Home Made TV Antenna

Although offered with the best of intentions, this antenna design is misguided. I suspect it works because when signals are sufficiently strong, almost any metal object attached to the antenna input on a TV set will work.

Here’s the problem: For a specific configuration (e.g. “bunny ears,” Yagi, log-periodic, etc.) an antenna must have a specific size that’s dictated by the range of frequencies it must receive. The relevant portion of this antenna is nothing more than the one-inch stub protruding from the end of the cable. This is far too short to be properly matched to the TV set input, even on the UHF channels. And there is no reliable electrical contact between the foil and the coaxial cable’s braid.

If you insist on a minimalist design, save yourself the trouble of finding the foil and plastic bottle. Just remove, say, one foot of braid away from the center conductor and place the exposed center conductor on a horizontal surface, the higher the better. Move it around for best reception.

Is this UHF or VHF?