If you just bought a GOtv kit or your antenna fell apart and you are trying to put it back together, this guide is for you. I will walk you through the full process — from assembling the GOtenna out of the box, mounting it on a pole, connecting the decoder to your TV, and even how to connect two television sets to just one GOtv decoder. By the time you are done reading, you will not need to call a technician.
Let us start from the very beginning.
How to Fix and Assemble Your GOtv Antenna (GOtenna) Step by Step
Before you touch anything, lay out all the parts that came in the box. You should have the antenna grid, the yellow plastic signal receiver box, a green clip, a red clip, a U bracket, two pole brackets, wing nuts, and the coaxial cable. If anything is missing, contact your GOtv dealer before proceeding.
This is what the GOtenna looks like straight out of the box:
Now follow these steps carefully.
Take the coaxial cable and thread it through the opening at the centre of the antenna grid. Keep the cable straight as you pull it through — do not bend or force it. A kinked cable will reduce your signal even after everything else is assembled perfectly.
Once the cable is through the grid, attach it to the yellow plastic box by screwing it on clockwise. This yellow box is the signal receiver — it is the heart of the GOtenna. Make sure this connection is firm. A loose cable here is one of the most common reasons people end up with zero signal or a weak, flickering picture even after a full installation.
After screwing the cable to the yellow box, slide the rubber waterproof sleeve over the joint to cover it completely. This step is easy to skip, but it matters a lot — especially if your antenna will be outdoors. Rain and moisture getting into that connection will corrode it over time and slowly kill your signal. Spend ten seconds doing this properly now and save yourself a big headache later.
This step trips a lot of people up. On the antenna, you will find a green plastic box and a red plastic box. On the grid, there are corresponding green and red clips. Press each box into its matching colour clip until you hear it click. Green goes to green. Red goes to red. Do not mix them up — the colour coding is there for a reason, and forcing the wrong connection will damage the unit. If the clips are not clicking, check that you are pressing them in straight and that nothing is blocking the slot.
Insert the U bracket through the slot at the centre of the antenna grid. This bracket is what locks the antenna to the mounting pole, so make sure it sits flush against the back of the grid before moving to the next step. If it is not seated properly, the antenna will wobble on the pole and your signal will shift constantly.
Slide the first pole bracket over the two ends of the U bracket, with the flat side of the bracket sitting firmly against the back of the antenna grid. This creates a secure base that the antenna will sit on when mounted to the pole.
Hold the antenna up against your mounting pole with the outward-facing pole bracket against the pole. Before you tighten anything, check that the down arrow printed on the yellow box is pointing downward. This is not optional — the arrow tells you the antenna is in the correct orientation to receive signal. If it is upside down, you will get little to no signal no matter which direction you point it.
Once the orientation is correct, fasten the second pole bracket around the pole and tighten the wing nuts firmly by hand. Do not use a spanner to overtighten them — the brackets are plastic and will crack under too much force.
This is the most important step of the whole installation and the one most people rush. Choose a spot where there is nothing between your GOtenna and the nearest GOtv transmitter tower — no thick walls, no tall trees, no metal roofing directly in the signal path. The higher you can mount the antenna, the better.
Point the GOtenna in the general direction of the transmitter, then go to your TV and watch the signal strength bar. Slowly rotate the antenna a few degrees left, pause, check the bar. Then right, pause, check. Keep going until the bar is at its strongest point. When you find it, stop moving the antenna and lock it in that exact position. Even a small movement after this can drop your signal significantly.
Tip: Have someone watch the TV signal bar while you adjust the antenna, so you get real-time feedback without running back and forth.
How to Install GOtv Decoder: Connecting Everything to Your TV
With the antenna fixed and pointing correctly, the next step is connecting your decoder to the television. This is straightforward if you follow the steps in the right order.
Plug the yellow RCA connector into the yellow Video IN port on your TV. Plug the red connector into the red Audio IN port and the white connector into the white Audio IN port. Make sure each cable goes into the right colour — swapping them will give you either no picture or no sound. If your TV has an HDMI port, use an HDMI cable instead for a sharper, cleaner picture.
Take the coaxial cable coming from your GOtenna and plug it into the port labelled RF IN at the back of the GOtv decoder. Screw it in clockwise until firm. A loose RF connection is one of the most common causes of the GOtv “no signal” or E48 error — people assume the antenna is the problem when the real issue is just a loose cable at the back of the decoder. Always check this first before doing anything else.
Plug the power supply unit into the decoder first, then connect the other end to your wall socket. Switch on at the wall. GOtv recommends using a surge protector — and this is genuinely good advice. Power fluctuations are common and a single surge can damage your decoder permanently. A basic surge protector costs very little compared to a replacement decoder.
Turn on your TV and press the AV or Source button on your TV remote to switch to the input you connected the decoder to. Wait about 20 seconds — the GOtv logo will appear, followed by the setup screen.
If the decoder finishes scanning and does not find channels, it will take you to the signal detection screen automatically. At that point, go back to your antenna and adjust it until the signal strength bar on screen is at its peak. Once you can see the GOchannel on screen, your decoder is ready for activation.
Read also: How to fix GOtv no signal problems and E48 error
How to Connect Two TV Sets to One GOtv Decoder
This is something a lot of people want to do but do not know is possible. Maybe your TV only has one input port and you want to free it up for a DVD player. Or you want a second TV in another room to receive the same GOtv channels from the same decoder. Either way, it is easier to set up than most people think.
What you need
- A coaxial cable — long enough to reach your second TV
- Two F-Type connectors
- One F-Type Female to TV PAL Male Coaxial RF adapter
The image below shows these three items. A GOtv decoder is used for illustration, but this method works with any decoder including DStv.
Step-by-step connection
- Attach one F-Type connector to each end of the coaxial cable, screwing them on firmly.
- Connect the F-Type Female to TV PAL Male RF adapter onto one end of the cable.
- Plug the other end (without the adapter) into the RF OUT port at the back of your GOtv decoder.
- Plug the adapter end into the RF IN or Antenna port at the back of the first TV set.
Here is what the finished cable assembly looks like:
- Switch on both the TV and the decoder.
- On your TV, go to Settings and run an auto channel scan. Depending on your TV model, this is usually under Settings > Channel Search > Auto Scan. The GOtv signal will appear as one of the analogue channels found.
- Your setup is complete. You can now connect your second TV to the RCA ports on the decoder, or that freed-up port on your TV is available for your DVD player or game console.
Read also: Easy guide to installing a GOtv external antenna for better signal
What Does “Power Antenna” Mean on the GOtv Decoder?
If you go into your GOtv decoder settings and see an option called Power Antenna, here is what it means in plain terms.
There are two types of antennas — active and passive. The standard GOtenna that comes in the GOtv box is a passive antenna. It does not need electricity to work. It simply receives the signal through its physical design and sends it to the decoder via the coaxial cable.
An active antenna (also called a powered antenna) has a built-in signal amplifier inside it. That amplifier needs power to run, and it gets that power through the coaxial cable from the decoder or through a small power adapter connected somewhere along the cable. You can usually spot an active antenna by the small power supply unit sitting between the antenna cable and the wall socket.
Active antennas are useful in areas with weak GOtv signal coverage — they boost the signal before it reaches the decoder, which can make a real difference if you are far from a transmitter.
What should you do? If you are using the standard GOtenna that came in the kit, turn the Power Antenna option OFF in your decoder settings. Only turn it ON if you have connected a separate active/amplified antenna. Leaving it on when using the standard passive GOtenna will not break anything, but switching it off is the correct configuration and avoids any unnecessary power being pushed through the cable.
Common GOtv Antenna Problems and How to Fix Them
Even after a perfect installation, things can go wrong. Here are the most common antenna-related problems GOtv users run into across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and the rest of Africa — and what to do about each one.
GOtv showing no signal after installation
First, check the RF cable at the back of the decoder. Unscrew it, look at the small pin inside the connector, and make sure it is long enough to make proper contact with the decoder port. If it looks too short, use a small knife to carefully peel back a little of the outer cable sleeve to expose more of the pin. Screw it back in and check again. This fixes the problem more often than people expect.
If that is not the issue, check the cable for any sharp bends or visible damage between the antenna and the decoder. Replace the cable if it looks worn.
GOtv signal is weak or keeps dropping
Weak signal that comes and goes is almost always an antenna positioning problem. Go outside and check whether anything has changed around your antenna — a new branch growing in front of it, a neighbour’s extension under construction, or even the antenna that has slightly shifted position after strong wind or rain. Loosen the wing nuts, realign the antenna while watching the signal bar on your TV, and re-tighten once you find the strongest position.
GOtv antenna signal strength showing 0
Zero signal usually means the decoder is not receiving anything at all from the antenna. Work through this in order: check the RF connector at the decoder, check the cable along its full length for damage, check that the waterproof sleeve on the antenna has not allowed water into the connection, and confirm the antenna is still properly assembled with both the green and red clips clicked in place. Also confirm the yellow box down arrow is still pointing downward.
GOtv signal drops when it rains
If your signal is fine in dry weather but disappears or weakens during rain, water is almost certainly getting into the cable connection at the antenna. The fix is to properly seal the joint with the waterproof sleeve — or if it has been exposed for a long time, replace the section of cable near the antenna and re-seal everything properly.
For decoder-specific error codes like E48-32 and E016, see our full guide: How to fix GOtv no signal problems and E48 error
Quick Tips for the Best GOtv Signal in Any Location
- Mount the antenna as high as possible. Every metre higher you go reduces the chance of obstructions and brings you closer to line-of-sight with the transmitter.
- Use outdoor installation wherever you can. Indoor antennas work in areas with very strong signal, but outdoor mounting always gives you more reliable reception.
- Keep cable runs as short as possible. Every extra metre of coaxial cable between the antenna and the decoder introduces a small amount of signal loss. Do not run unnecessarily long cables.
- Avoid right-angle bends in the cable. Coaxial cable does not like sharp corners. Use gradual curves where possible.
- Check all connections once a year. Outdoor connections loosen and corrode over time. A quick annual check — tightening the wing nuts, inspecting the waterproof sleeve, confirming the RF connector is secure — can prevent most long-term signal problems.
Frenzy valentine is a passionate blogger, developer, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and author of myfreshgists.com.
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