Since the last century, mankind has been rapidly developing in the technological fields, including communications. The transmission of information through the Internet, broadcasting and television today occupies a leading position in the ways of social interaction. But for many, television remains the simplest, most accessible and most interesting means of obtaining information. Therefore, ensuring a high-quality and stable image on television remains an urgent issue. To solve it, you can contact the points of sale of household appliances, where a huge number of models of antennas of various types are offered. And you can make it yourself using the instructions in this article on how to make an antenna for your TV with your own hands.
Varieties of antennas
Antennas vary in type and shape. The following are the main types of antennas:
- receiving a "wave channel";
- reception of the "traveling wave";
- in the form of frames;
- zigzag;
- log-periodic;
- trellised.
Reception of a digital signal by an antenna
Since the beginning of the 21st century, digital broadcasting has been greatly developed. Such a signal provides high image quality, eliminates many of the disadvantages of outdated analog television. But not every antenna is capable of receiving this signal. Therefore, before making an antenna for a TV, you need to determine the type of signal received: analog or digital. On the basis of existing factory antennas, homemade antennas were invented that cope no worse with their task. Now let's figure out the type of antenna that is best suited for receiving a digital signal:
- For the simplest and most at-hand method of receiving a signal, you can make an antenna for a TV both from wire and with a television cable, cleaning the insulation with a braid and leaving only the central core. To connect, the wire is inserted into the TV socket and sent to the repeater side. Wire is also best used bare. But you should not expect a stable and high-quality image, even if a small distance from the place of signal transmission. Small interference will significantly affect the picture on the TV.
- The DVB-T2 format, which is used to broadcast a digital signal, is capable of receiving high-quality conventional indoor antenna. But provided that the repeater is located from the receiving place at a distance of no more than 10 km.
- The crow antenna is an external antenna that receives a digital signal with a distance of 30 km. The best image performance can be achieved by pointing the antenna directly towards the repeater.
- An antenna of the DIPOL 19 / 21-69 type is mounted on an elevation of about 10 m and needs a clear direction to the tower. It is considered the highest quality antenna, as it is capable of receiving a signal at a distance of 50 km from the source, and when connected to an amplifier, up to 100 km. But any landscape obstacles or radio interference greatly affect the quality of the received signal and will be displayed on the image.
Simple indoor antenna
First, consider a way to make a room antenna for a TV using the only material without which the antenna will not work - wire. The most ordinary wire is taken (but not aluminum), stripped and inserted into the TV with one side. The other side is simply attached to the battery or heating pipe. The fact is that the heating system in each apartment goes to the very top of the house and can act as an amplifier. It is enough to connect a TV to it. But you do not need to count on stable signal reception. And more than five channels are usually not "caught" in this way.
Antenna on the balcony
This is the next most affordable way to amplify the signal, but now with a balcony. In this case, the TV is connected to the strings for drying clothes on the balcony. With this setting, usually the signal not only adds to the quality, but also new channels may appear.
Conventional External TV Antenna
Now let's move on to indoor antennas. Consider the simplest way how to make an antenna for a TV outside the house yourself. The range of its work is within 30 km from the TV tower. Here you will need:
- Two metal tubes approximately 40 cm long and 16 mm in diameter (average). In the manufacture of such an antenna, it is imperative to observe the uniformity of each of the two tubes in terms of material, length, wall thickness and diameter.
- TV cable with the required length plus two meters for connection and sagging.
- A piece of textolite or getinaksa.
- Fastenings for tubes on a flat basis (clamps or metal strips).
- Mast for attaching the antenna structure (may be a pipe, corner or wooden rail).
We proceed to the assembly of the antenna design. Each tube must be flattened on one side. On these sides, two tubes are placed on a piece of textolite or getinax opposite each other at a distance of 6-7 cm. The area of a piece of material is equal to the required area for reliable fastening of the tubes with clamps. The mast is attached to it.
Since you can make an antenna for a TV that will work for more than one year, you can only use a high-quality connection, then the cable is soldered to the tubes. The cable insulation is removed up to 10 cm, the braid is twisted and soldered to one end. The central core of the cable remains in plastic insulation. The latter is carefully cut to a distance sufficient for reliable attachment to the tube, and soldered.
The procedure for manufacturing such an antenna is completed by attaching cable clamps to the base of the mast, choosing the best receiving location and fixing the antenna. The direction of the antenna can be seen from the neighbors.
Can antenna
Such an antenna will not constantly and reliably receive a signal, but it is quite possible to use it as a temporary measure. Beer cans are best. Now we will analyze in detail how to make an antenna for a TV from cans.
To make this antenna, you need to prepare the following:
- Two tin cans.
- An ordinary television cable with a length of at least 5 m.
- Plug
- Self-tapping screws.
- A mop or similar base for attaching cans.
- Insulation tape, pliers, screwdriver and knife.
After preparing the materials, we proceed directly to the manufacture of the antenna:
- One of the ends of the cable is stripped, and a plug is connected to it.
- At the second end, 10 cm are measured and the insulation is cut off.
- The braid is carefully detached and woven into a cord.
- Next, you need to remove the plastic layer 1 cm long, which insulates the central core of the cable.
- In each of the two cans, one self-tapping screw is screwed into the center of the lid or the bottom of the can.
- A cable rod is attached to one of the screws, and a braided cord to the other. Screws are tightened and clamp fasteners on the banks.
- With the help of electrical tape, the cans are fixed on the squeegee, located on the sides on its horizontal bar. It is also possible to use wooden hangers that hang in every home.
- The cable also needs to be attached to the vertical base of the squeegee.
- The plug is inserted into the TV.
- The final step will be to determine the best place to receive the antenna and fix it in that place.
There are various instructions on how to make an antenna for a TV with four or more cans, but there was no clear improvement in the image due to the number of cans.
Homemade zigzag antenna
At home masters, the antenna invented by Kharchenko K.P. is respected. in zigzag shape, back in 1961. At that time, its “parent” was far from using its antenna to receive a digital signal. But now it turned out that its design is perfect for this purpose. Here is an example of such an invention, consider how to make a digital antenna for a TV. True, you have to use a soldering iron.
Before you make a home-made antenna of this kind for a TV, you will have to prepare some materials:
- Copper wire with a cross section of 3 to 5 mm.
- TV cable from 3 to 5 m long.
- Solder.
- Soldering iron.
- Plug
- Insulating tape.
- Plastic or plywood as a base.
- Fixing bolts or screws.
Antenna manufacturing begins with the frame. It is necessary to make two rhombuses, which will be located in one line. Each side should be 13.5 cm. To do this, you need a piece of wire 110 cm long, which you need to bend according to the specified parameters. After making the frame, 1 cm of free wire should remain, which is used to bend the loops to fasten the frame. This fixture finally closes after soldering. As a result, the frame will look like two connected diamonds.
The next step in the process of how to make an antenna for a TV at home is to attach the cable to the frame. To begin with, at the junction of the rhombs in the center of the frame, their angles should not be in contact, since it is precisely these corners that the cable rod and its screen will be attached. The rod is attached to the upper corner by wrapping and soldering. Similarly, the screen is attached to the lower corner. The distance between the corners should be 2 cm.
Now the frame with the soldered cable is mounted on the base. It is better to put the antenna on a hill, having previously painted it. Of course, the signal quality will drop a little, but even without paint, copper will oxidize anyway and plaque will form. A painted antenna will be more protected from various weather conditions. Especially if a wooden plank is used as the base.
Zigzag antenna with screen mounting
If, after manufacturing a zigzag antenna, a good signal is not obtained, it can be improved with a screen. It is installed immediately behind the antenna and away from the TV. In its quality, you can use ordinary kitchen foil mounted on a plate the size of an antenna.
Also, this type of antenna can be equipped with additional sections of rhombuses on the sides. It is important to observe the dimensions of their sides and perform in an even amount.
Amplifier for antenna
It happens that no matter how competently and efficiently a home antenna is assembled, a good signal still cannot be obtained. In such cases, a signal amplifier is indispensable.
Amplifiers have a rather complicated design, often inaccessible to the understanding of ordinary people. It will take too much specific knowledge for the manufacture and selection of material. And the mistakes made either will not allow the device to work normally, or will completely disable it.
There remains the only way to make an antenna amplifier for the TV, which can be used by a person without special skills. The design is as simple as possible, but it can amplify the signal. You just need to take a magnet and wrap it several times with a television cable. This can be done near the TV or antenna. But taking into account the fact that manufacturers of amplifiers usually provide for their mounting near the antenna, it is better to go this way too.
Tips for making your home TV antenna as efficient as possible
In the manufacture of any type of antenna, there are mandatory conditions that must be considered to obtain high-quality reception:
- All elements of the antenna structure that pass the signal through itself should be connected by soldering. After all, the signal is very sensitive to any interference and instantly weakens with design flaws. In the absence of soldering, the contacts over time will not be able to provide the best possible signal, and the antenna life will be reduced. It is better to fill the soldering sites with silicone or epoxy resin.
- Unnecessary cabling and branching should be avoided. It is recommended to make a single cable for both the antenna with the TV and the amplifier.
- Modern coaxial cables have a corrosion-resistant braid, which is difficult to solder with low-power soldering irons. It is recommended to use a soldering iron with a power of at least 40 W, as well as alloy alloy and flux paste.
- Attention should be paid to the quality of the television cable. Its Soviet varieties have already proved their low ability to transmit a signal qualitatively and often cause a poor image. The best solution is to use a cable with a resistance of 75 ohms made of silicone.
- Of the plugs, metal options are the best choice. Soldering is also welcome.
- If you cannot achieve uninterrupted reception, the only way out is to increase the mast for attaching the antenna.
These are just the basic ways to make your own antenna for your TV. Practice has shown that such home-made antennas can not only save a decent amount of money, but also bypass some factory ones in terms of performance. Often, the manufacture of a home antenna fits within 15 minutes, and with a good signal, the result will be the same and without special costs and effort. It is important that you follow the antenna manufacturing instructions and recommendations in this article. Then everything will work out.