Using an internal UHF antenna with Freeview

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Using an internal UHF antenna with Freeview

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stevenz

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#654515 12-Jul-2012 13:36

Antenna installation is not rocket science, if they're Freeview accredited then there's probably some nice backhanders going on. Any sparky or "proper" aerial installer with half a clue could sort this out. If I can manage it, anyone can. The only tricky part is making the whole job look tidy.

For each added connection, you introduce additional signal loss, as long as the initial signal is ok then you shouldn't need to do anything extra, but if it's a bit marginal then you might add the need for a basic masthead amp or something similar.

Given the length of time the job can potentially take, $300ish sounds pretty reasonable.

I'd certainly report their poor service to the freeview people though. Odds are they've got that much work on at the moment that they just don't think they need to care too much.

@KnightNZ

Jaxson

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#654585 12-Jul-2012 14:39

As was mentioned in another thread just recently, you should ideally disconnect any unused aerial outlets (back where the signal splits), rather than have lots of legs connected but not used around your house. It's not uncommon to find one aerial feeding an 8 way splitter in a new house, with just 1 or 2 legs actually being connected to a TV device.

Just watch also, that if you get an electrician to do this, that you don't get a Gizmo type UHF/VHF combo aerial. These seem very popular with wholesalers but are an unneeded compromise for today's UHF only digital transmissions.

dclegg

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#654614 12-Jul-2012 15:03

Jaxson: As was mentioned in another thread just recently, you should ideally disconnect any unused aerial outlets (back where the signal splits), rather than have lots of legs connected but not used around your house. It's not uncommon to find one aerial feeding an 8 way splitter in a new house, with just 1 or 2 legs actually being connected to a TV device.

Whats the disadvantage to having unused connections? Does it compromise the signal in some way?

We currently only have the need for one connection, but as there are outlets in quite a few rooms, I thought it would be prudent to have them attached to the aerial when it was installed. There are at least two rooms with outlets where we don't currently have TVs, but I could envisage us possibly wanting to put them there in future.

kiwijunglist

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#654618 12-Jul-2012 15:08

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

Jaxson

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#654631 12-Jul-2012 15:48

dclegg:
Jaxson: As was mentioned in another thread just recently, you should ideally disconnect any unused aerial outlets (back where the signal splits), rather than have lots of legs connected but not used around your house. It's not uncommon to find one aerial feeding an 8 way splitter in a new house, with just 1 or 2 legs actually being connected to a TV device.

Whats the disadvantage to having unused connections? Does it compromise the signal in some way?

See here:
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=141&topicid=105242&page_no=3

Basically the larger (more ways) splitter typically has a larger insertion signal loss for a start. And then each unused leg creates an opportunity for 'internal reflections' which can interfere with the original signal, causing signal quality degradation.

All sounds quite technical, but basically you want to split the original signal as little as possible and if you do want to use a huge splitter, consider terminating the unused legs with a 'dummy load' such as this:
http://www.freeviewshop.co.nz/type-terminator-plug-p-106.html

This way you can leave all the cabling in place, but you'll just have to reconnect it at the splitter when actually required. Depends on how often you lug your TV to a different room is all I guess.

If you have an aerial in place already, just for testing purpose try removing the splitter altogether to just one outlet, joining the cable with something like this:
http://www.freeviewshop.co.nz/type-inline-adaptor-femalefemale-p-107.html
You may find your existing signal IS good enough to get you going.

dclegg

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#654635 12-Jul-2012 15:56

Jaxson:
See here:
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=141&topicid=105242&page_no=3

Basically the larger (more ways) splitter typically has a larger insertion signal loss for a start. And then each unused leg creates an opportunity for 'internal reflections' which can interfere with the original signal, causing signal quality degradation.

All sounds quite technical, but basically you want to split the original signal as little as possible and if you do want to use a huge splitter, consider terminating the unused legs with a 'dummy load' such as this:
http://www.freeviewshop.co.nz/type-terminator-plug-p-106.html

This way you can leave all the cabling in place, but you'll just have to reconnect it at the splitter when actually required. Depends on how often you lug your TV to a different room is all I guess.

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like we may be better off just going with what we need for now. We can always re-assess further down the track, and I'll talk to the installer about the best way to make this easier in future.

If you have an aerial in place already, just for testing purpose try removing the splitter altogether to just one outlet, joining the cable with something like this:
http://www.freeviewshop.co.nz/type-inline-adaptor-femalefemale-p-107.html
You may find your existing signal IS good enough to get you going.

Nope, no aerial currently in place, which is why I found it a little odd that there were outputs throughout the house. I initially assumed there was an aerial, but it wasn't visible when we inspected the place prior to purchasing it.

richms

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#654700 12-Jul-2012 17:19

Could be wired back to distribute sky or just going to a goes nowhere cable in the loft.

If you do want to leave coax disconnected then an amplified splitter will let you do that as the output of the amplifier will terminate any reflections vs them going back up to the antenna and bouncing around again. I have bought some incredibly cheap ones with F connectors off ebay or DX that have done the job nicely.

Richard rich.ms

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