How To Wire A Roof Antenna

A base mount holds the antenna mast.

How to wire a roof antenna.

If you have an outside roof antenna and the cable companies box is on the outside of your home what you can do is purchase a plastic utility box that is similar to their box then put it near the cable box and transfer all the wires from the cable box to your box with the exception of the line in from the street and the cable modem line. In some models the transformer is already built in. In order to mount an antenna on your roof without damaging it you should attach the antenna to the gable the fascia or the chimney. A copper rod driven into the ground with an antenna on the roof is especially not an rf ground.

If the antenna comes with a coaxial connector outside the plastic casing simply connect the outdoor coaxial cable to the antenna. Run a braided wire from each piece of equipment to a common point. The best thing one can do to prevent stray rf is to connect the grounds of all equipment together and at a common point. Use screws to secure the bracket.

Follow the 11 steps below to attach your antenna to a coaxial cable. Use a solid copper wire and use the ground clamp to connect it to the house service ground. Gunnison county metropolitan recreation district brings you this informational video about how to install an over the air tv antenna. Ground that point if possible.

If mounting the antenna on the surface of your roof you should get either a base mount such as the heavy duty roof mount for masts up to 1 7 8 od ez 19a or a tripod. Carefully select the location of your aerial. The minimum size wire you should use to connect the antenna to the house service ground is 10 awg american wire gauge which is 1 10th of an inch in diameter. Assemble the outdoor tv antenna.

You can also buy non penetrating mounts that use weights rather than screws to hold them in place. Whatever you do do not put holes in your roof to attach your antenna. You may also apply silicone caulk to protect the screws from water penetration. Do not install too close to electrical wires or tree branches.

To install the antenna you ll first need to secure the bracket on the rooftop. If your antenna supports the coaxial cable jump to step 8 directly. Follow the manufacturer s instructions.