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Retro Television Antennas

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Date: 

Instructions: Remember adjusting rabbit ears and climbing on the roof to fix the antenna?

  1. 1.

    What was the common name for the V-shaped, adjustable indoor TV antenna that sat on top of the television set?

    A
    A loop antenna
    B
    Rabbit ears
    C
    A dipole antenna
    D
    A whip antenna
  2. 2.

    What large metal antenna, mounted on a tall pole on the roof, was used to receive TV signals in many suburban and rural homes?

    A
    A rooftop TV antenna
    B
    A satellite dish
    C
    A CB antenna
    D
    A ham radio antenna
  3. 3.

    What did homeowners sometimes have to do to their rooftop antenna to improve reception when channels came from different directions?

    A
    Raise it higher
    B
    Add more rabbit ears
    C
    Replace it monthly
    D
    Rotate it using an antenna rotor
  4. 4.

    What electronic device, installed near the TV, boosted weak antenna signals to improve picture quality?

    A
    A splitter
    B
    A tuner
    C
    A signal amplifier (booster)
    D
    A converter box
  5. 5.

    What annoying visual interference, caused by signal reflections bouncing off buildings, created a double or ghost image on the TV screen?

    A
    Static
    B
    Ghosting
    C
    Rolling
    D
    Snow
  6. 6.

    What did the fuzzy, grainy pattern of black and white dots on a TV screen indicate when no signal was being received?

    A
    Snow or static (no signal)
    B
    A broken tube
    C
    An antenna malfunction
    D
    A color problem
  7. 7.

    What material was commonly wrapped around rabbit ear antennas in a folk attempt to improve TV reception?

    A
    Copper wire
    B
    Rubber bands
    C
    String
    D
    Aluminum foil
  8. 8.

    What type of flat cable, with two parallel wires, connected the rooftop antenna to the television set?

    A
    Ethernet cable
    B
    Coaxial cable
    C
    Twin-lead (300-ohm flat wire)
    D
    Speaker wire
  9. 9.

    What technology, introduced widely in the 1970s, began to replace rooftop antennas by offering more channels via cable?

    A
    Satellite TV
    B
    Pay-per-view
    C
    Cable television (CATV)
    D
    Digital TV
  10. 10.

    What small, motorized device mounted near the antenna mast allowed homeowners to turn the antenna from inside the house?

    A
    A signal finder
    B
    A booster box
    C
    A channel selector
    D
    An antenna rotator
  11. 11.

    How many VHF television channels (2-13) could most areas receive with a good rooftop antenna in the 1960s?

    A
    Over 50 channels
    B
    Usually 2 to 5 channels
    C
    Only 1 channel
    D
    About 20 channels
  12. 12.

    What circular indoor antenna, sometimes called a 'loop' or 'hoop,' was used to pick up UHF channels?

    A
    A UHF loop antenna
    B
    A horn antenna
    C
    A dish antenna
    D
    A yagi antenna
  13. 13.

    What family member was often sent outside or onto the roof to adjust the antenna while someone else watched the TV picture?

    A
    The father or oldest child
    B
    A repairman
    C
    A neighbor
    D
    The mother
  14. 14.

    What weather condition commonly interfered with TV antenna reception, causing the picture to break up or disappear?

    A
    Fog
    B
    Thunderstorms and heavy rain
    C
    Wind
    D
    Snow on the ground
  15. 15.

    What phenomenon allowed TV viewers to occasionally pick up distant stations hundreds of miles away, especially on hot summer days?

    A
    Frequency drift
    B
    Signal bouncing
    C
    Antenna overload
    D
    Skip or tropospheric ducting

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