Want to build a TV or FM antenna?
Here is some starting information for the antenna construction novice.
- To me it seems crazy to build an antenna for TV or FM reception. They are inexpensive to buy and complex to design and build. Over the years I have taken a number of calls from local viewers of our TV station asking this question, and I see a lot of people asking the question in our web logs. If you really want to, or if you plan on transmitting, here are some tips.
- Go back to the index, go to and read the antenna basics page.
- Figure out the center frequency and bandwidth you wish to receive. FM in most of the world is within 87.5 to 108 MHz, so the center is about 98 MHz. In Japan 76-92 and in O.I.R.T. areas the band is 66-74 MHz. For TV bands, look at the US list on our Rabbit Ear page, or in the ABE Engineering Handbook for worldwide channel frequencies. You can find the Handbook here (455 kB) or see more information in this list.
- Antennas will work at any wave length is so long as the antenna is scaled to the wave length of the original design. The web is chock full of radio amateur antenna plans. Find one that most closely matches your needs, and scale it appropriately.
- If I were to build an antenna for TV or FM reception, which I won't, it would be a high value antenna, such as a log periodic for VHF.
- If you desire a broad band antenna for VHF that works in only one very narrow direction, have a lot of land, can plant telephone poles, and are willing to spend a lot of time and effort on it, you can use a rhombic. This antenna is best 5 to 15 wave lengths long, or can stretch over 30-90 meters (100-300 feet) on the lowest VHF TV channel. Its gain can exceed 23 dB (200 X).
- So search the web for plans for a bedspring, panel, Yagi, log-periodic, or rhombic, scale to your frequency, and have fun! Here are a few links to get you started.
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