In the early days of over-the-air television (OTA TV), a rotator was necessary to help mechanically point (or rotate) your TV's outdoor antenna mast in different directions so your antenna could get the best broadcast signal. At the time, there were very limited TV channels in a given area and the antenna technology was not what it is today. Many people had to rely on “out of market” channels (channels not broadcast be their local broadcast tower) to watch one of the major television networks.

Today, most cities have all of the major networks broadcasting in one main direction on a broadcast tower, eliminating the need for most people to need an old fashioned rotator to move their outdoor antenna.

However, some situations do require a rotator. If it’s confirmed that your antenna has to be pointed in a direction different than your local broadcast tower to get one of the major networks — a rotator may be needed. An example of this is if you live between two television markets and want channels from both areas.

Below is a rotator that will work for a small to medium sized antenna. It’s not recommended to use a large antenna with this rotator.