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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I am In Omaha, one main tower is at 67.04° (ABC/NBC/CBS) and the other at 193.33° (Fox/CW), will this Antenna be able to get them both? Thanks for the great article on how to accomplish this!
Mary,
Yes give it a try. Buy a high quality LONG RANGE antenna for HD TV. If you are in the forest, it may be difficult to get a good signal. You would have to buy a mounting pole and put the antenna on that. For cable, if you are in the forest, the only other alternative is satellite internet mounted to the roof. Which would probably be more money that a normal coax cable for internet going to your home. How far away are you from a main city that broadcasts television signals?
-RR
So glad I found this! We are getting so gouged by our cable provider, I’ve had it! Now the issue is we are surrounded by trees, quite literally in a forest. We have great view of western sky, nothing but trees all around other directions. Can this still work? And is it possible to obtain any internet doing something similar? I’m desperate to get out from under then, and I’d love to not have to get DISH or DirectTV to do it.
Thanks for any advice
Jeri,
Just trial and error. Hook a coax cable to your TV to see if you are getting reception and if not, label it “CUT” and move to the next. Keep doing this until you find the one that is not cut and or working best. Make sure your antenna is pointing the correct direction for the location you are in approximation to the largest city near you.
-RR
Previous owner of my home was a tv geek. The entire house is wired to the teeth. There are two directv satellites outside, one on a 4×4 about 8 feet up and the other on the corner of the roof. Neither terribly high so quite accessible. Removed the cone with two attached coax that had been cut easily. There are two remaining coax cables in the channel that eventually go into the house (there are also two from the other satellite dish, also with the cone cables cut). So I have one antenna and potentially four coax connections going into the house. Is this a trial-and-error as to which will go to the cable port where my TV is? I only have the one tv. Just hoping there is a simpler way of troubleshooting this…..
John Lawrence,
First, make sure the antenna is facing the correct direction on your roof. Then add a signal booster. This should give you the channels you are getting when directly hooked to your TV. Also, you may have a bad or weathered coax cable running from the roof to the inside of your home, thus giving you zero channels
-RR
Hi… I hooked up my new antenna to the existing dish antenna and I am getting no signal to my tv when I go inside and try to scan for channels. However when I disconnect from the outside dish and bring the antenna inside the house and hook it up directly to the antenna outlet on the tv I get like 50 plus channels……My question is why is it when, I hook it up to the outside old dish mount and use the existing dish coax I get no signal ? is there some kind of filter dish has in they’re system that prevents me from using they’re coax or do I need a signal booster ?
Please, any advice would helpful.
Thank you in advance.
John