HD TV Antenna Installation Guide – Home Tech Experts
Today’s guest post comes from HomeTech Experts and is a handy how to article that deals with outdoor antenna installation. Enjoy the article, and remember to read up on safety information before working on your roof.
Here is an over-the-air HD TV antenna installation guide for all the DIYers out there.
- Visit this website and find out what kind of channels you can expect to receive in your area and what kind of mounting option (indoor, attic, roof etc.) would best suit your needs.
- Once you have identified the location where you want to install your antenna and the type of mounting option, purchase one of the antennas and other required supplies from this website (Home Tech Experts). Here is the list of supplies you will/may need:
- HD Antenna
- Mounting hardware (j-pipe or a mounting bracket with a pole)
- Tapcon screws for concrete or brick install. Or wooden screws for roof install.
- RG6 Cable
- RG6 F Connectors
- Grounding block, wire and rod
- Pre-amplifier or distribution amplifier
- Plastic ties
- Cable clips.
- Silicone
- Here is the list of tools you will/may need:
- Drill (Preferably hammer drill)
- 7/16 wrench.
- Drill bit 5/32′ to drill the holes for mounting.
- Screw bit depending on the Tapcon screw or wooden screw size.
- Drill bit 3/8′ to drill hole to bring wire inside the house.
- Hammer
- Cable stripper
- Compression tool
- Cable stapler
- After you have everything ready, begin by identifying a location where there will be a clear line of site with none or minimal obstructions to the broadcasting tower(s).
- Once the location is identified, drill holes and mount the j-pipe or mounting bracket with a pole with the Tapcon screws or wooden screws and secure it so that it doesn’t move. Make sure the j-pole (mounting pole) is in perfectly upright (vertical) position. The best location to mount the antenna is either the chimney or the roof of the house.
- Attach your antenna to the pole and tighten it lightly for now.
- Attach one end of the RG6 cable to the antenna and run it inside the house to your HDTV.
- Use plastic ties to tie the cable to the mounting pole.
- Using cable clips, clip the cable to the brick wall to make it look nice and seal the entry point into the house with water proof silicone.
- Ground the coax by splicing it and using a grounding block. Hydro meter, lawn water tap, or a grounding rod are a few of the options when it comes to grounding the antenna. Run ground wire between grounding block and grounding spot (e.g. lawn water tap). If you also want to ground the mount (e.g. j-pole), you have to run a messenger wire from the mount to the grounding spot.
- Inside the house, if TV is away from the wall where cable entered in to the house, staple the cable alongside the baseboard using a cable stapler. Make sure that none of the staples end up passing through the wire.
- At this point, most of work would have been finished except aiming the antenna for optimal signal strength and maximum number of channels and tightening it to the pole.
- You may need help from another person to assist you in scanning the TV for channels while you move the antenna around in different directions.
- Once you have identified a direction where you receive optimal signal strength and maximum number of channels, you can tighten the antenna attached to the pole so that it doesn’t move.
Congrats! Now you can enjoy your favorite TV channels in stunning high definition picture quality without worrying about huge monthly bills.
