Touching the antenna makes its resonant frequency lower. If you observe improved reception, this means that the antenna's resonant frequency is too high.
The voltage coming from a coax cable from your TV aerial is very low. If you touch the live current coming from most aerials, you likely won't feel it, and it won't cause you harm. Most aerials can't get enough signal to do any damage if you touch them while they're live.
Generally, you get the strongest signal if the maximum amount of the antenna is exposed to the wave, so you should position your antenna parallel to the wave front and perpendicular to the signal direction.
No difference in reception. It just reduces chance it wil be hit. A pointed high rod discharges; a round one accumulates charge. Does not ”guarantee” no strike but less problems if hit and current goes to Ground, not the TV.
Wrapping aluminum foil around an antenna increases the antenna's conductivity and surface area. It will then boost the signal received by a television. That works perfectly. Because most antenna wires are thin, this method works.
It just doesn't work well enough to receive the stations in your area. When you touch it, you become part of the antenna. Digital TV has a particularly sharp cutoff. The addition of YOU to the antenna is enough to make the difference between receiving and not receiving.
The usual tip to position an antenna correctly is to point it towards the nearest transmitter. Avoid trees and high buildings in the signal path from the transmitter to the antenna. If there are too many trees or buildings in the way, you could try pointing the antenna in the direction of another transmitter.
Your antenna mount needs to be properly grounded for your antenna to function correctly. Without a solid ground, you're bound to get high SWR levels and extremely poor performance.
Why It's Important: To reduce the chances of your antenna or mast being struck by lightning, follow the National or Local Electrical Codes to properly ground these items during installation.
For Omni directional antennas, they should be in most cases pointed directly vertical. That is to say, pointed directly up into the sky. The only time this would not be the case is when both points are at different altitudes along the same vertical plane such as on a wall of a building.
Most of the TV signal in US are broadcast in horizontal polarization (check your terrestrial TV operator's website to get the latest information). Because most of the TV transmitter are horizontal polarized it would be best to start putting the antenna in a horizontal position.
You'll get more channels: The biggest pro of a an outdoor antenna is that without any housing materials in the way, you should be able to pick up far more channels. While indoor antennas can pick up channels from broadcast stations within a 20-30 mile radius, the reach of an outdoor antenna is about 60 to 80 miles.
Some can pick up signals as far as 70 miles away. Others may only receive broadcasts from 40 miles away. The farther away the TV towers are, the more powerful antenna you will need. If you live a long way from TV stations, you'll likely need an outdoor or amplified antenna.
It's possible for trees to impact your TV reception, especially if they are obstructing the line of sight between your TV antenna and the transmission site. The TV signal travels in a straight line from the transmitter to the antenna and does not bend well around large objects such as trees.
At a minimum, the antenna should be above the rooftops of local buildings. 30 feet of height is easy to achieve with commercially available, lightweight, collapsible, fiberglass masts. A taller mast is better than a shorter mast.
Antennas should all be oriented in the same direction, pointing vertically out of the sensor. If the sensor is mounted flat on it's back on a horizontal surface, you should bend the antenna as close to the sensor housing as possible giving you the most amount of antenna pointing vertical.
Good RF grounding should provide a low resistance path to ground for any RF noise which is present. A low resistance path to ground ensures that the noise is conducted away to ground instead of being radiated.
If hills, trees, buildings, or other geographic features are in between the broadcast towers and the antenna, the signals might not be able to reach your antenna. Elevating the antenna, either by placing it in a higher location or using a taller mast, will increase the signal reception.
The gain of an antenna comes in negative for poor antenna efficiency. In a miniaturized antenna, the gain can be negative.
This is often a result of either the TV box being powered off, not being properly connected to the TV, or the TV being set to the wrong input. In some cases, if you are not receiving a signal on your TV, it could be a result of a service outage.