Antenna from beer cans: how to make and configure a TV receiver with your own hands

Cable channels, satellite TV and cellular communication are by no means the guarantors of constant reliable TV signal reception. When civilization is powerless or retreats in the face of natural or man-made cataclysms of an insurmountable nature, proven methods come to the rescue for years. One of them is making an antenna from beer cans.

TV reception in a hurry

With all the necessary tools and materials, which are not so much needed, you can make the simplest antenna from beer cans with your own hands within a quarter of an hour, or even faster. Even if this need arose in a fire brigade, you can still have time to watch a football match or your favorite TV series. And in normal mode, you can build a device that will not be inferior to the factory models in terms of reception quality.

An elementary TV antenna is assembled like this:

1. You need to find a couple of empty aluminum containers for any drink, duct tape, a piece of cable, two screws or screws, a knife, a screwdriver, pliers, a wooden board and a plug. Some of this can be dispensed with, but then you need soldering supplies.
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2. Tie the cans onto the board with their topsides to each other, leaving a gap of several centimeters between them.
3. Strip the cable. Attach its braid and core to different containers. The easiest way is to screw them on, but only if there are tongues in place. When they are not there, you will first have to flatten the tops of the cans with pliers closer to one of the edges. If this option does not work either, then you need to use a soldering iron and solder.
4. Connect the plug.
5. Turning the plate with containers, you should catch the signal and achieve the highest quality picture.

The weakest point in such a handheld express antenna is the plug. He can not always be at hand. You can do without this device, but then the cable will have to be directly attached to the TV socket, which is fraught with damage to technology.

Fixed outdoor signal receiver

The beer can handheld TV antenna is of course only a temporary option, although with its help even in in a megalopolis, you can achieve a stable signal in the apartment and access the main federal channels. For a country house or summer cottage, such a device may not work. Private property owners should start designing a fixed antenna. It differs little from the simplest analogue, but the complication of the design also entails additional work:

1. The outdoor receiver must be protected from rain. This can be done using plastic bottles.
2. The simplest option is to place the cans in bottles with cut-off bottoms and necks. From below it is better to immediately make holes for water drainage.
3. A more reliable way: cut off only the neck, and after attaching the aluminum part, solder it back using a red-hot metal object. In this case, however, the quality of the signal may suffer more.
4. For the assembly of a garden-dacha receiver, not two, but a dozen or more containers can be used. It is desirable to arrange them in sequential order on the same line, betting on the number. But you can use several jumpers horizontally located in relation to each other with two banks on each.
5. When using a large number of containers, the cable is not attached to each of them, but to the wires connecting them.
6. A mast for a rustic structure should be placed as high as possible (this will have a better chance of uninterrupted reception). To ensure stability, you can put a metal axis on it, but it is better to make the jumpers wooden. Even the simplest grounding system should not be neglected.

On suburban antenna ordinary tin cans can also be used. The effect of their use is unlikely to be less. But it must be borne in mind that they quickly rust, and this affects the durability of the device.

Important little things for a lasting effect

It is not enough to know how to make an antenna from beer cans. To ensure the efficiency of operation, it is necessary to observe some additional rules even in the process of its manufacture. With seeming insignificance, it is the "little things" that can affect the quality of the receiver. Keep in mind:

1. For outdoor use, screw fasteners are preferable to soldering. The latter can be rendered unusable by the first serious cold weather, and you cannot climb onto the roof in winter with a soldering iron.
2. If the choice remains with the soldering, then the core and the braid must be irradiated before starting it. This will provide an additional guarantee against oxidation of the compounds.
3. Self-tapping screws, nuts and screws are best selected from stainless materials. Additionally, on top of it, you should drip a little moisture and frost-resistant glue or epoxy onto each mount.
4. When fastening with screws at the ends of both cores, it is more convenient to make loops.
5. Bare cable residues must be insulated during soldering and screwing.

It is also good to additionally insulate the place where the cable is routed, but so that it can be easily opened if necessary. A plastic cover of the appropriate size, set on a self-tapping screw and coated with sealant around the edges, will do. It is easy to remove such a panel, and it protects well from external influences.

Setting up a homemade device

Before making an antenna from cans, some experts recommend studying the table of television frequencies and paying attention to some other external reception factors. The shape and size of the receiver will depend on this. In most cases, the quality of the device is checked only by practice. The home customizer needs to know:

1. The quality signals you can count on are those that can be received in line of sight of the transmitting tower. The closer and higher it is, the greater the chance of a decent reception, although close proximity to it rather creates problems and hindrances than benefits.
2. It is considered that the receiver should be located on one of its wide planes towards the tower.
3. The rigid fixation of the structure can be postponed until the stage when the best position is determined by scrolling the antenna and moving it along the height.
4. Once the receiver is finally secured, fine tuning can be entrusted to modern technology. The auto-tuning function is used for this.

In some cases, the masters initially leave a certain gap between the banks, which, like the length devices, can be calculated from the frequency tables, or trying to figure out the optimal distance between them in the process settings. Both are superfluous, since the main reception parameters do not depend on this. The main thing here is to make both installation and dismantling (if necessary) convenient.

Homemade antennas can stand for years and decades, provided they are cared for. They are unlikely to suit those who need hundreds of entertainment channels. But there are more than enough of them to watch news and main channels, especially in rural areas.