require help in choosing an external aerial for freeview

mistryn

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forgive me if this has been asked before but i have spent the last hour or so searching this section of the forum and gone round in circles:oops:

i have just bought myself a 37" samsung l87rdbx model which has a freeview built in. i dont have access to an external aerial and will require help in deciding which one would be the best for me and where to get one from :lease:

from what i gather indoor aerials are a bit hit and miss so decided to go down external route. installing it will not be a problem just decidng which one and how to determine which way it to face to get good signal im having difficulty

this is my post code - dy1 2rb, i have looked on the following websites and put in the post code but the information is just going over my head. can someone translate what type of aerial will i need?i have checked the freeview webiste and that says i can get all the freeview channels.



http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe?DX=L&HT=10&OS=dy12rb
http://www.tellyaerial.34sp.com/ta....NGR=&transmitterNumber=10&Submit=Show+Terrain

something like this will it be suitable?
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/30515...ixings/Labgear-TV-Aerial-High-Gain-48-Element
or
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/75506...gear-Mega-Booster-Amp-Outdoor-TV-Aerial-Cable

i forgot to mention that i will be fixing this to the side of the house as access to the chimney is restriced, dont know if this will make a difference?

:lease:help
 
I'd suggest checking the CAI register for a good installer in your area because without a spectrum analyser trying to align an aerial is difficult.
 
is there not a device i can buy to check alignment myself?or is the spectrum analyser is expensive to buy?

i was hoping to install myeslf as i am on a tight'ish budget
 
A proper spectrum analyser is upwards of £1500 :D

You could always fit it yourself and just get someone in to align it, that should bring the cost down.
 
Wolfbane indicates that you are only 3 miles from a local repeater (Brierley Hill) and 13 miles from Sutton Coldfield. I'd guess that your installation won't need to be critical. A wideband (group W) aerial will work for either transmitter.

Which transmitter you choose is impossible for me to suggest - except that, if you can SEE either of them, then that's the one! Or, look at what the neighbours have.

If you choose Brierley Hill then it's important to note the elements on the aerial need to be oriented vertically; for Sutton Coldfield, it's horizontal.
 
i have just bought myself a 37" samsung l87rdbx model which has a freeview built in. i dont have access to an external aerial and will require help in deciding which one would be the best for me and where to get one from :lease:


this is my post code - dy1 2rb, i have looked on the following websites and put in the post code but the information is just going over my head.


http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe?DX=L&HT=10&OS=dy12rb


:lease:help

What the wolfbane PREDICTOR is telling you is that Brierley Hill may produce a field strength at your location of 53dBµV/m (note MAY as it is a predictor!) and that Sutton Coldfield may produce a field strength of 52dBµV/m. So there is really nothing in either. However Brierley Hill appears to be a "fill in" transmitter perhaps because of local terrain and so may not be the best choice at your location...or it may be better than Sutton Coldfield! Who can say is it a fill in for your location?..so the best option is to look at what everyone else in the road has their aerials pointing to. Remember the Wolfbane predictor assumes that the ERP from a transmitter is the same in all directions.

For Brierley Hill you would need as a minimum a group CD antenna and it would need to be installed Vertically Polorized (elements at 90 degrees to the ground) where as Sutton Coldfield would require a group E antenna installed Horizontally (elements parallel to the ground)

So as to keep your options open as to which transmitter you finally decide to use then it would be appropriate to use a wideband aerial (given that DVB-T from both transmitters are in the higher end of the UHF band there will be little or no loss of signal compaired with using a groupted antenna.)

As for the size of antenna really again look at what everyone else has in the road. But note that Wideband are "bigger beasts" than groupted aerials so you need to count the elements of other installations, ideally simple groupted aerials..

Whatever antenna you finally decide to use ensure that it has a BALUN as this will reduce impulsive noise....the curse of DVB-T!

I myself use a Televes DAT45 for receiving from Sandy Heath. It is CAI bench mark two and like all Televes products is of good physical construction (the CAI bench marking process only deals with electrical performance not physical construction) www.televes.com

The DAT range of products is actually good in that should you need to provide amplification that can be acheived by the fitting of a margin raising device right in the aerial by replacement of the simple dipole.

Also note that the Wolbane predictor is at default 10 meters. If at your location you reduce this to 5 meters there is no change to the prediction for Brierley Hill where as Sutton Coldfield reduces to 47dBµV/m. Which is still of suffient field strength to receive DVB-T.

As example at my own location my field strength for Crystal Palace is 28dBµV/m and DVB-T is still achievable abit with an amplifier.

Finally you don't need a spectrum Analyser to aligh your aerial. I've put up dozens of aerials without, just make a final position adjust by inspection of an analogue picture.

I hope my post has been of use :)
 
Your home NGR is SO932907 and the Megalithia terrain map shows you have a clear line of sight to the Brierley Hill transmitter.

http://www.megalithia.com/elect/terrain.php?ngr=SO932907&ngr1=SO916856&bht=10&dht=49

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GridConvert&name=DY1+2RB&type=PostCode

Likewise there are also no obstructions shown between your home and the Sutton Coldfield transmitter.

http://www.megalithia.com/elect/terrain.php?ngr=SO932907&ngr1=SK113003&bht=10&dht=226

I would have thought that an ordinary 18 element aerial should provide excellent reception on freeview provided it is correctly aligned.

Have a look around your neighbours homes to see what type of aerials they are using and what transmitter they are using (vertical for BH and horizontal for SC). Perhaps those with no visible outside aerial are using loft aerials. It seems to be a perfect location.
 
i forgot to mention that i will be fixing this to the side of the house as access to the chimney is restriced, dont know if this will make a difference?

:lease:help

It will make a difference if the transmitter is located to the other side of the building.
 
wow a big thanks to everyone, i seem to understand now. what i will do tommorow i have a look what my neighbours have got and which way their aerials are pointing and take it from there

just about to go out now so will have a look at those links in detail when i get back

big thanks for explaining this to me:thumbsup:
 
It will make a difference if the transmitter is located to the other side of the building.

Not if you locate the fixing brackets high enough up on the "A" frame of the building's roof and then the mast is of sufficient length to allow the antenna to "look over" the roof top, if required.
 
Hi all!

Interesting reading! I've been looking for something like this since I got the new TV. This is what I get from the Wolfbane predictor...

http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe?DX=M&HT=8&OS=B797TU


With these results, would any of these be a good choice...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Triax-QR18-...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1199398930&sr=1-54

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Triax-SG14-...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1199398715&sr=1-42

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Triax-SG18-...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1199398715&sr=1-34


Or, if these are no good, does anyone have any other suggestions?

Many thanks in advance!:thumbsup:
 
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Hi all!

Interesting reading! I've been looking for something like this since I got the new TV. This is what I get from the Wolfbane predictor...

http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe?DX=M&HT=8&OS=B797TU


With these results, would any of these be a good choice...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Triax-QR18-...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1199398930&sr=1-54

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Triax-SG14-...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1199398715&sr=1-42

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Triax-SG18-...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1199398715&sr=1-34


Or, if these are no good, does anyone have any other suggestions?

Many thanks in advance!:thumbsup:

With a predicted field strength of 66dBµV/m the Wolbane suggestion of "log-periodic" seems appropriate.

http://www.blake-uk.com/page/aerial_benchmark/aerial_dml

The Blake predictor also for your post code suggests log periodic http://www.blake-uk.com/search.aspx

I hope my post has been of use :)
 
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