Introduction

Before going through these steps, be sure to read the following page:

1.) Beware of This When Shopping for a TV Antenna

Selecting the right TV antenna, for your area, is a simple process. This page provides a general step-by-step guide to helping you select the right TV antenna for your area. Before you proceed with this guide, it is recommended that you read the page titled Beware of This When Shopping for a TV Antenna. After you select the proper antenna, placing and positioning your antenna, hooking it up to your TV, and running a channel scan is all you need to do in order to start watching free TV.

Before shopping for a TV Antenna, you need to determine the following and this guide will show you how:

1.) Determine if your TV Antenna needs to receive UHF, HIGH-VHF, LOW-VHF, or a combination of these three signal types.
2.) Determine the distance from the TV towers your TV antenna will be.
3.) Determine if you will need an indoor, outdoor, or and attic TV antenna. An attic antenna is simply an outdoor antenna placed in the attic.

1. Decide If Antenna Will Be Placed Indoor, Outdoor, or Attic

Decide if you are placing the antenna indoor, outdoor, or an attic. An attic antenna is simply an outdoor antenna placed in the attic. An outdoor antenna, placed outdoors, will always provide the best and most reliable signal reception. However, if you must use an indoor antenna, reliable results can be achieved depending on several factors.

2. Determine The Location of the TV Broadcast Towers

Go to https://www.rabbitears.info/searchmap.php. This tool will show the TV channels signal strengths as well as show how far away the TV Broadcast towers are from your location. For step-by-step guide on how to use the Rabbitears tool visit this page, titled Rabbitears.info - Step by Step Guide

3. Reading the Rabbitears Report

After using the Rabbitears.info too, you should have a list that shows the live TV channel broadcast towers in your area. The list will look similar to the list shown in the photo. Under the Channel column, take note and make a list of each and every channel that is important for you to receive.

4. Understanding the Difference Between the Display Channel Number and the RF Channel Number

The number that is NOT enclosed in parenthesis is the channel number that is displayed on your TV. This is commonly referred to as the display channel number or simply the channel number. The number that IS enclosed in parenthesis is the actual channel used to transmit the the signal on. This is usually referred to as the RF channel number. The RF channel numbers are the most important numbers to keep in mind when selecting a TV antenna.

5. Determine if You Need a UHF, High-VHF, Low-VHF, or a Combination TV Antenna

You need to decide if you need a UHF, a HIGH-VHF, or a LOW-VHF antenna. They do make single antennas that include all three in one antenna. They also make single antennas that contain both UHF and HIGH-VHF. Using your channel list, that you created in steps #5 and #6 above, use the guide below to determine which of the three your most wanted channels use. It is very common for all channels, in a given area, to be all UHF with no channels using VHF. It is also common for an area to have one Hi-VHF channel and the rest are UHF. There are a few areas that have at least one channel on all three.

LOW-VHF  - RF Channels 2-6
HIGH-VHF - RF Channels 7-13
UHF           - RF Channels 14-62

6. Know Exactly What TV Antenna Type You Need

At this point, you should know what type of antenna you need. It will be one of the three listed below. If you do not have a good idea, start at step #1 and work through each step again.

1.) UHF with HIGH-VHF - Most common TV antenna.
2.) UHF only - Second most common TV antenna.
3.) UHF, HIGH-VHF, and LOW-VHF - Least common TV antenna.

7. Pick a Specific TV Antenna Model

Next is to choose an appropriate antenna. Look on your Rabbitears.Info report that you obtained in steps #2. Under the column titled Field Strength (dBuV/m) you will see a green "Good", a yellow "Fair", or a "Poor". In general, channels labeled as "Good" can be received using an indoor antenna. Channels labeled as "Fair" can sometimes be received with an indoor antenna, but, most of the time "fair" channels cannot be received with an indoor antenna. Channels labeled as "Poor" must use an outdoor antenna in order to receive reliably.

To pick a good antenna, proceed to the page The Most Recommended TV Antennas