No Cable? No Problem: Home-Made TV Antenna As Functional Art

Although my degree is in media and I usually melt into Shark Weeks, Housewife Reunions, Breaking Bad Marathons, and QVC Christmas promos…sometimes those premium cable prices prove to be too much as a monthly expense when trying to save money. Therefore, my boyfriend and I have been living primarily on Hulu Plus and Netflix since moving in to our new apartment.

But…there’s a little thing that creeps up every September that creates a viewing conundrum…and no, I’m not talking about NBC’s “Must-See” new fall season line-up…I’m talking about…FOOTBALL.

For those college football Saturday’s when I’m not able to make it to the bar at 9:00 AM (one negative of living on the west coast when you’re a midwest football girl by nature) for those early games, network channels at home are the only outlet. So, we purchased one of those flat HDTV wall TV antennas that promised “amplified performance.” Well, guess what? That amplified experience got me a host of available foreign language public access channels, but was a no-go for CBS and FOX. So my boyfriend proclaimed, “I’m going to make my own TV antenna,” and…he did…and…it worked…quite well. Using copper wire, card board, aluminum foil, and a store-bought connector/amplifier, he created this monstrous eye-sore for the living room.

Never fear! I decided to turn it into “TV Antenna Art.” Here are the following steps:

1. Purchase heavy-duty canvas, 30″x40″, acrylic paint, painters tape, and brushes from an art supply store. ( I also found a deal at Joann Fabrics on thin copper art wires that fit my theme to add textured art). Purchase 16-guage pure copper wire (8-10ft) from a local hardware store for the actual TV antenna piece. Shape in a zig-zag pattern. Also purchase an TV Amplifier and Transformer to connect the television to the copper wire.
2. Outline, design, and tape off shapes. (I opted for a triangle theme with orange and copper gradient colors).

3. Spray or hand paint base color. (Mine is Montana Gold Acrylic Professional Spray Paint, Color is “Yolk”), Dry, Repeat coats until covered. Dry.

4. To create texture, I made shapes with copper leaf sheets and super glued them in select triangles.

5. Hand paint shapes. (I used Liquitex Basics Acrylics: Copper, Titanium White, and Ivory Black. Using White and Black, I created different shades of copper), Dry.

6. Peel off painters tape to reveal white shape outlines.

7. Add extra textured elements. I used/shaped copper art wire and leather strands. Hot glue on textured shapes.

8. Add main TV antenna 16-gauge copper wire. Remember, copper wire should be shaped in a long zig-zag pattern as shown in step 1.

9. Add heavy duty aluminum foil to the back of the canvas. Attach TV Transformer and amplifier to the copper wire and run from the front of the canvas to the back (through a small canvas hole). Turn on TV, run through antenna channel settings to test signal and gain channels. Mount to wall and enjoy your functional wall antenna art!

This home-made TV antenna has a 82/100 signal strength compared to the store-bought TV antenna’s 60/100 signal strength. Fox and CBS are now reachable! Now our Saturday’s and Sunday’s will be a lot more exciting here on the west coast.