FACE IT: VHF isn’t going away

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All the way back in 2009, television signals here in the US went all digital. If you were interested in antennas and TV back then you might remember there was a whole transition period where both analog and digital signals were being broadcast, and when all was said and done a lot of stations broadcast from a different frequency than they did when they started.

The hope at that time was that most if not all stations would move to UHF frequencies. This would mean smaller antennas and easier installation, and it would make it easier for antenna makers to build one antenna that would work in most of the world.

Yeah, that didn’t work out as planned

It didn’t happen that way. For cost reasons, many broadcasters chose to remain at their original frequencies, and most of the major broadcasters stayed on channels 7-13. This meant they could use much of the same equipment they’d always used, and because broadcasters have a good lobby, the FCC allowed it. This means that most large markets in the United States have at least one VHF station and, in the case of very large markets like Los Angeles, they can have two or three. So much for the dream of a tiny little antenna.

In the last five years, over-the-air channels were shuffled around again. Channels over 36 were given over to cell phones, so that they can offer that sweet, sweet 5G we all want so much. The net result of this was that there are actually more VHF channels now than there were ten years ago.

Here’s why VHF antennas need to be bigger

VHF stations need bigger antennas because the radio waves themselves are bigger. The really big waves, the ones on channels 2-6, aren’t used for network TV anymore except in a couple of cities, but if you want to get all of your networks from your antenna, many people will find they need an antenna that picks up both UHF and VHF.

If you’re ready to upgrade to a UHF/VHF antenna, you can’t do much better than the ones from Televes. They provide smart amplification and advanced filtering in a powerful and modern package. Choose the Televes Ellipse Mix for most cases. Or, choose the larger, newly redesigned Televes DATBOSS LR Mix for the maximum signal gain. Both deliver excellent results to multiple TVs. They will pull in every channel from 7-36 without accidentally receiving or amplifying cell phone signals. While rare, sometimes cell signals can cause problems with your TV.

Any hope for being rid of VHF

It doesn’t look like VHF broadcasting is going away either. The biggest, hottest ticket in radio broadcasting is cell phone signals. You probably didn’t need me to tell you that. Because of their wavelengths, VHF signals aren’t terribly good for cell phones, so they’re not in demand. VHF broadcasting was, in fact, the first form of TV broadcasting. I have to say I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the last one left.

Whether you need a UHF/VHF antenna or something else, call the folks at Solid Signal! We’re happy to help. Call 888-233-7563 during East Coast business hours or shop SolidSignal.com 24/7 for everything you need. If it’s after hours and you need help, fill out the form below. We’ll get back to you, usually within one business day.

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.