How to make a TV antenna from beer cans. How to make a TV antenna from beer cans. Making a simple antenna from beer cans

Oddly enough, but sometimes a device made with your own hands from improvised means is more effective than a special device. This applies to television antennas. We have all experienced poor reception of broadcast channels. We climbed onto the roof, tried to direct the stationary antenna in the right direction - the result was zero. This mainly applies to residents of the private sector or household plots in small settlements.

And rarely did anyone think that it was possible to radically correct the situation by having empty cans on hand. And I got pleasure, and you can use it effectively. In just a few minutes, with minimal knowledge and experience, you can become the proud owner of a real TV antenna, which is not inferior in quality to industrial designs.

Many do not think about how the TV shows, and what it needs for this. We just sit in front of him and enjoy our favorite films or analytical programs. However, there are times when, being in nature, you really want to watch a football match of your favorite teams, and there is no catching device with you. Such a situation can occur both at the dacha and in the city center, when the wire is either blown away by the wind, or it is cut off by malicious hooligans. It is necessary to quickly respond to a serious situation and find the right way out. In order not to miss football, you need to have several aluminum cans with you. And it doesn't matter with what content: beer, lemonade, non-alcoholic or low-alcohol drink. Any will do.

Even in ancient times, the Greeks called insect antennae antennae. And it is not surprising, because they have a lot in common, as practice has shown. Thanks to such antennae, living things caught signals, thereby understanding what was happening around them. The task of television antennas is practically the same: to catch radio waves and amplify them.

Catching devices are divided into two types:

• room;
• outdoor.

Outdoor homemade antenna

An outdoor antenna is a wire that is connected to the TV at one end and goes to the roof at the other. Experts agree that the longer the cable, the better the reception. Receiving room devices vary in shape. The most popular are stands with two branches, which visually resemble insect antennae.

If you decide to make an antenna from beer cans with your own hands, you should take care of purchasing them. Sometimes there is not much choice, and you have to be content with what is in the store or already in the trash can. However, you need to know the following. Cans can be either completely aluminum or with tin inserts. This can affect the way the cable is attached to them. Aluminum practically does not lend itself to soldering, so they resort to using self-tapping screws. Tins are another matter. A few strokes with a soldering iron and the receiver is ready to use. The presence or absence of iron elements can be determined using a magnet. Aluminum will not be attracted, but tin will.

It is worth noting that the larger the volume of the can, the better the reception. Therefore, it is necessary to opt for liter copies. In their absence, you can be content with half a liter or even 0.25 ml. If beer cans are not available, old aluminum pans can be used.

The cable can be found:

• flat two-core;
• coaxial, including a core and a screen.

If you have options, you should opt for the coaxial, which is best suited for these purposes. In this case, such a cable must be divided from one end separately into a core (central conductor), and separately into a screen.

The holder can be a regular stick. In length, it should accommodate two cans plus a distance of about 10 centimeters between them. A hanger for sweaters and jackets will do. This design can be easily hung on a cornice, attached to shelving shelves, or suspended from exotic deer antlers (if any).

Antenna mount can be the most basic

It should be noted that the closest proximity to the window is considered the most optimal location for the receiving device. Reception will be much better than with the antenna deep in the house.

It will take only 10-15 minutes to make a simple antenna using empty beer cans. However, it is worth stocking up on the following tools and materials:

• beer cans in the amount of two pieces. Moreover, in terms of volume, they can be half-liter, 0.75 ml or liter. You can be content with smaller volumes;
• insulating tape or tape;
• screws - self-tapping screws (2 pieces);
• antenna cable;
• plug;
• with a stick (trempel);
• a screwdriver;
• soldering iron with rosin or tin.

For the manufacture of the antenna, elementary actions are taken that do not take much effort, energy and free time, and also do not require special knowledge. So let's get started.

1. First you need to decide on the length of the cable. This indicator is influenced by the expected location of the future receiving device. You can install the antenna from inside the room, near a window, or in close proximity to the TV. The structure can be taken outdoors and installed on the roof. Typically, the cable length is one and a half to five meters.
2. One end of the cable is equipped with a plug, the other end is freed from the inner core somewhere at a distance of 5 to 10 centimeters.

   

   How to strip a TV cable

3. The braid is unwound and twisted apart from the main vein.
   
4. The braid must never touch the main conductor. This leaves 2 cm of the insulating plastic layer.
5. Beer cans are being prepared - they need to be emptied. Empty jars are thoroughly rinsed with water and dry well.
   
6. We connect clean dry cans to the cable using one of the selected methods.
   
7. Basically, the TV antenna is ready for use. The only thing left is to build a structure. Any slats, small boards, trempel (hangers), plastic tubes can be used. We attach our beer cans to these simple holders using scotch tape or electrical tape. The gap between the banks is selected experimentally. We connect the newly created antenna to the TV. We fix the banks loosely and begin to move them along the bar (boards, sticks) and wait for the signal to become the most optimal. As soon as we have “caught” the best signal, we seriously reel in the banks. The minimum distance from which it is worth starting the movement of the cans is different, depending on the volume. In the presence of 0.75 liter cans, the movement begins from a distance of 7.5 cm. To make it convenient to move around the room with a cable, it should be tied to the same stick using insulating tape or ordinary tape.
   
8. The TV antenna is ready. The final touch is to stick it into the TV socket, determine the optimal location for it and watch programs in a high-quality image.

Useful video instructions for making antennas from cans:

Antenna reception range

It is worth noting that beer cans are the most affordable material for making a television antenna. However, such a receiver also has certain disadvantages, which include, first of all, the real inability to receive signals at decimeter waves. Such antennas will not pull the meter range in terms of their characteristics. The technology for creating an antenna from beer cans is also suitable for creating similar devices from metal tubes. But first, you need to decide on the broadcast frequency. This indicator is directly related to the size of the metal cylinders. The broadcasting band occurs at frequencies from 50 to 230 MHz and is subdivided into 12 channels.

Broadcast frequency	Length of cylinders
223.25 MHz	66 cm
215.25 MHz	69 cm
207.25 MHz	71 cm
199.25 MHz	75 cm
191.25 MHz	77 cm
183.25 MHz	80 cm
175.25 MHz	85 cm
93 25 MHz	147 - 150 cm
85.25 MHz	162 - 163 cm
77.25 MHz	177 - 179 cm
59.25 MHz	229 - 234 cm
50 MHz	271 - 276 cm

Frequency also affects the length of the vibrators and the cable size for the receiver. A frequency of 50 MHz assumes a vibrator length of 271 - 276 centimeters, as well as a wire ratio of 286 centimeters to 95 centimeters.

Before you start making a television antenna from beer cans with your own hands, you need to decide initially where the antenna will have a permanent location. When choosing an outdoor location, it is worth taking care that strong gusts of wind and unfavorable weather conditions do not adversely affect the operation of the receiving device. Despite the fact that aluminum is not afraid of corrosion, it is still necessary to cover its surface with a pin-varnish joint.

Tsapon-varnish

Some resort to more effective measures, creating something like a cover. This will require a regular plastic bottle. The following steps are taken:

1. Using a sharp object, the neck and bottom of the bottle are cut off.
2. A hole is made in the place where the cable comes out.
3. After connecting the cable, the hole is treated with hot water.

It is not only beer cans made of aluminum that are used to create a television receiver. You can take other cans as a basis, for example, from under canned peas, olives or olives, legumes. They are much more convenient to use, as they are solderable. However, the main disadvantage is the possibility of rusting at high humidity. It is worth knowing about this and taking into account when making an antenna device.

Antennas can also be made from tin cans

To create an antenna, you need:

1. completely cut off the lid;
2. if there is a varnish coating or dyes on the can, it should be thoroughly cleaned of them;
3. a vein is soldered to the first jar, a screen to the second;
4. the resulting device is attached to a stick and fixed with tape or electrical tape.

Useful information!

To prevent rainwater from accumulating inside the cans, make several holes on the side where the cans are directed towards the ground.

In order to create an antenna with your own hands from such material, you should have in stock:

• TV cable;
• pipes made of steel, aluminum, brass, copper;
• metal strips;
• textolite;
• barbell.

A very serious device can be built from the above material. The assembly principle is practically no different from the canned version. Let's decide on the procedure:

1. Tubes are taken and their ends are flattened.
2. On a piece of textolite there are two cylinders, the distance between which should be about 7 centimeters.
3. They are attached to metal strips using clamps.
4. As for the wire, it is soldered in the same way as when using beer cans.
5. The seam area is best treated with nitro varnish, epoxy resin or silicone.
6. The antenna is carefully attached to the boom.
7. The free end of the wire is taken and a connector is soldered to it, which is then inserted into the TV socket.

Conclusion

There is a technology for making useful things with your own hands, without spending a lot of money and a lot of free time. This includes, among other things, the use of beer cans to create a receiving device. You can spend a quarter of an hour enjoying decent quality television programs.

How to make an antenna from beer cans: step-by-step instructions with photos and videos

5 (100%) 3 votes

Once I received a letter by e-mail from a visitor to the site Nail, who turned out to be a handicraft home craftsman, asking for help in making a television antenna for giving out of beer cans. On the Internet, I have repeatedly come across descriptions of making television antennas from aluminum cans of beer, but I treated such homemade antennas with great distrust.

Indeed, in order to develop a design and calculate the geometric dimensions of the antenna, it is necessary to know the theoretical foundations of microwave technology and the calculation methodology. After the development and manufacture of a television antenna, it is necessary to tune it and determine with the help of expensive measuring instruments how much the actual technical characteristics of the antenna correspond to the given parameters.

Finally, it is necessary to carry out tests in real conditions. Only after carrying out the above works can one judge the advisability of using a television antenna in certain conditions of receiving a television signal. Such work can only be done by a team of highly qualified radio engineers. It was not possible to find reliable information on the quality of the television antenna from beer cans on the Internet.

Nail was already receiving a television signal in his summer cottage with the help of an antenna made with his own hands from two beer cans according to drawings taken from the Internet. The antenna was installed inside the country house. Well the TV showed only three digital TV channels instead of the thirty available for reception.

In the hope of saving money and getting the opportunity to watch all thirty channels, Nail decided to make a multi-element antenna from beer cans and install it on a mast. During the manufacture of the antenna, Nail had a number of questions, for the answers to which he turned to me. I agreed to help him, as the opportunity presented itself to get an answer to the question of interest to many: Is an antenna from beer cans a myth or reality?

Making a mast for a television antenna

You can raise the antenna to a height by installing it on the roof of a country house or on a free-standing mast. Nail decided not to spoil the roof, and to install the antenna on a hand-made mast, fixed on the wall of the country house.

Supporting and holding the mast in an upright position, the brackets were electrically welded from steel angles, pipe and sheet material.

This photo shows the bottom view of the ready-to-install support bracket. To support the mast in the vertical direction, a thrust bearing is welded to the bottom of the cylinder. It turned out to be a glass. A hole is made in the bottom of the glass to drain water during precipitation. To fix the mast on the side of the glass, two holes were made, onto which nuts were welded coaxially. By tightening the bolts into the nuts, you can clamp the mast pipe in the glass and thereby exclude its rotation when the wind affects the antenna.

One of the bots fixing the mast with a nut screwed onto it simultaneously serves to connect the grounding wire, which diverts the electric current in the event of a lightning strike into the mast. The lightning rod, directing the electric current from the lightning into the ground, protects the TV from serious damage, excluding the high voltage of lightning from hitting its antenna input.

The retaining top bracket is made in the same design, but without the thrust bearing and welded nuts. In my opinion, the construction of the mast attachment implemented by Nail turned out to be simple, functional and very reliable.

The mast is made of a steel pipe with a length of about 2.5 meters, which will allow, taking into account the height of the brackets on the house, to place the antenna at a height of more than 4 meters above ground level. This height of the antenna placement, taking into account the real reception conditions, will ensure the unimpeded passage of the television signal from the TV tower to the antenna from the beer cans. To attach the antenna to the mast, two threaded bolts were welded to it.

The photo shows the mast ready for installation. Clamps for fastening the antenna from beer cans are fixed on the bolts with the help of nuts. For a good fit and secure attachment of the antenna to the mast, rubber gaskets are installed on the clamps.

Making an antenna from beer cans

Based on the recommendations given on the sites dedicated to making an antenna from beer cans, Nail chose an antenna from four pairs of cans. The authors of the articles argue that this is the optimal number of cans for the antenna, which provides good matching in wave impedance with the cable and such an antenna, due to the summation of the EMF from pairs of cans, has even a good gain. I do not give the geometric dimensions of the antenna for the reason stated at the end of the article.

To ensure that the cans are positioned relative to each other at a predetermined distance, the base shown in the photograph was made from plastic pipes.

Eight beer cans were secured to the base with three rings of insulating tape. The electrical connection between the banks was made using two single-core wires for electrical wiring in isolation using the soldering method.

One yellow wire with a green stripe connected the upper left bank, two right middle ones and the lower left bank. The other banks are connected with the second white wire. The operation of the antenna was also tested by connecting all the left cans to one wire, and the right ones to the other.

The central core TV cable was soldered to a white wire, and its copper braid to a yellow wire. The foil remained free.

After assembling the antenna from beer cans, it was fixed with clamps with self-tapping screws on the mast and, for beauty, was painted with silver paint from a spray can.

A mast with an antenna made of beer cans was installed in the brackets. It remains only to accurately direct the antenna to the TV tower, evaluate the number of received television channels and the quality of the broadcast television programs.

Nail's conclusion on the operation of a television antenna
made from beer cans

Testing the operation of the antenna from eight beer cans showed that instead of the previously normally showing 3 television channels, the TV began to show 6 and 13 more in black and white. Changing the connection scheme of the cans (all the left banks were connected to each other and further to the central core, and all the right ones to the shielding braid) did not affect the result of the antenna operation. My old antenna, made from 2 beer cans, received more channels at this height than the new one from 8 beer cans.

I bought and installed an industrial-made antenna Locus 25.62 on the mast and now the TV in digital quality shows 30 channels! All my family members are happy, although it's a pity that my experiment failed !!!

If you urgently need to make a television antenna from scrap materials to receive several channels, then an antenna from two cans is quite suitable. If you want to watch all available television channels in digital quality, then I advise you to buy an industrial-made antenna or make your own television antenna, time-tested.

I express my deep gratitude to Nail for the photographs sent and the results of the experiment.

Despite the huge number of television antennas on the consumer market, which can be easily purchased at any electronics store, interest in how to make an antenna for a TV with your own hands does not disappear. This interest can be explained by the reluctance to spend money on buying an antenna, being far from retail outlets (if you are in a remote place or in the country) or the failure of a purchased one.

Antennas for a TV receiver can be divided into several types.

1. All-wave antenna- the design is simple to manufacture, it can be made from simple materials at hand. It picks up a digital signal quite well outside of the city, where there is not much interference. When located near a broadcasting tower, it can receive analog TV.
2. Log-periodic band antenna also easy to manufacture. It has perfect consistency with the feeder across all ranges, without changing the parameters in it. Since this design has average technical parameters, it can be used in the country, or as an indoor antenna in the city.
3. Decimeter antenna... A simplified modification of the Z-antenna is often used, it works well, regardless of the signal reception conditions.

All-wave antenna

All-wave TV signal catchers are also called frequency independent (FFA). Their designs can be different.

Of two petals

The figure shows an all-wave antenna made of two metal plates a triangular shape and two wooden slats on which a fan-shaped copper wire is stretched.

Copper wire can be taken of any diameter, it does not play a special role. The ends of the wire are attached at a distance of 20 to 30 mm between each other. Plates with other ends of the wire welded together should be spaced 10 mm apart.

The metal plate can be replaced with a square piece of fiberglass, which has copper foil on one side.

Since the design of a homemade antenna is square, its height will be equal to the width, and the angle between the canvases is 90 degrees. Zero potential point marked in yellow in the figure. It is not required to solder the cable sheath in this place - a tight tying will be enough.

A two-lobe-shaped TV signal receiver assembled in this way is capable of receiving both all decimeter and meter channels. Moreover, he is good at picking up the signal in all directions. But if you install the PN in the area of ​​poor signal reception from the TV tower, it will work normally only with an amplifier. Others can be applied.

Butterfly shape

A do-it-yourself TV antenna can be made in the shape of a butterfly. To make this rather powerful antenna yourself, you need to prepare a plate or plywood with dimensions of 550 x 70 x 5 mm, a wire with a copper core with a cross section of 4 mm, and, accordingly, a PK75 cable.

1. Mark the holes on the plywood and drill them. Dimensions shown are in inches. Below is a table for converting inches to mm.
   
   
   
2. From a copper wire, it is necessary to cut 8 pieces of the same length, 37.5 cm each.
3. In the center of each wire, remove the insulation from the sections (2 cm each), as in the figure.
   
   
4. After that, you should cut off 2 more pieces of wire, already 22 centimeters each, divide them into 3 equal parts and remove the insulation at the separation points.
   
   
5. Give the segments V-shape... Care should be taken to maintain a distance of 7.5 cm between the ends of the wire. It is this that is optimal to receive a clear signal.
   
   
6. Connect all the elements according to the figure below.
   
   
7. Next, you need to purchase a jack to connect a plug to it.
   
8. The cable must be soldered to the coil pins as shown.
   
   
9. Make 2 more lengths of wire to connect the antennae to the socket.
   
10. Screw the socket onto the board and connect all the elements.
    
    
    

That's all - you made an antenna for the TV with your own hands.

From beer cans

To make such an original PNA, you will need 2 cans (0.5 l or 0.75) of beer or other drink. But before you make a TV antenna, you need to consider some material requirements... Namely, it is recommended to purchase a high-quality television cable with a resistance of 75 ohms per meter. How is it correct? Make sure the center strand is strong and the braid is double and solid.

Do not forget that the longer the cable is, the stronger the signal damping will be, which is especially important for receiving meter waves, in contrast to the UHF, for which the length of the wire also matters, but not so much.

It will also be necessary to prepare a regular wooden trempel, a pair of self-tapping screws, electrical tape or scotch tape and, if possible, a soldering iron with tin.

Antenna from beer cans can receive both decimeter wavelengths and meter.

For clarity of the whole process, you can watch the video.

Log-periodic antenna

A log-periodic antenna (LPA) can be used to receive radio waves of both meter and decimeter ranges. To make such a signal receiver, you can use an aluminum tube with a diameter of 10 mm and metal rods (pins), which can be bought at a store where fasteners are sold, as a stand. Ideally, instead of threaded rods, it is better to use smooth tubes or rods. A plastic U-shaped box is taken as a basis.

When the soldering is completed, the manufacture of the device can be considered complete and you can start testing your creation.

Decimeter antenna

Homemade decimeter signal catchers can be of different shapes and designs, from the simplest to make to the most complex devices.

Annular

The simplest design for receiving UHF can be done in a short time with your own hands from scrap materials... All you need is a coaxial cable and an appropriately sized piece of plywood.

Now all this needs to be collected:

• prepare a piece of coaxial cable (PK75) 530 mm long (a ring will be made of it);
• also cut another piece of cable 175 mm long - this will be a loop;
• make a ring (1), solder a loop (2) and a cable (3) that connects to the TV;
• fix all this on a plywood sheet and direct the made TV signal receiver towards the TV tower.

If your TV receiver is using such an antenna, try making a more sophisticated device.

In the form of a figure eight

A home antenna of the UHF range with your own hands can be made of wire in the form of a number 8. To make such a receiver, you can use copper or aluminum wire with a diameter of 3 to 5 mm, as well as a cable RK75. During the manufacturing process, you will also need glue gun.

Manufacturing progress.

1. Using the wire cutters, you need to cut off 2 pieces of wire, 56 cm each.
2. At the ends of each segment, make a loop, which should go 1 cm apart.
3. Bend the wire squares and connect the loops. Solder the cable to the squares as shown in the figure. The central core is soldered to one square, the braid to the other. The distance between the elements should be 2 cm. The entire structure can be fixed in the lid from under a 20 liter water bottle by filling with glue.

Such a dmv range receiver can be located anywhere, and it does not require an amplifier. Unless, an amplifier may be needed if the device is outdoor, and the cable length will be considerable. In this case, to compensate for signal losses, you will need to install it.

From a metal-plastic pipe

A do-it-yourself TV antenna can also be made from an ordinary metal-plastic pipe. This will result in a device for receiving dmv with a possible range from 480 MHz to 1000 MHz. This “model” uses a pipe with a diameter of 16 mm and a cable of 5.5 m. The ring will require 55 cm of pipe, and the rack will require 14 cm, which is equal to a quarter of the wavelength. This serves to better match the outer sheath of the cable and reduces high-frequency currents.

The cable exit in this design is made through a hole in the pipe. The cable sheath should be fastened with a clamp to the stripped part of the pipe. The central core of the cable is attached to the ring (a screw, washer and nut can be used). Such a homemade product works well as a room antenna in apartments with reinforced concrete walls that poorly transmit a television wave. Thanks to the extended cable, it can be taken out to the balcony or placed on the windowsill - the reception quality will only improve.

In the form of a frame

Another design of the dmv antenna is assembled in the form of a frame. It will be made from aluminum plates(stripes).

Thus, hand-made antennas will help you save money on their purchase, and in some cases get out of the situation when there is a TV, but the standard antenna is out of order, or it is not there at all. Moreover, the quality of receiving homemade products is not worse than factory counterparts. If you do not want to tinker with the device yourself, then the information about being in the store will come in handy.

In this article I want to tell the "whole truth" about the beer TV antenna. Let's figure it out, an antenna from beer cans is a myth or reality. On the Internet, the most common option is the following: two banks are separated by 7.5 cm and connected to the central core and braid of a 75 Ohm television cable. However, this option works well only with a strong signal and with a short cable, i.e. in fact, in ideal conditions, when the TV tower is visible from the window of the room, or the TV signal transmitter is several kilometers away. And if you need an antenna that picks up a signal of 30 km? is it possible to make a correct and most importantly simple antenna for digital television from beer cans? Can! The antenna turns out to be quite broadband. Accepts the entire range of UHF and strong MV signals.

First of all, you need to delve a little into the theory. From the point of view of a "classic antenna", what are two beer cans spaced 10 to 120mm apart? We take two standard sizes of beer cans: 0.5l (can height 168mm) and 0.33l (can height 115mm) and begin to calculate what is the ratio of cans size and frequencies of TV channels of the UHF range. Two beer cans from the classical point of view (antenna theory) can be either a split half-wave vibrator or a split wave vibrator. I will not bother with technical calculations, I will immediately give a table of applicability to television bands. For those who are interested in calculations, see the book from the old 60s: Karl Rothammel "Antennas", in the relevant sections. Pictures from the same book.

So, we are primarily interested in the UHF range (it is in it that digital television is broadcast in the DTV-T2 format). In the UHF range, two cans of 0.5 liters. from beer are a split wave vibrator. We look at the parameters of the wave vibrator.

Considering that the diameter of the beer can is in the region of 1/10 of the wavelength, we roughly determine according to the graph (we mentally continue the lines): the shortening coefficient K = 0.75 and the input resistance of two beer cans is about 600 Ohm. (There are no exact data on this score. I have, but I want to believe that it is) It turns out that the construction replicated on the Internet, here is such an antenna

not correct by agreement.NS then a radiator with an input impedance of 600 ohms is connected to a 75 ohm cable without any matching. As already mentioned, this design works only in the immediate vicinity of the TV tower. And we would like to receive in difficult reception conditions.

/// Added on 27/03/2019. The antenna of two cans in the picture above is not exactly wrong at all, it is quite a place to be, but not quite suitable in terms of the frequency range. Two cans of 0.5 liters, like a HALF-WAVE VIBRATOR, correspond to frequencies somewhere in the region of 250-400 MHz. There are no terrestrial digital television channels in this frequency range. Such a HALF-WAVE split vibrator has a resistance of 60-70 Ohm, which is quite consistent with the RK-75 cable. It will receive, but a strong signal, and in these conditions it is easier to receive digital TV just with a regular plug. We want more, and we begin to consider the two banks as a WAVE vibrator, the frequency of the antenna immediately goes into the desired range of the UHF, but the resistance of the vibrator increases tenfold !, and the drop cable is the same 75 Ohm. Without appropriate coordination, we significantly underestimate the capabilities of the can antenna.

I didn’t pay attention before, but in the picture the size is indicated as 0.75m! plus banks 2x0.17, i.e. the antenna span should be 1 meter in the picture. Damn ... is that a half-wave vibrator for a frequency of 150 MHz like the 6th channel of meter waves ?! Or wave at 300MHz ... so there is no TV broadcasting at these frequencies. In short, some strange size in the picture. If the distance between the banks is 7.5 cm still far from going, but you can still do better!

///

Correct beer antenna.

Finally, we move on to a homemade design of a simple yet effective beer can antenna. We need (in brackets the quantity for an antenna array of 8 beer cans is indicated):

• beer cans 0.5l - 4pcs. (For the advanced version of the antenna array 8 cans);
• alum. single-core wire with a diameter of approximately 2.5mm - 1m. You can use a wire of any diameter (for a lattice of 8 cans, you need about 2m);
• transformer 300 Ohm / 75 Ohm 1pc. It can also be called "300/75 matching device" or "telescopic BT antenna adapter". In the store it costs about $ 0.5;
• self-tapping screws with a press washer 6pcs. (for lattice 14pcs);
• dielectric base, board, plywood sheet, plexiglass, etc. dimensions 150 * 300mm. (For lattice 150 * 1000)

A schematic drawing of a simple antenna for digital television DTV-T2 from cans of beer is shown below. To points and a " the transformer 300/75 is connected. The figure shows the dimensions for 33 channel UHF. The first multiplex in the city of Miass, Chelyabinsk Region, "goes" on this channel. If necessary, you can recalculate the dimensions to a different frequency.

Distance BETWEEN the wires that connect the banks of the upper and lower levels should be 13-14mm, with a wire diameter of 2.5mm. In this case, the wire line has resistances of the order of 300 ohms. This is for reconciliation. If the wire is with a different diameter, you need to recalculate the distance BETWEEN conductors, it should be approximately equal to 5.1 wire diameters. (for a wire with a diameter of 2mm, the distance between the conductors = 10mm)

/// Added on 27/03/2019. I was asked why in the drawings the size between the wires is different, then 20, then 14mm? I agree, I overlooked it. See the picture below. to get the resistance of the power line = 300 Ohm, you need a certain distance between the wires, because we use what is at hand, then the size D "must be recalculated for your wire diameter. Between the M wires, and in the center of the D wires" there are also different values. Formulas indicated, resistance Z = 300 Om, substitute the diameter of the wire used, calculate D. "You can recalculate, you can take from the table (see the figure below).

Top-level beer cans with Rin ~ 600 Ohm. connected in parallel with the banks of the lower level Rin ~ 600 Ohm. The total resistance at points a a "is about 300 Ohm, which is consistent with the resistance of the two-wire line. In this design, the distance between the banks of the upper and lower level, in principle, can be taken by another 0.3λ- 0.6 λ, the main thing here is that the antenna feed point is exactly in the middle between banks. The distance along the width at the extreme points of the cans should be 0.75 medium wavelength. Let me remind you that 0.75 is a coefficient. shortening the wave vibrator.

A practical implementation of the design of an antenna from beer cans for receiving digital television.

We mark the board, clean the aluminum. wire from insulation.

We clean the edge of the jar from varnish. With an awl we pierce a hole for a self-tapping screw. We screw in the cans from the inside self-tapping screw, he with his hat will press the can wall to the aluminum. wire.

Added on 11/23/2018: The stores have a flux for soldering aluminum, it is better to solder the jar to the wire if the structure will be used outdoors. And after soldering, fix the jar with a self-tapping screw.

To wrap a self-tapping screw with a press washer from the inside of the can, on the opposite side we make a technological hole for a screwdriver. No drilling required. With a clerical knife we ​​make a cross to a cross cuts, we bend the resulting petals inside the jar. Make slots at the bottom of the can for water to drain.

We fasten the cans to the carrier plate. The self-tapping screw presses the wall of the can to the wire. Along the width, the edges of the cans should be spaced 0.75 wavelengths apart. Distance between wires 13-14mm ("Between" is the size M, see above the drawing of the antenna from beer cans. with a wire diameter of 2.5mm). You should get something similar.

Now, exactly in the middle of the cans, you need to connect a 300/75 transformer. Such as in the photo. There are almost all shops that sell TV antennas.

The transformer screws must be connected to the wire. A short connecting wire is passed through the board. From the side of the cans we press with a self-tapping screw and ensure the contact of the communication line with the connecting wire.

The transformer is attached to the opposite side of the carrier plate. The connecting wire is bent under the screws of the transformer.

Connect the TV connector with a 75 Ohm cable and then to the TV. The cable can be connected with a connector if the antenna will not be used outdoors. If the antenna is intended for outdoor installation, the TV cable must be soldered. The design of the antenna in the photo is intended for operation in a place protected from precipitation (attic of a summer house), therefore everything is assembled on screws, without the use of soldering. Instead of a transformer, you can use a U-bend, but this results in a narrower antenna.

The correct antenna from beer cans according to the drawing is ready.

During the tests, channels from 23 to 60 were received 15 km from the TV tower and with a 10-meter drop cable. The beer can antenna was compared in the Kharchenko antenna (gain without screen about 6 dB), in the form of an 8-line with a rhombus side of 1/4 wavelength. From beer cans it turned out to be more broadband, all channels of the UHF (DTV-T2) andwith satisfactory qualityVHF channels. Kharchenko's antenna only catches the UHF range. Keff. antenna gain of 4 cans of beer is 5.8 dB (in theory). The disadvantage of an antenna made from beer cans: high windage and large dimensions, compared to the same 8-rotor from Kharchenko. Due to the broadbandness, the beer can antenna catches more industrial noise, which affects the analog signal, for the digital DTV_T2 this is not a disadvantage. Kharchenko's eight for digital TV, not much, but still better. But in this case, we are primarily interested in the unusual design.

For difficult reception conditions, you need to connect an amplifier from a Polish antenna instead of a 300/75 transformer. You can increase the number of cans up to 4 floors, in Rothammel's book, in the section "Powering multivibrator antennas",there are diagrams and calculations, but such a design is much larger in size. Here is a drawing of an antenna made from cans of beer. Note that the distance between the wires is different.

In this design, the distance between connection pointsand a " and the upper / lower floors is fundamentally important - a quarter of the wavelength, taking into account the coeff. shortening a two-wire communication line 0.25λ * 0.95 = 0.24λ. These are a quarter wave transformers that "sort of" convert 150 Ohm (4 parallel-connected floors of cans of 600 Ohm each) into the 300 Ohm we need. /// added on 03/27/2019 quarter wave tr. are calculated by the formula Ztr = square root of (Za * 2 * Z), where Za = 300 Ohm, this is the upper part. Z = 300 is the output to the matching device. coefficient 2 is taken into account that the two previously considered antennas are added in parallel. Ztr = root (300 * 2 * 300) = 424 Ohm. Again, we look at the resistance of the two-wire line, to get Ztr = 424 Ohm, you need to place the conductors at a certain distance,

///

The upper and lower banks are switched on with line crossing, which allows to add signals in phase. Distance 0.48λ is again half the wavelength, taking into account the shortening of 0.5 λ * 0.95. Keff. antenna gain from 8 cans of beer is equal to 8.6 dB (theoretically).

you can find your region on the TRRS website on the map, double-clicking on the green TV tower opens a window with digital TV frequencies.

Enjoy watching TV in digital quality.

I'll tell you about another antenna, which, in my opinion, is easier to manufacture. All the same, an antenna made of beer cans, for many, is not an object of aesthetic admiration.

Literature: Karl Rothammel "Antennas" section VHF antennas / Multi-vibrator antennas

08 / 2015-03 / 2019 When copying material, please do not hesitate and refer to the original article.

Other additions:

03/26/2019 Picture of how to replace a can with a V-shaped vibrator. The rest of the dimensions are retained.

The TV antenna is used as a signal receiver that goes from the repeater to the TV (or receiver). Sometimes, along with factory antennas, homemade devices can be found on the roofs of houses. In terms of their power, they are not inferior to the original receivers. Below we will consider information that will help you assemble an antenna from beer cans.

Transmission and reception of television signals

From the point of view of physics, antennas are multi-pole conductors that transmit and receive radio waves in different frequency ranges. Due to these properties, they can receive a large number of signals transmitted at different wavelengths and frequencies. The propagation speed of radio waves is tens of thousands of kilometers per second. This allows you to transmit any information over long distances instantly.

A similar principle of operation for television systems:

• The transmitter (repeater) sends signals to the area with different frequencies. A specific TV channel broadcasts on each of them.
• An aerial terrestrial or digital for a TV set receives the incoming signal and transmits it to a display device.

In specific cases, additional devices are used:

• Amplifier. Serves as a means of more powerful radiation, the radius of which increases significantly. As a result, weak signals are received.
• Receiver. To transmit a surround image in high resolution, the information is decoded into the DVB-T2 format, which must be decoded to view a digital TV channel.

Together, these devices provide the viewer with live broadcast television.

Having considered the principle of operation of television, we can conclude that the antenna is an obligatory element and without it it is impossible to watch TV channels.

The principle of operation and design of receiving antennas

The basis of their work is the gain (KU) and the directional action (directivity), which are determined by the design and impedance of the receiving antenna. The effectiveness and usefulness of the device depends on these characteristics.

Most of the factory television antennas are manufactured with the expectation of coverage around the entire circumference, the LPC is comparable to the coefficient of performance (COP) and is close to unity. There are two types of antennas by design type:

• Flat. Designed to search for a signal in the horizontal direction. They are simpler to construct and the manufacturing of these television antennas is less expensive. The circular coverage on the horizon in 99% of cases guarantees a high-quality signal.
• Wide. They look for a signal in the horizontal and vertical planes. They work in two planes and conduct a spherical search for a signal. They are expensive and include more products, but guarantee reliable performance where flat antennas fail (mountainous terrain).

In addition to the direction of the receiving antenna, another indicator is also important - KU. It determines the distance over which the antenna's effectiveness extends. Gain is measured in decibels, i.e. indicates the noise level of the signal the device is designed for. If the repeater is installed far away, a more powerful antenna with low gain is needed. Also, its installation is recommended in unfavorable climatic conditions, which drown out and scatter radio waves, reducing their noise.

Making an antenna from beer cans

The question immediately arises - why assemble an antenna from beer cans with your own hands? The answer is simple - a situation may arise when the standard antenna fails and an important premiere or favorite football match will begin soon. There is no new time to buy and install, and not everyone has a spare antenna. An antenna made of cans is a good conductor and connects very quickly, and only the tools at hand are needed for assembly. By the way, manufacturing does not require any installer skills.

Preparation

To start work, you need to prepare all materials and tools, namely:

• Two beer cans. Only 0.33 l tin containers are suitable. Any manufacturer can be used as jars are the same in terms of the composition of the material.
• Screws (self-tapping screws).
• Screwdriver. Need a curly nozzle. Use only a hand-held screwdriver; a screwdriver will not work.
• small wooden stick. Any rake will do. It is permissible to use plastic as an analogue in work, but not metal.
• Scotch tape with electrical tape. Only thin materials.
• Antenna cable.
• Plug for connection.

The last two points can be omitted, since the plug with the cable can be taken from the faulty antenna.

If possible, instead of self-tapping screws, it is better to use a soldering iron and connect the cable using soldering.

Step-by-step instruction

When the devices are ready, you can proceed to the direct manufacture of the simplest receiving antenna from beer cans. The first step is to prepare the product:

• attach the cans to the board, placing them with their neck to each other.
• fix the cans with one skein of scotch tape;

The design of the future antenna is ready, now you need to take up the cable. The second step is to connect the cable:

• make holes on the bottom of the cans with self-tapping screws;
• clean the ends of the cable and pass through the holes to the outside.
• screw the ends onto the screws;
• screw the screws to the cans through the holes;
• connect the plug to the cable and make a connection to a TV set-top box or TV ..

The TV antenna from beer cans is ready to go.

The last step is left - setting:

• Walk around the room and outside with the antenna until the best image is found;
• While holding the jars, carefully remove the tape. Now they need to be removed and brought closer to each other parallel to the stick in order to get a good image on the TV.
• Secure the cans with several rolls of scotch tape.

If you can get the perfect image after plugging in the cable, you can fix the cans instead of moving them.

Upgrading a homemade antenna

If desired, the beer can TV antenna can be improved or redesigned, resulting in a powerful receiver that does not need an amplifier.

If you need a functional antenna for a summer cottage or garage, and buying from a store is expensive (and they can steal), it is better to assemble it yourself. In order not to worry about the climate and other conditions that can degrade the image, it is recommended to make an antenna that will pick up the signal in both planes. It will need the same tools, 9 beer cans and self-tapping screws:

• Support structure fabrication. You need to find four slats. screw three of them to the quad at the top, center and bottom. Fix the resulting structure with tape at the joints.
• Assembling the antenna. Two beer cans are installed on the top rail, and then the cable connection procedure suggested above is followed.
• Signal search. Walk around the room with the antenna and find the signal. In the absence of a high-quality image, move the banks along the rail, removing and bringing them closer to each other, until a high-quality signal is received.
• Completion. Fix the upper jars completely and repeat the procedure for the two lower pairs. They are installed at the same distance from each other as the upper ones.

A homemade antenna with signal reception in the horizontal and vertical planes is ready. But there is one more thing left - her protection.

Outdoor case

Sometimes it happens that TV channels show well only when the antenna is removed outside. This indicates a weak signal on the ground, which is additionally scattered by the structure. The only way out is to mount the antenna outside. How to make an antenna from beer cans for the street? First you need to protect it from precipitation.

An excellent variant of the cover is a plastic beer can:

• the neck and bottom are cut off;
• a hole for the cable is drilled in the center;
• the antenna fits into the bottle.

To prevent precipitation from falling through the hole, it is heated by a match and is deformed under the influence of temperature. The molten plastic “sticks to the cable, resulting in a seal.