On the local NextDoor BBS, someone posted:
My roof antenna has stopped delivering many of the channels it used to deliver. I can not find any services for such in the phone book and I am looking for someone who can consult with me and repair if neccessary/possible my system. I only want on air service and am reluctant to sign up/pay for pay service. Things were working fine until a month ago. I trimmed some trees back which were over my roof thinking they were blocking the input but that did not work. If anyone knows someone/service which still does this sort of work I would appreciate contact info for them. I am willing to pay a quite fair price (as I did in the past) for this work. A savvy young person/student/fix it person would be fine or an established service business.
My first thought was that I could do this. Ham radio operators do this kind of antenna work all the time. My guess is that there’s a bad connection up at the antenna or that her coax has gone bad.
Of course, you’ll want to get some insurance if you’re going to get into this business. From a technical point of view, though, it’s not very difficult, there are fewer and fewer TV repair shops that do this work, and with the trend towards “cutting the cable,” you should be able to find plenty of customers. If you already have a full-time job, then you could do this on the side. If you’re currently unemployed, this could be a whole new career for you.
Yohei, N8YQX says
I think there’s a market for OTA TV and hams.
Between work and family obligations, I don’t have enough time to work on my antenna and get on the air. I definitely don’t have enough time for big projects like a tower or a big yagi-uda. I think this is something I’d be willing to “pay it done”.
As a business model, if the installer can take care of the paperwork (building permit, engineering drawings, etc as needed), I think it would work out even better.
With that being said, I’d want the installer to be bonded and licensed, in addition to being insured. Last thing I want is for the antenna to fall, and I’m left holding the bag for a shoddy install.