Members Articles

Re-purposing a TV antenna into a 6 meter dipole

By Eddie Valdez DU1EV

Having subscribed to cable TV, I had two old TV antennas which were no longer being used. In fact, one of them had a missing element and the other had an element which was bent. I decided to re-purpose them into a 6 meter dipole.

I went to the website http://www.csgnetwork.com/antennaedcalc.html to calculate the length of the dipole antenna. It suggested 4 feet 8 1/16 inches for 50.110 MHz.

As the antenna elements of the TV antenna were short, I scrounged around for scrap aluminum tubings of a smaller diameter that will fit into the existing TV antenna element.

I soldered eyelets to the ends of the coaxial cable. I then connected the cable to the dipole antenna.

I raised the antenna and measured the SWR.

According to the antenna analyzer, the antenna was long. Thus, I had to shorten the antenna. This was easily accomplished by pushing the smaller diameter tube into the larger tube.

After several attempts, the SWR became lower.

I went inside my ham shack, connected the antenna to a radio and SWR meter to validate the reading of the antenna analyzer. The SWR meter showed a lower reading.

Now that the SWR was good, it was time to join the two tubes permanently with a self tapping screw.

The length I settled with was 4 feet 4 inches. Please note that this may not necessarily be the length in your case as there are various factors which may be different in your project.

I then coated the feed point with sealant to prevent water intrusion. I also sealed it with electrical tape for good measure.

Finally, I attached a U bolt at the other end of the boom so that the mast would be further away from the dipole.

This project can easily be accomplished in one afternoon.

Let us all do our share in saving the earth by recycling and re-purposing.

Hope to catch you guys on 6 meters.

73
Eddie DU1EV