Poor Analogue but Excellent Digital signal with new aerial

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StarBlazer

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#515840 2-Sep-2011 16:55

B1GGLZ:
StarBlazer:

Hmm, so maybe the best plan is to take back the $50 aerial and get an $80 STB.

But you then won't get HD on your TV. The built in tuner is HD and Freeview Sattelite is SD.

Two old CRT TVs. If I get a new TV ever it will have Freeview built in - at that point I will revisit the Aerial idea. To be honest the signal where I am is so strong a simple indoor aerial will probably do the job anyway.

Procrastination eventually pays off.

farcus

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#515842 2-Sep-2011 17:04

doubt they'll take the aerial back if it came as a kit an you have assembled it and installed it.

StarBlazer

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#515845 2-Sep-2011 17:08

farcus: doubt they'll take the aerial back if it came as a kit an you have assembled it and installed it.

I used my own coax and connectors and only held the aerial in place - no drilling - no damage. At the end of the day not fit for purpose as I wanted it for "normal" TV as mentioned to the sales staff. I didn't know that some of the channels only broadcast on VHF.

Procrastination eventually pays off.

richms

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#515846 2-Sep-2011 17:10

StarBlazer:
farcus: doubt they'll take the aerial back if it came as a kit an you have assembled it and installed it.

I used my own coax and connectors and only held the aerial in place - no drilling - no damage. At the end of the day not fit for purpose as I wanted it for "normal" TV as mentioned to the sales staff. I didn't know that some of the channels only broadcast on VHF.

Dont even think that you can find a VHF antenna anywhere now, Certainly one place I go liquidated their stock of them a while back.

Richard rich.ms

StarBlazer

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#515848 2-Sep-2011 17:12

richms:
StarBlazer:
farcus: doubt they'll take the aerial back if it came as a kit an you have assembled it and installed it.

I used my own coax and connectors and only held the aerial in place - no drilling - no damage. At the end of the day not fit for purpose as I wanted it for "normal" TV as mentioned to the sales staff. I didn't know that some of the channels only broadcast on VHF.

Dont even think that you can find a VHF antenna anywhere now, Certainly one place I go liquidated their stock of them a while back.

Nah, not worth the hassle for dying technology - too many better options to be honest.

Procrastination eventually pays off.

B1GGLZ

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#515914 2-Sep-2011 20:03

StarBlazer:

Two old CRT TVs. If I get a new TV ever it will have Freeview built in - at that point I will revisit the Aerial idea. To be honest the signal where I am is so strong a simple indoor aerial will probably do the job anyway.

I'm confused.
You said in your original post you had an LCD TV with Freeview? Now you say you'll get one if you get a new TV.
If your main TV is a Freeview model then I figure you would want to watch HD on this then use the Sky output to the other 2 TV's for the kids while doing so. When you watch SKY a Satellite STB would provide Sky and Freeview for the kids.
If you have a really strong Freeview UHF signal then just plug in to the TV a short piece of co-ax with a piece of wire on the end.
I have about 30mm of wire clipped in the end of a 1 metre coax lead (wall to TV type) plugged in a STB in my office and get perfect picture at about 10km from the Waiatarua TX here in Auckland. Placing of the wire is a little critical though. Works well in the window space. Only done this cos I've yet to get another splitter so I can run the PC Digital Tuner and STB off the one outlet.
The Sony TV in the lounge also gets a picture with just a bit of coax plugged in but the outside antenna is really belts and braces.

AliExpress

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StarBlazer

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#516666 5-Sep-2011 08:59

In the end I put the aerial up. I mounted it as high as possible on the side of the double storey garage and it made a difference - Didn't want to climb onto the roof of the main house - but needs must.

Snowy picture on 1, a little ghosting on 2 and 3 but clear on Prime and Maori - pretty much the same as original but better on all channels due to the height. Signal split to 3 TV's with no discernible loss of quality. Main TV has Freeview built in and all digital channels perfect with no interference.

Why did I go back to the aerial?

I felt it had more future potential than the sat option alone.
I now have 3 TVs that have a watchable picture without any additional cost.
I can now decide whether to get a DVB-T or DVB-S decoder when the analogue is switched off - we'll see which has the best options and price at the time.
It also means that if I get a new TV in the future I can plug it in and watch without a separate decoder.
Rain Fade - I can still watch something.

Thanks for all your opinions it helped me to weigh up the choices.

Procrastination eventually pays off.

Jaxson

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#516708 5-Sep-2011 10:10

No worries.

If you're getting repeated rain fade issues then you need to readdress your satellite setup, either failing LNB or incorrect dish size or incorrect alignment. It really shouldn't be that bad.

StarBlazer

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#516715 5-Sep-2011 10:22

Jaxson: No worries.

If you're getting repeated rain fade issues then you need to readdress your satellite setup, either failing LNB or incorrect dish size or incorrect alignment. It really shouldn't be that bad.

No it's not a problem. Lost signal during the snow - as did most and lost maybe once or twice in the previous 12 months with rain.

Murphy's law would suggest that we will have a major downpour during the final of the RWC - we now have a backup plan to watch England win

(sorry couldn't resist).

Procrastination eventually pays off.

Jaxson

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#516720 5-Sep-2011 10:28

StarBlazer: we now have a backup plan to watch England win (sorry couldn't resist).

No worries, I expect England to win one, maybe two, of their pool matches too.

Any new TV you buy should have freeview HD in it. If you live in a freeview HD area then really you should be aiming to install this. The satellite option is there if you need a cheap set top box for your current old TV's.

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