Big or Small: Do You Need To Have A Big Antenna For Good Reception?

Some antennas are big. Some can be 3.5 metres long. And in case you’re having trouble thinking about what that looks like, think about the length of a Chevy Suburban. On your roof. Is a bigger antenna better for you? Yes and no. So, do you need to have a big antenna for good reception? Let's take a look!

It’s About Gain

A bigger antenna, properly designed, will always have more gain than a smaller one. And it will be the best kind of gain, much better than using a small antenna and simply overamplifying it. A small antenna just won’t pull in truly weak signals as a gigantic one will. However, you need to understand how digital signals work. With a digital signal, it’s digital and that means you either get it or you don’t. Sure there are cases where a signal goes in and out a bit but really that means there are very short periods where you’re not getting it. It’s not like an old analog signal where a weak signal was snowy and a strong signal wasn’t. Think of it this way. If you’re thirsty, you take a drink. If it’s not enough, you’re still thirsty so you take another drink. But when you’re not thirsty anymore, having another drink isn’t going to make you any more satisfied. In fact, keep drinking after you should have stopped and you’ll just get overloaded. It’s the same thing with antennas. You’re either getting enough signal or you’re not and once you have enough you don’t need more. Get too much signal and the TV gets overloaded. (That’s why people have problems with amplifiers. If they didn’t need them, they overload the TV.)

Size Does Matter

The shape and size of the antenna does make a difference to your reception. The larger the antenna, the more energy it can collect, so the weaker the signal it can pick up. Different-shaped antennas are good for picking up signals in specific frequency bands like HF, VHF and UHF. The shape also determines which direction that antenna will pick up signals from. Depending on where you live, your antenna will be mounted either horizontally or vertically based on the signal's polarity—the axis on which the wave is vibrating.

Do You Need To Have A Big Antenna For Good Reception?

Before you install a new TV antenna, know if you need a big antenna or not. If a small antenna works for you, there’s no guarantee a bigger one will work better. Take this gigantic antenna for example. It may be able to pull in more distant stations or it may not. Despite the claims of some infomercials, it’s practically impossible to get reception past 160 kilometres, and in most cases antenna reception can start to drop in 90-110 kilometres, sometimes less if there are trees or hills involved. Sometimes, believe it or not, it’s not the biggest one.

But if you are convinced that the problems lie with your TV antenna, contact AntennaPros, the best TV Antenna specialist in Waterloo, Sydney NSW!