Aerials

Vertigo

Vertigo

Vertigo

Soldato
Joined
28 Dec 2003
Posts
16,487
I need a new TV aerial as the one we have is piece of crap that was here when we moved in.

The aerial is the standard "exterior" type but is actually mounted in the loft, as its replacement will be.

When looking for a replacement, what do I need to look for? The reception round here is only average so I need something decent but there seems to be so many different models I don't know what essentials to look for.

The most basic thing will surely be the number of elements, yes? Is this just a case of getting as many as I can (i.e. a really long aerial) or is this pointless past a certain number? On top of this some are advertised as "high" or "extra" gain and sometimes have a totally different design, with additional bits of metal at 45 degrees to the plane of the main horizontal elements.

I'm not spending a fortune but I don't mind spending a bit more to get something decent. If anyone can offer some advice I'd be grateful.
 
I think you would be best to get your local electrical supplier guide you. I'm not positive but I think it depends on which transmitter you are pointing at.

Different ariel for different transmiter.

Ariel amplifiers help too.
 
The more elements the better, it does not matter whether the aerial is made out of steel or banana skins, just get as many as you can. 100 should be enough. This is the kind of fixing you need.

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hyster said:
Different ariel for different transmiter.
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Yep - there are different Bands, A,B,C etc. W for WideBand (all of them).

It's best to get a specific band one if poss, as it'll have better sensitivity at the required band than a Wideband aerial.

Which band depends on what the transmitter your pointed at uses - and whether you'll be watching analogue or digital (some broadcast digital on lots of bands, so Wideband is needed. Where I am, it's C/D for example.)

Best to get a local electrical/aerial fitter to tell you what you need tbh. Much simpler, and you won't end up buying something that doesn't work or offers no improvement.
 
I'm after one of these beast cost about £35-50. A very big aeriel though Televes DAT 45 one of best you can get for digital tv.
televesdat455kv.jpg
 
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Vertigo1 said:
The aerial is the standard "exterior" type but is actually mounted in the loft, as its replacement will be.
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Mounting the aerial in the loft tends to create some signal reflection problems, and can cause havok for Freeview reception. I had a good high gain in the loft, and it was terrible. Moved it to the chimney and reception was perfect.
 
for freeview an aerial in a loft is a bad idea.

Tbh i'd be looking into getting a CAI approved guy in- think carpmaster on this forum is an aerial installer as is tesla.

Whats your location/what transmitter do you want to receive?
 
Thanks for the replies so far, looks like I need to bite the bullet and get a proper exterior installation done.

I'm in South-East Birmingham, using the Sutton Coldfield transmitter.

Anyone got any ideas on what I'm looking at cost-wise for a decent exterior aerial on the chimney? Would need three cable drops, all down the same side of the house as the chimney, two to first floor level and in through the wall to new faceplates, one to ground level and through an existing hole to an existing faceplate.
 
I wouldnt call myself an aerial installer, I have only done a few but have ongoing work with and training from an aerial installer.

I am currently trying to get a Sky installation contract, wish me luck!
 
If your house is already wired up with plates in the wall, and decent quality cable, leading to the existing loft aerial, why not have a high quality digital compatible amplifier/splitter fitted in the loft, and then a new feed from the loft to the new position on the chimney.

That way you'll only have a single coax going up to the chimney.

Amplifiers are generally pretty rubbish when it comes to bringing a poor quality signal upto a high enough standard to feed a freeview box. However, if your intention is to split the signal three ways, amp splitters can do that pretty well, a good high level signal fed into the amp would easily give enough signal to be split 3 ways for each of your feed points. (Im assuming you have a TV set on each point).

Alternativly, you might want to get the whole thing rewired, so feed from the aerial goes directly to the Freeview box in your sitting room, and then zoom that around to the rest of the house (possibly using an amp splitter to keep up signal strength), so that you can watch Channels 1-5 on analog, + whatever channel the freeview box is set on, anywhere in your house.
 
Corasik said:
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Some good ideas but would be better off sticking a Freeview box on each TV, also, not many Freeview boxes will output Freeview via RF.

I would recommend putting the Aerial on the roof. You lose around 4db of the signal by putting it into the attic.

If you email me your post code I will give you some detailed info on your area (signal wise).
 
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Tesla said:
I would recommend putting the Aerial on the roof. You lose around 4db of the signal by putting it into the attic.
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More like around 15-20db from my experience. I would also recommend putting the aerial up on the roof. If you want to save some cash then run all the cables yourself and just get the pro installer to stick the aerial up and feed the loft.
 
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