How to Put Up a Television Antenna

Free television is nice. Maybe it isn’t as flashy as satellite or cable television and no, you can’t get all the stations. But if you live in an area that has some good local channels, you may want to consider putting up a television antenna for one or more television sets, especially if you can only get satellite which means you have to pay extra for each receiver.

Putting up a television antenna isn’t the hardest of jobs. But it does require a little bit of work and possibly a bit of climbing. Here are some steps to get you on your way to possibly having free television channels.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• An antenna
• A pole
• Coaxial cable
• A bracket
• An amplifier

1. Buy the equipment you need. You definitely will need the antenna, a pole, some cable wire, (most people will use coaxial cable), a bracket to attach the antenna pole to your house and you may also want to buy an amplifier to help your antenna become stronger and help it bring in clearer channels.

2. Get the antenna ready. Most will have many different bars that will have to be adjusted and centered. To do this, you need to follow the directions that come with the antenna. Each antenna is different and made a bit differently.

3. Attach the antenna portion of your amplifier onto your antenna.

4. Attach one end of the coaxial to the amplifier. Be sure to wrap electrical tape around the connections.

5. Carefully, attach your antenna to your roof or the side of your house with the brackets, screws and nuts that come with the brackets.

6. Drill a hole into your wall where you wish to run the other end of the coaxial cable into your house. Run the wire through the hole; don’t forget to caulk the hole later.

7. Begin attaching a wall plate to the front side of the wall. You will attach the coaxial cable that you just ran into the hole to the back side of the plate. Once you have the cable secured, screw the plate onto the wall.

8. Plug the inside part of the amplifier into an electrical outlet. Attach a connector to the television set and onto the "To TV" spot on the antenna. Now attach a separate connector to the "To Amplifier" spot and then to the new wall plate.

9. Turn on the television set and see how many channels you can bring in now.

Tips & Warnings

• Read all the instructions that come with your antenna and your amplifier for the best performance.
• Be extra careful when putting up the antenna.

[islandrave1980]

on 9/7/2009 If you install the antenna high on the roof, be sure to have at least 2-3 people assist in the installation (and of course not afraid of heights), for safety reasons.

[LilacGirl]

on 10/6/2008 Good article.

[dsarokin]

on 9/8/2008 Thanks for this. My kids only say we're the only family without cable, and maybe they're right. The instructons for the antennae are much appreciated, and thanks to the commentors for the reminder about grounding...that's important.

[purrfect1969]

on 5/4/2008 Read the instructions that comes with the antenna. It will tell you how to ground it properly. Each antenna is made to be grounded differently.

[HarryL4314]

on 4/22/2008 There's quite a bit of information missing in this article, there's no mention of grounding wires, grounding blocks, a grounding rod or where to ground the antenna, or cable stand offs. Go ahead and install the cable like this article says and lightening will sure to follow the cable wires directly into your house and damage your tv and maybe kill you along the way.