Cable Box


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Old 05-03-14, 06:10 AM
kolias's Avatar
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Cable Box

I have installed an exterior antenna and although it is not mounted on the roof of the house the reception is excellent and I get 12 channels crystal clear. The antenna is mounted on a 12 feet long 1.25" diameter steel pole and is secured to the ground and side of the house. My questions?

1. Do I need to ground the antenna?

2. My TV has a build in converter (I guess) because all channels I get are DTV and are HD quality. But I read about this cable converter box and not sure if there is a benefit to get one. Perhaps there are other equipment which I may get a benefit and maybe I could get a few more channels? I think they are called amplifiers or filters?
 
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Old 05-03-14, 06:23 AM
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If your Tv already receives the signals, you don't need the converter box. It was designed to allow older TV's to receive signals.
 
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Old 05-03-14, 07:41 AM
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1. Do I need to ground the antenna?
The steel pipe is already going into the ground, so IMO it is already grounded. You could drive a 8' ground rod into the ground and bond it to the steel pipe with a jumper for extra insurance against lighting, but this will not improve your reception.

Welcome to the over the air club! I've been cable free for 10 years.
 
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Old 05-03-14, 12:11 PM
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Thanks Tolyn, I feel the same about grounding

I'm happy with my antenna and the reception is excellent but I was looking if there is a gadget I can add to get more channels if possible. A few months back I got two interior antennas which I returned and one had something like a filter or amplifier box and I was getting 2 extra channels with that antenna. The other antenna did not have this box and I was getting only one channel. I will search for a forum on exterior antennas to see if I can educate myself on this subject. I'm glad you are happy with your antenna
 
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Old 05-03-14, 01:16 PM
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Here in the US, there are several antenna sites that explain all about them as well as telling you the channels you can expect to receive based on your location and line of sight to the transmitter.

You may have something similar up there.

No reason to buy an amplifier if the antennas are blocked or too far away. Digital signals are far different than the old analog. No partial blurry fading in and out picture with digital...it's either there or it's not in most cases.
 
 

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