Imagine how cool it would be if you could make your own ham radio antenna. After all, externally，there’s not that much of a difference between a ham radio antenna and an old TV antenna, is there? Well, you may be surprised to know that, with a bit of craftiness, you can transform a TV antenna into a functioning ham radio antenna. It just takes a bit of know-how.

Cable quickly made TV antennas an object of the past but before you throw away your old antennas, consider transforming them into functioning 2-meter band ham radio antennas. Using a drill, clamps, and a few twist bits, you can reassemble a TV antenna and use it to pick up certain frequencies of ham radio.

Ham, or amateur, radios are only licensed to operate on specific radio frequencies. To pick up these frequencies, you need antennae that are built to specific sizes. The size of the antenna or aerial dictates what frequencies it can pick up. If you don’t have the right size, you won’t be able to transmit or receive a broadcast.

A TV antenna could hypothetically pick up ham radio frequencies but only if the frequencies were once assigned to TV and are now used by amateur radio operators. For example, a TV antenna built for B-channel 2 could pick up certain 6 m 50-52 MHz ham bandwidths. However, most modern TV antennas are not built to these dimensions.

Since the switch to cable TV, amateur radio operators have been scouring junk-yards and recycling centers for this now-discarded gold mines of metal antenna equipment.

Transforming an old TV aerial into a functioning ham radio antenna might take a little more work than you’re used to but, if you’re experienced with soldering and deconstructing electrical products, you can quickly and cheaply create an antenna you can use at home.