SER FAQ: TVFAQ: Those darn rabbit ears

S.E.R. FAQ

NotTaR of Television Sets : Those darn rabbit ears
Copyright © 1994-2007, Samuel M. Goldwasser. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this document in whole or in part is permitted if both of the following conditions are satisfied: 1. This notice is included in its entirety at the beginning. 2. There is no charge except to cover the costs of copying. I may be contacted via the Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ (www.repairfaq.org) Email Links Page.

<< Internal interference - s.. | Index | Herringbone lines in pict.. >>

Those darn rabbit ears

So you bought a high performance TV and a set of $20.00 rabbit ears and there are lines on channels 2 to 6. Go buy a set of rabbit ears that has ONLY a coax connector on the back, throw the cable supplied with it in the bin for 'twist ties'. Also buy an inexpensive surge suppressor that has a cable protector, enough RG-6 cable and connectors for two cables.

Make one cable long enough to get the antenna away from the set (12ft) and the other to connect the antenna to the surge suppressor.
Connect the long cable to the set and the other end to the surge suppressor.
Find an outlet away from the set and plug the surge suppressor in (pick the most sane order for all of this.)
Connect the shorter cable to the surge suppressor and connect the other end to the antenna.

You're done and if you thought carefully you would have put the antenna near your easy chair so you can adjust the picture or put the antenna where you'll get the best reception and prevent interference. The surge suppressor was needed to ground the other end of the coax so as not to make the outer shield an antenna for the interference from the TV's power supply. This method can also help allevate 'dead spots' when using rabbit ears.