Home tv antenna installation

In fact, the ideal location for your antenna within your home may not be near your TV, but instead on the roof, off your garage, in your attic, in a bedroom window, or on a balcony. More on that below. By far, the most critical factor for TV antenna placement is height. The higher you can get the antenna either inside our outside of your home, the better your TV reception will be.

For outdoor TV antennas , the best locations are on your roof or garage. Alternatively, a balcony or other outdoor space can be a great location to install your TV antenna, especially for those living in condos or apartments. Indoor TV antennas are easier to position and install and are designed to blend into your decor.

Try a spot near a window or patio door. If your home has multiple stories, an upstairs window is preferable. And the distance between the antenna and the control unit box should be within 50 ft.

Connect the antenna to your TV, then perform a channel scan Mount the antenna on your rooftop for optimal performance. Consult related instruction manual to scan the channels if you use a digital converter box Find the setting option on the TV menu.

After you set up the signal source, go to Channel Scan or Channel Manage to scan the digital channels. Test antenna installation before installing the antenna on the roof Plug in the AC Adapter then connect to the control unit box, a GREEN light on your control unit box should light up.

Once you connect the control unit box a port on the box named ANT to your antenna with a cable, you should see the RED light is on your antenna main unit.

Now is a good time to pull out your compass or peak at your neighbors roof to roughly align your antenna in the direction of the broadcast tower. You can try aiming the antenna in the middle of both towers and see how you fair. Otherwise, I recommend exploring the antenna rotator option, or even better, the network tuner option. This is an often overlooked part of any TV antenna installation. The coax cable itself will introduce losses into your system, as does connectors, splitters and the like.

In fact you can expect to see the following losses, in Decibels, over foot run of RG-6 coaxial cable:. There are ways to minimize the impact of longer cable runs if it is unavoidable by installing an antenna preamplifier. A preamplifier basically takes your antenna signal at your antenna and before the long cable run and injects a small amount of gain to amplify the signal so that any losses observed by your long coaxial cable run and downstream splitters are offset by this increased gain.

Care must be taken when selecting an antenna preamplifier as injecting too much gain can be just as bad or worse than not having enough. For this reason, newer preamps on the market have adjustable gain settings.

This will allow you to configure different preset gain amounts so you can dial it in just right. Not only is coaxial cable run length important, but just as important is the quality of the coaxial cable you are using. Buying a high-end antenna and then connecting cheap, low quality RG-6 coaxial cable is a recipe for disappointment.

There are several on the market and available on Amazon at a great price point. Another tip is to ensure you apply sealant to all your exposed connections. One of the most common reasons for poor reception is water and moisture. If your antenna comes with a rubber boot, make sure it is installed over the F-connector once attached to your antenna. For all other exposed connections, be sure to apply sealant of one form or another.

Some popular options are:. Whenever possible run as much of your coaxial cable indoors. While premium cables will provide UV protection from the sun, over time the sun will win and begin to break these cables down. Make sure your cabling is securely fastened and only run as much as you need for reasons discussed previously. Try to avoid any tight turns or corners. If you must bend the cable around tight corners you may want to consider 90 degree coax connectors. Be prepared to drill holes in walls, studs and rafters to route your coaxial cable to its final destination.

These holes will also serve as support for the cable. Where the coaxial cable enters the house, be sure to caulk or seal up the hole around it. If you encounter existing electrical cables along your path, do your best to keep away from them. The shielding of the RG-6 cable will provide protection from electromagnetic interference EMI , however, if you have to cross an electrical cable, do so at 90 degrees.

Now is probably a good time to test your coaxial cable and connections. Rather than explain step-by-step how to perform this test.

Pickup yourself up an inexpensive digital multimeter and watch the video below:. Again, another overlooked aspect of proper TV antenna installation is grounding. Remember, a metal antenna, connected to a metal antenna mast is essentially a giant lightning rod.

Proper grounding will ensure maximum protection and safety against both direct and indirect lightning strikes. It is always advised to seek a professional for assistance with any electrical safety type project. Depending on your specific location, be sure to check out the local rules for your area.

Finally the moment of truth. It seems like a lot of work…and it is to an extent. However, if you plan properly you can have this entire installation done in a day. I recommend a direct connection to one TV if possible to test it. Once the coaxial cable is attached, power on your TV and run a channel scan. This is going to be when it is very helpful to have someone with you to help. Make your adjustment and then re-run the scan.

Repeat this as often as necessary to get your desired result. Check out this article here for some troubleshooting tips and tricks. Setting up an outdoor antenna is not difficult with the proper planning and a little bit of time. The benefit in doing so will pay you dividends for months and year to come.

Of course, if you feel the job is a little out of your reach, then we recommend contacting a professional installer in your area. If you want to learn more about cord-cutting, HDTV antennas and tech, check out our full complement of guides and articles here. Skip to content Facebook Twitter YouTube.

Preparing for your TV antenna installation In this guide we are going to focus on how to install an outdoor TV antenna. How much will installing a TV antenna cost? Is your TV digital ready? Preferred Buy a digital converter box — this will take your digital signal and convert it to analog so your current TV can use it. This is not preferred as there is lossy compression in doing this.

However, if a new TV is just not in your budget, check out our review of the best digital converter boxes. However, a digital converter box will give you a few extra benefits as well in addition to providing you with a digital tuner: An electronic program guide EPG for short of all the available TV channels you are receiving. Parental controls, timers, and a whole bunch more.

What you need for a TV antenna installation? To cover most any type of TV antenna installation, plan to have the following equipment tools ready: Extension ladder — depending on your roof height we recommend a ladder that extends at least 20 feet high.

Leather tool pouch — if most of your installation is going to require you to work off of a ladder, consider investing in a leather tool pouch. You can find these readily available on Amazon. Antenna Mast — this is what you will be mounting your TV antenna to. You can purchase a manufactured mast on Amazon.

The nice thing about these masts is that they are fully adjustable. However, an 1 inch to 1.