Father in law is not too well and looks like will be spending quite a bit of time in his bed so thinking of trying to rig up a TV and aerial for him.
Current aerial only goes from roof, down outside of house and into living room wall. Bedroom is upstairs and on opposite side of house.
I certainly ain't going up on to the roof to take a line from the aerial so I guess the only other option is to get a decent indoor aerial.
Can anyone recommend a decent indoor aerial? Also I guess these things are only as good as the signal it can pick up?
|
>> Can anyone recommend a decent indoor aerial?
There isn't one really
>> Also I guess these things are only as
>> good as the signal it can pick up?
Yes, the deciding factor. How far away is the transmitter, and does the target window generally face in that direction. How about sticking one in the loft and dropping the feed through a corner of the ceiling?
|
|
Ah, never thought of putting another one up in the loft - that might be the better idea actually!
|
Not tried an indoor aerial with digital but with analogue they were pretty much useless unless you had, more or less, direct sight of the transmitter. OK in Stanmore where we could almost see Crystal Palace.
Useless in Golders Green with mass of Ham'n'High in way.
|
TV signals echo and bounce about in and among buildings. You have to move indoor aerials all over the room and point them in all directions until you find the best place and orientation. If you're lucky you may find a good position that doesn't involve you in standing on tiptoe holding the aerial out at arm's length or anything like that.
Sometimes another person on the sofa will ruin the picture. But if you have cable there's none of that.
|
There was one very good indoor portable TV aerial, the TCE 2000, that worked OK with digital STBs:
www.amazon.co.uk/TELECAM-TCE2000-performance-indoor-aerial-Black/dp/B000G73ZIQ
I used one for two or three years linked up to a Freeview set top box and then a 15in Sony TV in my wife's bedroom and it worked very well despite being out of line with the transmission signals.
There was a powered and unpowered version - the latter worked equally as well as the powered version according to reviews and cost just £9.99 from Argos at the time.
Here's a review: www.rica.org.uk/content/telecam-tce2000
|
We've got a proper one mounted on the roof gable. But when setting up a second telly in the cottage I found that an old-fashioned set-top thing looking like a sputnik worked just as well.
It depends on window positions, walls, direction of transmitter, and strength of signal.
A bit of wire hanging from the curtain pole worked quite well. It all depends. :)
|
|
I'm in line of sight with the transmitter and an indoor aerial works ok on UHF, VHF and digital. The thing is, if your signal isn't very good don't be tempted into an indoor aerial with a signal amplifier. All you will get is a stronger signal but any issues, ie ghosting or co-channel interference will be amplified as well.
|
>> stronger signal but any issues, ie ghosting or co-channel interference will be amplified as well.
Ghosting and co-channel interference do not exist as problems with digital TV. Poor signal with digital shows up as no access to certain mux's (usually the "other non bbc 1 and itv1 channels) or picture pixelation & freezing.
|
>>Ghosting and co-channel interference do not exist as problems with digital TV. Poor signal with digital shows up as no access to certain mux's (usually the "other non bbc 1 and itv1 channels) or picture pixelation & freezing.<<
Of course, silly me. Just shows how out of touch I am. But I am quite proud of getting my TV habit down to about 10 minutes a day (weather and local headlines).
|
>> Still available:
>>
>> tinyurl.com/oum4axx
>>
Will be fine for you if, as I recall, you're in Southport or thereabouts with a near line of sight to Winter Hill. Doubt it would be any damn use here where Sandy Heath mast iout of direct sight, shielded by terrain, vegetation and agglomeration!!
|
We live in a very weak signal area, and I put one of these in the loft:
www.screwfix.com/p/labgear-tv-aerial-high-gain-48-element/30515
I set alignment roughly in line with neighbours aerials. I don't know whether I just got very lucky, but the Samsung 19" TV in my daughter's room picked up 45 Freeview channels cleanly on the first attempt, plus a load of radio stations. I was very chuffed for the small outlay involved.
Cheers
DP
|
I'm sure it's a ok aerial (labgear stuff usually is) but the advert is a complete turn off. Gain is quoted as dBi, which compares the aerial to a non-existant isotropic source. Anybody reputable will be quoting dBd - which is dB compared to a dipole. The only reason to quote dBi is to get a figure 2.7dB higher as anything dBd, add 2.7 and you get dBi.
10.3 dBd is nothing special though, but my DAT 75 is about as big as you'll find anywhere
www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/MXDAT75.html
I used to make myself very unpopular on dB and balun issues by telling the truth!
|
>> I'm sure it's a ok aerial (labgear stuff usually is) but the advert is a
>> complete turn off. Gain is quoted as dBi, which compares the aerial to a non-existant
>> isotropic source. Anybody reputable will be quoting dBd - which is dB compared to a
>> dipole. The only reason to quote dBi is to get a figure 2.7dB higher as
>> anything dBd, add 2.7 and you get dBi.
>>
>> 10.3 dBd is nothing special though, but my DAT 75 is about as big as
>> you'll find anywhere
>> www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/MXDAT75.html
>>
>> I used to make myself very unpopular on dB and balun issues by telling the
>> truth!
>>
I definitely bow to your knowledge here To be honest, I saw the phrase "for weak signal areas" and bought it, thinking it was cheap enough to take the risk. It's a big old lump as well.
I've been delighted with the results.
Last edited by: DP on Mon 15 Sep 14 at 13:32
|
>>..with a near line of sight to Winter Hill>>
That's fair enough. Even so, this indoor aerial was picking up the channels well before the increased digital transmissions strength and whilst pointing directly at a dividing wall in the house...:-) The only such type of aerial I've ever found to work..... Might well be of interest to others though.
|
|
We are line of sight with the 300meter mast at Nebo - I bought a B&Q aerial for the telly upstairs - it's shaped like an inverted U (as opposed to an N) made of shiny black plastic - is powered. Works just great.
Last edited by: R.P. on Sun 14 Sep 14 at 19:57
|
Don't know how you do it Pug. Spent 10 days at Lligwy and couldn't get zip all on the telly for all that time. Me mate, parked next to us with a much newer caravan was the same. In spite of the boosters fitted.
Same last year at Ad Astra site....nuddings ! My new van works fine in the drive here...even with thousands of properties between it and Winter Hill.
We always had trouble......pixilating and freezing at the little farm site we go to near Middlewich but all that's finished since the owner cut down half a dozen big Leylandi.
Having taken down a chimney stack, I had to reposition one aerial here and get a second. I bought two B&Q ones and fitted them on the gable barge boards at the front. One feeds the kitchen telly and one feeds my monitor/telly upstairs. Both work fine.
Mad, really......we can get a man to the Moon and read number plates from space but try and watch Corrie on Anglesey and you're knacked !
|
>>. but try and watch Corrie on Anglesey and you're knacked !>>
Must be a moral there...:-)
|
>>
>> Don't know how you do it Pug. Spent 10 days at Lligwy and couldn't get
>> zip all on the telly for all that time. Me mate, parked next to us
>> with a much newer caravan was the same. In spite of the boosters fitted.
I was at Penrhos a few weeks ago - not far from LLigwy - and had no problem with TV reception from the Status directional aerial on my caravan. Indeed, I adjusted the direction slightly so that I could watch BBC 1 North West. I also got a number of Irish channels. Can't understand why you couldn't get anything at Lligwy. Did you re-tune your TV?
|
Yup, Robbie. Re-tuned several times but nothing...same with my friend.
|
|
I don't think anyone has directly mentioned the possibility of a satellite dish? Might be an easier option with an inexpensive receiver, but depends on which way the side of the house in question faces as to whether you could wall mount it.
|
Indoor aerial - Zero
