetrical frame to an asymmetrical cable and acts as a matching block.

The manufacturing process consists of the following stages:

1. Bend the tube into squares according to the dimensions given;
2. Connect them at the top with an arrow made of conductive material, and at the bottom with an arrow made of dielectric material;
3. Install the outdoor antenna on a wooden base;
4. Cut the cable and separate the braid into a separate terminal;
5. Connect the cable to the antenna, and plug the other end under the antenna plug to transmit television broadcasts to the TV.

The antenna is ready, this option is suitable for outdoor placement, so it is best to install it on the roof or a free-standing support.

From metal cans

If you can find a couple of straight beer cans made of tin or aluminum at home, then you have the opportunity to quickly assemble a good TV receiver. To do this, you need to take two cans of the largest possible volume, a good result will be achieved with a volume of 1 liter, but if they are not available, then 0.5 liters will do, a screwdriver or screwdriver with a pair of screws, a soldering iron, tape, a television cable, a dielectric base material (in this case, a wooden trempel is used).

The process of making an antenna from metal cans consists of the following steps:

Make loops for connection at the terminal of the braid and core.

After installation, you should configure the channels by changing the distance between the banks. The optimal position is selected based on the quality of the signal on the TV. Such an antenna will receive about seven analog TV channels.

In the form of a frame

To make such an antenna you will need aluminum plates, a metal mesh for making a reflector (from a barbecue, for plaster, etc.), bolts with nuts or rivets for fixing frame parts, a cable with a plug for connecting to an indoor TV, a drill, a screwdriver and pliers.

The antenna manufacturing process is as follows:

• Cut the aluminum strips to the required size and drill holes at the ends for bolt connections.
• Assemble the frame as shown in the figure above, the joints are overlapped. To prevent oxidation of these points, it is advisable to cover them with paint or varnish.
• Connect a television cable with an antenna connector to points A and B on the antenna.
• Attach the frame to the reflector, most importantly, pay attention that the latter does not short-circuit the electrical circuit of the antenna itself.
• Install it on the mast and place it in the designated place.

If the signal turns out to be weak, you can get a more powerful antenna by connecting it to the circuit.

Butterfly shaped

Another version of an all-wave antenna, which allows you to receive a fairly large number of channels in good quality. Due to this, its work can replace the use, but the manufacturing process also requires utmost attention, accuracy and time. Structurally, it will consist of a wooden board and several pieces of copper wire with a 4mm core, bent in the shape of butterfly wings, which is where the name of the model comes from. Initially, you need to mark the location of the holes on the board and drill them according to the diagram:

The broadband antenna is ready for use; you can install it in the most suitable place in the room for receiving television signals.

Kharchenko zigzag antenna

This antenna option is designed for broadcasting digital television, which is carried out in the decimeter range. The main advantage is that there is either a digital signal or there is no signal at all, so the image is of fairly high quality.

Structurally, Kharchenko antennas consist of two rhombuses, which are made of conductive materials. Copper or aluminum wire, rod, angle or tire are suitable for them. A schematic representation of a zigzag antenna is shown in the figure below.

In this case, the dimensions must be calculated based on the wavelength. To receive digital broadcasting, the wavelength is divided by 4 - this will be the dimension B1, and to configure the antenna for a wider range, side B2 needs to be made 1 cm smaller than B1, for example, in the ratio of 12.5 and 11.5 cm. You can use pliers, a vice, or a hammer to bend copper wire. There is a reflector on the back of the antenna for better TV signal reception, but this modification was relevant for analogue television; it is not necessary to install it in digital TV.

In addition to the wire to make the device, you will need a television cable, a frame for placing the receiver, insulating materials, and a plug for connection. From the tools, take an abrasive wheel or sandpaper, a soldering iron.

The manufacturing process includes the following steps:

• Prepare the wire of the required length, in this case 112mm is used; if you use other sizes, you should not forget about the reserve for the bend points.
• Bend the wire antenna as shown in the diagram, maintaining 90º angles and making a smooth turn at the bend points.
  Rice. 16: bend the wire
• To connect the ends, make grooves and connect with thin wire or make two loops and connect them together, for better contact and to prevent oxidation, tin them. If there is varnish on the conductor, it should be removed before tinning.
  Rice. 17: Tin the ends
• Repeat the same procedure on the opposite side to create a second contact. The distance between them should be about 2cm.
• Strip the coaxial cable on both sides - one for connecting to the antenna, the other for entering the signal into the receiver. For the antenna, you need to remove 3–5 cm of outer insulation and assemble the multi-wire braid into a separate terminal. For a TV, strip about 1 - 2cm and solder to the plug.
• Place the antenna on the base and solder the cable to it.
  Rice. 18: Connect the cable to the terminals
• To protect against atmospheric influences and provide additional rigidity, the soldering area is treated with hot-melt adhesive.
  Rice. 19: treat the soldering area with hot glue

The antenna is ready for connection to a TV; if all the requirements specified by the designer are met, you will receive an excellent version of the device, the parameters of which are not inferior to the factory models.

Video ideas

Antenna is a device for receiving or transmitting radio waves. For a TV, an antenna is necessary to receive analog television signals and digital data streams. There are situations in life when it is urgently necessary to find out information from television outside of urban conditions. For example, in a village or in a country house. Or you just want to save money on buying an antenna so you can save it for more important things.

For such cases, we suggest that you assemble the antenna at home with your own hands. This will only take an hour and a half of your personal time and will require simple, practically available materials.

Required Components

You may ask: what do you need to make your own antenna? First, it’s worth listing the main materials:

• Wire, preferably aluminum or copper, is the basis of our antenna. Any other conductive material can be used;
• Coaxial cable - for connecting to the TV;
• Connector for connecting to a TV;
• Nails or screws - antenna mount;
• Soldering iron with flux for soldering copper/aluminum (depending on the wire material).

Now let's talk about additional, optional components:

• You can use a distribution box for wires or a jar lid as a housing;
• Additional insulation for wires - recommended if you are hanging the antenna outdoors.

Create an antenna

First, look at the photo of a homemade antenna - it consists of two squares with corners touching each other. To calculate the dimensions of your antenna, you need a Kharchenko antenna calculator.

In the “Frequency” box, enter the average frequency in the channel reception range (it depends on the type of signal and your region, usually 690 MHz for digital and 470 MHz for analog TV). The results will appear: you need the number L1 - this is the length of the outer side of the square.

Cut a section of wire approximately 1 meter long, measure 4 pieces in a row on it, corresponding to the L1 value. Bend a double square according to the marks, cut off the extra piece of wire.

Strip the ends of the wire and solder them together with solder and flux. Strip and solder the wire to the antenna. For reliability, you can solder the wire to the plug. Additionally, wrap the soldering areas with electrical tape or fill them with sealant.

Additionally, install the housing, make grooves for the antenna in it, and fill it with glue or sealant. You can hang the antenna on a self-tapping screw or nail. Connect the cable on the other side to the plug.

Ready! Now you know how to make an antenna for digital or analog TV with your own hands. You can enjoy watching your favorite TV shows!

Antenna made from a tin can

For those who found the method presented above complicated, we offer a simpler solution.

You will need simpler materials and much less time (about half an hour). This antenna, which is much easier to make with your own hands, is well suited as an indoor antenna.

You will need:

• At least two tin cans (beer or carbonated drinks);
• Wooden slats - for the antenna holder, you can take another one for the vertical mast;
• Coaxial cable;
• Plug for connecting to a TV;
• Tools and fastening: screwdriver, self-tapping screws and electrical tape/adhesive tape;
• If you have the above materials, you can safely get to work:
• Rinse and dry the jars;
• Screw the cans to the rail using tape or tape, the distance between them should be approximately 7.5 cm;
• Clean the coaxial cable: you should have two conductors;
• Attach the conductors to the can: screw the conductors to the screws, screw the screws themselves to the can, having first cleared the surface of the can of paint. If you have the skill, you can solder the conductors to the tin;
• Attach the cable to the rail with electrical tape;
• You can use several slats with banks at the same time, installing them on a common mast at a short distance from each other;
• Install the resulting antenna at your discretion;
• Connect the cable from the other end to the plug;
• You can search for channels!

Now that you know how to make your own antenna, you can access the TV signal in any situation and anywhere.

Photos of antennas with your own hands

Humanity lives in the digital age. Television is switching to digital signal transmission. The peculiarity of digital broadcasting is that it is conducted in the decimeter range.

Transmitting stations have low power of the transmitted encoded signal. Therefore, to receive the signal and display the image on televisions that are remote from the station, a receiving digital antenna is required. If you don’t know how to make an antenna for a TV, then the answer is simple: you can assemble it with your own hands from scrap materials in literally one hour.

Types of receiving antennas

To reliably receive a signal from a television tower, there are many different television antennas. They differ in shape and range of receiving frequencies.

Antennas can be divided into several main types:

Currently, the vast majority of television signals are transmitted using digital coding. Broadcasting is carried out in the UHF range. The format of such transmission is called DVB - T2.

Theoretically, this signal can be received on some old universal antennas, which is what marketers took advantage of, calling them DVB - T. In order to distinguish the new narrow-profile decimeter antennas from the old classic ones, the number “2” was added at the end of the abbreviation.

Digital TV Basics

Television transmitters transmit digital signals over relatively short distances. The transmission range does not exceed sixty kilometers and is limited by the line of sight of the emitter from the television tower.

For these distances, a low-power signal is sufficient. But the design of signal-receiving antennas must meet certain requirements:

The digital signal has its own unique feature. You can either catch him or you can't. He has no middle position.

If a digital signal is one and a half decibels higher than noise, then its reception is always high-quality. The signal may disappear if the cable is damaged or the phase is distorted in the transmitted section. In this case, even if the signal is strong, the image breaks up into small squares.

In order to catch UHF broadcasts, an appropriate antenna is required. According to theory, any antenna will do, but in practice there are nuances.

There are several types of antennas for DMV reception offered by manufacturers:

It’s not at all difficult to make your own antenna for digital TV.

Assembling antennas at home

The shape of the bends should be as smooth as possible. Basic phase distortion appear due to dips and sudden emissions.

Homemade digital antennas are frequency independent. They do not have the best characteristics, but are easy to assemble and require little time and money for construction. Suitable for working in noise-free air at a short distance to the repeater.

Reception of signal to beer cans

You can construct a simple all-wave antenna from ordinary beer cans. Of course, it is inferior to industrial designs and is not always able to provide a stable signal, but it serves its purpose well. This device receives at least fifteen channels as a minimum.

To assemble this structure, you will need:

After washing and drying the metal cans, DVB - T2, you can begin to assemble the antenna.

Carefully, so as not to deform, pierce the hole in the upper parts of both cans. A screwdriver is suitable for this procedure. With its help, self-tapping screws are screwed into the prepared holes.

Then take one end of the cable RK75 and at a distance of ten to twelve centimeters, using a knife, it is cleared from the upper shell. In this case, the copper braid should not be damaged. The braid is twisted into a pigtail. The aluminum screen is removed.

Then the polyethylene shell is cut off by six to seven centimeters and the central core is exposed.

The resulting pigtail and central core are screwed to the self-tapping screws. If you have a soldering iron and the skills to use it, then it is best to solder parts of the wire to the cans.

The cans are secured sequentially, using tape, along a plywood board or other base that is at hand. The distance between the banks should be seven and a half centimeters.

To complete the work, a plug is attached to the second end of the cable.

To do this, the end of the cable is stripped and the central core is passed through the hole in one of the plug halves. The cable braid is attached to the plug body. One half is screwed onto the other and as a result we get a plug , ready to go.

All that remains is to connect it to the antenna input of the TV and place the antenna in the right place where the quality of the received signal will be good.

If the created structure is placed outdoors in the open air, it is necessary to protect the device from moisture and dampness. For these purposes, you can use plastic bottles in which the bottom and necks are cut off. The metal parts of the antenna are located inside them.

The resulting model is easy to “customize” by rotating it in space and simply moving around the apartment, balcony or summer cottage.

Zigzag antenna Kharchenko

This zigzag broadband design was invented by engineer K.P. Kharchenko in 1961. It was perfect for receiving a digital signal and received wide, well-deserved recognition. People call it the “eight” and the complete assembly looks like two diamonds, located one above the other.

When making a figure eight you will need:

• Copper wire with a diameter of 3-5 millimeters.
• Coaxial antenna cable 3-5 meters long and 75 Ohm resistance.
• Soldering iron with solder.
• Scotch tape or tape.
• Plug.
• Bolts for assembly.
• Base: sheet of plywood or plastic.

At the first stage, we assemble the antenna frame. We take a wire 109 centimeters long and bend it into a frame. The frame has the shape of two consecutive rhombuses with sides equal to thirteen and a half centimeters. One centimeter will remain. A loop is made from it that holds the wire together. The ends of the frame are soldered to each other and it thus turns into a closed circuit.

After this, the coaxial cable is stripped. The cable screen is rolled into a tight rod and soldered to the frame wire at the point where the diamonds meet. The central cable rod is also soldered in the central part of the frame. The core and braid should not touch each other.

The second end of the cable is connected to the plug. The plug at the soldering points is first wiped with alcohol and treated with sandpaper. The monocore is soldered to the central output of the plug, and the twisted braid is soldered to the side.

If the frame will be used outdoors, the future plywood base can be painted or varnished. Soldering points can be wrapped with tape or tape. But this is not the best option, since the adhesive tape may unravel over time. If you put plastic tubes of a suitable diameter on the wire before soldering, then at the end of the work the tubes are pulled over the soldered areas and reliably protect the frame. After which the frame is installed on the prepared base.

The digital antenna is assembled with your own hands and is ready for use.

If desired, you can assemble an antenna tuned to a specific wavelength. To do this, you need to calculate the length of the square. This is not difficult: the wavelength of the desired signal is divided by four. The result is the desired length of the frame diamond.

The simplest cable antenna

It requires one television cable with a resistance of 75 Ohms. The required cable length is calculated based on the required digital broadcast frequency. Its value in megahertz is divided by 7500 and the resulting amount is rounded.

The resulting value is the desired cable length.

After this, one end of the cable is cleared of external insulation and inserted into the antenna connector of the TV. A mark is made on the cable from two centimeters after the connector.

It is from this mark that the required cable length is measured. Use pliers to pinch off the excess part.

After this, you need to return to the mark on the cable. Only the insulated rod is left in this place, and the outer braid is removed. The cleaned part is bent at an angle of ninety degrees.

All is ready. The TV can be tuned with a new antenna.

Installation safety precautions

For reliable operation of such antennas, it is necessary to place them above the ground at a level of 7-10 meters. Therefore, during installation it is necessary to strictly observe safety regulations:

• Do not install the structure in heavy rain or heavy fog.
• It is not advisable to go upstairs alone, especially in icy, cold, or snowy conditions.
• If it is necessary to climb a shaky structure or high-altitude work is carried out in dangerous places, then a fixed mounting belt is required.

After proper installation, homemade antennas work no worse than factory ones, with significant budget savings.

Making your own antenna is a good idea. You don’t have to spend money on buying a finished product, and you don’t want to attract intruders with a beautiful dish or a high-quality radio installation.

If you have a private house or a summer cottage with a small garage, you can make your own television antenna in literally 20-30 minutes. TV is not only a source of information, but also a special atmosphere of comfort and homeliness.

A television antenna is a device specifically designed for receiving broadcast television signals that are transmitted at frequencies from 41 to 250 MHz in the VHF range, and from 470 to 960 MHz in the UHF group.

There are two types of television antennas:

• Internal – located on top or next to the TV;
• External - installed on the roof or attic of the house.

Outdoor antennas are more complex to manufacture and install, but such devices are necessary for adequate reception in peripheral areas remote from television stations.

Antenna devices are also divided into:

• Active, which are complemented by an amplifier and require connection to an electrical power source;
• Passive, which amplify the signal only due to design features.

An outdoor TV antenna is a high input power device and has a unidirectional radiation intensity so its far end must always face the broadcast station.

Based on the wavelength that television antennas are capable of receiving, they are divided into three groups:

• MV antennas - such devices receive very long meter waves, the size of which can be from 0.5 to 1.5 m;
• UHF antennas - these devices operate in the decimeter range, in which the wavelength is in the range from 15 to 40 cm. It is in this coverage that digital television (DTV) is supplied;
• Broadband antennas are a hybrid design in which both VHF and UHF elements are installed. Such radio installations are used to receive digital and analogue broadcasts simultaneously.

The most commonly used design is an outdoor television antenna based on a log-periodic dipole matrix. Such products consist of several half-wave elements consisting of metal rods. They act as resonators in which energy is stored by radio waves, which cause electrons to move and create stable waves of oscillatory voltage. An antenna can have a different number of rod elements: the more, the higher its gain.

Another popular design, used primarily for UHF reception, is the reflective TV antenna. Such a device consists of a vertical metal screen with several dipole elements installed in front of it.

The television broadcast bands that must be covered by a single antenna are too wide in frequency, so either separate antennas or combined devices are used for the VHF and UHF bands. In such designs there are two types of elements: long elements that pick up the MF (these are located at the rear of the antenna boom and often function as a log-periodic antenna) and short elements that pick up the UHF broadcast (these are located at the front of the boom).

When you listen to the radio, you notice that local channels can be easily tuned in the FM or VHF range, but you won’t be able to catch distant foreign broadcasts on them; to do this, the receiver needs to be switched to MF and HF mode.

This suggests that meter, medium and short waves are well transmitted over long distances, while ultrashort and decimeter signals have a small coverage area. However, the disadvantage of the UHF range in which our digital television operates is minimized thanks to two things:

• Firstly, the presence of a large number of towers;
• Secondly, the ability of large objects to reflect the signal.

If you live in a private house next to a high-rise building, then it is more correct to point the TV antenna not at a distant tower, but at a neighboring house, which perfectly reflects the waves. The right choice of direction largely determines the qualityTV signal.

Materials and calculations

How and from what items and materials can you make an antenna at home? Let's look at the TOP 5 most interesting options:

• Powerful coaxial cable antenna;
• All-wave antenna made of wire;
• "Butterfly";
• "Eight" or zigzag;
• Antenna made from beer cans.

A tube, rod or wire made of copper or aluminum are excellent materials for making an antenna. They are flexible, bend well and hold their shape well. You can use any conductive metal products: wires, corners, rods, strips, etc.

Coaxial cable has the same properties as copper cable, but is much cheaper, and, in addition, coaxial is also mechanically strong, which is important for antenna design. To save money, you can use pieces of wire that are available in your household or buy them in the hardware store.

First of all, let's decide on the size of the antenna. The antenna cable length (L) is calculated depending on the broadcast frequency. To calculate we need two values:

• The speed of wave propagation in vacuum is ≈ 300 million m/s;
• F – reception frequency (digital TV signal frequencies are usually in the range of 500-800 MHz).

If we take the frequency parameter in MHz, then the desired wavelength value will be in meters. The calculated speed of light parameter is 300. The wavelength in the cable can be calculated using a simple formula:

Calculation example: let digital broadcasting be carried out at an average frequency of 610.5 MHz. Then the average wavelength = 300/610.5 = 0.491 m. This is exactly what the length of the antenna loop should be.

To receive a digital signal, it is not necessary to accurately calculate the wavelength; you can simply make the product design more broadband.

Manufacturing and arrangement

Today, all television is presented in digital format; analogue will soon be completely abandoned. Old antennas practically do not function with DVB signals, so you need to create a decimeter antenna.

Digital TV transmission in DVB-T2 format is carried out in the UHF range, and since the signal is broadcast digitally, its reception will always be in good quality, or it simply cannot be caught, and there will be no signal at all. Interference, distortion or unclear picture - this is typical only for analog television.

DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) encoding is insensitive to electromagnetic interference, however, if the air is heavily polluted, signal mismatch may occur, which can cause the image to freeze or completely crumble. Therefore, it is more efficient to place the antenna outside the house: outside the window, on the roof, on the balcony.

To reduce the amount of interference, a reflector (reflector) can be built behind the antenna. The simplest materials with a metallic tint are suitable for the antenna design: foil, coffee or juice packaging, tin can, CD, etc. In order for the reflector to have a narrowly targeted effect, the shape of the reflector can be made parabolic. Although this is more relevant for analog receivers, reflectors also help out when the digital signal level is weak.

And the last piece of advice: experienced engineers recommend soldering all antenna connections, and not just twisting or screwing them, as over time they will oxidize and affect the quality of reception. It is better to coat external antennas made by yourself with paint; it will more reliably protect your structure from adverse weather factors.

To connect antenna elements, it is better to use soldering machines with a power of 36-40 watts, flux and soft solders.

Coaxial cable antenna

To create this version of the antenna, you will need about 0.5 m of the most common television cable marked “RK-75”. One end of the insulated wire needs to be stripped to connect to the TV socket (put on the F-connector and an adapter for connecting to the TV), and on the second we will create a round antenna.

Step back 5 cm from the edge and remove the top layer of insulating impregnation compound. Then remove the winding from the central conductor of the cable and tightly twist the remaining wire strands into one bundle.

From this point, measure the next 22 cm and cut through the outer layer of insulation to the shielded foil. Now you need to connect the cable into a ring: to do this, we confidently screw the first prepared end to the newly created cut. That's all - you have in your hands a powerful antenna made of coaxial cable, made by yourself.

Connect it to the TV and start tuning channels. This antenna is considered a good option for receiving digital television. It is better to install the antenna outside the window and on the side of the TV tower, since the walls of the building can drown out the desired signal. You can experiment with its position yourself.

All-wave antenna

A TV antenna can have different shapes. For example, from copper wire with a diameter of 2-5 mm, you can build an all-wave antenna in the form of two versatile elements. Such devices are frequency independent, so they are very popular among summer residents. A CHNA device can be built in literally an hour and receive a good signal level far from television centers.

For this you will need:

• Enameled copper wire;
• 2 metal structures in the shape of an isosceles triangle;
• 2 wooden or plastic slats.

Instead of metal triangles, you can use elastic foil laminate, from which you will need to cut the triangles (or leave the copper coating in a triangular shape).

The width and height of the antenna must be identical. The blades are installed at right angles and fixed with a soldering iron. The CNA antenna cable must be laid to the point of zero potential, which is located at the intersection of the cable with the vertical guide. Moreover, it must be tied with a tie, and not soldered.

The distance between adjacent wire threads should be 25-30 mm, and between the plates - no more than 10 mm. It is better to install the antenna structure inside the window at 150 cm. The signal catcher in the form of two expanded elements, which you just made yourself, will confidently receive all UHF and HF channels. If you live in an area with poor signal levels, it would be advisable to supplement such a device with an amplifier.

A simple antenna for receiving digital TV

Another useful type of home antenna for the dacha is the “butterfly”. This is a very simple design, to create which you will need:

• Board or plywood about 60 cm long and 7 cm wide, thickness about 20 mm;
• Shielded copper wire with a 4 mm core cross-section;
• Coaxial cable “RK-75”;
• Washers, screws, soldering iron.

Below we provide a marking diagram according to which you need to make the base of the butterfly antenna.

After this, prepare 8 pieces of copper wire, each 37.5 cm long. Step back 17.75 cm and remove 2 cm of the insulating layer in the center of each piece. Give them a V-shape so that the ends of the elements are at a distance of 7.5 cm from each other (this shape is considered optimal for high-quality and clear TV signal reception).

The next step is to prepare two more wire elements about 22 cm long. Mark each element into 3 equal parts and strip the wire insulation between the resulting sections.

We will need two more small pieces of wire to connect the antenna to the socket.

Now all that remains is to simply assemble all the prepared elements into a single structure and solder the cable to the plug.

This is how you can easily make your own effective butterfly antenna for receiving digital television.

Figure-of-eight antenna

The next option for creating a simple UHF television antenna is named after the shape of its design, “figure eight” or “zigzag”. Such a device will reliably pick up the signal even in a remote village.

In order to make an outdoor antenna for digital television with your own hands, you will need:

• Amplifier (you can use any old one);
• 2 pieces of copper wire (180 cm each);
• Plate (wood or metal) 15*15;
• TV cable;
• Iron mast for raising the antenna.

First of all, we create the body of the catcher: from copper wire we form two rhombuses with an optimal side size of 45 cm each. We attach the ends of the two elements to the plate: we form a ring from the core and slightly flatten it, screw it with bolts or solder it using a soldering machine.

We connect the amplifier and insert the cable plug into the connector. In general, that's all. All that remains is to install the finished structure on an elevated mast, which must be firmly dug into the ground.

To make an outdoor antenna for a TV, any conductive material of the appropriate cross-section is suitable: copper or aluminum tubes, strips or a profile element with a thickness of 1 to 5 mm. The main thing is to give the antenna body the correct shape.

Beer can antenna

Ether antenna devices can be created from many simple materials that are used in household use, even from ordinary cans in which carbonated drinks are sold. Such a mini-receiver will not be very powerful, but you can pick up about 7 channels, not only in the UHF range, but also in the longer one - VHF.

There is one important condition: the cans must be smooth, not ridged, clean and dry. The essence of this design is very simple: you just need to solder 2 cans to the cable and place them on opposite sides on a wooden base.

The number of cans can be used differently; it is believed that it is optimal to create 3 or 4 lines of cans, since 1-2 lines pick up the signal weakly, and more than 5 lines are difficult to coordinate. In addition to cans, you need to prepare the following materials:

• About 5 meters of ordinary TV cable marked “RK-75”;
• Wooden or plastic base structure;
• Several self-tapping screws, electrical tape, and a soldering iron.

First you need to prepare the TV cable: step back 10 cm from the edge, make a shallow cut and remove the top layer of insulation. Carefully twist the inner braided screen into a single bundle. On the same side of the cable, remove the plastic insulation and expose the central core. A plug must be connected to the opposite end of the cable.

Next, we will need to connect the coaxial cable to the banks. To do this, it is better to use small flea screws for drywall: screw a twisted cable braid to one can, and a copper core to the second can. For better contact, connections can be soldered.

Now you should secure the cans to a wooden base plate. This can be done using ordinary adhesive tape, electrical tape or a glue gun; you can even use an ordinary clothes hanger or any flat structure at hand. The main thing is that the metal cans are of the same shape, the same size (volume) and are located strictly on the same line. The distance between the sheet metal elements, as well as the location of the antenna installation, is selected experimentally.

You can improve the design by creating a grid of several lines with banks, and if there is such an opportunity, then connect an amplifier. If a homemade antenna made from beer cans is placed on the street, then its elements will have to be hidden in larger plastic bottles.

The length of the cable affects the signal attenuation: the longer the cord, the more the on-air transmission is attenuated. This is especially true for receiving meter waves.

Setting up and searching for channels

Today, digital television offers us as many as 22 television channels in two packages, and in some metropolitan areas there are even more. Setting them up on your TV or set-top box will be quite simple.

In DTV broadcast on 1 frequency, not one channel is broadcast, as it once was on analogue broadcast, but up to 10 channels in one package or multiplex. For example, on frequency 43 you can receive 10 TV channels and 3 radio stations. Therefore, setting up digital broadcasting uses only 2 frequencies. However, the frequency parameter of the channels will be different for different areas.

If you are using a home-made antenna in an area with good signal strength, then there are no special recommendations for setting up channels. You simply turn on the function on your TV "Automatic channel search" and the receiver finds all available channels in digital and analogue air.

If the area of ​​your location is not very favorable for TV broadcasting, and the auto search did not produce results, then you need to perform the following steps:

1. Check which direction your antenna is facing. It should be turned towards the television tower or directed towards the nearest high-rise building. If you don't know which way the broadcast base is located, pay attention to your neighbors' antennas (but don't look at the satellite dishes that pick up signals from satellites).
2. In channel settings, set a restriction: search only for digital channels (or DTV). Well, if you know the frequency parameter, then you can go into the manual channel tuning mode, use the remote control to dial the channel number on which the package is being broadcast, and a signal level scale in percentage should appear on the display. Change the position of the antenna device and see how the stability of this indicator changes.

The change in signal level when rotating the antenna will not change instantly, but after 5-10 seconds. Therefore, pause when changing the position of the catcher.

When you get the best signal strength, start scanning for digital channels and save your settings. Perform the same algorithm of actions to search for the second multiplex. If the situation is completely sad and not a single method has yielded results, you may need to make the design of your antenna more powerful or supplement it with an amplifier.

When you go on vacation to a country house, sometimes in addition to enjoying the excellent view from the window and fresh air, you want to please yourself with your favorite analogue TV program, but for this you need an antenna that you can make yourself. However, such an area, unlike the city, cannot boast of a good television signal. In such cases, improvised means can come to the rescue. In this article we will talk about how to make a TV antenna in makeshift conditions with your own hands.

Build your own antenna

What types of devices are there?

There are three types of devices:

1. Decimeter. On the farm, a simpler model of such a device is often used, this is type Z. It works great and the quality of its signal does not depend on weather conditions.
2. Log-periodic. This arrangement is quite easy to implement, as it is perfectly consistent with all frequency ranges. To perform this, there is no need to adhere to any specific dimensions; it is enough to use average technical dimensions. It can be used not only in an apartment, but also in a country house.
3. All-wave. This device is also easy to make; almost any available metal means is suitable for such purposes. The device perfectly picks up the TV signal and is quite resistant to interference. If you place it near a TV tower, you can use it to watch analog television.

Also, depending on the location, there are indoor and outdoor fixtures. Indoor devices are effective only in the active signal area; for private buildings it is better to use television receivers. Such devices are either passive or active. Passive ones do not need amplification, since they amplify the received signal due to their own geometry. Active devices must be equipped with an amplifier.

In this video we will look at how to make a TV antenna with your own hands:

How to make a TV antenna at home

In this paragraph we will look at how to make a simple television antenna with your own hands. An indoor TV antenna is a simple wave receiver, so any summer resident can make it with his own hands. For this you will need:

• metal tubes - 2 pieces;
• TV cable.

Note! Also, in order to make a TV antenna with your own hands from available materials, you need to know the signal range of the television tower, which is located near the building.

Basically, the frequency reception varies between 50-230 MHz, resulting in 12 channels. Each channel uses a different size tube. If reception is carried out at a frequency of fifty megahertz, then the distance between the edges of the tubes should be 273 centimeters, an error of three centimeters is permissible. On the twelfth channel, the distance between the tubes should be 66 centimeters.

Note! Detailed information about the length of the tubes, as well as diagrams of television antennas made by yourself, can be found on the Internet on special thematic sites.

Let's look at the list of possible materials for making a TV antenna with your own hands:

• two metal tubes, the diameter of which is 8-24 millimeters, the wall thickness and diameter of such devices should be the same;
• also, in order to make an antenna, you will need a TV cable with a resistance of 75 Ohms, the length of such a wire is cut to fit the connection distance, taking into account the sag;
• a blank made of getinax or textolite, the thickness of which is at least five millimeters;
• fasteners that will be used to install the tubes on the holder;
• bracket, the shape of such a part should be angular, you can also use a wooden stand if it is fixed high enough;
• silicone, it will be needed to treat the material from oxidation;
• soldering kit;
• insulating tape.

The blank you have chosen for making an all-wave antenna for a TV with your own hands must be divided into two parts, the tubes should be crimped on both sides. Next you need to fix the tubes at a distance from each other. This distance should be about six centimeters. The ends of the tubes must be attached with clamps to the textolite blank, and the structure itself must be fixed vertically using a rod.

In order to connect the cable to a homemade television antenna, you should lay a ring that will be designed for a resistance of 75 ohms. The wire strands located in the middle should be stripped and twisted with the ends of the tubes. The braid connection is made using copper wire and the rest of the connections too.

The resulting ring and the remaining length of the wire must be firmly fixed to the stand. The installation height of a homemade television antenna depends on the signal reception range.

TV antenna made from beer cans

This design is the simplest DIY antenna for a TV.

To make a television antenna from beer cans you will need two tin cans with a volume of 0.5 or 0.75 liters. However, before you proceed directly to making a TV antenna with your own hands from cans, you should take into account several nuances of this procedure. The main feature of this process is the presence of high-quality television wire with a resistance of about 75 Ohms.

It is also necessary to remember that the longer the cable, the better the device will be able to catch the signal, which is especially important for the meter range. The signal from a DIY UHF TV antenna also depends on the length of the wire, but not so much.

In addition, you will need to prepare self-tapping screws, a trempel, a soldering iron, and electrical tape. You don’t need a drawing for a TV antenna made from beer cans; such a device can be easily made without it.

Step-by-step instructions on how to make an antenna out of beer cans with your own hands:

1. First of all, prepare the cable. To do this, you need to measure ten centimeters of wire and make a cut. Then strip a small section of the wire and twist it into a loop.
2. Strip the inner core of the cable.
3. Attach a plug to the wire; it is needed to connect the device to the TV.
4. Next, fix the contacts to the beer cans, the screen is attached to one can using self-tapping screws, and the core to the second.
5. Next, the cable is connected to the receiver; for this it needs to be fixed well. For these purposes, you can use a wooden plank.
6. To fix the cans, use electrical tape; at this stage it is important to ensure that the cans are located on the same line.

DIY TV antenna made from beer cans is ready. Such a device is capable of receiving both meter and decimeter frequency ranges.

Wire antenna

Many summer residents wonder whether and how to make a television antenna from wire. Can. An antenna made of copper or brass wire for a TV is a fairly simple design.

The wire for a homemade TV design must be thoroughly stripped of insulation and connected one to the battery and the other to the TV receiver. This device is capable of receiving about five channels. Do-it-yourself connection of an indoor antenna to the battery pipe is necessary to ensure a more powerful reception signal.

In order to make a homemade wire antenna you will need:

• two pieces of copper wire, the width of which is 4 millimeters and the length is 180 centimeters;
• a piece of plywood, dimensions 150 by 150 mm;
• drill;
• amplifier;
• the wire;
• fittings;
• self-tapping screws

You can make such a TV antenna as follows:

1. The first step is to give the wire the shape of two rhombuses, the sides of which are 45 centimeters.
2. Next, we fix the figures on the base. To do this, you need to secure the flattened end of the wire with bolts to the attachment point.
3. If you use metal for the base, then you will need welding to fix the structural elements.
4. Next, you should fix the amplifier and secure the wire to it.
5. Then the entire structure is attached to a mast, which is easier to make from a metal pipe.
6. The last stage of making a TV antenna from improvised materials is to treat the entire device against corrosion.

HDTV device

When the above methods do not help, many people wonder how to make a more powerful antenna for a TV. For such purposes, you can use an HDTV device; such a device is capable of receiving a signal of about 490 megahertz. You can make such a TV antenna at home from a transformer. The question of how to make it cannot be answered unequivocally, but it is still better to purchase it in the store. To do this you will need the following parts:

• electrical tape or tape;
• cardboard;
• glue;
• stapler;
• foil.

To perform this operation, use a diagram, according to which all the parts are cut out of cardboard. Next, these parts need to be covered with foil, bent and cut.

Note! It is better to first find the diagram and templates on the Internet, download and print.

The first step in manufacturing the structure is to make a reflector; its length should be 35 centimeters. The reflector must be covered with foil. Next, you need to cut two rectangles in the middle of the part; they are necessary in order to fix the catcher.

Next, we proceed directly to the assembly of the structure. First, glue the reflector to the butterfly-shaped plate. This can be done using a stapler. Next, a hole for the wire is cut in the middle of each component. Then the plug and transformer are connected. The device is ready.

Apartment device

You can make a device that will be placed in the room using any of the above methods. If none of them are suitable due to the lack of necessary parts, then you can use another option - to make a device from copper wire or wire with a foil winding. This design can not only catch television signals, but also function as a selective filter that prevents interference.

The device is fixed on a stand or hung on the wall. For digital television, such a device is most effective.

From all of the above, we can conclude that making an antenna for a TV at home is quite simple. This does not require special knowledge or complex preparations. You can make it from improvised means in a short period of time; you just need to know the frequency range of the nearest TV tower.