By far, the biggest headache when dealing with OTA television is maintaining signal strength with your antenna. So, before you go out and buy the coolest looking “HDTV Ready” antenna at your favorite electronics store, use this guide to find exactly what type of antenna you need, where to locate it, and where to point it.
Deciding What Type of Antenna You Need.
There are several types of antennas available to you.
The first decision to make is whether you need a multidirectional antenna or a directional antenna. This depends on your location in relation to the towers. Check our links page or click here for a link to
www.antennaweb.org to aid in this process. I’m not a big fan of multidirectional antennas because they accept signals from all directions, introducing unwanted noise into your line, and digital receivers hate noise. An alternative to this would be a directional antenna on a rotator. While this may be a bit more expensive, it should yield the best results (hey you’ve already dropped a bundle on your setup, why skimp here?)
Once you’ve narrowed down between multidirectional and directional, you can choose what type of antenna you need. Currently in Columbus all DTV broadcasts are UHF. This means shorter wavelengths and smaller antennas, which is good, but the range isn’t quite as good as VHF. Each antenna will have a certain range. Estimate your distance from the towers, guessing a bit high if you have lots of trees or buildings between you and the towers, and choose accordingly. The description of the antenna should provide a range.
Antenna Placement
Deciding where to place your antenna depends largely on the signal strength at your location.
Indoor/Attic Placement
The attic is an ideal location for your antenna if you can get away with it. It hides the antenna from view completely and protects it from the elements and possibly lightning strikes. There are tradeoffs however, expect to lose as much as 50% of your signal strength by placing your antenna in the attic. Some may be able to pick up broadcasts with a simple indoor antenna placed on the TV.
Outdoor/Rooftop Placement
While mounting a 10 foot mast to your roof with an antenna on top may not be to your liking, it may offer you the best reception. You should be able to find masts and mounting hardware at your favorite hardware store. Remember to always ground your antenna according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
If you are worried about restrictions on the placement of your antenna, visit this link to the FCC for rules governing restriction of placement:
www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html.
Antenna Direction
If you refer back to the tower locations you got from antennaweb you will see exactly where you need to point your directional antenna, be it fixed or mounted with a rotator. If you are in a location where two towers are nearly along the same line, say 15 degrees apart, then experiment with direction. Sometimes splitting the difference will be optimal, while other times you need to point directly at one tower and the other still picks up fine.
Boosting Your Signal
I’ve tried several types of boosters and the only ones that appear to work are powered. All in-line boosters I’ve tried have cut the signal completely. Personally I have a 12db gain Cable TV booster ( a little black box , $19.99 at the hardware store) mounted in the attic. You may not need to boost your signal unless you have a run of 75 feet or more. Getting an amplifier with a higher gain may work for some, but it will increase line noise, which may hurt more than it helps.`
Also, look for a high quality RG-6 quad-shield coaxial cable that has quality terminations to minimize signal loss and outside noise on long runs.
