Erecting an Antenna

1/9/08

Erecting a TV Antenna

If you have been told that you may not erect a small outdoor TV antenna, that is probably wrong. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 has a provision that preempts (overrules) nearly all local restrictions such as deed restrictions, home-owners association rules, renters contracts, and so on. For more details see FCC Fact Sheet.

Late news: The determination of permanent DTV channel numbers is complete. The results are at DTV Final Channel Designations. There you will find a list of stations for your city. For each station, the current NTSC channel number is shown, followed by the permanent DTV channel number after 2009.

The permanent change takes place on February 17, 2009. At that time channels 52-69 will be vacated and reallocated to other uses. Only 37 stations have elected to stay in channels 2-6.

You must consider 02/17/09 when planning an antenna system. Many of your stations will move on that date. Today your DTV stations are probably all UHF. But on 02/17/09 many DTV stations will move to VHF. The VHF-high channels (7-13) are probably the best channels for DTV since VHF-low has interference problems and UHF has tree and valley problems.

Note also that now is not a good time to buy a Yagi antenna. Present Yagi antennas are optimized for channel 69. But beginning on 2/17/09, 51 will be the highest channel, and a new generation of Yagi antennas cut for channel 51 will be the most desirable. For the next few years Yagi buyers must pay close attention to the frequency specs.

Many people live in areas where TV signals are strong. Even if these people know nothing about selecting or installing an antenna, they will probably succeed anyway. This website is written mainly for people in areas where reception is nontrivial to very difficult. A trip to the website www.antennaweb.org will tell you quickly into which group you fall. If your must-have stations are in the yellow or olive-green range then there is not much reason to study anything. (But if your present antenna is disappointing then read on.)

If you are not a do-it-yourself type, you can find an installer in the Yellow Pages under “Antennas” (or possibly “Televisions – Dealers & Services”). The total cost (parts and labor) will range from $100 for an easy install to $800 for a difficult install, with $300 being the most typical bill. If you do it yourself, you will pay almost $200 just for the hardware. (Antenna: $70, amplifier: $70, 50 feet of RG-6: $30) You might be able to get some free advice or a free rough estimate over the phone or by visiting the installer’s shop. If he comes to your home, the estimate will not be free but it will be accurate.

There is a chance that the first antenna you install will not meet your expectations. Once an outdoor antenna has been installed, the seller will rarely take it back. Even Radio Shack will not take back an installed outdoor antenna. The cost of a second antenna might wipe out any savings you hoped for by doing it yourself. An installer will never charge you for two antennas if he is wrong on the first try. Generally, indoor antennas can be returned if in the original packaging.

Proceed at your own risk:

· Every year people get killed while erecting antennas.

· There are places within the station’s broadcast radius where reception is not possible.

· There are places where reception is so difficult that the challenge might outwit the installer.

· Although the dollar cost of an antenna system is modest, a lot of your time might be required.

The author will not accept responsibility for any unexpected losses.

The following antenna sections, like the rest of the primer, assume only a high school education. But you will find them to be slightly more technically challenging.