Since the last century, humanity has been rapidly developing in technological areas, including in the means of communication. The transmission of information via the Internet, radio broadcasting and television today occupies a leading position in the ways of social interaction. But for many, television remains the simplest, most accessible and interesting means of obtaining information. Therefore, ensuring a high-quality and stable image on TV screens remains an urgent issue. To solve it, you can contact the points of sale of household appliances, where a huge number of antenna models of various types are offered. Or you can make it yourself using the instructions in this article on how to make a TV antenna with your own hands.
Varieties of antennas
Antennas come in different types and shapes. Below are the main types of antennas:
- receiving the "wave channel";
- reception of "traveling wave";
- framed;
- zigzag;
- logoperiodic;
- lattice.
Digital signal reception by antenna
Since the beginning of the 21st century, digital broadcasting has received great development. Such a signal provides high image quality, eliminates many of the shortcomings of outdated analog television. But not every antenna is able to receive this signal. Therefore, before you make an antenna for a TV, you need to decide on the type of signal you receive: analog or digital. On the basis of existing factory antennas, home-made ones were invented that do their job just as well. Now let's deal with the type of antenna that is best suited for receiving a digital signal:
- For the easiest and most handy way to receive a signal, you can make an antenna for a TV both from wire and using a TV cable, peeling the braided insulation and leaving only the central core. To connect, the wire is inserted into the TV socket and directed towards the repeater. The wire is also best used in the bare form. But you should not expect a stable and high-quality image even with a small distance from the signal transmission site. A little 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 a regular indoor antenna with high quality. But provided that the repeater is located at a distance of no more than 10 km from the reception point.
- The Crow antenna is an external antenna that receivesdigital signal with a distance of 30 km. The best picture performance can be obtained by pointing the antenna directly towards the repeater.
- Antenna type DIPOL 19/21-69 is installed on a height 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 an amplifier is connected, 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, let's look at how to make an indoor 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 rely on stable signal reception. Yes, and more than five channels are usually not "caught" in this way.
Antenna on the balcony
This is the next most affordable way to boost your signal, but now with a balcony. In this case, the TV is connected to the laundry drying strings on the balcony. With this setting, the signal usually not only improves in quality, but new channels may also appear.
Ordinary external TVantenna
Now let's move on from indoor antennas to external ones. Consider the easiest way to make your own TV antenna outside the house. 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 slack.
- A piece of textolite or getinaks.
- Flat base tubing mounts (clamps or metal strips).
- Mast for attaching the antenna structure (may be a pipe, angle or wooden rail).
Go to the assembly of the antenna structure. Each of the tubes must be flattened on one side. With these sides, two tubes are placed on a piece of textolite or getinaks 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. A mast is attached to it.
Since how to make an antenna for a TV that will work for more than one year, it is possible only with the help of a high-quality connection, then the cable is soldered to the tubes. Up to 10 cm of cable insulation is removed, 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 secure attachment to the tube, and soldered.
The procedure for making such aantennas by fixing the cable clamps to the base of the mast, choosing the best reception 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 the best. Now let's take a closer look at how to make a TV antenna out of cans.
To make this antenna, you need to prepare the following:
- Two tin cans.
- Ordinary television cable at least 5 m long.
- Plug.
- Secrets.
- A mop or similar base for attaching jars.
- Insulating tape, pliers, screwdriver and knife.
After preparing the materials, we proceed directly to the manufacture of the antenna:
- One end of the cable is stripped and a plug is connected to it.
- Measure 10 cm at the second end and cut off the insulation.
- The braid is neatly separated and woven into a cord.
- Next, you need to remove the 1 cm long plastic layer that insulates the central core of the cable.
- In each of the two cans, one screw is screwed into the center of the lid or the bottom of the can.
- The core of the cable is attached to one of the screws, the braided cord is attached to the other. The screws tighten and tighten the fasteners on the cans.
- With the help of electrical tape, the cans are fixed on the mop, located on the sides on its horizontal bar. It is also possible to use a wooden hanger, which hangs in eachhome.
- The cable must also be attached to the vertical base of the mop.
- The plug is inserted into the TV.
- The last step will be to determine the best place for receiving the antenna and fix it in this 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
Home masters respect the antenna invented by Kharchenko K. P. in the form of a zigzag, back in 1961. At that time, her "parent" was far from using his antenna to receive a digital signal. But now it turned out that its design is perfectly suited for this purpose. Here, using the example of such an invention, we will consider how to make a digital antenna for a TV. True, you will have to use a soldering iron.
Before you make a homemade antenna of this kind for the TV, you will have to prepare some materials:
- Copper wire with a cross section of 3 to 5 mm.
- TV cable 3 to 5 m long.
- Solder.
- Soldering iron.
- Plug.
- Insulating tape.
- Plastic or plywood as base.
- Mounting bolts or self-tapping screws.
Antenna manufacturing starts with a frame. You need to make two rhombuses, which will be located in one line. Each side of them should be 13.5 cm. To do this, you need a piece of wire 110 cm long, which must be bent alonggiven parameters. After making the frame, 1 cm of free wire should remain, which is used to bend the loops in order to fasten the frame. This fastener is finally closed after soldering. As a result, the frame will look like two rhombuses connected to each other.
The next step in the process of how to make a TV antenna at home is to attach the cable to the frame. Let's start with the fact that at the junction of the rhombuses in the center of the frame, their corners should not touch, since it is to these corners that the cable core and its screen will be attached. The rod is attached to the upper corner by winding and soldering. The screen is attached to the lower corner in the same way. The distance between the corners should be 2 cm.
Now the frame with the soldered cable is installed 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 still oxidize 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 making a zigzag antenna it was not possible to achieve a good signal, it can be improved with a screen. It is installed immediately behind the antenna and away from the TV. It can be used as an ordinary kitchen foil, fixed on a plate, the size of an antenna.
Also this kind of antennacan be completed with additional sections of rhombuses on the sides. It is important to observe the dimensions of their sides and perform in an even number.
Antenna Amplifier
It happens that no matter how competently and efficiently a home antenna is assembled, a good signal still cannot be received. In such cases, a signal amplifier is indispensable.
Amplifiers have a rather complex 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 will either prevent the device from working normally, or completely disable it.
The only way to make an antenna amplifier for a TV that can be used by a person without special skills remains. The design is as simple as possible, but it is able to amplify the signal. You just need to take a magnet and wind it several times with a television cable. You can do this near the TV or antenna. But given that manufacturers of amplifiers usually provide for mounting them near the antenna, it's better to go that way too.
Tips on how to make your home TV antenna as efficient as possible
In the manufacture of any type of antenna, there are mandatory conditions that must be taken into account in order to obtain high-quality reception:
- All elements of the antenna design that pass the signal through themselves should be connected by soldering. After all, the signal is very sensitive to any interference and instantly weakens with shortcomings.designs. Without soldering, the contacts will not be able to provide the best possible signal over time, and the life of the antenna will be reduced. It is better to fill the soldering points with silicone or epoxy resin.
- Excessive cabling and branching should be avoided. It is recommended to make a single cable for both the TV antenna and the amplifier.
- Modern coaxial cables have a corrosion-resistant braid that 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 light alloy solder and flux paste.
- You should pay attention to the quality of the TV cable. Its Soviet varieties have already proven their low ability to transmit a signal with high quality and often cause a poor image. The best solution is to use a 75 ohm silicone cable.
- Of the plugs, the best choice would be metal options. Soldering is also welcome.
- If you cannot achieve uninterrupted reception, the only way out is to increase the mast to mount the antenna.
These are just the basic ways to make a do-it-yourself TV antenna. 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 takes 15 minutes, and with a good signal, the result will be the same and without much cost and effort. It is important to adhereantenna manufacturing instructions and recommendations in this article. Then everything will definitely work out.
