7 Tips for Improving Weak TV Signals

If you're having trouble with pixelation of your Freeview signal or wondering why your antenna isn't working. It could be that your TV signal is weak. In fact, your TV may already be displaying a "weak signal" or "no signal" message. Read this blog to learn everything you need to know about improving your TV signal strength.

Before we start, I just want to let you know if your current TV reception is poor. This doesn't necessarily mean your TV signal strength is weak. You may have too many signals to believe it no! With digital TV, any signal problems can cause a blackout of the TV picture, which can be due to many other reasons, such as interference and equipment failure. It's been cleaned up now. Let's take a look at how to increase TV signal strength.

There's a reason TV antennas are almost always mounted on chimneys. This is because they provide a fixed point, usually the highest point of your house, but this is not always the case. By mounting the TV antenna high up on the chimney, gable end wall, or fascia, you can help the TV antenna clear any nearby obstructions, such as neighboring buildings and trees. When most of these are left out, you can usually get a good strong TV signal. If you can see the transmitter when you install your TV antenna, you will almost always have a good signal.

Installing a TV antenna outside is usually the best way to improve your TV signal. So if you're struggling with the signal from your attic TV antenna. It's a good idea to move it outside, as you'll also benefit from the fact that the signal doesn't need to go through the roof tiles.

In addition to installing a TV antenna outdoors, it almost always helps to improve TV signal strength by mounting the antenna higher up. If you live in an area with weaker signals, it may be helpful to mount the antenna on a 10' or 12' mast rather than a 6' mast, especially if this helps you clear nearby obstructions. Remember that when you mount the antenna to a larger mast, the fixture needs to be able to support it. A good guideline is to make sure the fixing bracket is at least 1/6 the full mast height in size. If you don't, your antenna could be blown over by the wind.

If it is not possible to mount the antenna on a roof or on a wall outside and you have an indoor antenna. You will almost certainly get better TV reception from an attic antenna, provided your attic is free of foil.

Another way to get more TV signals is to install a TV antenna with a higher gain. These are usually unnecessary if you have a TV antenna installed outside on a chimney or gable end wall, but if you live in a Weak area or intend to run multiple TVs through one antenna. It might be a good idea to install a higher-gain antenna. 

High-gain antennas work by adding more elements to the overhead boom, which increases antenna performance, helping to improve reception angles and signal reception. This means that higher gain antennas will always be larger than traditional Yagi-style antennas, so you should also check that the fixtures and extra weight supporting the antenna is strong enough. I find it helpful to upgrade the mast with a bracket that measures 1/4 the height of the entire mast, at least 1.5" in diameter, 2" is ideal for high gain and large TV antennas.

If you've tried installing the antenna outside, mount it higher and use a higher gain TV antenna, or if all of these don't work. The next thing to try is installing a TV antenna amplifier. When installing amplifiers for a TV antenna, it's best to mount them close to the antenna itself, as this will carry as much signal as possible through the system and won't let it go weaken. Obviously, this means that the best place to mount a mast amplifier is usually somewhere outside the mast where there is no power supply.

Fortunately, this is not necessary as the TV signal amplifier is powered by a power supply unit that can be mounted behind the TV sending 12V DC through the antenna cable. When I say this should be mounted as close to the antenna as possible, there should be at least 1m of cable length between the TV antenna and the amplifier. A TV signal amplifier should also be installed before any distribution equipment such as TV antenna splitters and distribution amplifiers. So you need to make sure that all splitters and wall plates are DC through and not isolated as this will prevent the voltage from reaching the tv signal amplifier. There are also distribution amplifiers on the market that are capable of powering TV signal amplifiers.

As with all amplification, amplifiers should only be used to overcome the cable loss and signal loss associated with splitting the TV signal to multiple TVs. That being said, in situations where the signal from the antenna is weak or marginal, you will benefit from a TV signal booster.

If you have multiple TVs running from one antenna and use a passive splitter. Note that the more times you split your TV signal, the more it will be lost. Although this is usually not a problem in areas of strong but reasonably medium signal with up to 4 TVs. If you live in an area with a weak signal and/or want to run a 5, 6, 7 TV, etc., you may lose a lot of the signal you need in the splitter. By removing the splitter and installing a distribution amplifier with multiple outputs for multiple TVs, not only can you restore the signal lost in the splitter, but the amplifier also typically has about 10dB of signal gain to help overcome cable signal loss.

For your information, most TV splitters lose signal by the following amounts:

2 way - 4dB

3 way - 6dB

4 channels 8dB

6 channels 10dB

8 channels 12dB

If the 4-way splitter is replaced with a 4-way distribution amplifier with a 10dB signal, the received signal strength at the TV location will be 18dB higher than if the splitter was left in place. This effect increases with the number of TVs in the system. You should be aware that while this is good for increasing signal strength, it's not always a good thing in all signal areas.

You don't want the signal received from the TV antenna to be lost on the connected coax cable when it reaches the TV. When installing coaxial cables for TV antennas, these cables should be at least double shielded and have a solid center conductor. If your cable is a single shielded "low loss" cable or a stranded center conductor, you will lose too much signal on the cable, which can cause a weak TV signal. Ideally, when installing coaxial cables for a TV antenna, the cables should have all copper conductors, that is, copper braid, copper shield, and copper center conductor.

This totally goes against what I said about installing the antenna outdoors on a high spot, but you may find that placing the antenna in a location that helps avoid obstacles that might block your TV signal can do wonders for your signal strength. Installing a TV antenna is often referred to as "magic," which means you can often get a stronger signal by installing the antenna lower down or in a location that doesn't seem to be working properly. You'll need to spend some time testing different locations on your property to determine the best location. Remember, this is usually the high spot on your property.

The above introduces some methods to enhance the TV signal, if you still have questions or you want to buy a TV signal booster to enhance the TV signal, please contact us.

SOMI is a professional custom antenna accessories manufacturer. We specialize in the production of high-quality cable TV system accessories such as cable TV amplifiers, cable TV splitters, satellite splitters, cable TV wall sockets (junction boxes), audio and video connectors, and connecting cables. manufacturer. We have our own engineers, so we can design and produce products according to customers' requirements. All products are produced by automatic machines and fully tested to ensure the quality of our products.