Mounting your brand new antenna should not have to be difficult at all. Yet, there are some people who encounter problems with the installation process and can't get good reception. Either the reception cuts in and out or there are ghost images of everything on the screen. Worse, the antenna could lose reception every single time someone gets up to go to another room. Connections like this are very frustrating, and not being able to move around freely in your own home is basically a boot to the antenna out of your door.

There are three places you can install your antenna, and it all depends on where you are located and which type of antenna you buy. An indoor antenna obviously has to be used indoors, while an outdoor antenna is obviously used outdoors. An outdoor antenna can be mounted on your rooftop or the side of your wall, although the rooftop is almost always better.

When purchasing your antenna, take a moment to make note of your location. Is it in a rural area with lots of flat land or surrounded by mountains? Or is it in a suburb of a major city like Chicago or Los Angeles? Or is it located in a busy, bustling city? The biggest factor is where the antenna will be mounted because you need to determine what signal range you will look for in an antenna. An indoor antenna installed in your rural, countryside home is a big no-no. Likewise, an outdoor antenna in a major city will work fine, but you can get by with its indoor counterpart.

One of the things that many antenna users believe is that the outdoor antenna will almost always work better than an indoor antenna. And it is true. When comparing the two, you will notice that the outdoor antenna is significantly larger. This larger surface area means it has a better chance of picking up signals. The indoor antenna is smaller and more compact because it's designed to fit inside your home on top of your entertainment system or TV stand. This smaller surface area will hinder the reception it receives from the transmission towers.

Another thing that goes against indoor antennas is the fact that it is indoors. Antennas work best when they are elevated because the higher they are, the better the line of sight to the towers and the better the reception. In addition, indoor antennas have to deal with interference from household appliances and electronics, building materials, and people and pets moving around. All of these things can serve as hindrances.

That is not to say that all indoor antennas do not work well because they do. As long as you use it for the recommended mileage, which is usually about 0 to 40 miles, then it should pick up the signals just fine.