Hi all
I need to buy a good aerial so that we should be able to receive Channel 5 and Freeview.
Any recommendations on brand, model or supplier?
What is a typical cost?
TIA Rob
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I just realised how funny that I posted this thread right after asking about TV licensing. It's good when you can make yourself laugh.
Before someone asks, the antenna is for my mother.
Oops!
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Televes products are good as are Triax.
e.g.
You will be needing a license for her next.... Oh, I suppose you mean her telly ;-)
What she needs would depend a bit on local reception conditions, and also which is her nearest transmitter. The former will affect the size (i.e. gain) of aerial required, the latter the "Group" (i.e. frequency range). Also will this be for ordinary analogue TV, or Digital Terrestrial TV as well?
It's not easy to answer without knowing what transmitter you're intending to use, what signal levels are like where you are, and whether there are any local factors such as ghosting to overcome. It's better to use a grouped aerial if you can as they have better gain than wideband, though a wideband is required for some transmitters if you wish to received analogue and digital.
A basic quality aerial for use in high signal areas which has a balun fitted to ensure good impendence matching to the cable (this helps to prevent impulse interference on digital TV) starts at about £12.
A high gain jobbie will set you back about £30-£50 depending on how high gain it is.
I would avoid buying DIY type Maxview products, and those badged as high gain from the DIY stores.
Good brands include Triax, Televes, Antiference and Blake. Looking here
Good cable is also vital. Avoid the cheap brown low loss type at £10 per
100m roll and only use satellite grade CT100/PH100 or PF100 types. Expect to pay about £23 per 100m. Screwfix and toolstation.com sell reasonable quality cable.
She lives in the Belmont transmitter area, I think - Bridlington.
She used to get Ch5 via satellite but they closed the service down when Sky went digital.
I don't want to get her a Sky subscription but a Freeview box would be nice, or Ch5 via regular reception.
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Thank you very for the advice - it is helpful.
Rob
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Then have a wander over to uk.tech.digital-tv and/or have a look at Bill Wright's home page here:-
CPC are a good source. They sell a range of aerials with different gains. The highest only costs about 35 pounds. I installed one about a year ago. Been fine. Quick delivery too. Watch out though. They sell a huge range of stuff and as you browse the cat you'll start filling up your basket!
About 12 quid if you know where to get it.
While on this subject, my freeview signal is pretty jumpy and susceptible to passing cars etc. Quite often it will jump to the next channel, annoying if I'm recording to the hard drive. The signal strerngth reads out at 155 to 30% depending on weather conditions. Would a better arial improve things? Mine is currently about 30 years old with a signal amplifier fitted. Stu.
A new aerial will almost certainly help (estimated lifetime for aerials can be as little as 7 years).
A New co-ax would be a must as well (in fact it may have more impact on performance than the aerial). A foil screened "satellite" grade co-ax will help reduce the impulse interference you are getting.
Also try for a few cable breaks as possible, and use fully screened connectors along the way should you need any. F Type connectors are better than the traditional Belling Lee style aerial plugs like that on the back of the TV.
On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 12:54:36 GMT, stu strung together this:
More than likely, although dodgy connections on the cable can cause quite a considerable amount of signal degradation. I'd check all your cable and connectors first, even the aerial is shot then connecting it up to suspect cable isn't going to improve matters.
Quite possibly. The signal strength you should be aiming for is between 50 and 80 dBuV for each multiplex. Remember that your coax plug should be soldered too!
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