How to Make An FM Antenna From Speaker Wire – with Steps

Last Updated on March 23, 2021 by Jhonni Jets

How to Make An FM Antenna From Speaker Wire – with Steps

What if we tell you that you can easily make an FM antenna from the speaker wire. Antennas works on electromagnetic waves. The electric current and electromagnetic waves transfer in continuous flow. The FM technology we see nowadays uses and focuses on transmitting the highest quality sound from the radio station of FM to the radio receiver.

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Let me assure you that you can easily make an FM antenna from the speaker wire. All you need to do is to understand the mechanism of electricity and follow as we say and boom you will be able to make your FM antenna from the speaker wire.

Mechanism of antenna

 The antenna mechanism catches the wavelength from the air medium and converts them into a visual signal and audio form so that you can watch them on TV or listen to them on the radio. If you want to tune in the frequencies better then it’s better to make your FM antenna, you might be thinking that it’ll require a lot of hard work and tools. Well, all you need are just a few tools, suppliers, and this guide.

Today, in this guide, we are going to tell you that how to make an FM antenna from speaker wire so that you can increase your FM’s receiver range. It depends on the range you are looking for; you can follow this process by using both, either speaker wire or a coaxial cable.

We are writing both methods for you with speaker wire and coaxial cable, you can opt for any of them whichever suits your needs. Now, without wasting any time, let’s dive into the main topic.

Method 1: By using the Speaker wire

When to use this method:

If your FM station is working all fine but it needs a little tunning from time-to-time or maybe if you think that it requires some tunning to get better results, then using the speaker wire is a great way to extend the range to improve the quality of the connection. 

• You might be thinking that speaker wire is the ideal solution to extend the range, it is not. But if you are facing issues in receiving signals, the better alternative you have is coaxial cable (Method 2).

• Now, it’s time to gather all the necessary tools and materials. To cut the crude antenna from speaker wire, then you need to gather the following items.
• 10 feet of speaker wire.
• Wire strippers.
• FM receiver along with the cramp and hold FM connections.

• Then split the wire to the three feet, use a pair of pliers or a sharp knife, then separate the top three feet of the speaker wire tubes from each other. Do this, in such a way that you should be left with 7 feet of intact wire and 1 foot of spit wire.

• Then, arrange the speaker wire and form a “T” shape. You can do this by bending each of the split wires at a 90-degree angle to the seventh section of the intact wire.

• Now, you need to strip the button 2 inches of insulation from the wire of the speaker. You can sue the stripper to insulate them. It’ll expose the 2 bare wires at the bottom side of that “T” shape.

• Now you need to find a receiver for your antenna connections. You will see these connections marked as “ANT EXT” or “FM EXT” and you’ll always see the “FM” written somewhere. Near the switch or connection. You will also see the word “BAL” or “Balanced” around the switch or connections.
• The FM receivers support one type of connector, either have a clamp and hold the type of connector or the post connectors. The clamp and hold connectors resemble the literal clamps. On the other side, the post connectors resemble the knobs with the exposed metal material placed between them and the receiver.

• Now, you need to connect the bottom of the “T” to the receiver. Use each of the exposed wires from the bottom of the “T” shape to connect them with each of the FM connections.
• If you got only one FM connection then, you can twist the 2 bare wires from the bottom of the “T” shape together to form one wire that is connectable to the post or the clamp.
• Now, it’s time to place the antenna, normally, it is best to place your antenna as much higher and as much closer as possible to the nearest station. Usually, people put an antenna on the long walls. (you might also need to move the Antenna to get the best signals.)

Method 2: Using the coaxial cable

If you want to make a vertical antenna by using the coaxial cable, then follow this method. In the following procedure, you’ll need these couple of things:

• FM receiver along with a coaxial connector.
• 50 ohm (or 75 ohms) coaxial wire along with the copper shielding.
• Hacksaw.
• Wire cutters.
• Equipment’s for Soldering.

• Now, to do proper work, calculate the length of your antenna. By doing so you’ll be able to know that how much coaxial cable you’ll have to strip and for how long should be copper tubing. Follow the step to calculate:
• Divide the 468 by the frequency by which you want to connect the cable (E.g. 468/108MHz would be 6.5)
• Now, divide the resulting number by 2 (6.5/2 = 3.25)
• Now, multiply the resultant number by 12 inches (30.5 cm) to get a proper idea of the length of the antenna (For E.G 3.25 x 12 = 39)

• Now cut off the one end of the coaxial cable, you’ll need to leave the one end of the coaxial cable intact to use it to serve as a connector, the other end needed to be removed.
• You can use the hacksaw or wire cutter to do this.

• Now, strip the half-length of the antenna from the overall length at the end of the coaxial cord. Now, remove each layer of shielding until you see the white layer surrounding the coaxial cord itself.
• For example, If the length is your antenna is 8 inches then cut out the 4 inches from it.
• You’ll be needing to remove the copper shielding in this procedure. The best and easiest way to do this is to make a shallow incision with the help of a hacksaw around the shielding and then attempt the strip it off from here.

• Now, cut the copper tubing to half of the full length. The copper tubing will be used in the other half of your antenna’s receiver. So, make sure it’s of the same length as the length of the part that your just cut-down.
• Again, if you are using a six- inches antenna, the copper tube will be in 3 inches.

• Now attach the tube to the coaxial cable and then slide the copper tubing into the coaxial cord’s stripped end and then turn it down.

• Now, it’s time to do some soldering, solder the coaxial cord covering to the tubing. You can do so by removing the PVC (black color) covering from around an inch of the coaxial cable that is directly below the unshielded part. Now, grab a pair of pliers and peel it back, and then use the soldering pen to connect the lip of the copper tube.

• Now connect the coaxial cable to the FM radio or the audio receiver. The remaining coaxial connector should plug-in the receiver of the coaxial port of the antenna.

• Now place the antenna and angle it towards the nearest radio station and make sure to place it in a secure place.

Wrapping up

So, this is how to make an FM antenna from the speaker wire. We hope this article would help you.