Q: Can I install my new antenna in my attic?
A: Of course you can, as long as you do not have a metal roof (this will not work), but please keep in mind any indoor antenna install is going to be less effective than an outdoor install. By putting your nice new outdoor antenna in the attic, you can degrade the signal quality by as much as 60%, meaning that when you buy an antenna, you need to get one that is rated to at least twice the distance from you to the furthest station you wish to pick up. We always recommend an outdoor antenna install when possible.
Q: What antenna will work best at my home?
A: This is a tough one, as there are many factors that will effect your reception, the most important being that antenna's are line of site, hills, trees, buildings, homes, cars, and more can affect your ability to get reception. We often start from something that has worked well with others in your area, and go from there. If you are trying to decide for yourself, start by figuring out how far you are from the stations you would like to recieve. We use these websites as a starting point when going to an area we have never been before.
TV Fool: http://www.tvfool.com/
Antenna Web: http://www.antennaweb.org/
FCC Engineering Maps: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/
Q: Do I need to replace my existing antenna with a new "digital" T.V. Antenna?
A: Although some antenna's are "tuned" to recieve a digital signal better, any radio wave is in essence an analog signal. This means any antenna designed for VHF and UHF antenna signals will work to pick up a digital signal. With the digital transition done and over with, we always recommend testing your current antenna to see how it recieves a signal, if you are recieving the stations you are interested in, then leave it in place and dont worry about spending the money to change it. As the old addage goes, "if it aint broke, dont fix it".
Q: Is it true that all I need is a UHF antenna now?
A: Yes, it is, well... kind of. The purpose of the digital transition was to free up the VHF band of frequencies for the goverment to re-allocate for wireless internet, cell phones and other devices, this means that most TV stations have moved to the UHF band. However, the new system does allow for small, low power TV stations to continue to broadcast on the VHF band. In the Mid Michigan Area two examples of stations still on VHF are channels 9 and 12. If you need to know the type of antenna to use, check the chart above or go to one of the websites listed above like TV Fool or AntennaWeb to get the "RF Channel" information. If the station is still on VHF then you will still need the VHF antenna to recieve it. You may want to check the answer to the next question to better understand this as well.
Q: I try to manually enter a channel into my converter box, and have an antenna that should recieve it, but I cannot get it to come in. Is there a problem with my TV or Converter Box?
A: Well, if you undertstand this next piece of information, then its possible, but more than likely you are entering the wrong channel and dont know it. Let me explain... With digital TV stations, the channel number such as 19.1 is not the "RF Channel" number anymore. Before, with analog, channel 19 was channel 19, but digital allows a station number that is different. The chart on this web page gives the most common Mid Michigan TV stations and their "RF Channel" number. So if you wanted to manually add channel 19, you would look it up in the chart and find that it is "RF Channel" 15. So you would manually enter 15 into the converter or television, and now channel 19 will come in.
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