Repair OTA antenna

[funkypc]

I recently got a tower given to me that came with a very large antenna. It is about 14 ft long, and looks to be quite high quality although it may be quite old.

Anyways, about 5 of the longest elements are broken off. I am wondering if this will adversely affect my reception and if there is an easy way to replace those elements - what replacement material should I use?

Also, I do not know the length of the missing elements - would anyone know the formula to figure that out?

 

[jgantert]

I think I would just replace it with a new one, but that's just me. There's a lot of folks here who have made their own antennas.

I believe the longer elements are for lower VHF (?) channels. So if all the digital channels are on UHF, you may be ok with it as is.

-John

 

[Peter Parker]

Unless he wants to watch an analog channel.

 

[funkypc]

I'm in Canada, and all the channels are still analog - VHF. The one channel I want for sure is ch 6.

 

[avg1joe]

I would guess that your first priority would be to balance the antenna by making sure that it is symmetrical. If elements are missing from one side and not the other then either replace the missing ones or remove some of the remaining ones.

Try and figure out what the existing material is (steel, aluminum, copper) and then try to find something roughly the same size and material at your hardware store or online.

 

[Larry1]

If you have any shops nearby that service tv tovers, they will probably have old broken scrap antennas that you can get some of the elements from. Worth asking.

 

[Jim5506]

But, the connectors are corroded and the dilectric efficiency if the elements is degraded - REPLACE IT!

 

[funkypc]

huh? no one mentioned corrosion. There is no visible corrosion on the antenna. The elements look to be aluminum. I have a neighbor with a broken antenna on his roof that I may be able to snag some elements off of. I would be able to replace 2 elements to make it symmetrical, and then 4 more elements I would have to add, and calculate the length (2 on each side). I did find some websites that have useful information and calculators that should help me figure out the length. I may end up just throwing it up on my tower to see what kind of signal I get.

 

[Jim5506]

After a certain amount of time all metal connections on an antenna develop corrosion and lose a little of their effectiveness. As antennas age they get weaker in their ability to pass the captured radiation on to the downlead. You can never restore it to it's original glory.

Try it, see if you can receive all the channels you need, if so, great, if not replace it.

 

[mastermesh]

is there a way to fix old antennas that have prongs that are loose enough that birds keep moving them when they land on them.. I was thinking maybe electric tape or some sort of reinforcing bar but don't know if that'll screw with signal and create interference.