UHF antenna elements?

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JaBZ

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#24660 30-Jul-2008 11:16

I put my my rusty Sky UHF atenna last week pointing at Waitarua. I get about 50% signal strength and 100% quality on the Freeview HD signals.
I had prelaid Quad sheild RG6 so I am fine with the cabling. However would like to get a better antenna, as the current sky one is rusty and I think one mount for the connector box is broken.

Should I get antenna with more elements i.e. a 43 element? can the original Sky mount hold this?

Current Sky one I have is this.

Whats this like? Although has less elements.

My opinions and ideas expressed in posts are solely my own and do not reflect the views of my employer in any way..

n00dy

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#152673 30-Jul-2008 12:58

although I am not an expert but having much hands on experiance but I believe that the type and style of antenna are directly related to where you are located and from what transmission tower you are recieving from. Sometimes getting a larger antenna or an antenna with additional "director" elements would give you no better performance that one with less apart from the fact you just spent more money. The key factor is condition of the antenna, connectors and cable. if you check with a local supplier they could give you more accurate information. FYI where i live we only have one like yours but on the other side of town they have the 12 element type as they recieve the signal from another location, signal strangth is 70% ( i can see the repeater from my roof) 100% quality

ventolin

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#152674 30-Jul-2008 13:02

I have one of these http://www.dtvs.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=18

and it's nice, really well packaged and easy to put together, where I live i'm very exposed to the weather and this thing hasn't even moved it's great.

JaBZ

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#152680 30-Jul-2008 13:20

I live out west Auck, Blockhouse Bay... I can see the Waitarua tower. Which is where the rusty Sky one is pointing at.
So I go for one with more elements, is there a possiblity of overpowering i.e. too much signal.

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charley

183 posts

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#152711 30-Jul-2008 15:25

I'm pretty sure a higher gain uhf aerial wont cause probs. But it will be a waste of moeny if it doesnt fix your signal issue. But you know rusty aerial can never be a good thing.

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n00dy

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#152713 30-Jul-2008 15:33

JaBZ: I live out west Auck, Blockhouse Bay... I can see the Waitarua tower. Which is where the rusty Sky one is pointing at.
So I go for one with more elements, is there a possiblity of overpowering i.e. too much signal.

There is not such a thing as overpowering, but as stated in the above post you would pay more for no additional signal, the elements trap and direct what signal it detects to the reflector and diapole, if the signal is weak additional elements recieve as much as possible, if you have a very strong signal you dont require as many director elements, in this case bigger does not mean better, in the future if you shifted location and signal was low, having bought the larger one you would protect yourself slightly. just a note on overpowering, what you can get if the signal is extremely strong is that it can interfer with nearby freqencies washing out the poorer signal, ie you get a ghost image from a different channel but that is not as common with the current techology

boby55

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#152717 30-Jul-2008 15:53

I have one of these in Hawkes Bay http://www.lincrad.co.nz/pshow.php?category_id=90&sub_cid=87&cat_name=&sub_cat_name=%27Gizmo%27%20%20-digital%20ready-%20%20aerials

Never had a problem with it, I get 94% signal

New World

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cyril7

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#152723 30-Jul-2008 16:07

Hi just because you have only 50% signal means nothing, 100% quality is more important. Because it is 100% (lets forget the absolute accuracy of the metering for now) then increasing the signal to 90 or 100% wont improve the picture on bit.

The typical Sky installed UHF antenna will only rust on the reflector, and unless its actually fallen off is unlikely to significantly effect performance. It is an advantage to replace the antenna with one with a better contructed balun and preferabley an Fconnector balun.

The one shown that you currently have is really only a 7element antenna (by Yagi description) not a 23element, its just 7 electrical elements made from 23 parts. Might I suggest one of these .

Cyril

Jaxson

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#152908 31-Jul-2008 09:58

Yeah most UHF aerials/ aerials in general are made of aluminium so they don't rust. The screws/clamps etc holding them in place usually rust and sometimes the plastic or the aluminium of the individual elements breaks as well.

The big thing as Cyril has mentioned is the part where the RG6 Coax cable is attached to the balun. If this is damp and rusted then you're going to have a problem right there. You would notice an improvement by unscrewing the cable and lightly sanding away any rust at the connection part. Replacing this with a F crimp connector type would be a great upgrade to most older existing UHF aerials.

Cyril, where can you suggest getting these F crimp balun parts from, they're not that common! Cheers.

cyril7

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#152909 31-Jul-2008 10:04

I have a collection, PM.

Cyril

JaBZ

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#153422 1-Aug-2008 19:51

Speaking of F connectors, when i called Hills-Signalmaster they said they recommended the AX343-F 43 Element with F connector cause it is for digital DTT.
Called around coupe dicksmith any they dont have the one Cyril mentioned in stock. But they do have the 43 Element AX343 not the AX343-F so they have one without the F connector.
Woudn't they both be the same and have the same balun? Just one is easier as it is F connector.?

My opinions and ideas expressed in posts are solely my own and do not reflect the views of my employer in any way..