Installing A Television Antenna

Installing a television antenna

Television antenna signals are strongest and reception is generally the best when the station's transmitting tower is in clear line of vision with the home receiving the broadcast. Mountains, buildings or trees that block this line of sight tend to weaken and degrade the received signal. The signal also becomes weaker as it travels further from the transmitting tower. All of this means that in difficult and distant receiving situation a higher gain antenna may be required.

Gain is one measure of an antenna's ability to receive signals. The weaker the signal one is trying to receive, the more gain the antenna should have. In practical terms higher the gain antennas are usually longer and have more elements or crosspieces. It is important to realize that an antenna's gain can vary from channel to channel. It means that an antenna's advertised gain rating may apply to channel 28 but the gain may be much less at channel 55. Make sure that the antenna supplier guarantees that the antenna one buys is suitable for all the channels in that particular area.  

Adjusting the antenna:

The boom means backbone or spine of the antenna is pointed towards the source of the broadcast, the transmitting antenna. The elements that are crosspieces should be adjusted to be horizontal or vertical depending on whether the transmitted signal is horizontally or vertically polarized. There are many web sites as well as companies that can give advise on the polarization of the service. The direction of the antenna in and its height should be carefully adjusted to obtain the best picture. Small changes can make a big difference. If the picture is spoiled by snow or by ghosting or by both of these undesirable effects, the following pointers may help.

1. Snow or harsh grain in the picture is caused a weak signal, a weak antenna system, the set itself or by a combination of these.

2. Ghosting is caused by a signal arriving at the antenna from two or more different directions. These multiple signals cause multiple images or ghosts on the screen. They happen when the central signal is reflected off buildings, mountains or even aeroplanes.

Antenna cable:

If you are starting from scratch, or if your present VHF reception is not very good, you should study this guide carefully before attempting an installation and seek further advice if you are not confident about all the details