So You Want to Do It Yourself?

PL Depot is proud to offer the products you need most when installing an off-air antenna. There are a number of factors to consider when adding an OTA signal to your home or business. From antenna selection to safety and mounting to quality reception, let PL Depot walk you through the step-by-step process.

We included this Comprehensive Antenna Installation Guide published by Channel Master to give you a glimpse at how the professionals go through the process of installing an off-air antenna.

However, before delving too deeply into the antenna installation process, it is worth going mentioning some antenna basics. Below are 4 basic rules for TV Signal Reception. We also included an article that offers some additional antenna basics. We highly recommend reading this article. Basic Rules for TV Signal Reception...

• Outdoors is generally better.  Outdoor antennas have a better view of the transmitting station, with no building-induced signal loss. They receive less interference from other household electronic/electrical appliances, and they are less likely to receive reflected ghost signals from the building structure.
• Higher is better.  The higher an antenna is, the more direct signal it can receive from the TV transmitter, while at the same time reducing the reception of interfering signals from other household electronic/electrical appliances and reflected ghost-causing signals from other nearby structures. The higher the better, but any antenna should be at least four feet above the structure to which it is mounted, and ideally above the roofline.
• Closer is better.  If a position above the roofline is not possible, the antenna should at least be on the side of your building facing the TV signal broadcast tower.
• Bigger is better.  The larger an antenna, the more signal it receives. This is especially important on channels 2-6, where the longer wavelength requires a larger antenna in order to be efficiently received. Larger antennas also become directional which reduces ghosting caused by reflected signals coming from the side and the rear of the receiving antenna.