We’ve recently moved into a property with no aerial sockets at all. However, we are less than 1/2 mile away from the Crystal Palace transmitter, and so I’m after any recommendations for aerials that may be extremely small that can just plug into the TV. Something like this if these actually work?
Any recommendations would be hugely appreciated
The thing that all these stick antennas/aerials ignore is that transmitters use polarisation. Crystal Palace is a main transmitter. It uses horizontal polarisation. When you look at the roof top aerials trained on CP, they match the transmitter's
horizontal polarisation.
Here's a photo I took in N. Staffs. Here, the homes are in an overlap area with two transmitters. They're different TV regions. The homes are picking up one TV region from a main transmitter using horizontally polarised aerials. The small relay transmitter uses vertical polarisation, so the receiving aerials are aligned vertically to match.
Why is polarisation used?
Having two signals overlapping would generally cause some problems. Polarisation has the effect of reducing the apparent signal level that the oppositely polarised aerial receives. It doesn't kill it completely, but it reduces the signal level significantly.
What do you notice about the design of these miniature aerials?
If your answer was along the lines of them all being vertical 'sticks' then give yourself a gold star.
Compare the above to the aerial recommended by ATV. In the image below, it's orientated to match horizontal polarisation, though it can be adjusted for vertical if required.
The other thing is it can be pointed at the transmitter. This makes a massive difference to the signal level received. Aerials that are vertical sticks can receive from all around, but that automatically means they're never pulling in as much signal as they could if they were directional.
The
summary here is that an aerial which can match the transmitter polarisation, and that can be aimed at the transmitter, stands a far better chance of pulling in a clean useable signal.
I understand why the other types of aerials exist. They look neater, and in the absence of a buyer understanding what is important, they'll often fall back on aesthetics as a reason to buy. The makers and sellers don't bother trying to educate would-be customers because it rarely works. It's easier to sell crap and then offer a refund if the customer complains. A comfortable lie is preferred to the truth because the truth puts the responsibility for the purchase on the shoulders of the buyer. Human nature is a weird thing sometimes. It seems that as a species we're happier in ignorance. When you look at the world, it explains a lot.
