Tired of spending too much money on your Satellite TV bill? Well for around $50 you can purchase and easily install an HDTV Antenna that will give you quality HD TV programming. Of course you will not get as many channels as before using DirecTV, but there are hundreds of channels available broadcast into the airwaves for free from the stations you already know and love. This is a tutorial for most people who can no longer afford the cost of satellite television. Cancelling DirecTV or Dish Network will save you from $75 to $300 dollars a month. Admit it, most of the channels that you are paying your hard earned dollars for are completely worthless. Cancel the service, buy an HD Antenna, and get Netflix. You will not miss most of the TV you watch and you will be saving mountains of money per year. So ditch the monthly bill and follow our tutorial below for saving your money…
Step 1: CANCEL SATELLITE TELEVISION
Step 2: Buy an HD (High Definition) Television Antenna.
Here is the HDTV Antenna we purchased from Amazon for around $50 dollars.
(You may also need a coax cable splitter, antenna amplifier signal booster, or new coax cable)
Step 3: Remove the cone and place the HD Antenna on your existing Satellite Dish.
Step 4: Install the U-bolt that is included with the antenna and secure it tightly in place.
Step 5: Connect the already existing coaxial cable to the HD Antenna.
(The cable is already going from your TV from the dish, so just disconnect and re-attach to the hd antenna)
Step 6: Check all connections to make sure everything is secure and tight.
Step 7: There should already be a coaxial cable going into your home from the roof.
If it was disconnected then look along the side of your home for a connection like this and plug back in.
Step 8: The next process involves finding out which direction in the sky your local channels are in.
You will need to point your antenna in a certain direction for best reception depending on where you live.
Go to Antenna Web, FCC DTV MAPS, or Antenna Point and type in your info to find out which way to point your HDTV antenna.
Once you have the correct direction located, point your antenna/dish in that direction.
Step 9: Turn on your TV and set it to “Antenna” and let it “Find” the available free stations.
Then check the signal meter to see if it is strong.
If all is good you are done! Free HDTV!
HDTV That is broadcast free is from 720p to 1080p HD quality!
Of course you do not need an old dish to install a new HD Antenna.
You can install one in your attic too if you desire.
But remember that HDTV Antennas work best when attached to a roof and there are no obstructions.
Here is a small chart for “how to connect and combine signals from 2 antennas facing different directions” if needed.
Written by Keith Schneerer
Certified Appliance Tech · Founder, RemoveAndReplace.com
Keith has spent 30+ years repairing machines, starting as a military mechanic and later maintaining food processing equipment before moving into appliance repair. He founded RemoveAndReplace.com to share field-tested repair advice.
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My problem with my new setup is that the antenna I bought has a amplifier with it that probably should go before the splitter. I can’t put the amplifier in the line until after I split the signal so I am using the amplifier for only one TV. I suppose I need to buy another amplifier for our second TV. Do you have any suggestions about what I need to buy and where I can get it?
We are getting 27 channels now with this setup. That’s about 5 more than we were getting with a small indoor antenna. I spoke to an electrician about the ground and his reply was “it can’t hurt”. So I ran a ground wire from the new antenna to the clamp that Charter uses for our internet service. I feel better doing that since I do have a 8′ steel pole on my roof now.
Jim,
For this setup grounding should not be necessary unless anything electric is running through your setup. Are you receiving many HD channels with your antenna connected to the DirectTV?
-RR
I am installing a antenna using the base of a directv dish on a fence line post and I’m using Quad shield RG6 coax. My question is – do I need to ground this setup? I noticed on the old directv coax that it has a ground wire attached to it but it’s not connected to anything.
Adam,
Yes it is good to ground it for safety and can help with other factors, but not necessary.
-RR
Hi-I did this the other day and it gave us 20 more channels..excellent. Quick question though, did you ground your antenna? Dish made me give back the node so i was wondering if it was necessary to ground.
Excellent Idea!
FlyTye, have no fear…we only ever could get 12 channels over the air. I don’t live in or anywhere near a big metropolis! However, I might try it with the 4 way splitter that I already have and may be able to send the other one back if all still works well.