Customer Ratings & Reviews

Hello OGPG - The signal strength at your actual, physical, location is one of the major factors on whether an antenna can receive a signal or not. Unfortunately there are some areas where it is difficult to get a great viewing experience due to the lack of strong signals. If you can send us an email at RCAAntennaHelp@voxxintl.com we would be glad to assist you in determining which antenna would be best for your location. Some other factors when it comes to selecting a proper antenna for your location include factors like the surrounding terrain, whether or not you have a line-of-sight to the broadcast towers and even materials used in construction of your dwelling have an impact on the signal indoors. In most instances, if you can place your antenna high up, near a window, facing the direction of your local broadcast towers you generally have better luck getting a signal. Always remember to rescan for channels through your TV menu settings any time you move your antenna.

Hello Terry - Typically an outdoor antenna will outperform an indoor antenna so your advice is correct in that statement. The signal strength at your location is one of the major factors on whether an antenna can receive a signal. As it mentioned, there are some locations where it is difficult to secure a watchable signal. Some other factors include things like the surrounding terrain, whether or not you have a line-of-sight to the broadcast towers and even materials used in construction of your dwelling have an impact on the signal indoors. If you can place your antenna high up, near a window, facing the direction of your local broadcast towers you may have better luck getting a signal. Always remember to rescan for channels through your TV menu settings any time you move your antenna.

Hello JaniceD - Thank you for contacting us. Have you performed an Auto Program, or also often referred to as a Channel Scan, using your TV’s menu system as noted in the Owner's Manual as-well-as the Quick Start Guide of the antenna? This is the most important and most often overlooked step after physically connecting the antenna to the TV.  Your TV will not recognize any channels unless this step is performed. Unfortunately, each TV manufacturer has a different process on how to get to the channel scan function. The channel scan is typically found within your TV menu settings, so please refer to your TV owners manual for those specific steps on how to perform a channel scan as it is a function of your TV and not the antenna. The channel scan on some TV’s will take some time so please be patient. One the channel scan is complete, you should be able to view channels on your TV.  After performing the channel scan, make sure your TV input is set to "Air/Antenna" or something similar and not "Cable" within your TV menu settings. If you can place the antenna near (or in) a window facing the broadcast tower general direction, the better your chances are of receiving a signal. Also, make sure you completely uncoil the antennas cable before running the channel scan. If you have cable that is coiled up, uncoil it before rerunning a channel scan. The signal strength from the broadcast tower at your particular location, inside your home, is the single most important factor on whether or not an antenna can receive a signal. No antenna will receive a signal that isn’t there or pixelation/dropouts will typically occur if the signal is weak or intermittent. Also, keep in mind that you will have to perform a new channel scan each and every time the antenna is physically moved or adjusted. If you did not rescan for channels after relocating the antenna, any new and expected changes in channels/reception would not be accurate and would likely be much worse.

Keep in mind that there are also several other factors that can negatively affect your ability to receive the broadcast signal at your specific location. Each antenna installation location is 100% unique and typically presents its own set of challenges. Objects such as tree foliage, building construction type and materials, metal roofing materials and the physical terrain (mountains & hills) of the land all play significant roles and may severely block the incoming signals at your specific location. If using an indoor antenna, aluminum or steel siding, metal lathe used under older plaster walls, and metal mesh under exterior stucco all can also impact the incoming broadcast signals. When looking at signal strength ratings online, keep in mind that those signal strength ratings are taken at a height of about 30 feet with zero obstructions. As no two antenna installations are 100% identical, reception seemingly always varies from neighbor to neighbor and even from room-to-room even within the same house.  Also Mileage ratings placed on antenna packaging are merely provided as a general guide to antenna performance and those ratings can vary substantially based on all of the above mentioned items that affect incoming broadcast signals.

If you still do not see any channels after performing a channel scan and you have also made sure your TV is on the correct “input” it is likely you will have to check to see if your TV is compatible with today’s digital broadcast signals. Listed within your TV’s specifications (somewhere inside your TV owners manual), there will be a type of “tuner” listed. Your TV must have “ATSC” listed as the type of tuner. Most TV's built after 2007 have this type of tuner.  An easy way to find out is by entering your TV’s model number and performing a Quick Google Search for your TV model number. Again, the type of tuner listed should be an “ATSC”  and NOT an “NTSC”. If your TV does not have an ATSC tuner built in, you will need to purchase a digital converter box.

Hello CarlosO - The effectiveness of any indoor antenna is highly dependent on the strength of local broadcast signals, your distance from the towers, and the environment around your home. Objects such as walls, metal siding, and other electronic devices can weaken or block TV signals. Additionally, it’s important to run a full channel scan on your TV after every move or adjustment of the antenna—otherwise, you will not see improved results, even if the antenna is in a better location. If you need further help with setup or want to troubleshoot reception issues in the future, our team is available at https://www.rcaantennas.net/ask-engineer.