receiving Freeview HD with indoor antenna?

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gareth41

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#71592 13-Nov-2010 10:48

I need to get freeview hd running on a tv on 1st floor in a multistory building on symonds st in akl, there is no access to any external antenna on top of the building and the bulding manager has confirmed that it wont be possible to get anything installed. So my only option is an indoor antenna, we are facing away from the sky tower but I am assuming an indoor antenna will perform reasonably well due to the close distance to the sky tower. Could anyone confirm before I go forking out for equipment?

sbiddle

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#404165 13-Nov-2010 11:00

Indoor antennas are typiclaly not that great and are hit and miss. Nobody could reastically give you an answer as to whether one will work or not.

Your best bet is to buy one from a retailer that will let you take it back if it doesn't work.

tomgeeknz

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#404173 13-Nov-2010 11:16

*ahem*Dick Smith*ahem*

Anyway, I have no trouble receiving Freeview HD in Kaiapoi from Sugarloaf with the DSE amplified antenna. Albeit having to be in the window with unobstructed sight. I would try it and you have a 14 day return policy if it does not work.

Spyware

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#404192 13-Nov-2010 11:57

Yet in Belfast, 16 km from Sugarloaf and way closer than Kaiapoi, inside a 1950's brick house the signal is not really usable with indoor antenna. Sugarloaf is 47 dBW (50 kW). Sky Tower is only 23 dBW or so. I actually doubt that you'll have usable signal even at less than 1 km from Sky Tower.

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Niel

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#404228 13-Nov-2010 14:08

It depends a lot on the antenna. Omnidirectional will pick-up reflections as well and be less sensitive. Directional will be best but you need to play with it to find the sweet spot as it is directional... I reckon it should work if you have patience. Somewhere you will find a reflection that is strong enough.

Worst case, get a flat "oven rack" outdoor antenna and mount it to a balcony rail or make a bracket to clamp it to a window frame. Still need to adjust it to a suitable position, but those antennas has much higher gain than an indoor antenna. It is better to have a high gain antenna than adding (or built-in) an amplifier, because the amplifier also adds noise.

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LookingUp

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#404247 13-Nov-2010 15:20

Bought an HD TV for my folks in Spreydon (Chch) last weekend and was rather surprised when we turned it on connected to their old Rabbit's Ears. Happily scanned all the channels and worked perfectly in HD!

I'd say give it a shot.

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FPR

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#404354 14-Nov-2010 00:09

I say give it a go too, I know a guy here in Dunedin receiving freeview with Rabbit ears.

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LostBoyNZ

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#404356 14-Nov-2010 00:16

I got an amplified antenna from Dick Smith and it works really well. Originally TV3 kept freezing, but then I moved the antenna slightly, near a window actually, and it's been 100% ever since. Very happy :)

Just a note if you do get one of those antennas, it's only the loop part that does UHF (Freeview), there's no need at all to extend the bunny ear poles.

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Snowflake

#404357 14-Nov-2010 00:21

i have a 10 year old pair of bunny ears connected to a samsung 26" lcd with freeview tuner and i get freeviewHD perfectly. i'm in balmoral, so not that close to skytower or other transmitters.

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Niel

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#404395 14-Nov-2010 09:10

Regarding peoples' distance from transmission towers, keep in mind transmission towers are designed to radiate horizontally away from them so if you are very close to a tower then you can sometimes actually get a stronger signal from the "wrong" direction because of reflection paths. Towers are not designed to radiate below them, else you fry the people living there.

PS: Same goes for cell phone towers, please install them on top of schools and not down the road.

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gareth41

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#404649 14-Nov-2010 22:24

thanks for the help, I guess the best thing to do is try it. What is the freq in mhz freeview hd is broadcast on from the skytower? I am assuming the rabbit ears should be adjusted to a half wave length and put next to window for best reception.

toyonut

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#406726 19-Nov-2010 13:14

Try the Draco ANT-200 off trademe from yenpaul or others. It seems to work great for such a small box and out where we are gives nearly 100% signal.

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Speedy885

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#418174 16-Dec-2010 16:42

gareth41: thanks for the help, I guess the best thing to do is try it. What is the freq in mhz freeview hd is broadcast on from the skytower? I am assuming the rabbit ears should be adjusted to a half wave length and put next to window for best reception.

A quick search on RSM turned up this:http://i55.tinypic.com/20jbjd.jpg then you calculate the antenna length of centre frequency (thats between 530 - 706MHZ assuming you want to receive all those channels/frequencies) which is 618MHZ. so half wave antenna is 231mm or 1/4 wave is 115mm. all those channels are vertical polarized meaning you receiving antenna needs to be vertical as well.