Installation (sharing my experience).

Have you met various types television terrestrial antennas. You can independently choose the antenna that best suits your reception conditions. TV signal. Remainsinstall antenna and you need to do this correctly, because otherwise all your efforts may be in vain. The antenna installation process will include several steps:

Antenna assembly.

When purchasing an over-the-air antenna, you will receive the manufacturer's instructions, which describe the assembly process, connecting the antenna and installing the antenna. Typically, antenna assembly does not cause any problems. But let's pay attention to some points. Many antennas are made using plastic elements; these elements can be attached either using latches or screw connections. Therefore, you should assemble carefully so as not to break the plastic fasteners or crush the fastener due to over-tightening the threads.If there are exposed contact connections on the antenna, seal them with caulk or play dough (I usually use automotive grade play dough). Carefully inspect all fastening connections. If the antenna is active (with a television signal amplifier), you need to check the qualityamplifier connections . If there is any damage or poor quality of assembly, if necessary, eliminate any defects noticed,this will help you avoid problems during further operation.

On some active antennas, amplifiers are not installed directly by the manufacturer, so we install it ourselves. For example, such antennas are common-mode antennas, popularly known as “Polish antenna ”, “ antenna Array" The antennas are equipped with an amplifier-various modifications.The amplifier installation process itself S.W.A. simple to the point of impossibility, but I have repeatedly had to (when calling a client who was tryinginstall the antenna yourself and failed to cope with this seemingly simple task) to encounter incorrect installation of such amplifiers.

Antenna connection

The photo shows an option,when the amplifier is installed correctly, and the option is incorrect

SWA installations.

Wrong Correct

The amplifier has contact pads to which the antenna waveguides are connected. If the amplifier is installed incorrectly, its input remains unconnected; naturally, the signal from the antenna does not reach the amplifier input,antenna doesn't work . You can spend time installing the antenna, but the result will be negative, you will have to redo the work, and you may need to replace the amplifier, since very often when the amplifiers are connected incorrectly S.W.A. fail. We will assume that the antenna assembly has been completed and everything has been done correctly.

Antenna cable connection

When describing methods for connecting an antenna cable, I take examples of connecting antennas that are mass-produced.For various small-scale and home-made antennas, the connections may be completely different.

There are mainly two connection methods used to connect the antenna cable.

1. Clamped.

2. Special Fconnector

Let's consider both connections.

Clamped.

This type of connection is found on antennas where an amplifier is used S.W.A. . The cable in the antennas is connected to the clamp“Delta” made in St. Petersburg andRostov on Don. Therefore, let's consider this connection method using these antennas as an example.On antennas from other manufacturers, the clamp connection will be little different.

Clamp connection with spaced contacts.

This connection is typical for an antenna"Delta".

To connect the cable, you need to remove the top layer of insulation from it.

Under the insulation is the cable braid and foil.The foil must be removed and the braid twisted into a flagellum. If the cable is of high quality and the braid is made of copper, tin the cable with tin solder to make it easier to crimp it with a contact clamp when connecting.The central core of the cable can be crimped with a terminal clamp without modification. If you are “friendly” with a soldering iron, I advise you to additionally solder the cable braid and the central core to the contact clamps, this will be more reliable.

If the cable braid is made of steel, there is no need to tin it; for ease of connection, crimp it with a sleeve for a stranded electrical wire.

Connecting the cable to type terminals S.W.A..

Personally, I like this method of connecting the cable much more than the previous one. There is no need to worry about maintaining polarity; with this connection it is impossible to make a mistake. The cable is securely crimped with a fastening bracket, which gives additional strength to the mechanical connection of the cable to the antenna. The photo shows how to prepare a cable for connection to terminals of the type S.W.A. I would like to draw your attention to connecting the braid. The contact pad to which the cable braid is connected is located under the mounting bracket; the bracket itself is not a contact, and therefore it is necessary to ensure a reliable connection between the cable braid and the amplifier. Also, when connecting, you need to make sure that there is no short circuit between the braiding and the central core of the cable, since their contact clamps are located very close.

Connection with special F connector.

The most convenient way to connect an antenna cable. Reversing the polarity or connecting incorrectly requires effort. The main thing is to prepare the cable correctly. The photo shows how to do this. It is necessary to remove the top layer of insulation.

P connecting the antenna power supply

For active antenna or plug for passive (). The antenna plug is simple in design and I will not consider it; we will consider connecting a special antenna power supply.For all types of active antennas, in which the amplifier is located on the antenna itself, exactly the same power supplies are used.Before installing the antenna, I strongly recommend checking that all connections are connected correctly. Make sure the amplifier and power supply are working.To do this, you need to plug in the power supply. The control LED on the power supply case indicates that everything is fine, there is no short circuit in the cable connection, otherwise you will have to check your operation.If you plan to install the antenna on a high mast, check the functionality of the amplifier. Try to tune in to the television channel before installing the antenna; if the signal passes through, even with fading, this indicates that the amplifier is working. To be sure of this, you need to turn off the power supply from the outlet; the television signal should disappear and when you turn on the power supply, it should appear again.

Installing the antenna on a wall bracket or mast.

After assembling and checking the functionality of the antenna, all that remains is to fix it on a bracket or install it on an antenna mast, the antenna is adjusted according to maximum level signal. Installing an antenna is a responsible job, especially when the antenna is installed on a mast. Always try to complete the job safely for yourself and others. Consider all options for attaching the mast and guy wires. on a mast or bracket, I will not describe in detail, since there are too many options for one article.

I will pay special attention to this issue -“ Grounding the TV antenna.” Television terrestrial antennamust be grounded. Each commercially produced antenna has a special clamp for grounding. Why do you need to ground the antenna?There is only one answer: for a thunderstorm - safety. Of course, if lightning strikes an antenna, there is no guarantee that grounding the antenna will save your property.I personally saw what was left of the TV after a lightning discharge hit its antenna, which was installed on a steel mast. The charge passed through antenna cable, literally turning it into a thin sintered cord. It pierced the body of the TV, incinerating the radio components in it and passing through the bedside table, went into the floor. Not a single living creature was harmed.Of course, most of the discharge energy was absorbed by the antenna and the metal mast, through which all the energy went into the ground. It is unknown what would have happened if the antenna was mounted on a wooden pole and had no grounding.Another important function of antenna grounding is protection from electromagnetic pulse. A television signal amplifier installed directly on the antenna may fail during a thunderstorm, even if the storm front goes sideways. Very powerful electromagnetic pulses from lightning discharges damage the semiconductor radio components of the antenna amplifier.In this case antenna grounding very effective.If the antenna is installed on a wooden pole, be sure to ground it with any wire (copper, steel, aluminum). It is not necessary to arrange a thorough grounding by burying metal strips in the ground or arranging a grounding loop.It is enough to drive a metal pin approximately 70 cm into the ground.This is quite enough to protect against electromagnetic pulses, and will save you from the need to dismantle the antenna and replace the amplifier.

If you have any questions, ask them.

N. P. Vlasyuk, Kyiv

The article gives the characteristics of the “Polish” antenna, discusses its advantages and disadvantages, as well as practical recommendations for installation and configuration.

The antennas that you see in Fig. 1 and the modernized version in Fig. 2 are popularly called “Polish” due to the fact that they are manufactured and imported to Ukraine and other CIS countries from Poland. Antennas gained their popularity due to: 1) low cost: the antenna (Fig. 1) costs 35 UAH, and the antenna in Fig. 2 costs 55 UAH. (hereinafter prices are shown for the Kyiv radio market and may differ in the regions); 2) broadband: antennas capture the entire range of TV channels (MV, UHF) and VHF radio broadcasting; 3) opportunities to accept weak signals, which is ensured by the use of replaceable amplifiers. Specifications antennas (Fig. 1):

Operating frequency range 40.800 MHz

TV channels 1.12; 21.69

Width of the main lobe of the radiation pattern:

vertical 46°

horizontal 27°

Own antenna gain 10.13.5 dB

Characteristic impedance 300 Ohm

Dimensions 800x600 mm

Weight 1.7 kg

The antennas shown in Fig. 1, 2 are sold disassembled, and the buyer assembles them himself. The antenna kit (Fig. 1) includes:

reflector with mounting kit for the mast - 1 set; two-wire line (waveguide) with mounting rail and mounting plastic boxes - 1 set;

passive vibrators (directors) – 4 pcs.;

active vibrators MV – 2 pcs.;

UHF active vibrators – 6 pcs.;

antenna amplifier (customer’s choice) – 1 pc.;

power supply ~220 V/=12 V – 1 pc.;

antenna plug – 1 pc.;

instructions for using the antenna – 1 pc.

This set costs 35 UAH.

The coaxial cable (feeder) is not included in the antenna package; it must be purchased separately. The recommended cable diameter is 6.8 mm, and its length is selected depending on the location of the TV and antenna. 1 m of cable costs 0.8.1.2 UAH.

The antenna amplifier is manufactured on a separate removable board, and the radio elements on it are mounted using hinged mounting. The board is placed in the center of the antenna in the mounting box (Fig. 1a, c), which allows you to effectively amplify the received signal. If necessary, the amplifier board can be easily removed and replaced. Antenna sellers have a large selection of antenna amplifiers. All of them are the same in size and differ only in the gain - from 5 to 48 dB. The number of modifications is constantly growing. The parameters of the most popular amplifiers are given in table. 1. The cost of each is 10-12 UAH.

It is sometimes difficult for a buyer to choose which amplifier is needed for his antenna. Using Table 1 and knowing the distance from the television center (repeater), you can approximately determine it, but it is better to consult with the seller of the antennas or take the advice of friends who have previously installed such an antenna.

It should be emphasized that the upper limit of the reception range indicated in the third and fourth columns of Table 1 is too high. Ensure stable and reliable reception on

distances exceeding the line-of-sight range (80-100 km) by increasing the gain of antenna amplifiers is impossible.

To power the amplifier, you must have a power supply unit (PSU), which produces a constant 12 V from an alternating voltage of 220 V (the PSU is included in the antenna kit). This voltage is supplied to the amplifier through an antenna plug and a coaxial cable (Fig. 1, c). And since the TV signal is also supplied to the TV through this cable, a capacitor is installed in the antenna plug to separate them.

Sometimes individual craftsmen, in order not to use a power supply, use 12 V from the TV. This is easy to do in color TVs ZUSTST Soviet-made, but I strongly recommend not to do this on foreign-made TVs.

An antenna amplifier amplifies TV signals, and all channels (frequencies) are amplified equally. In practice, sometimes situations arise when a TV signal that is highly skewed (in terms of power) is induced in the antenna. This happens when some channels are emitted by high-power TV tower transmitters, while others are low-power. The antenna amplifier of the antenna, located close to the television center, equally amplifies all channels and outputs a powerful, highly skewed (in power) TV signal to the TV. The AGC of the TV cannot suppress such a signal to the optimal level, and frames “run” on the screen. Such a situation can be created by the transmitters of the Kyiv television tower, the power of which is within 1.50 kW (Table 2).

As follows from Table 2, the power of meter wave transmitters (UT-1, UT-2) is 50 kW, and the UHF transmitter UTAR is only 1 kW. What is the way out of this situation? How to equalize the TV signal in a “Polish” antenna, extinguishing the signal on meter waves and leaving the necessary gain on UHF? There are three ways to get out of this situation.

1. The most effective method– install the antenna amplifier SBA-9000/R (see Table 1). Two adjusted amplifier resistors allow you to smoothly adjust the gain separately on the meter and decimeter ranges and thereby set the optimal gain level.

2. The easiest way is that the “antennae” of the upper active vibrators of the antenna, which are responsible for the meter range, must either be connected to each other, or bent, or removed altogether. The MB signal in this case will be greatly weakened. All this is practically selected.

3. Amplifier power supplies are sold in two types: some power supplies provide a stable voltage of 12 V, and there is no provision for changing it (they cost 10 UAH), while others allow you to smoothly change the supply voltage from 0 to 12 V using a special regulator (they cost 12-15 UAH .) and thereby adjust the amplifier gain, creating an optimal level of TV signal amplification. In any case, I recommend buying an regulated power supply. The maximum effect in eliminating distortion can be achieved by using the 1st and 3rd methods.

It should be noted that the use of an antenna amplifier and power supply, although it allows for reliable reception of a TV signal, but creates inconvenience in using such an antenna. Every time you turn on the TV, you have to additionally turn on (plug in) the power supply and remove it after watching. Therefore, this antenna provides an option for operation without an amplifier and power supply. When can it be used?

If your TV is located in an area with reliable TV signal reception, i.e. The television center or repeater is located near your home, then instead of an amplifier on the antenna, you can install a matching board (costs 5 UAH). In this case, a power supply is not needed at all (Fig. 1, c). Ferrite transformers located on the matching board match the wave impedance of the antenna of 300 Ohms with the resistance of the coaxial cable of 75 Ohms. Such an antenna is always ready for use, since it does not need power, and it costs less (28-30 UAH). You can get information on what is the best thing for you to do: buy an antenna with an amplifier or with a matching board from the same antenna seller. As a last resort, you can buy both, and try everything practically at home, and return the excess to the seller, but when buying, it is better to agree on all this in advance.

There are two clamps for attaching the antenna to the mast (Fig. 3). They are attached to the back of the reflector. They are not shown in the figures, since they do not require any special explanation.

How to cut a coaxial cable to connect it to an amplifier is shown in Fig. 1c. The cable is cut similarly on the other side for the antenna plug.

It is better to find out at what height the antenna should be raised practically. Connect the antenna to the TV, apply 12 V to the power amplifier, point the antenna at the television center (repeater) and, gradually raising the antenna, watch the TV screen. If, for example, a good image appears on the screen at a height of 6 m, add another 1.2 m and feel free to secure the antenna, but there is no need to raise it to an even greater height. Sometimes good results can be obtained by placing the antenna under the roof of the house (if the roof is not metal) or on the balcony. There the antenna will be protected from lightning and precipitation, and will serve you for a long time.

By the way, about precipitation. Constant entry of water into the antenna amplifier mounting box can damage the antenna. First, water penetrates the coaxial cable and significantly degrades its performance. To prevent this, the end of the cable, after attaching it to the amplifier, should be coated (after the warranty on the antenna has expired) with several layers of glue, for example “Moment”. Secondly, the junction of the antenna amplifier with a two-wire line (waveguide) in a humid environment oxidizes over time and contact is lost. Therefore, cover the installation box with several layers of plastic bags and secure them so that they reliably prevent rainwater from penetrating into the installation box.

When installing the antenna on a mast, do not forget to ground it and install a pin (lightning rod) 1 m long on top.

But the antenna is ready. But one antenna plug fits your TV, and the TV has two sockets, one for VHF and the other for UHF. What should I do? To do this, in the same market you should buy a diplexer that will frequency divide the signal into two outputs. Its connection is shown in Fig. 4, and it costs 2.5.3 UAH. By the way, for the same price you can buy a TV signal divider to connect several TVs to the antenna.

The described antenna has a one-way directionality, i.e. It only receives the TV signal from one side. If you need to receive a signal from two television centers (repeaters) located on opposite sides of your home, then you should buy a second antenna (of one or another design) and point it at the second television center.

Despite its popularity and good characteristics, the “Polish” antenna also has disadvantages.

1. The most important of them is frequent damage to the antenna amplifier, or rather its field effect transistors. The reason is static electricity, lightning strike or power surges. Their harmful influence can be reduced by grounding the antenna.

2. The fastening of the plastic holder of passive seven-element vibrators (directors) to the mounting box is weak, and often falls off due to the wind or the weight of birds, for example, pigeons. You have to glue it.

3. The same plastic director holders become bent due to the heating of the sun (Fig. 5), and cracks appear on them due to solar radiation and the plastic falls apart. In this case, the characteristics of the antenna deteriorate, but the performance is maintained. A new holder with directors costs 2 UAH. 4. The upper vibrators, responsible for meter waves, are made of thin aluminum tubes and bend from powerful winds or the weight of birds, such as pigeons. At the same time, the antenna also deteriorates its characteristics, but remains operational.

Separately, it should be said about the modernized “Polish” antenna (Fig. 2). All the amplifiers, power supplies and matching boards described above are suitable for this antenna, but it also has its own characteristics.

1. All metal parts of the antenna are anodized with a protective brass coating, which prevents corrosion.

2. Active vibrators of the decimeter range are made of plates, so the radio characteristics of the antenna are better.

3. The number of directors (passive vibrators) was reduced to three, which slightly worsened the directivity of the antenna, but reduced the likelihood of their plastic holder being torn off.

All these “features” slightly increased the quality of this antenna, but the price increased by 50% (costs 55 UAH). Therefore, the price/quality ratio is not in favor of this antenna.

When selling their antennas, sellers provide them with a warranty of 1 to 6 months. The warranty applies to the entire antenna set, including the amplifier and power supply, however, warranty claims will not be accepted if:

– damage to the amplifier board ( mechanical damage, scratches, cracks, various inscriptions and stickers);

– disassembly of the antenna;

– covering the boards with paint, varnish, wax, grease, glue, etc.;

– absence of production date in the document.

The “Polish” antenna, like any equipment, requires periodic maintenance. At least once every two years it must be removed and the reliability of the contacts checked, the polyethylene bags that protect the amplifier from precipitation must be changed, and rust must be removed from its metal parts.

tey. Unfortunately, while preparing this article, I could not get confirmation anywhere that “Polish” antennas are certified in Ukraine.

The amplifier in the “wave channel” antenna has failed.

The Locus-Pro antenna (wave channel or Uda-Yagi) served well, but with the advent of ethereal digital television began to be capricious. On weekends, pictures began to freeze at the dacha, or the reception of digital multiplex packages simply stopped. Most likely the reason is in the antenna amplifier. The TV to which it was connected was rarely used and mostly watched analogue programs on it. I knew that the time for its repair would come someday, and now it has come. Walkthrough digital signal at the same transmitter power, it is farther than an analog television signal, which means that the antenna can receive a digital signal without an amplifier, especially since when receiving a digital signal, the amplifier did not provide noise immunity to the receiving path. I converted the antenna to receive terrestrial digital television, shortening it three times, and excluded the amplifier from it.

We were going to the dacha. It was raining. I was happy in my heart that I wouldn’t have to water or mow the grass. I mentally imagined myself in a rocking chair in front of the TV screen with a glass of warming wine in the glow of the warm flame of the fireplace. But as soon as I turned on the TV, the inscription on the screen “no signal” changed all my plans. Having tested the programs in analog mode, I came to the conclusion that the UHF antenna amplifier had failed. Well, that’s right, lightning flashed all week, these powerful discharges knocked out the transistor in the antenna amplifier board.

A simple solution is to make a passive antenna out of an active antenna, which is what I did under the sound of rain.

Antenna device.

Photo 1. Locus-Pro antenna.

This broadband antenna has two bands and, accordingly, circuit boards for matching and amplification of the meter wave range 50 - 220 MHz and the UHF wave range 470 - 800 MHz. At the lower range, meter-long mustache vibrators are used, and at the high range, the “wave channel” antenna (Uda-Yagi) operates.

The goal is to simplify the antenna. Make it small-sized and reliable, adapt it to receive terrestrial digital channels.

I've already made a homemade one wave channel antenna made of metal plastic. In that post I tried to talk in more detail about the design of this antenna.

But before making a passive antenna, I used a magic ring made of metal plastic (A simple homemade antenna for terrestrial digital television), to make sure that reception is possible in this place without an antenna amplifier, and at the same time check the functionality of the receiving path.

This ring took not only digital multiplexes from a distance of 80 km, but also duplicate lateral ones located at a distance of 20 km.

1.I get rid of meter-range mustache vibrators. All TV channels This section of waves has already been transferred to the UHF digital multiplex. The antenna immediately took on a shape that was convenient to use.

Photo 3. It's time to get rid of meter range vibrators.

2.On the loop vibrator, I open the box with the inscription “Meridian”. I take out the amplifier board. It is broadband, selective components - there are no inductors, therefore poor noise immunity. I carefully bite out the connecting (it will come in handy) and supply coaxial cable under the root. I remove the power cable of the amplifier with the choke insert and the power supply itself.

Photo 5. Opening the box.

3. I make a matching device in the form of a U-elbow for the Pistolkors loop from a thin coaxial cable that previously connected two circuit boards.
It is easier to place a thin coaxial cable in the same box labeled “Meridian”. The length of the U-elbow is equal to half the length of the loop, however, it is also necessary to take into account the shortening factor if the brand of cable is known (it is in the range of 1.3 - 1.51). I apply the cable to the loop and cut off a length equal to exactly half the length of the aluminum loop. The cable itself will shorten during the termination process.

4. I connect the coaxial cable coming directly from the TV to the U-elbow according to the drawing or photo. 1,2 - connections with an aluminum loop, 3 - I twist the braids of coaxial cables together, 4 - a U-elbow from a coaxial cable, 5 - a coaxial reduction cable.

5. I screw the coaxial loop and the coaxial cable of reduction to the Pistolkors loop using washers with a neutral coating. When connecting copper and aluminum directly, the contact will disappear over time. I don't use a soldering iron. I bind the braids of the coaxial cable with varnished copper wire.

6. I check the operation of the antenna by hanging it under the ridge of the house, tuning in to receive digital broadcast channels, I selectively select a channel from each multiplex and record the levels and quality of the signals. Everything works, levels to spare.

7.And now the most interesting part. I unscrew the directors and again measure the signal levels and its quality, and come to the conclusion that they have not changed.

Photo 10. Time to get rid of directors.

With the beginning of the rapid development of television broadcasting networks in the early 90s, so-called Polish antennas became widespread. The cheapness and availability of such antennas contributed to their widespread use. However, this antenna has been widely criticized by professionals and qualified radio amateurs. Drying rack, rack, rear wall of the refrigerator. This antenna has received so many epithets. We now live in an era of widespread digital television. The question arises: is it possible to use such a frankly “under-antenna” for our ponies digital plasma. Or do you need to look for some kind of special, same glitz “digital” antenna? Let's answer this question through research digital model our Polish girl...

First of all, let us immediately note the main shortcomings of this antenna, which led to such a low reputation of the Polish woman on these Internets of yours.

• An attempt to combine the incompatible and cram in the incompatible. This refers to long mustaches for receiving TV in the meter range. Because the digital broadcasting conducted exclusively in the UHF range, we can safely shorten these mustaches to the size of the rest. As a result, we get an antenna array of four Butterfly antennas or fan vibrators (Bowtie). Such a vibrator has an electrical length close to the wavelength, a high input impedance, and at the same time, it is quite broadband.
• A set of directors on plastic guides has only decorative functions. Therefore, they can be safely thrown into the trash.
• The plate amplifier that comes with the antenna is prone to self-excitation. There is no input overvoltage protection; as a result, the amplifier often fails at the first thunderstorm. The tendency to self-excitation leads not only to interference on your TV, but also on the TVs of your closest neighbors. The lack of shielding and filters at the input and output of the amplifier leads to the fact that it picks up everything, including interference from car ignition systems.
• Plastic parts of the amplifier are quickly destroyed when exposed to solar ultraviolet radiation. The vibrators are attached to the collecting line using the same plastic. Over time, the contact point deteriorates as the properties of the plastic fasteners deteriorate and oxidizes. As a result, part of the “whiskers” spontaneously turns off.

A stack of four “butterflies” is quite popular among our overseas partners in the production of homemade antennas, almost more popular than the Hoverman antenna. True, they have to look for a thick wire and screw it on the knee to a wooden plank. But they are still happy and achieve good results. You and I, dear anonymous, can only sympathize with them, because we already have a ready-made inexpensive Pole. Is not it? All that remains is to make sure that the antenna has acceptable electrical parameters. To do this, we will use the Polish antenna model for the 4NEC2 program, which can be downloaded from our website.

What do we see? We see that the antenna's characteristics are rather mediocre, although in the upper part of the UHF range they can be called quite satisfactory. As the experience of overseas partners shows, using this scheme it is possible to make a quite decent antenna, only somewhat larger in size compared to our Pole, but in in this case Apparently, in the search for a compromise between the low cost of the antenna and optimal characteristics, the scales tipped towards cheapness.
SWR>2 within half the UHF range. The gain throughout the entire decimeter range is 10-14 dBi, with the exception of the initial section where a dip is observed. If we take into account mismatch losses due to high SWR, then the antenna gain can be safely reduced by 2-3 dB at the beginning of the UHF range. High SWR in analog television leads to deterioration in picture quality and the appearance of noise and artifacts in the image. Digital television has its own characteristics, so a high SWR can simply lead to the inability to receive a certain multiplex, although a second one, on a different frequency, will work.

The radiation pattern is sectoral, more narrowed in the horizontal plane. Looks quite decent, i.e. The antenna has good directional properties. Among the shortcomings, it should be noted that the level of the rear and side lobes is quite large.

Having analyzed our Polish woman, we come to the conclusion that it is not we who should sympathize with our overseas partners, but they with us. After all, our Polish antenna does not have high characteristics. Of course it will work, because even a nail can be an antenna. But! No one can guarantee you the reception of all your multiplexes. There are several reasons for this. The antenna impedance varies over a very wide range with a high reactive component at certain frequencies.
This almost guarantees self-excitation of the unshielded SWA antenna amplifier that comes with the antenna. Old analog TVs had bandpass filters in the channel selectors. This somehow saved the situation. In any case, by adjusting the amplifier supply voltage, the interference could be driven outside the range and minimized. Modern digital tuners do not have such filters. There are only notch ones for the Wi-Fi frequency. As a result, the powerful noise generated by the amplifier drives the input differential amplifier digital tuner into a nonlinear mode and reception of some or most often all multiplexes turns out to be impossible. In addition, in the absence of signal filtering, powerful extraneous interference may interfere with reception. Indeed, in comparison with the 90s, when the Polish antenna ruled the roost, the electromagnetic situation has deteriorated significantly. Networks appeared digital transmission data and mobile connection, a large number of household appliances With pulse blocks power supplies that emit interference over a wide spectrum. All this together works against the use of a Polish antenna for receiving digital television. But you shouldn’t look for a special poncho “digital” antenna. If your Polish girl refuses to catch a number, before throwing it into a landfill and running to buy a new antenna, you should do the following:

1. Shorten the top long mustache to the size of the rest;
2. Throw away the plastic inserts with “directors”;
3. Disassemble the points where the whiskers are attached to the collecting line and clean the contacts. Do the same at the amplifier connection point;
4. Align the wires of the collecting line connecting the whiskers so that the antenna looks as “symmetrical” as possible. Align the mustache itself in the same way;
5. Refuse the injector with the power supply and power the antenna amplifier directly from the TV or T2 set-top box by turning on the +5V power supply in the menu;
6. Replace the old amplifier with a more modern one. Shielded, with an F-connector, with an inscription on the housing DVB-T2, powered by 5V. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that the collecting line does not touch the amplifier screen and, if necessary, insulate it;

In conclusion, we note that there are homemade antennas, optimized for digital television (including redesigning the Pole itself), the best of which we will present to your attention; in addition, the modernized Pole successfully works in CDMA data networks in the 800 MHz range.