Locating just the right spot for an antenna can sometimes be challenging. Trees, buildings and terrain can all give you trouble. Read this carefully and prepare accordingly, take your time. Be Carefull of Overhead or Underground Wires.

FIRST, locate your electric meter (that's right) running down the house from the meter is a grounding wire,sometimes inside PVC or metal conduit. This leads to the main ground rod for your house electrical system,some older homes may use a water pipe for the ground or a well head you have to investigate. The top of the rod may be exposed or it may be underground some ( see my grounding video). This is your starting point, your antenna MUST be grounded to this ground rod, as well as the mast that supports your antenna. NEVER drive a second ground rod unless it is bonded to the original ground rod with a #6 or larger copper wire.  If you have had cable tv, satellite or cable internet there should be a box nearby with those wires and a grounding block or they may be attached directly to the house. If you can use the satellite or cable ground block and distribution wires do so, if not install a new ground block and ground wire.  Be certain there is a green or bare copper wire attached to the ground block running to the ground rod, if not install a #10 ground wire. See my Grounding Video to learn more.

Once you have your NAVIGATION report you have an idea which way to point, use a compass. From the grounding block, look around, if there are no trees or large buildings  or POWER LINES in the direction you need to point, you only have to find a good place to mount your antenna. The old satellite mounting pole may not be the best place for an antenna, two different systems with different objectives, you can try it. Try to keep the distance from antenna to ground block as short as you can and never run the feedline coax through the house or attic until you attach it to the ground block.

NEXT, mount your antenna however you decided to mount it, and run your coax from the antenna to the ground block and into the house if not already wired. Then run a #10 or larger ground wire from the mast directly to the ground rod. Now go to the tv and click settings and switch to antenna or whatever is not cable/sat and scan for channels. You may have to fine tune your pointing by turning the antenna a little at a time for best results. Be patient.

Should you have  something blocking your view, you need to connect a long section of coax and try different placements to find the hotspot. Find as clear a view as you can and temporarily fix the antenna. Go to the tv and SCAN for channels, make sure the tv is set for ANTENNA or AIR or whatever is not cable/satellite. You may have to move the antenna around the yard or roof and scan a few times until you find just the right spot. You may want to leave the antenna temporarily fixed so you can fine tune your position over the next few days. Take your time with this process and don't get frustrated, you will find the right spot, sometimes turning a few degrees has a big impact on reception. Be mindful of OVERHEAD POWER LINES while locating your antenna, they can kill you. Once you have tuned your antenna in and mounted it, relax and enjoy free tv.

That was easy......Right ?

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There are as many ways to mount tv antennas as there are antennas. Personally, I prefer my antenna to be mounted away from the house, out in the yard all by itself. This is due to the extremely high number of lightning strikes we experience every year. 

Many homes in the area have towers, 40-50 feet high and this solves the lightning and tree cover issues.

You have to figure out what will work best for your location. Take some time to think through the process and have more than one preferred spot.

This can sometimes be difficult and frustrating, be patient.

I have used a small, one bay bowtie with 50ft of coax to locate the hotspots in my yard. This way I'm not hauling a large antenna around, works out well.