Why am I writing this article? As you probably know (unless your under a rock) Digital TV came to be February 17, 2009. You do not need any special antenna if you have cable or satellite. DO NOTHING!!! if you have either of these. The Companies that provide those services will give you what you need automatically. In fact if you use a converter box on a TV that already has cable or satellite it will block the signal and will not work. You can’t convert a signal that is already converted.
If you have an antenna and/or the old type TVs:
You will need a converter box. BUT! here’s the big one in my opinion. You may be able to cancel your cable or satellite service. You will be able to get more channels than when you had your old analog signal. You may not be able to get all of the channels you received with cable or satellite but I feel it’s no big deal. You can either go to a bar or place they have cable and take advantage of that service. From the money you save you can buy a lot of food, drinks or whatever. You may be able to even pay for gasoline or heat for my home. If you purchase a new digital TV it will work without the converter box . So before popping for a converter box at least test it to see if it already can pick up the digital channels. Be sure you test everything before canceling any services.
You can purchase digital antennas on the web. Here is how you can find the antenna that is right for your area. antennaweb.org . Some local store may offer these antennas as well.
It also is better if you use the proper coax cable (75 ohm) for digital signals. The old two strand cable or the old 50 ohm coax cable may give you less ability to get the number of stations available or the quality that digital can provide. It will most likely not work. Most hardware stores have all the things you need to get going. You can also search the web of course.
What about store bought antennas?
Here you pretty much get what you pay for. If you buy rabbit ears (very popular with older TVs) you probably will not get good reception unless your really close to the transmission towers. You need to know about how far you are from the towers. That’s because the type of antennas vary quite a bit. Look for the range of the antenna on the box or ask a store clerk. If you don’t know don’t buy it. There are wall mounted and tower mounted types also. The thing to remember is that you MUST point these in about the direction of the signal in order to get the best reception. Get the Multi-direction type. This will allow you to get a station that isn’t exactly in the direction that you are pointing it. If you get a Uni-direction antenna it is extremely important what direction you point it. You may have to try several angles in order to get the best range and quality of stations you can get.
