In late 2003, my wife and I moved into our first house and were quickly realizing that we didn’t have a spot in the budget for cable television. We liked TV, we enjoyed watching TV together, but we were having trouble justifying $60 a month for 100+ channels when we watched only a dozen or so. Logically, it made sense to stop paying for 80 channels we didn’t watch, but we really enjoyed the evening downtime together that TV often provided. We didn’t want to give it up. Then in early 2004, we reached the inflection point. It was time to cut the cord. I was determined to find a way to get the television we enjoyed without paying for cable TV. This is the guide I wish I’d had to help me get started.

Rabbit to the Rescue

Hands down, the single easiest way for you to get the most popular TV shows without paying for cable or satellite is with a TV antenna. That’s right an antenna. Those of you old enough will remember TV antennas from the days before cable/satellite. It was a pretty crumby experience back then, with poor picture quality and occasional use of tin foil. That all changed in 2009 when the FCC enacted the Digital Television (DTV) transition requiring all major TV stations to broadcast digitally, usually in High Definition. Now a simple “rabbit ear” antenna has the potential to deliver the highest quality 1080p HDTV directly to your ocular cavities. Because the signal is digital there’s no more “snowy” picture. Essentially, you get an amazing crisp picture or none at all. Watching HDTV using an antenna feels like magic. 

Harnessing the Magic : Choosing an Antenna

It’s very tempting for me to go down a rabbit hole about how antennas work and their complexity, but none of that is really important. I want you to go to the store, buy a mid-priced antenna (save your receipt) then come home and try it out. 

For now, put the antenna in a convenient location that’s as close to a window and as high up as possible. When I say convenient I mean convenient for you at the moment. Don’t worry about cords running about in plain sight. Don’t worry that you’ve got an eyesore of an antenna sitting out in the open on your fireplace mantle eclipsing the picture of your family. It should take ten minutes or so to get the antenna physically hooked up and even less to remove it. This isn’t your future. We’re starting with a temporary “proof of concept” I want you to see that you can do this. Even if you never commit to cutting the cord I want you to know what’s possible.

Many mid-priced antennas will be amplified, which means they have a cord you can plug into a power outlet to boost the reception signal. They will also have a second “coax,” short for coaxial,  cord that attaches directly to the back of your TV. Not all antennas come with the coax cord, but many do. Once the antenna coax is connected to your TV, you’ll need to perform an initial auto-scan to search for channels. When the TV auto-scans it tries all possible channels to see if they get a signal. It then saves the channels that have a signal into the TV “memory.” When you change channels it will automatically skip channels that are unused or too weak for you to watch in your area.  The method for initiating an auto-scan varies from TV to TV, but it will be located in the menu or settings. Consult your TV manual if you have trouble performing the auto-scan.

Pro-Tip: Google is amazing at finding product manuals. Someplace on the back of your TV the model number will be listed. Search google for “model# manual” (without the quotes and where model# is the model of your TV) and you should find your TV manual in no time.

After the auto-scan is finished flip through the channels and see how many you get.

Try doing an auto-scan with the antenna plugged into the power outlet and doing an auto-scan with it unplugged from the outlet. Most people will get more channels with the antenna plugged into a power outlet, but some people who live close to the broadcast towers will find they get more channels with the antenna unplugged from the power outlet.

Pick a nice looking channel and leave it on for a minute while you sit back and enjoy the moment! You’ve taken TV out of thin air that looks absolutely amazing! That show you’re watching on your television is FREE! You won’t ever get a monthly bill for it. 

Confidently head back to your computer. We’re going to use a tool provided by Mohu http://www.gomohu.com/ to determine how many channels you should be able to receive at your location so you can compare it to the number you’re currently getting.

Full disclosure:  Mohu offers this tool as a way to sell antennas. I get no compensation from them.

Once at http://www.gomohu.com input your zip code and you’ll be shown the Mohu product line with information about the channels you can expect to receive in your area with each of their products. If the mid-priced antenna you’ve already purchased is getting the channels you expect after seeing what’s possible at the Mohu site there’s no performance reason to purchase a different antenna. However, you may want to for aesthetic reasons.

It’s also possible you purchased a directional antenna that needs to be aimed at the broadcast towers to get the best signal. You can use antennaweb.org to find the location of all the broadcast towers in your area. Try repositioning your antenna to point towards the towers and then performing an auto-scan again. 

After some experimentation you’ll have a good idea of what your mid-price antenna is capable of. If you’re not completely satisfied with it’s performance return it to the store. You kept the receipt right? 

Choosing the Right Antenna

Here’s a few things to consider if you want to purchase another antenna;

• Outdoor antennas are better at getting a signal that’s further away
  • For more information about choosing an Outdoor antenna check out my guide at http://overtheairtv.info/choosing-an-outdoor-hdtv-antenna/
• Directional antennas are better at getting a signal that’s further away
• Amplified/powered antennas are better at getting a signal that’s further away
• Placing the antenna higher up can help you get a signal that’s further away
  • My antenna is mounted in my attic because it’s higher up and can’t be seen
• Getting a signal beyond 60 miles can be very difficult

Get outta my fireplace, Get Into My Attic : Giving Your Antenna a Home

Once you’re satisfied with your proof-of-concept and you’ve chosen the antenna you’re going to be using permanently, it’s time to mount it more permanently (unless of course you’ve decided you’re so proud of your work you’re going to keep the antenna on your fireplace mantle.)

You’ll need to decide where you want to mount the antenna keeping in mind where you’ll get a strong signal. Some location options to consider are…

• On the roof
  • Roof mounted locations generally provide the best signal, but the antenna can often be seen from the street which may not be desired.
  • You’ll need to consider how you’ll get power, if the antenna is amplified, and the coax wire into the interior of the house.
• In the attic
  • While the signal inside an attic is not as good as a roof mounted location, you can often get a strong signal and the antenna is hidden from view.
  • It’s often easier to supply power and run the coax wire to the interior of the house from the attic.
• On an exterior wall
  • You’ll want to pick a wall that faces the broadcast towers.
  • You’ll need to consider how you’ll get power, if the antenna is amplified, and the coax wire to the interior of the house.
• Flat, painted, interior wall mounted
  • Mohu offers paper flat, paintable, antennas that can virtually disappear on an interior wall.
  • This option generally makes it the easiest to supply power for amplified antennas.

Most do-it-yourself types can handle the installation themselves, but you may want to consider having a professional installer mount the antenna and run the wiring.

If you or any previous tenant has been a cable/satellite TV subscriber you likely have existing coaxial wire running to the rooms you watch TV in. There will be a central point where the cable/satellite company’s wire enters the house and then gets split to the various rooms. In newer construction the splitter is often located in an in-wall sub-panel. The splitter location in older homes varies but is often in the attic or on the exterior of the house.

Can I use One Antenna for Multiple TV’s?

The great news is that you can REUSE that same wiring to distribute the antenna signal to all the TV’s in your house. That’s right, you only need one antenna for multiple TV’s. Each TV will be able to watch any channel. All you or your installer needs to do is find the splitter location and remove the cable/satellite company coax “in” and replace it with the coax wire that goes to your antenna. 

Note: Once you remove the cable/satellite company coax you’ll no longer be able to watch cable/satellite on your TV’s. Don’t forget to cancel that cable/satellite subscription. If you use Cable or Satellite for your internet service you’ll want to make sure you ONLY cancel the TV services on your account.  If you decide later that cutting the cord isn’t for you it’s as easy as unplugging the antenna from the splitter and putting the cable/satellite back in. 

If you currently use cable/satellite boxes (most people do) you’ll need to unplug the box side of the coax wire that goes from the wall into the back of the box. Then plug the coax wire into the back of your TV. Next run an auto-scan on the TV.

Some cable/satellite companies will require you to return the boxes to avoid extra charges. At the very least make sure to unplug them from the power outlet. It’s been reported that cable boxes can use more energy than your fridge! 

I hope part one of this guide has given you the tools and confidence to try out over the air TV. In part 2 we’ll discuss how to supplement your over the air TV with internet streaming boxes. Streaming Boxes add a huge variety of programming at a fraction of the cost of cable and satellite. Click the link below for Part 2.

Click Here for Part 2 : Swimming Down Stream