If the antenna looks like a Antenna in a Grade B 1950's SI-FI Movie , Do Not buy it.
Many people have been scammed by the cheap china antennas , as you have found out , cheap plastic , cheap thin aluminum , cheap little Toy motors that turn the antenna and the cheap little toy motors and gears stop working. And the cheap thumb screws that 'clamp' the antenna to the mast pipe will crack the cheap plastic that the thumb screws are mounted in and strip the threads.
The antennas are the very definition of cheap china junk.
Send it back for a refund , if you can get a refund. If not , put it in the trash.
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Above the roof install a Winegard HD7696P antenna with a Antennas Direct CPA-19 preamp , aimed at about 235 degree magnetic compass direction.
Here is how to aim antennas ,
http://www.kyes.com/antenna/pointing/pointing.html.
For 1 Tv connection use no splitter.
For 2 Tv's connected use a , HFS-2D , 2 way splitter.
For 3 TV's connected use a , HFS-3D , 3 way splitter.
Buy the HFS splitters at ,
http://www.hollandelectronics.com , or ,
http://www.solidsignal.com.
Here are some antenna mounts ,
http://www.ronard.com/909911.html ,
http://www.ronard.com/34424560.html ,
http://www.ronard.com/ychim.html ,
http://www.ronard.com.
Buy the ronard antenna mounts at solidsignal by typing the word ronard in the solidsignal search box.
Here are some places to buy antennas and etc. ,
http://www.solidsignal.com ,
http://www.amazon.com ,
http://www.winegarddirect.com.
As always , trees and tree leaves do a real fine job of reducing or blocking Tv reception and so buildings and other obstructions.
It is best to install the antenna at a location that has the least amount to no amount of obstructions in the directions of reception.
The Tv/s Must Channel Scan for the Digital Broadcast Tv Channels , some times named the 'Air Channels' or 'Antenna Channels in the Tv setup menu because the Tv transmissions travel through the air from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna.
DO NOT channel scan for cable tv channels.