Antenna, Tower and Satellite

Install a roof antenna tripod properly: plan around power lines, work with fall protection, locate rafters or trusses, lag and seal each foot, follow…

Antenna rotor not turning? Work through the control box and power, the control cable and terminals, ice and motor stalls, slipped clamps and end…

Guy an antenna mast safely: when guys are needed, what a guy wire kit contains, anchor spacing from the mast instructions, turnbuckle tension, CPSC…

Install a mast mounted preamp the right way: short jumper at the antenna, power inserter before any splitter so DC reaches the amplifier, sealed…

Lost channels rarely mean a dead antenna. Match the symptom to the cause, rescan first, then test cable, connectors, preamp power and aim one…

Why coax loses more signal at higher frequencies and over longer runs, standard dB per 100 foot figures for RG6 and RG11, a worked…

Pick an empty stud bay, fish the coax from the attic or basement, seal the drilled plate as fireblocking, keep clear of power and…

How a ballasted flat roof antenna mount works, why the ballast figure comes from the mount maker, how wind dislodges blocks, and the membrane,…

The aiming procedure step by step: look up station bearings with the FCC map, convert true to magnetic north, set a rough aim, fine-tune…

A preamp at the antenna covers downlead loss and sets the noise figure; a distribution amp at the split feeds many TVs. A worked…

Height pays when it lifts the antenna clear of the roof, trees and nearby buildings. Survey the path, compare mounts, guy tall masts, keep…

Whether a TV antenna needs UHF, VHF or both depends on each station’s RF channel. The FCC band edges, why the on-screen number misleads,…