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As such, you need to plan ahead before mounting them. They usually look like fins, arrows, or tubes, and require you to point them directly at a station. They tend to be weaker than directional antennas, however.ĭirectional antennas are, well, directional. They’re easy to set up and don’t require you to know the exact location of each station. Almost all indoor antennas are multidirectional, and many outdoor antennas are as well. Multidirectional antennas are the most common kind of TV antenna. With a proper setup, they can tune into any station within range, regardless of their relative position to you. They’re typically flat, rectangular or circular sheets that you can mount on a window. Multidirectional antennas can pick up signals from any direction. For stations that require directional antennas or a preamp, you likely need an outdoor model. This doesn’t mean the map is useless for indoor antennas, though yellow and green stations work with small- and medium-sized multidirectional antennas mounted outdoors, which means you can probably get a signal from them using an indoor multidirectional antenna. That's because indoor antennas are highly dependent on the architecture of your home and the presence of any structures that can interfere with signals.

Once you know what stations you can pick up, then you can figure out the best antenna to buy.ĪntennaWeb’s TV station tool categorizes nearby stations based on the sort of outdoor antenna you need. It even provides a map that shows the distance from each station and the type of antenna you need to get a strong signal. AntennaWeb (Opens in a new window) has a helpful tool that lets you enter your location to see where the nearest TV stations are. And even without an amp, the antenna has up to a 65-mile directional range.īefore you start shopping for an antenna, you should check what channels are available near you.

If you can mount your antenna outside and aim it, the Monoprice Digital HD7 Outdoor Antenna is the most affordable way to get broadcast TV.
