Frequent Ask Questions

Find help & soltuions to common indoor / outdoor tv antenna questions including channel scanning / rescan, low signals, converter box integration and more.

Helpful Solution:
FCC Consumer Facts: Antennas and Digital Television (from FCC.gov)

Installation Instruction download:
How to connect your LAVA Outdoor Antenna

Q1: Which antenna do you recommend for me?

Q2: I have checked my installation is correct and did rescan TV after installation. But my antenna still has trouble picking up channels. Anything wrong? Please advise.

Q3: What's the difference between HD2605/HD2805/BA2605/BA2805?

Q4: There are no channels shown up after I install your antenna. (How to get signals within 40 mile and rescan channels?)

Q5: How to install converter box with my antenna to the TV set?

Q1: Which antenna do you recommend for me?
A:

To know how far the broadcasting towers are from your location. HomeAntennas provides you a useful tools here.

For more accurate result, please input full address below:

If the broadcasting towers listed are within 40 miles from your location, we will recommend you the Indoor Antenna BA-700. If it's between 50 to 100 miles, we will recommend you HD-2605 or HD-2805 Outdoor Antennas.

NOTE: HD2605 is a much stronger antenna unit. For some reasons, it might affect picking up signals which is not too far from user's location. So if most of the broadcasting towers are within 40-50 miles, usually we would recommend our indoor antenna (i.e. BA700) or outdoor antenna(HD-2805).
Also due to various restrictions, we cannot guarantee that which channels you can pick up.

Overall,
BA700, HD600, BA200, etc.(GREEN Color Zone Antennas): within 40 miles
HD2805(RED Color Zone Antenna): 40 to 100miles; to pick up signals within 40 miles, see Q4
HD2605(RED Color Zone Antenna): 50 to 100 miles; for those who really need more gain from your location

Other online tools: TV Fool and FCC DTV Reception Maps.
(Signal strength calculations are based on the traditional TV reception model assuming an outdoor antenna 30 feet above ground level. Indoor reception may vary significantly.)

Q2: Q2: I have checked my installation is correct and did rescan TV after installation. But my antenna still has trouble picking up channels. Anything wrong? Please advise.
A:

There are too many external factors that can affect our TV antenna picking up signals. Not talking about those existed factors (i.e. trees, area/distance, buildings, weather, airport, etc.), we still have chances to improve the performance ourselves by installing our TV antenna a bit higher (more than 30 to 50 feet above ground level) to reduce the interference from them. This step might give you chances to improve some tv channels reception. (Color change from blue/violet color to red color or even better result)

Q3: What are the differences between HD2605/HD2805/BA2605/BA2805?
A:

BA series are exactly the same with HD series. HD series are our 2010 new models.
(which means BA 2605 = HD2605 and BA 2805 = HD 2805)
If you see a R after the part number(BA2605R, BA2805R), those are our referbished items.
The differences between HD-2605 and HD-2805 are:
1. HD-2605 has more gain than HD-2805 which means HD-2605 is more powerful on receiving signals than HD-2805. HD-2605 is best for towers 50-100 miles from your place.
2. The input signal to your TV for HD-2805 is stronger than HD-2605.
3. Dimension: HD-2605 is smaller than HD-2805.
4. HD-2805 is more easily to assemble compared to HD-2605. But it doesn't mean HD-2605 is that complicated to assemble together. Basically it just need more time to figure it out.

Here it doesn't mean that either one is better than the other. They are featureing on different function. So it all depends on users' demands. And lastly you need a converter box for traditional analog TV sets.

Q4: I live within 40 miles from the broadcasting towers and there are no channels shown up after I install your antenna. (How to get signals within 40 mile and rescan channels?)
A: (Partial contents are extracted from antennaweb.org)
If you would like to get the channels from stations within 40 miles away from your place, you can use the antenna without turning on the power on the control box with switch OFF. Then the signal will not be that strong. If you would like to get the channels from stations between 40 miles to 100 miles away from your place, you will have to turn on the amplifier with switch ON.

Don't forget to always rescan your converter box or TV set for channels when installing equipment. While some boxes do this automatically, you may need to select "scan" manually.

Using the remote control for your converter box or digital TV select "menu" or "setup" or some similar term. Now select "scan," "channel scan," "auto scan," or "auto program."

From there, select "OK," "auto scan," or "channel scan" and wait while your converter box or digital TV searches for all the channels available to you in your area.

Once complete, you should be able to select the channels you want using the proper remote. For TVs connected to a converter box, the remote control for the converter box (not the TV) should be used to change channels.

Q5: How to install converter box with my antenna to the TV set?
A:
If you don't have a HDTV set, you'll need to have a converter box for your analog TV sets
For information about how to install your converter box, go to FCC website here