How to make an antenna from beer cans?

Situations when a new television antenna is urgently needed are not uncommon. You went with your friends to barbecue, but at the same time, you would like to watch an interesting football match. Or we went to the cottage, where there is no stationary pickup device yet. It happens that the wire to which the whole house receives TV shows is cut off by the wind - and then what? You can always find a way out of the situation. Aluminum cans of beer, lemonade, or energy can do just fine to watch football. How to make an antenna from beer cans? We’ll talk about this now.

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Why do I need an antenna?

The ancient Greeks called antennae insect antennae. Nature made sure that the smallest creatures received signals about what was happening around them. A television antenna actually exists for the same purpose - it catches radio waves and amplifies them.

Catching devices are:

• outdoor;
• indoor.

An outdoor antenna is the same wire that is plugged into the television at one end and goes onto the roof with the other. The longer the cable, the better the reception. Room devices come in various shapes. The most popular is a stand with two long mustaches that resemble insect antennae.

Important! Instead of “horns” there can be tubes, bicycle wheels and much more. Do-it-yourself cans of beer or canned vegetables for the antenna are the most affordable material.

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Which banks are needed?

Before you make an antenna from beer cans, you need to choose the cans themselves. Of course, it also happens that there is no particular choice - what was found in the garbage bag will have to be done from that. But if you suddenly find different, inspect them carefully.

Materials

They may be:

• all aluminum;
• with tin elements.

It depends on how you attach the cable. It is impossible to solder aluminum, so the ends of the wire will have to be screwed. Tin is a completely different matter. Two movements with a soldering iron, and the antenna is ready.

Important! It is easiest to determine if there are iron elements or not using a magnet. Tin is attracted, aluminum is not.

Two words about sizes

How to make an antenna for a TV from beer cans, if they are large? It is also better. In general, the catching device from beer containers is good because the cans are voluminous, and this extends the reception band.

Important! By the way, from them you can make an additional antenna for a mobile phone, if suddenly you find yourself in a zone of uncertain reception.

The larger the banks, the more confident the reception will be. A volume of 0.5 L is preferred over 0.25. Accordingly - if you get a liter, it will be a great success.

Important! The antenna can even be made of two identical aluminum pans, if unnecessary ones are found in the household - holes in the bottom and the absence of handles in this case do not play a role.

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What else you need?

Before making an antenna out of cans, it is very useful to rummage in a tool box or in a closet, if it happens at a grandmother in the village.

You need:

• 2 identical cans;
• electrical tape or tape;
• antenna cable PK-75 (RG-6 / U);
• television jack;
• singing;
• soldering iron;
• screwdriver;
• 2 screws or screws;
• stick.

The cable can be found in two types:

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

Important! For the antenna from cans, the second option is preferable, there will be no problems with it at all.If you have a coaxial cable, at one end you need to separate the core and the screen.

The stick should be so long that both banks fit on it at some distance from each other. You can take, for example, a wooden hanger-coat hanger. Nothing prevents you from screwing the structure to the upper shelf of the rack or hanging it from deer horns. But it is better if the device is located as close to the window as possible, where the reception is always better than in the back of the house.

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How to make an antenna from cans?

The beginning of production is the same for cans with tin elements and pure aluminum:

1. Tape the cans with tape to the stick, with the keys to each other - the distance between them is established empirically, but usually is about 7 cm.
2. Remove the plastic sheath from the coaxial cable by about 10-12 cm.
3. You will see the foil and the copper braid - remove the foil, twist the copper hairs together.
4. Under the foil you will find foamed polyethylene - cut it too.

Option 1

If the cans have tin keys, solder the core to one, and the screen to the other. If you have a two-wire cable, just strip the ends and solder.

Option 2

To banks made entirely of aluminum, the ends of the cable are screwed and secured with nuts. This option is even better if the antenna will stand on the street. Soldering does not tolerate frost, and nothing will happen to the screws.

Shutdown

If you leave the cable as is, it can easily come off. Therefore, it is better to tape it to the same stick, and the antenna is ready. To the other end is connected to the television connector, which is inserted into the socket of the TV.

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If the antenna is on the street

Even before you make the antenna for the TV with your own hands from beer cans, it makes sense to think about where you will stand or hang it. If on the street, it is better to protect it from wind, rain and other weather troubles. In general, aluminum is corrosion resistant, so it is usually sufficient to coat the joint with a zapon-varnish. But some do something like a case.

What is needed for this? Rummage in your closet, and you will certainly find everything you need, because you only need a large plastic bottle:

1. Cut the bottom and neck of the bottle.
2. Make a hole at the cable outlet.
3. After the cable is connected, scald the hot water hole.

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How to make an antenna from cans?

The catching device for the TV can be made not only from aluminum, but also from cans - for example, from canned peas. They are even more convenient because they are easier to solder. But tin rusts, and this should be borne in mind.

Operating procedure:

1. Cut off the cover completely.
2. Sandpaper the soldering area of ​​paint and varnish.
3. Solder the core to one bank, the screen to the other.
4. Fasten the entire structure to the stick.

Important! In order for rainwater to go away, make a small hole on the side of each can that faces the ground.

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It all depends on the range

Beer cans, of course, the material is very affordable. But such an antenna receives only the signal on the decimeter waves of the DMF. For the meter range, such an antenna is not suitable. In principle, using a similar technology, you can make a device out of any metal tubes, but first you need to determine the broadcast frequency. The length of metal cylinders depends on it. The entire broadcasting band of terrestrial television occupies frequencies from 50 to 230 MHz and is divided into 12 channels:

• 50 MHz - 271-276 cm;
• 59, 25 MHz - 229-234 cm
• 77.25 MHz - 177-179 cm
• 85.25 MHz - 162-163 cm
• 93.25 MHz - 147-150 cm
• 175.25 MHz - 85 cm;
• 183.25 MHz - 80 cm;
• 191.25 MHz - 77 cm;
• 199.25 MHz -75 cm;
• 207.25 MHz - 71 cm;
• 215.25 MHz - 69 cm;
• 223.25 MHz - 66 cm.

Important! The vibrator length and the cable length ratio for the matching device depend on the frequency. For a frequency of 50 MHz, a vibrator with a length of 271-276 cm and a cable ratio of 286 cm to 95 cm are needed. For a frequency of 223.25 MHz, these parameters are 66 cm and 66 cm to 22 cm.

We are preparing materials

For a tube antenna you need:

• metal pipe (brass, copper, steel, aluminum);
• television cable;
• textolite:
• metal strips;
• the barbell.

Important! Metal tubes should be approximately 6 cm shorter than those indicated in the frequency list. Diameter - 8-24 mm. Tubes are needed exactly the same in thickness and material. The cable length is calculated based on the distance from the antenna to the television, plus two meters for sagging and matching band. The thickness of the PCB is at least 4 mm.

Assemble the antenna

A quite serious antenna is made of metal tubes. However, she is going to almost the same way as the one from the cans:

1. Flatten the ends of the tubes.
2. Place both cylinders on a piece of PCB at a distance of 6-7 cm from each other.
3. Attach them with metal band clamps.
4. With the wire, do the same as in the manufacture of the antenna from cans (it is better to solder).
5. Place the solder with silicone, epoxy resin or nitro-varnish.
6. Attach the antenna to the boom.
7. Solder the connector to the free end of the wire and insert it into the socket on the TV.

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Stock footage

Now you are ready for various life surprises. And if you also consider yourself a good host, then you can definitely quickly solve the problem of a broken or missing antenna in any situation.