Freeview aerial replacement.

[sacwilliams]

Any advice would be appreciated. Having upgraded to a Sony Brava LCD TV that has freeview we are having problems using this service BBC1 and a few other stations are providing a good reception but a number of others including ITV 1 show no signal.

I intend to upgrade my aerial as we are currently using the exsisting analogue aerial from the Reigate transmitter, Crystal Palace is the recomended transmitter but I am confused as to the type of aerial to select, i am currently considering a High gain wide band YAGI aerial but would appreciate any advice.
Many thanks.

 

[ChrisFrost]

Start with a read of this

 

[ericmark]

Don't know your area but in my area we had similar problems with Channel 5. It turned out that the default channel used by Sky with their boxes was the same as used by the Channel 5 multiplexer so the Sky boxes were knocking it out.

There is no such thing as a digital aerial however there is a wide band aerial which is required in some areas to receive the digital signal. However as analogue is being turned off more and more areas are returning to having all the multiplex signals within a narrow band. This means smaller and lighter aerials can again be used which will place less strain on the building fabric and less likely to be affected by atmospheric storms.

Step one must be to switch off all other boxes be it a VCR, Sky, or games console and see if you still have no programs from that multiplexer. It could be a neighbour in which case you may need to reposition the aerial. But unlikely changing an aerial will cure problem although it may mean you get something rather than nothing at all.

 

[sacwilliams]

Thank you Chris,
What a fantastic web site, this wil answer all of my questions.
Kind regards,
CW

 

[Sam Gangee]

Crystal Palace is the recomended transmitter but I am confused as to the type of aerial to select, i am currently considering a High gain wide band YAGI aerial but would appreciate any advice.

A High gain wide band YAGI aerial is absolutely the worst possible choice for a "Group A" transmitter such as C.P. Its gain is lowest for the "A" frequencies and highest for the other frequencies that could cause interference.

The best choice depends on your signal strength but you haven't given your postcode. I'd suggest either a log-periodic aerial like the V10-040 (might need a "Group A" filter - rarely) or a Group A aerial - the actual gain required depends on your distance from the transmitter.

See http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/best_aerial.htm

 

[sacwilliams]

Hi Sam,
Thanks for the info.The Log Periodic aerial sounds like what I am looking for, I will study the Satcure site.
My postcode is RH6 8AH location Horley which is 17.9 miles from Crystal Palace and about 5 miles from Reigate.
Thank you for the information.
Colin.

 

[JimLoskot]

If you have some time on your hands and want to know everything there is to know and for other such info on aeriels these boys certainly know what they are talking about:
http://www.aerialsandtv.com/aerials.html
have wasted many hours reading through their website

 

[Sam Gangee]

have wasted many hours reading through their website

Bad choice of words? I'm sure your time wasn't wasted! Justin is an expert.

 

[Sam Gangee]

Colin, this site is useful for getting a signal prediction:
http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe?DX=L&HT=10&OS=RH6+8AH

Ignore the aerial suggestion "amplified extra high gain". It's always very pessimistic. A V10-040 works fine down to about 30dBuV/m so there should be enough signal to split to two or 3 TVs even without an amplifier.

Your Freeview receiver/TV is likely to tune in both Reigate and Crystal Palace multiplexes. The only way around this (if it's a problem) would be manual tuning, taking note of the UHF channel numbers.
Reigate: 21, 24, 27, 31, 39, 66
C.Palace: 22, 25, 28, 29, 32, 34

 

[JimLoskot]

have wasted many hours reading through their website

Bad choice of words? I'm sure your time wasn't wasted! Justin is an expert.

Yes a bad choice of words I'm afraid, but you know what I mean

 

[carball]

Thanks for the message.