Location, location, location. Don't get frustrated if you can't pick up some or all stations. Find out where the station broadcasts from and that will give you an idea of why you may been experiencing problems. I fought for a couple years before I finally built a stand that needs very little adjustment for reception. The one I have is designed to be wall mounted but it gets nothing that way. Once I constructed a stand that extended out from under my balcony to receive unblocked signals and that did not work with the CBS broadcast which I need for the NFL. Finally I constructed what amounts to a shoebox out of balsa wood and put slit in two adjacent sides then slid the square antenna in to the slots and WHALLAH!! Finally reception for all channels with only slight adjustment for a few channels.