FROM THE FRONT LINES: What antenna do I need?

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One of the most common requests for our chat operators and phone operators is to help find the right antenna for you. We do our level best to help you right over the phone or chat, but in some cases we do ask you to check out our antenna request form. When you fill out an antenna request form your case is assigned to an expert who has the time to look through all the information you give, then find out as much as possible about the area in which you live, and finally send a comprehensive reply that usually includes a shopping list for you. That’s a bit more than the average operator can do for you in the time you both expect to spend.

How our antenna requests work

Yes, you can get an app that will suggest an antenna for you. But is that app going to be as good as a real antenna technician? Probably not. Our “bespoke” antenna requests take a little time to do. A technician is assigned to your case and researches everything about your location and your circumstances. Then, they search through the hundreds of antennas available at Solid Signal to find the right one. They also suggest the right accessories, because an antenna on the roof without the right cables doesn’t help at all.

What happens when you call on the phone

When you call our operators, we aren’t going to be able to take the same amount of time that a technician working offline can spend. That isn’t to say we won’t try though; whenever possible we take the time to ask the questions that we can and choose an antenna that’s right for you. If you’re talking to a phone operator we can even take the order. We don’t take orders over chat because the chat system isn’t secure enough to make us feel comfortable capturing your payment information, but we can post links to the parts you need so you can finish the order up yourself.

An art and a science

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, choosing an antenna is a bit of an art and we do our best to help you find the one you want. There are just so many factors to consider. It isn’t just the location of the broadcast towers; we have to take into account whether there’s likely to be stuff between you and the towers that might cut down on the signal. We have to be able to recommend the right antenna if you’re planning on putting it in the attic, since only about half the signal gets to the antenna when it’s in an attic. Not only that, we want to help you find the right accessories and make sure you’re aware of the grounding supplies that we think you’ll need. (Always check your local ordinances to make sure you’re following the right rules for grounding.)

So you see there’s a lot of parts to offering you a recommendation on an antenna and we’re going to give our best opinions over phone or chat. Sometimes, though, you do get a better result by letting the experts do their thing “offline” so they can send you the information that you need.

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.