Selecting the right antenna for your location is the most important part of getting over-the-air broadcast TV.
NOTE: an antenna advertised as 250 miles, 500 miles, 1000 miles, 1500 miles is making a false claim. No TV antenna can work at beyond-the-horizon distances due to the curvature of the Earth blocking the TV signal.
IMPORTANT: do not buy an antenna that claims to be omnidirectional or claims to have 360 degree performance. This indicates it has poor directional gain and will under-perform other antennas.
IMPORTANT: do not buy an indoor antenna with a built-in amplifier or one that requires power to operate (this indicates a built-in amplifier). The HDHomeRun has a built-in amplifier – using an antenna that also has a built-in amplifier can make reception worse and may result in fewer channels.
Amplifiers are generally only useful with a rooftop antenna where you need to split the signal to many devices or you have significant cable lengths. A typical install with a good rooftop antenna at 45 miles split 2 ways will generally not require an amplifier.
What channels are in my area?
Use the Signal Search Map from www.rabbitears.info to estimate the distance to the TV transmission towers.
Antenna selection:
- 65+ miles: The range limit of TV signals is typically around 65 miles due to the curvature of the earth. You need height and favorable terrain to go beyond 65 miles. We recommend talking to our support team or getting professional advice from AntennaMan (paid service): www.antennamanpa.com
- 55-65 miles: Use a large outdoor antenna mounted on a mast on the roof.
- 45-55 miles: Use at least a mid-size outdoor antenna mounted on the roof, or a large outdoor antenna mounted in the attic.
- 30-45 miles: Use at least a compact outdoor antenna mounted on the roof, or a mid-sized outdoor antenna mounted in the attic.
- 0-30 miles: A well designed indoor antenna will generally work.
- If you need VHF support look for a well designed indoor antenna with VHF support. An indoor antenna with VHF support will usually feature telescopic elements that you pull out to full length similar to an antenna on a portal radio.
- If you do not need VHF support look for a well designed indoor antenna such as the HD Frequency Aerowave antenna.
- Do not buy an indoor antenna with a built-in amplifier or one that requires power to operate (this indicates a built-in amplifier). The HDHomeRun has a built-in amplifier – using an antenna that also has a built-in amplifier can make reception worse and may result in fewer channels.
Do I need an antenna with VHF support?
- The channel column on the www.rabbitears.info website has a number in parenthesis, for example “(27)”.
- Numbers “(13)” and below are VHF channels. If any channels that are important to you have a number “(13)” or lower you need an antenna with VHF support.
- Numbers “(14)” and above are UHF channels. If all the channels that are important to you have a number “(14)” or higher you do not need an antenna with VHF support.