TV Antenna Terms Glossary - A to F

CATV/MATV (Community Antenna TV, Municipal Antenna TV)

These are shared antenna systems for communities, apartment buildings, etcetera.

Characteristic impedance (see Impedance)

Circular polarization (see Polarization)

Coaxial cable

Coaxial cable is now the most common type of antenna cable. The common types of 75-ohm cable for TVs are: -

Type:	Center conductor:	Cable diameter:
RG-59	20-23 gauge	0.242 inches
RG-6	18 gauge	0.265 inches
RG-11	14 gauge	0.405 inches

Cable Chart in Db

This author usually recommends RG-6 for all TV antennas. It can be stapled in place using a staple gun with common 9/16” T25 staples. How long the cable lasts depends solely on how long you can keep water out of it. See Transmission lines. See “Terminators for 75-ohm lines”.

Co-channel interference

When the station you want is not receivable because of another station on the same channel, you have co-channel interference. The interfering station can be very far away and very weak, yet it can contribute enough “noise” to make the closer station hard to receive. The remedy is a new antenna that is both stronger in the forward direction and weaker in the interfering direction. See “Nulls in radiation pattern”.

Collinear antennas (see Stacked antennas)

Combiners (see Splitters/Combiners/Diplexers)

Combo antennas (for VHF and UHF)

This is the most common outdoor TV antenna. The front third of the antenna is a Yagi/Corner-reflector UHF antenna, and the remaining two-thirds is a Log-Periodic Dipole Array (straight or Vee type) antenna for VHF.

Connector types

There are many types of RF signal connectors (BNC, N, UHF, Reverse SMA, TNC, phono, etc). But the only connector generally used for TV antenna systems is the F connector. See F connector.