Aerial for outdoor

M

marvinbush911

Guest
Anyone know what is the usual price for a TV installation of a decent aerial in the Berkshire area?

My usual personal rule with jobs that need doing is that if they dare charge more than I (as a grad) get per day, then I'll look into doing it myself. I'm no technical dunce, I have been reading about aerials. I know a bit about MRD's and attenuation and mastheads etc. I have found that I am 22 and 32 miles from my nearest transmitters. Considering this distance, am I right in thinking that a £30 Televes Ultra High Gain wideband shouldn't be overkill in terms of gain?

I was wondering about doing the job myself, I might even be able to borrow a cat ladder from a friend and I am only in a bungalow.

Any tips?
 
I'd like to know too - just a ballpark

My aerial is useless and I have old cabling that you can hear cracking as you bend it.

Want something for feeding freeview to my PC - probably to a couple of rooms on one side of the house.

If its around £150 then I'd get it done, but I have no idea.
 
Hi,

Can't give you an exact figure for your area, but In Leciestershire I've had two quotes. One from local aerial fitter for £150-£170 and one from a 'nationwide' company called actionaerials (who I assume uses local fitters) for £160.

Based on that i'm thinking £160 should be average. That includes the aerial and fitting a single socket within the house.

Hope that helps.
 
I have been told roughly £120 or thereabouts is normal for Berkshire.

I can buy a:

Televes UltraGain aerial
Co-ax
mast etc if needs be
plus hire of a roof ladder

all for £75, and my aerial would likely be better quality than what they use.

I'm weighing it up.
 
If you go to the www.wolfbane.com site you'll be able to enter your postcode and find what sort of aerial you need. Reception varies considerably over small areas depending on hills, vegetation etc. The BBC reception web pages also have helpful info that may save you money and show which transmitters are best for you, the nearest not always being the first choice

Wandering about on the roof is not for me. If you have tried it before and are happy, then fine. Otherwise consider mounting the aerial on a high wall if this is possible. Remember you may need to get at the thing in the future, often in the winter, and always when its peeing down

Remember to buy the best quality cable. Bog standard co ax from your local DIY store is not a good choice

The hardware is not expensive. Buy the best. This does not mean the biggest longest you can find in the aerial dept. Size in this operation is NOT everything. Apart from anything else, the smaller you can get away with the less you need to worry about movement in high winds. (We all worry about that:hiya:)

The prices that have been quoted earlier in the thread are about the going rate for a standard installation. A masthead amplifier bumps up the cost. Remember, with a local guy that knows the area and what he's doing you are paying for, and getting, a load of knowledge that enables him to sort out what is best for you
 
It's a bungalow so height isn't much of an issue. I just got to find a hire place that will allow me to hire a cat ladder without an account....:thumbsdow

I already checked that wolfbane site and I am 20 and 30 miles from my nearest transmitters. So a £30 Televes X43 Ultra High Gain should be better than ok.

Suprisingly, I actually couldn't find anyone who would install an aerial in my location, so I have no choice but to do it myself.
 
Suprisingly, I actually couldn't find anyone who would install an aerial in my location, so I have no choice but to do it myself.

I've got the same problem with my central heating boiler

After a few years it ups your confidence in doing this sort of stuff yourself!:clap:
 
Considering this distance, am I right in thinking that a £30 Televes Ultra High Gain wideband shouldn't be overkill in terms of gain?

Well, it depends where you are. If we take a random Berkshire postcode, SL4 3BP, and type it into "Wolfbane" we see that Crystal Palace transmitter is the only sensible option. You'd be crazy to use a wideband aerial for this because all the channels are in the "Group A" lower frequency band, for which a wideband "Yagi" aerial is totally the wrong choice. You ought to go for a "Group A" Yagi aerial or log-periodic - dependent on various factors.

For a better explanation, take a look at the comparison graph at the bottom of this page:
http://www.satcure.com/tech/logperiodic.htm
 

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