How to Loft Mount A TV Aerial

Take a look at your neighbour’s aerials to get an idea of the direction you need to point yours. Install a portable TV in the attic to accurately align the loft aerial for the best signal on all channels. Feed the aerial with a temporary piece of coaxial cable. This can also be done using a signal meter available from Aerial Shack, which will save you some time.

When aerial alignment is complete, connect the loft aerial to your main TV using the shortest possible length of double screened cable. If you have Freeview, place the Freeview receiver in the loft feeding the portable TV and align the aerial for the best Freeview signal quality indication on the weakest digital multiplex. Check the DTT signal quality of all channels is above 50% and if necessary re-align or move the aerial slightly to get all digital TV multiplexes (multiplex is a group of digital channels)at acceptable signal quality (over 40 - 50%). If one or more digital muxes is not receivable try changing your aerial for one with a higher gain. 

When installing the TV aerial, try all areas of the loft as "reception hot spots" can often be found inside a roof which give significantly better reception, just moving the aerial a few feet from side to side or up and down can make a huge difference to TV reception. When you install the loft aerial, always check for ghosting on all analogue TV channels. Install the loft aerial away from pipes and never direct it through attic water tanks or very poor signal levels will be received. Avoid pointing the loft TV aerial through solid walls at all costs. For example, if one area of your attic has tiles in the direction of the transmitter and another area has a brick wall in that direction, always put the aerial in the location where it points solely through tiles with the least number of other obstructions from (for example) multiple party walls or the roofs of other houses. Try to install the TV aerial as high as possible in the loft, well, well away from any 240V power cables and lighting circuits. This is particularly important for Freeview reception, where noise pickup from household appliances and light switches can momentarily freeze the picture. Keep the rods (elements) of the TV aerial clear of wooden rafters and attic metalwork.

If necessary, use nylon string to anchor the aerial in between wooden rafters, pointing it precisely in the correct direction. Nylon garden twine is suitable, but make sure the aerial is secure and cannot move. Alternatively, install the aerial on a aerial bracket. Always adjust the loft aerial on the weakest TV channel first. This could be Channel 5 where it is transmitted on lower power, or the TV station on the highest UHF channel number. Bear in mind that the highest UHF channel number suffers the greatest signal loss through the loft roof tiles as it is the highest UHF frequency. When mounted in its final position in the attic, the end of the aerial (furthest from the coaxial cable feed point) should be tilted up slightly by about 1 - 2 degrees from horizontal for best results.

Please note this is intended as a 'guide' only and aerial shack takes no responsibility should you have any difficulties or mishaps.