Should you buy an expensive antenna meter?

A few weeks ago, one of the Facebook groups I participate in started talking about an interesting topic. The question going around was, do you need an expensive signal meter to aim your antenna? And honestly, the answer is sort of up to you. There are certainly ways around it if you don’t want to spend the money. I personally think it’s a good investment. But let’s look at the pros and cons here.

Here are the pros:

  • A signal meter is a long-term investment. If you’re willing to spend over $300, you’ll get a meter that can really tell you what’s going on with your signal.
  • It’s going to be portable and battery powered, so you can make changes on the roof.
  • It will show you real details you want to see, not just signal strength. Signal strength doesn’t determine how well a signal comes in, signal-to-noise ratio usually does.
  • It will let you know what channel you’re tuning into, very important if you’re aiming at two different cities.
  • It will give you audio feedback so you don’t need to take your eyes away from the sky while you’re aiming.

Here are the cons:

  • There’s one big con, obviously, and it’s price.
  • You can get some good reference material online that will give you ideal conditions. You can use that to get a “good enough” aim.
  • Using PC-based software and a cheap USB device can give you a lot of the same information and more for under $50 (not counting the cost of the PC.)
  • Using your TV’s signal meter can often give you the information you need for free.
  • If you don’t move around a lot, this may be something you use once and never use again.

Weighing it for yourself

So you can see the issues. On the one hand, it’s easy and does just what you need. On the other hand it’s expensive and you won’t use it every week. And you know, if it were me and I felt like it would be used once, maybe I wouldn’t have an expensive signal meter. But then again, there’s wind, there’s trees, and I’m looking at next year when potentially a lot of stations could change their frequencies. Then I’m back to aiming again. Is that enough to make me spend over $300?

Maybe, maybe not. It might make sense for me and a bunch of friends to pitch in on one, and I’ll tell you that since I do have a signal meter (helpfully supplied by my friends at Solid Signal) I do use it a lot. You’d be surprised how much.

In the end it’s your call. I know that I use an antenna meter all the time. But maybe I’m not the average kind of person that way. Still, there’s nothing like that feeling of knowing exactly what’s going on with your signal, right?

If you have questions about antenna signal meters, call us at 888-233-7563. We’re here for you during East Coast business hours. Or, if you know what you want, shop at Solid Signal for everything you need to live your best digital life!

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.