You'd need to know the operating voltage and amperage of the antenna, then divide that by the voltage and amperage of your intended source, to determine the number of batteries you would need.
Then, you can purchase multiple multi-battery holders (like the 4 AA, or 2 C cell holders), and wire them together to form your power supply.
you COULD do it but why? An electric antenna runs off of 12 volts, and honestly no idea on amperage but your best bet would be to get a 110v to 12v converter. Or just buy a motorcycle battery if you need it to be modbile. Using D cells you would run through them fast and would probably be better off just investing the 30 bucks into a cheap bike battery.
Could you be more specific on your application? That would help with the footprint of th power source. Rechargeable 3v "123" style batteries can be had cheap nowadays. This would allow you to do something smaller than using AA's, C's, or D's
Thanks guys! I really posted this in the wrong forum, this is actually costume related. Im trying to figure out how to do this so I can make an extending and retractable arm for a costume.