Making an antenna for digital TV. Homemade antennas: outdoor, home

17.10.2019 Internet, Wi-Fi, local networks

Buying a good antenna for the country is not always advisable. Especially if it is visited from time to time. It's not so much the cost, but the fact that after a while it may not be in place. Therefore, many people prefer to make an antenna for giving their own. The cost is minimal and the quality is good. And the most important point - a do-it-yourself TV antenna can be made in half an hour or an hour and then, if necessary, it can be easily repeated ...

Digital television in DVB-T2 format is transmitted in the UHF range, and there is either a digital signal or it is not. If the signal is received, then the picture is of good quality. Due to this. any decimeter antenna is suitable for receiving digital television. Many radio amateurs are familiar with the TV antenna, which is called "zigzag" or "eight". This do-it-yourself TV antenna is assembled in just a matter of minutes.

To reduce the amount of interference, a reflector is placed behind the antenna. The distance between the antenna and the reflector is selected experimentally - according to the "purity" of the picture
You can attach foil to the glass and get a good signal ....
Copper tube or wire is the best option, it bends well, it is easy to

Making it is very simple, the material is any conductive metal: tube, rod, wire, strip, corner. She accepts, despite the simplicity, well. It looks like two squares (rhombuses) connected to each other. In the original, a reflector is located behind the square - for more confident signal reception. But it is more needed for analog signals. To receive digital television, it is quite possible to do without it or install it later if the reception is too weak.

materials

Optimum for this homemade television antenna, copper or aluminum wire with a diameter of 2-5 mm is suitable. In this case, everything can be done in just an hour. You can also use a tube, a corner, a strip of copper or aluminum, but you will need some kind of device to bend the frames of the desired shape. The wire can be bent with a hammer, fixing it in a vise.

You will also need a coaxial antenna cable of the required length, a plug suitable for the connector on your TV, some kind of mount for the antenna itself. The cable can be taken with a resistance of 75 ohms and 50 ohms (the second option is worse). If you make a TV antenna with your own hands for installation on the street, pay attention to the quality of the insulation.

Mounting depends on where you are going to hang a homemade antenna for digital television. On the upper floors, you can try to use it as a home and hang it on curtains. Then you need large pins. In the country or if you take a home-made television antenna to the roof, you will need to attach it to a pole. For this case, look for suitable clamps. To work, you will also need a soldering iron, sandpaper and / or a file, a needle file.

Do you need a calculation

To receive a digital signal, there is no need to count the wavelength. It is simply desirable to make the antenna more broadband - in order to receive as many signals as possible. To do this, some changes have been made to the original design (pictured above) (further in the text).

You can do the calculation if you want. To do this, you need to find out on which wave the signal is broadcast, divide by 4 and get the required side of the square. To get the required distance between the two parts of the antenna, make the outer sides of the diamonds a little longer, the inner ones shorter.

Drawing of the G8 antenna for receiving digital TV

The length of the "inner" side of the rectangle (B2) is 13 cm,
"outer" (B1) - 14 cm.

Due to the difference in lengths, the distance between the squares is formed (they should not be connected). The two extreme sections are made 1 cm longer - so that you can roll the loop to which the coaxial antenna cable is soldered.

Frame making

If you count all the lengths, you get 112 cm. We cut off the wire or the material that you have, take the pliers and the ruler, and begin to bend. The angles should be at 90° or so. With the lengths of the sides, you can make a little mistake - this is not fatal. It turns out like this:

The first section is 13 cm + 1 cm per loop. The loop can be bent immediately.
Two sections of 14 cm.
Two 13 cm each, but with a turn in the opposite direction - this is the place of the inflection to the second square.
Again two 14 cm.
The last one is 13 cm + 1 cm per loop.

Actually the antenna frame is ready. If everything was done correctly, a distance of 1.5-2 cm was obtained between the two halves in the middle. There may be slight discrepancies. Next, we clean the loops and the place of the inflection to bare metal (treat with fine-grained emery), tin. Connect two loops, compress with pliers to hold tight.

Cable preparation

We take the antenna cable, carefully clean it. How to do this is shown in a step-by-step photo. Strip the cable on both sides. One end will be attached to the antenna. Here we clean it so that the wire sticks out 2 cm. If it turned out more, the excess (later) can be cut off. Twist the screen (foil) and braid into a bundle. It turned out two conductors. One is the central monocore of the cable, the second is twisted from a multitude of braid wires. Both are needed and need to be tinned.

Solder the plug to the second edge. There is enough length of 1 cm or so. Also form two conductors, tin.

The plug in those places where we will carry out soldering, wipe it with alcohol or a solvent, clean it with emery (you can use a needle file). Put the plastic part of the plug on the cable, now you can start soldering. We solder a monocore to the central outlet of the plug, and a stranded twist to the side outlet. The last thing is to crimp the grip around the insulation.

Then you can simply wind the plastic tip, you can fill it with glue or non-conductive sealant (this is important). While the glue / sealant has not hardened, we quickly assemble the plug (we wind the plastic part), remove the excess composition. So the plug will be almost eternal.

DIY DVB-T2 TV antenna: assembly

Now it remains to connect the cable and frame. Since we were not tied to a specific channel, we will solder the cable to the midpoint. This will increase the bandwidth of the antenna - more channels will be received. Therefore, we solder the second cut end of the cable to the two sides in the middle (those that were stripped and tinned). Another difference from the “original version” is that the cable does not need to be looped around the frame and soldered at the bottom. This will also expand the reception range.

The assembled antenna can be checked. If the reception is normal, you can finish the assembly - fill the soldering points with sealant. If the reception is bad, try to find a place where you can catch better first. If there are no positive changes, you can try replacing the cable. For ease of experiment, you can use ordinary telephone noodles. She's worth every penny. Solder the plug and the frame to it. Try with her. If it "catches" better, it's a bad cable. In principle, you can work on "noodles", but not for long - it will quickly become unusable. It is better, of course, to put a normal antenna cable.

To protect the junction of the cable and the antenna frame from atmospheric influences, the soldering points can be wrapped with ordinary electrical tape. But this is not a reliable way. If you remember, you can put on a few heat shrink tubes before soldering to insulate with their help. But the most reliable way is to fill everything with glue or sealant (they should not conduct current). As a "case" you can use covers for 5-6 liter water bottles, ordinary plastic covers for cans, etc. We make recesses in the right places - so that the frame “lays down” in them, do not forget about the cable outlet. Fill with sealing compound, wait until it seizes. Everything, a do-it-yourself TV antenna for receiving digital television is ready.

Homemade antenna double and triple square

This is a narrowband antenna, which is used when you need to receive a weak signal. It can even help if a weaker signal is "clogged" by a stronger one. The only drawback is that you need an exact orientation to the source. The same design can be done to receive digital television.

You can make five frames - for a more confident reception
It is undesirable to paint or varnish - reception worsens. This is possible only in close proximity to the transmitter.

The advantages of this design are that the reception will be confident even at a considerable distance from the repeater. Only it will be necessary to specifically find out the frequency of broadcasting, to withstand the dimensions of the frames and the matching device.

Construction and materials

Make it from tubes or wire:

1-5 TV channel of the MV range - tubes (copper, brass, aluminum) with a diameter of 10-20 mm;
6-12 TV channel of the MV range - tubes (copper, brass, aluminum) 8-15 mm;
UHF range - copper or brass wire with a diameter of 3-6 mm.

The double square antenna consists of two frames connected by two arrows - upper and lower. The smaller frame is a vibrator, the larger one is a reflector. An antenna consisting of three frames gives a greater gain. The third, smallest, square is called the director.

The upper arrow connects the middle of the frames, it can be made of metal. The lower one is made of insulating material (textolite, gettinax, wooden plank). Frames should be installed so that their centers (crossing points of the diagonals) are on the same straight line. And this line should be directed to the transmitter.

The active frame - the vibrator - has an open circuit. Its ends are screwed to a textolite plate measuring 30 * 60 mm. If frames are made from a tube, the edges are flattened, holes are made in them and the lower arrow is attached through them.

The mast for this antenna must be wooden. In any case, the upper part of it. Moreover, the wooden part should begin at a distance of at least 1.5 meters from the level of the antenna frames.

Dimensions

All dimensions for the manufacture of this TV antenna with your own hands are shown in the tables. The first table is for the meter range, the second is for the decimeter range.

In three-frame antennas, the distance between the ends of the vibrator (middle) frame is made larger - 50 mm. Other dimensions are given in the tables.

Connecting an active frame (vibrator) via a short-circuited loop

Since the frame is a symmetrical device, and you need to connect it to an unbalanced coaxial antenna cable, you need a matching device. In this case, a balancing short-circuited loop is usually used. It is made from pieces of antenna cable. The right segment is called the “loop”, the left one is called the “feeder”. A cable is attached to the junction of the feeder and the cable, which goes to the TV. The length of the segments is selected based on the wavelength of the received signal (see table).

A short piece of wire (loop) is cut at one end by removing the aluminum screen and twisting the braid into a tight bundle. Its center conductor can be cut to insulation, as it does not matter. Divide and feeder. Here, too, the aluminum screen is removed and the braid is twisted into a bundle, but the central conductor remains.

Further assembly goes like this:

The braid of the loop and the central conductor of the feeder are soldered to the left end of the active frame (vibrator).
The feeder braid is soldered to the right end of the vibrator.
The lower end of the loop (braid) is connected to the feeder braid using a rigid metal jumper (you can use a wire, just make sure that it makes good contact with the braid). In addition to the electrical connection, it also sets the distance between the sections of the matching device. Instead of a metal jumper, you can twist the braid of the lower part of the cable into a bundle (remove the insulation in this area, remove the screen, roll it into a bundle). To ensure good contact, solder the bundles together with low-melting solder.
The pieces of cable must be parallel. The distance between them is about 50 mm (some deviations are possible). To fix the distance, clamps made of a dielectric material are used. You can also attach a matching device to a textolite plate, for example.
The cable going to the TV is soldered to the bottom of the feeder. The braid is connected to the braid, the center conductor is connected to the center conductor. To reduce the number of connections, the feeder and cable to the TV can be made one. Only in the place where the feeder should end should the insulation be removed so that a jumper can be installed.

This matching device allows you to get rid of interference, a blurry contour, a second blurry image. It is especially useful at a great distance from the transmitter, when the signal will be clogged with interference.

Another variant of the triple square

In order not to connect a short-circuited loop, the triple square antenna vibrator is made elongated. In this case, you can connect the cable directly to the frame as shown in the figure. Only the height at which the antenna wire is soldered is determined in each case individually. After the antenna is assembled, “tests” are carried out. The cable is connected to the TV, the center conductor and the braid are moved up / down, achieving a better picture. In the position where the picture will be most clear, the antenna cable taps are soldered, the soldering points are isolated. The position can be any - from the bottom jumper to the transition to the frame.

Sometimes one antenna does not give the desired effect. The signal turns out to be a weak image - black and white. In this case, the standard solution is to install a TV signal amplifier.

The simplest antenna for giving - from metal cans

To make this television antenna, in addition to the cable, you will only need two aluminum or tin cans and a piece of wooden plank or plastic pipe. Banks must be metal. You can take beer aluminum, you can - tin. The main condition is that the walls are even (not ribbed).

Banks are washed and dried. The end of the coaxial wire is cut - by twisting the strands of the braid and cleaning the central core from insulation, two conductors are obtained. They are attached to banks. If you know how, you can solder. No - take two small self-tapping screws with flat caps (you can use “fleas” for drywall), twist a loop at the ends of the conductors, thread a self-tapping screw with a washer installed on it, screw it to the jar. Just before that, you need to clean the metal of the can - removing the plaque with fine-grained sandpaper.

Banks are fixed on the bar. The distance between them is selected individually - according to the best picture. You should not hope for a miracle - there will be one or two channels in normal quality, or maybe not ... It depends on the position of the repeater, the "cleanliness" of the corridor, how correctly the antenna is oriented ... But as an exit in an emergency - this is a great option.

A simple Wi-Fi antenna from a metal can

An antenna for receiving a Wi-Fi signal can also be made from improvised means - from a tin can. This do-it-yourself TV antenna can be assembled in half an hour. This is if everything is done slowly. The jar should be made of metal, with smooth walls. Tall and narrow cans are great. If you put a homemade antenna on the street, find a jar with a plastic lid (as in the photo). The cable is taken antenna, coaxial, with a resistance of 75 ohms.

In addition to the can and cable, you will also need:

radio frequency connector RF-N;
a piece of copper or brass wire 2 mm in diameter and 40 mm long;
cable with a socket suitable for a Wi-Fi card or adapter.

The Wi-Fi transmitters operate on the 2.4 GHz frequency with a wavelength of 124 mm. So, it is advisable to choose a jar such that its height is at least 3/4 of the wavelength. For this case, it is better that it be more than 93 mm. The diameter of the jar should be as close as possible to half the wavelength - 62 mm for a given channel. There may be some deviations, but the closer to the ideal, the better.

Dimensions and Assembly

When assembling, a hole is made in the bank. It must be placed exactly at the right point. Then the signal will be amplified several times. It depends on the diameter of the selected can. All parameters are given in the table. Measure exactly the diameter of your jar, find the right line, have all the right sizes.

D - diameter	Lower limit of attenuation	Upper damping limit	LG	1/4 LG	3/4 LG
73 mm	2407.236	3144.522	752.281	188.070	564.211
74 mm	2374.706	3102.028	534.688	133.672	401.016
75 mm	2343.043	3060.668	440.231	110.057	330.173
76 mm	2312.214	3020.396	384.708	96.177	288.531
77 mm	2282.185	2981.170	347.276	86.819	260.457
78 mm	2252.926	2942.950	319.958	79.989	239.968
79 mm	2224.408	2905.697	298.955	74.738	224.216
80 mm	2196.603	2869.376	282.204	070.551	211.653
81 mm	2169.485	2833.952	268.471	67.117	201.353
82 mm	2143.027	2799.391	256.972	64.243	192.729
83 mm	2117.208	2765.664	247.178	61.794	185.383
84 mm	2092.003	2732.739	238.719	59.679	179.039
85 mm	2067.391	2700.589	231.329	57.832	173.497
86 mm	2043.352	2669.187	224.810	56.202	168.607
87 mm	2019.865	2638.507	219.010	54.752	164.258
88 mm	1996.912	2608.524	213.813	53.453	160.360
89 mm	1974.475	2579.214	209.126	52.281	156.845
90 mm	1952.536	2550.556	204.876	51.219	153.657
91 mm	1931.080	2522.528	201.002	50.250	150.751
92 mm	1910.090	2495.110	197.456	49.364	148.092
93 mm	1889.551	2468.280	194.196	48.549	145.647
94 mm	1869.449	2442.022	191.188	47.797	143.391
95 mm	1849.771	2416.317	188.405	47.101	141.304
96 mm	1830.502	2391.147	185.821	46.455	139.365
97 mm	1811.631	2366.496	183.415	45.853	137.561
98 mm	1793.145	2342.348	181.169	45.292	135.877
99 mm	1775.033	2318.688	179.068	44.767	134.301

The procedure is as follows:

You can do without an RF connector, but with it everything is much simpler - it is easier to set the emitter vertically upwards, connect the cable that goes to the router (router) or Wi-Fi card.

Digital TV T2 gaining momentum in popularity. And this is natural, digital television is replacing analog television and this is an irreversible process. Moreover, in the near future, analogue broadcasting will be completely discontinued. What should users do if they have TVs without a T2 receiver and no cable TV? The answer is simple - buy a T2 prefix. To date, the price of T2 consoles has dropped a lot and does not look sky-high. The benefits are quite large: you get a lot of channels in digital quality, no monthly fees, minimal costs and no need to buy a new TV. Only by comparing the quality of digital and analog TV you will never regret your choice.

Quite a lot has been written on the choice of T2 receivers. Moreover, new models are constantly being released. I would advise you to take an inexpensive, but new model, after reading the reviews on the websites of online stores. As a rule, any receiver works, but the antenna is of great importance. Even if you are not far from the TV tower, high-rise buildings, etc. block it. - and this is almost always, then a good antenna is the key to trouble-free (and most importantly, nerve-free) high-quality reception of the maximum number of digital TV channels.

But an expensive antenna is not always a good antenna. Especially if you are 50 km or more away from the TV tower. The stores offer "special" antennas for T2. In fact, there is nothing "special", you need a good antenna for the DCM range. If you still have an old DCM antenna - first of all try to connect it. Widespread "Polish" antennas are not suitable for receiving T2 digital channels.

I offer a proven version of a simple, at the same time excellently proven, homemade antenna for T2. The shape of the antenna is not new, it has been used for a long time when receiving DCM analog television, but the dimensions are optimized for receiving T2 digital channels.
It is worth noting that a large number of options for home-made antennas for T2 are offered on the Internet: from beer cans, from the antenna cable itself, a converted Polish one, etc. This is for the completely lazy, well, you should not expect quality from such antennas.

So. The long-known "eight" is taken as the shape of the antenna. The body of the antenna is made of any conductive material of suitable cross section. It can be a copper or aluminum wire with a thickness of 1 to 5 mm, a tube, a strip, a tire, a corner, a profile. Copper, of course, is preferable. I used a copper tube with a diameter of 6 mm. A good option and copper wire. I just had this tube.

Dimensions

The outer side of the square is 14 cm, the inner side is slightly smaller - 13 cm. Due to this, the middle of the two squares does not converge, leaving a gap of about 2 cm.
All you need is a tube, wire or other material, 115 cm long (this is with a small margin).

The first section is 13 cm + 1 cm for a loop (for strength), if made of wire, or riveted for soldering with an overlap for a tube. The second and third - 14 cm each, the fourth and fifth - 13 cm each, the sixth and seventh - 14 cm each, and the last eighth - 13 cm + 1 cm, again for the connection.

We clean the ends by 1.5 - 2 cm, twist two loops for each other, and then solder the junction. This will be one cable connection pin. After 2 cm another.

From a copper tube it looks like this

It is a little more difficult to bend the tube, but great precision is not required from us. Small flaws in the form do not affect the performance of the antenna. But the fact that the area of the conductor increases is a plus. Well, the conductivity of copper is higher than that of aluminum and, especially, steel. The higher the conductivity, the better the reception of the antenna.

The connection prepared for soldering is pre-riveted and cleaned. For soldering, you need to use a powerful soldering iron (from 150 watts). Simple amateur radio for 30 watts. don't solder. You can use acid for soldering.

Once again check the geometry and solder the connection

If you are not particularly bothered by the aesthetic appearance, you can simply mount the antenna on a glazing bead or any other handy holder. This antenna was located in the attic, so the simplest method of fastening was used - electrical tape. If the antenna will be placed outdoors, take care of a more aesthetic and reliable fastener.

This is a variant of the T2 antenna made of aluminum wire with a diameter of 3 mm. Fixed with one screw on the window. The distance to the TV tower is about 25 km. True, the 6th floor, I did not check below, but under these conditions, the signal level is 100% and the quality is 100%. The cable is old, 12 meters to the TV. Receives all 32 channels. At first I was worried that it was not copper, but as it turned out, in vain. Everything turned out great on ordinary aluminum wire (which was available). That is, if you have a zone of reliable reception, then you can not bother and safely use aluminum (I don’t know, maybe steel will do).

This antenna does not use any amplifiers. It is configured very simply - turn to the maximum signal level and quality on the channels of your tuner. Check other channels and fix the antenna. In case of poor reception, you can experiment not only by turning, but also by changing the location and height. Very often, the signal can be many times stronger when the antenna is displaced by only 0.5-1m to the side or in height. Good luck - the antenna has been tested - 100% operational and better than at least half, or even more, purchased antennas, where they save on everything and sell garbage for good money.

Television today and twenty years ago are two very different things. The number of channels, transmission range, broadcasting format has changed. But, in fact, the principle of transmitting a television signal remained the same. Radio waves of a certain frequency propagate through the air, they can be received using an antenna and directed to the TV tuner. We will not consider cable and fiber optic TV signal transmission systems, as well as IPTV (broadcasting via the Internet and SMART TVs).

As a couple of decades ago, and today, economical owners have a reasonable question: how to make an antenna for a TV with your own hands? And if during the USSR, there really was a problem in acquiring a high-quality TV antenna (total shortage), today a television antenna is made by hand solely for reasons of economy.

Homemade Design Options: General Principles

Depending on the distance between your TV receiver and the transmitting antenna of the TV center, the signal level will change. Another negative factor affecting the quality of television wave propagation is the presence of obstacles. Ideal reception occurs with a line of sight between the two antennas. That is, you can see the mast of the television center, even with binoculars. If there are buildings or tall trees in the way of the TV signal, there will be no reliable reception. However, waves reflected from other objects can be received using a TV antenna amplifier. If even weak waves do not “break through” to your house at all, you will have to make a mast. The network of TV and radio broadcasting stations is located in such a way that you can catch a signal in any settlement.

Beer cans (from Pepsi-Cola are also suitable)

Why is this material so popular?

firstly, the missing dimensions of the segments are compensated by a large receiving area: if you turn the can into a plane, you get a standard sheet;
secondly, aluminum has excellent conductivity, slightly falling short of copper: accordingly, resistance losses will be minimal;
thirdly, the aerodynamic shape reduces windage (which is especially important when placed on the street), and the lightness of the structure does not require particularly strong fastening;
and, finally, it is an affordable and absolutely free raw material, besides, lacquered aluminum perfectly resists the influence of moisture.

Before making an antenna out of beer cans, make sure that there are no high-rise buildings between the TV center and the receiving point that could block the signal.

Despite the relatively high reception quality, this design does not have a high intrinsic gain. Connecting a standard amplifier may have no effect, due to the complexity of selecting coefficients.

Necessary materials:

Two identical liter cans of beer, washed and dried. In extreme cases, you can use a half-liter, but the reception range will be reduced.
Antenna cable RK-75 of the required length (a design with a wiring length of more than 10 meters will most likely not provide reliable reception).
Antenna plug that matches your TV.
Bracket for fixing from a dielectric for fixing cans: a wooden block, hangers for clothes, a plastic pipe (metal-plastic will not work).
Fasteners: electrical tape, adhesive tape, or plastic clamps.
Soldering iron, standard solder, flux for aluminum soldering.
Knife, side cutters, sandpaper.

It makes no sense to paint the formulas for calculating the sizes for the reception frequency; anyway, it will not be possible to change the sizes of the segments. The DIY beer can antenna has been repeatedly tested in various conditions, so let's just use the finished sample.

We cut the antenna cable. There will be a plug at one end, and we open the other end so that there is at least 100 mm from the central core to the screen wound into a bundle. So that the “bare” braid is not exposed to corrosion, it can be hidden in heat-shrinkable cambric.

We clean the areas for soldering the cable: on the upper ends of the cans. Fine sandpaper is fine for this.

Stripping is carried out immediately before soldering and to the "bare" metal.

Each end of the wire is folded into a ring 3-5 mm in diameter, and carefully soldered. Then we fasten the resulting terminal to the bank using a galvanized self-tapping screw. After that, we clean the joints with a flux and solder, until the solder “sticks” normally.

We fix the banks (from the point of view of the theory of radio reception, now these are symmetrical vibrators) in such a way that there is exactly 75 mm between the ends with the cable. This is the optimal gap for receiving analog and digital television.

An important step: setting the product for optimal TV signal reception. Most likely, you know the direction to the tower of the broadcasting center. If not, Yandex cards will help you. Find a TV center, your home, and spend a virtual straight line. If you do not want to mess with the azimuth (this is impossible without a compass), determine the direction landmark in the line of sight. For example, a boiler room pipe or another object. For reliable reception, the home television antenna is located strictly perpendicular to the vector on the tower, and horizontally.

If the signal is received confidently, you are lucky the first time. At a considerable distance from the transmitter, you can catch the reflected signal. Even a simple antenna made from cans requires proper orientation in space (although this is not a satellite dish). In an area of poor reception, all-wave technology can suddenly "shoot" in any direction.

Do-it-yourself "beer" decimeter antenna allows you to confidently catch analog channels. And how to make an antenna for digital TV? No additional secrets. Digital broadcasting is carried out in the same range. If you have a DVB-T2 tuner, you can tune in to one or two multiplexes and receive a free set of Russian channels on beer cans.

Information:

If the signal strength is still not enough, you can make an antenna amplifier with your own hands.

Typical diagram in the illustration:

However, in order to solder and set up such a device yourself, elementary knowledge in radio engineering is required. Still, it is easier to buy a ready-made device, especially since you have already saved on the antenna.

"Eight", she is a rhombus, she is also a "Z" shaped

Perhaps the most popular design for do-it-yourselfers. This sufficiently powerful Kharchenko antenna confidently receives meter and decimeter frequencies in analog and digital format. When the question arises: “How to make an antenna with your own hands?”, This option is first of all assumed.

What is its advantage? With compact dimensions, in most cases no amplifier is required. Unless you want to receive a signal on the 1-3 floor in a densely built-up microdistrict, where dozens of high-rise buildings are located between you and the television center.

How to make a homemade antenna without complex calculations? For a typical broadcasting grid, there is a basic rhombus shoulder size: 140 mm. Distance between wire connection points: 10–15 mm.

Antenna Kharchenko with such dimensions falls just in the middle of a typical broadcast range. If you need to capture other channels (in some regions, the grid can operate at non-standard frequencies), you can make a wire structure in several rows. The illustration shows a drawing from the magazine "Radio" 50 years ago.

Then the meter range was accepted, and the antennas had corresponding gigantic dimensions. They were made of wire to reduce windage. This manufacturing technique requires patience and a large amount of material. Modern "homemade" prefer a copper tube or an aluminum plate.

To make an indoor antenna using this technology, a piece of wire is enough. The device is hung in a window opening (in the direction of the TV center) and there is no need to worry that it will be blown by the wind. You can make several diamonds, while the reception range will be significantly expanded. An ideal option for digital television, which you can do with your own hands in the country or in a private house.

Amplify the signal without an amplifier

The reception efficiency (primarily this applies to the option under consideration) can be improved without additional electronics. It is enough to install a reflector, or a reflector screen. It will return television waves back to the antenna field, almost doubling the level. The canvas is located at a distance of 100 mm on the opposite side of the TV tower. A prerequisite is no electrical contact. Moreover, the reflector does not have to be continuous. A row of metal tubes or openwork mesh is enough.

You can enhance the effect by applying the "double bi-square" design. The same dimensions apply, but the range remains the same. The extra length simply increases the signal strength.

And finally, the most complex digital TV antenna that you can make yourself

The log-periodic scheme allows you to get the maximum gain without additional circuits.

The principle of operation of the design: in the direction of the signal source, there are two conductive tires, on which perpendicular vibrators are installed in strict sequence. Their length and distance between them are calculated according to a strict algorithm. An error of 2-5% will lead to a complete inoperability of the system. But a properly assembled antenna will receive an analog and digital signal with the highest quality.

Note:

This type of antenna requires careful orientation towards the TV tower.

Can be used with a screen that helps to amplify a weak signal.

Outcome

Making a homemade antenna is not just cost savings. This is an excellent opportunity to practice radio engineering, without the risk of damaging expensive radio elements and materials. And if your receiving point is located in an unfavorable location, you can always try a different configuration without buying several factory-made antennas.