FAQs – Home Antenna

Q: Can I use an old satellite dish as an antenna?

To convert your old satellite dish to an HDTV antenna, you'll need a specific type of antenna. ... This type of antenna receives free, over-the-air (OTA) broadcasts in high-def. The number of OTA HD channels you receive depends on your area, but using your dish to grab more signals can greatly increase the antenna's range.

Q: Do I need to ground my outdoor HD antenna to prevent against lightning?

Yes, it is very important to ground your outdoor TV antenna. Improper grounding can result in damage to the pre-amplifiers, coaxial cables, TV converter boxes, and even the tuner cards in your HDTV. The proper grounding technique is to run one ground cable from the mast to the grounding rod. This is to protect the outdoor TV antenna from lightning strikes. You can also add another ground cable from the ground block to the ground rod. On a proper installation the coaxial from the antenna should go to a ground block, then another coaxial into the house to prevent the excess of static electricity discharge. Static charges on coaxial can damage smart pass amplifiers!

Q: Why is it that my antenna gets a great picture for most of my channels, but a few of them are really bad?

This is a very typical problem for most antennas. OTA (over-the-air) broadcasts come from a lot of different towers, in different locations, and with different frequencies. Because of this, some channels can come in great, and others not so well. Antennas are designed to work best when pointed directly at the station. If the antenna is pointed north, all those channels might come in great, but stations from the south may appear very weak on your TV. To troubleshoot take into consideration the location of the stations, which frequency they are using, and how strong the TV station is broadcasting the signal.

Q: Can the indoor antenna models be used outside?

If there's a protected spot outside where it will not come directly in contact with the elements, you could probably leave it there for fairly long periods without any problem. The antenna was designed for indoor use though.

Q: Can I get cable channels over the antenna?

No. Only network channels are available free off the air. However, there are more networks than thee use to be. 7 years ago there were only 9 channels and now there are more than 26 free channels. CBS,NBC,ABC,FOX,CW,UPN,IND,UNC,GetTV,Bounce,ION,H&I,Univision,Umas,PBS,GritTV,MyRDC,LiveWell,ZUUS,MeTV.

Q: Why can´t I get the same channels with my new antenna that I was able to get with my old satellite or cable provider?

Five Star antennas allow you to receive free local TV broadcast channels that are being aired from your nearest cities. Free over-the-air broadcasted channels limited in comparison to paid channels provided from a satellite/cable company that charges monthly payments.