Hi Just wondering if anyone in the Reading area knew the approximate cost of replacing a TV aerial. The old one has to come down (I will dispose of it), and a new one goes up (I will supply, actually a radio antenna). No wiring needed except poking the cable through an airbrick. And no testing required. I have a quote for £85+VAT. Sounds reasonable? Ta.
Cost to replace a TV aerial
Jul 21, 2020
40 Replies
Remember you will have to drill out the hole in the air brick to pass a PL259 through .....
Van, two blokes maybe, ladders, an hour. They have to make a living, that's perfectly reasonable. If possible look for reviews.
Except the PL259 unscrews (two removable bits) leaving quite a small diameter plug. And yes, you can screw the bits together from the plug end (that is, you don't need to thread it all the way down the cable). I've tested it and it fits through the hole. Ta.
I think (although lots of local companies seem to use very similar names) I used them about 15 years ago (maybe more) and it was £90 then! Although they never banked the cheque!
Big hammer
Bill
So you are not replacing a TV aerial then?
No, more accurately exchanging the old TV aerial for a radio antenna. We have another TV aerial on the other end of the house.
What can you get on radio that you cannot get on the internet?
To transmit or receive radio? If it is for receive only the try it in the loft hung from the apex first - that is where mine lives.
These days I'd install a satellite dish high enough to be out of the way but it just needs a clear line of sight to the satellite. Putting it up on the chimney makes it 30m closer to a geostationary satellite 36,000km away and very much harder to install and maintain.
People do that though. I watched an installer bound up the steep roof opposite me to replace one with no cat ladder. When he got to the top and then looked down he lost his nerve and was clinging to the fixing.
His mate had to put a cat ladder up to rescue him.
Rx only. I thought about the loft, but it really isn't high enough, and the only real space is where my QFH sits.
The old radio aerial needs to come down anyway as it's falling apart and resting on the roof. If a man goes up to remove that, then he may as well put this new(ish) antenna up too.
There is an inherent challenge in amateur radio that you simply do not get when things are laid out for everyone to use.
You're on a DIY newsgroup (allegedly) where tackling problems is the challenging, educating and fulfilling part.
As long as you have control of the quality of the aerial, the coax and any mounting hardware, ie make sure they use proper rawl bolts or similar not stupid plastic plugs. Brian
antenna.
An awful lot of things VHF/UHF: pagers, air traffic, talkbacks (if there is an OB nearby). HF: weefax, RTTY but pretty much only weather data these days all the RTTY foreign press stations have either gone or moved to digital (there are a lot of digital signals out there).
All true, but what is the answer to my question?
How much of this uses a directional yagi/log periodic on the roof?
Not sure of your angle. Are you intrigued by amateur radio and considering it as a hobby?
I'm pretty sure my neighbour's baby monitor isn't on the internet.
Not these days, but yes I do, but my point was that the text of the OP implied he was replacing his TV aerial with presumably a VHF one. No mention was made of 'non broadcast' type VHF/UHF stuff and its doubtful whether the average aerial erector has te wit to install it correctly anyway.
So my question was in te context of 'what cant you get on the internet that you can get with a directional VHF/UHF yagi?
Not 'with a 500 tard piece iof wire and a tower and a ground plane'
I'm pretty sure these days it probably is, but who wants to listen to it?
So the answer to TNP's question would appear to be "frustration"?
Says the man looking to get someone else to install his aerial :-)
weather
there).
All or none, an omni sized for for the frequecies of interest is better for this general listening rather than having to faff about with a rotator. Or a discone, a wideband omni. HF just needs a bit of wire, a few yards will do, hung below the ridge board.
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