Aerials.

BoomAM

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I dont know if this has been covered before.
Im looking for an aerial for usage with a LCD TV im getting within the next few days.
Will this one be ok?:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produ...cip=28963.Television+aerials+and+boosters.htm
Seems ideal. As it can be wall mounted. & its cheap.
I plan to buy a dedicated external aerial in a few months anyway.

How exactely does the amplification work on it? It appears to have an adjustable dial on it, i take it that that increases the amplification.
Can the TV be damaged at all from signal amplification?

Thanks in advance all.
 
BoomAM said:
I dont know if this has been covered before.
Im looking for an aerial for usage with a LCD TV im getting within the next few days.
Will this one be ok?:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5344204/Trail/C%24cip%3D28956.Sound%2Band%2Bvision%3EC%24cip%3D28957.Accessories%2Band%2Bbatteries%3EC%24cip%3D28963.Television%2Baerials%2Band%2Bboosters.htm
Seems ideal. As it can be wall mounted. & its cheap.
I plan to buy a dedicated external aerial in a few months anyway.

How exactely does the amplification work on it? It appears to have an adjustable dial on it, i take it that that increases the amplification.
Can the TV be damaged at all from signal amplification?

Thanks in advance all.

It's simply a set-top aerial with a built in battery operated booster.
The control is a "Gain" control which is really a waste of time as you will find you have it at maximum all the time.
The TV cannot be damaged by adding a booster...worst case scenario is if you have too strong a signal (highly unlikely) you can overload the front-end of the tuner leading to patterning on the pic that's all.
 
Nobody can tell you if an aerial is going to work, if they don't know where they live. If you lived at Crystal Palace, chances are that you wouldn't need an aerial at all, but out here where I live, you won't get a picture with anything less than an 18-element array on the roof. The problem with indoor/amplified aerials is that they don't just pick up wanted TV signals, but they pick up all the unwanted rubbish, like interference from PC's, household appliances, even from cars in the street.
 
So which should i go for. Amped or unamped?
I plan on getting a full external aerial fitted in a few months anyway.
I live in Crewe if that makes a difference.
 
Go for the amplified aerial. There's no guarantee either way, but if you live in a low signal area you stand a better chance with that.
 
Hi BoomAM,

Yes, definitely the amplified version. You've wisely chosen one suitable for digital too. It seems amazing value.

We are having a new kitchen installed, hopefully starting in two weeks. When it's complete we are buying an LCD for that room. Would you kindly post if that aerial works well with your new tv.
 
Cynthia 7 said:
We are having a new kitchen installed, hopefully starting in two weeks. When it's complete we are buying an LCD for that room. Would you kindly post if that aerial works well with your new tv.

Even if it does work well in boomAM's case doesn't mean it will be suitable for your location.
 
I might buy that one tomorrow or saturday then.

Is it amped by batteries of off the mains. Im suspecting the former. If its battery powered, how long would the batteries last?

I am tempted to get the un-amped one to be honest though.
 
BoomAM said:
I might buy that one tomorrow or saturday then.

Is it amped by batteries of off the mains. Im suspecting the former. If its battery powered, how long would the batteries last?

I am tempted to get the un-amped one to be honest though.

Most of them are battery powered but in the illustration for the Argos one it shows 2 leads coming from the rear so I suspect it may be mains powered.
I had a look in the latest Argos catalogue but it doesn't say.
Most of the battery powered ones I've come across have had a small on-off switch to conserve the batteries but you need to get into the habit of switching it off.......I would suspect you might get a couple of months use out of a set of batteries...provided you remember to switch it off when not watching the TV.
Best of luck.
 
Yes JayCee, It was silly of me to say that in view of reception in different areas of the country.

BoomAm,
I have always had to have a booster or amplified aerial, having tried the unboosted versions in the past. The difference in picture quality is enormous but it may be that you can get buy without the amp. From what I've read, LCD tvs need a good aerial. I thought your designated aerial was suitable for digital but I see it isn't. Although we bought a more expensive aerial for one television because reception is terrible in that room, t he best aerial we have found is the amplified Telecam indoor aerial, price £19.99, which has been in the Argos catalogue for years.

I have taken a few different aerials back to Argos. As long as the packaging is intact and undamaged you can do so. So you could try the unamplified version first and then return it if it doesn't work; make sure it looks like new. It mentions in the catalogue you can return it "unused in their original packing" within 16 days.
 

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