Tv aerial help, please!

[GBDG1]

Due to my current situation it is impossible to fit a standard outdoor high gain Aerial. However, I would really quite like digital but with a standard indoor aerial this is impossible . I recently came across this Aerial however

http://www.turbosat.com/acatalog/TV_Aerials.html

It seems perfect for what I need because i can just "no more nails" the bugger to the wall, however, I dont know it if will provide a suitably good signal. Also I am reluctant to spend 60 quid unless i know it will be good.

I recently spoke to an Aerial fitter and he said it is possible to get reception good enough for digital where I am, so it is just a matter of getting the right Aerial.

Can anyone offer any opinions on this? If so could anyone suggest any alternatives, preferably abit cheaper but a similar type of thing.

I have spent hours looking for around the net at this stuff to abseloutly no avail, and I would be extremly gratful if anyone could offer any sort of advice.

Cheers

 

[Nick_UK]

I suspect most of the "gain" of this aerial is in the amplifier, and the problem with amplifiers is that they pick up a lot of unwanted stuff (passing taxi-cabs, CB radio, interference from household appliances). The whole point of having an aerial outside on the roof is not just to get the highest signal, but to get the aerial as far as possible from sources of interference. Interference is annoying on analogue TV, but it is an absolute menace on digital TV.

 

[GBDG1]

hmm...

I live on the fourth floor, so really I would expect to get a good signal with any aerial (as I am only 5 miles from transmitter) however the walls here seem to be made of some strange material which seems to stop all signals. If I acctually shove an aerial out of the window it seems to work ok, I acctually have a standard high gain aerial which I have no way of fitting, so it sits in a cupboard, however when I tried this it (using said shoving out of window technique) it produced a good pricture.

If that aerial is rubbish could anyone suggest any alternatives that are a similar sort of design?

(Also I was wondering if the fact I live under a massive water tank would affect things?)

 

[GBDG1]

Anybody? please!

 

[maldonian]

Finding the right position indoors is probably more important than the type of aerial. Some set top aerials perform quite well, I sometimes use a Tesco Value one (about £2) for watching F1 on a portable TV while parked at outdoor events. I suggest you get yourself a long enough length of decent TV coax (not the thin white stuff used in cheap pre-packed extension leads) and a set top aerial. Fit a plug on one end of the coax and socket on the other (or a plug and a joiner) to make an extension lead for the aerial. Then try moving the aerial systematically around the room or flat to see if you can find a spot that gives good reception. Try high and low, and every nook and cranny, though obviously you want a spot that's going to be practical. Your body will have some effect when you're holding (or near to) the aerial. If you find a good position, you could then try your high gain aerial, but you may find it doesn't make much difference indoors.

 

[mastanlem]

Due to my current situation it is impossible to fit a standard outdoor high gain Aerial. However, I would really quite like digital but with a standard indoor aerial this is impossible . I recently came across this Aerial however

http://www.turbosat.com/acatalog/TV_Aerials.html

It seems perfect for what I need because i can just "no more nails" the bugger to the wall, however, I dont know it if will provide a suitably good signal. Also I am reluctant to spend 60 quid unless i know it will be good.

I recently spoke to an Aerial fitter and he said it is possible to get reception good enough for digital where I am, so it is just a matter of getting the right Aerial.

Can anyone offer any opinions on this? If so could anyone suggest any alternatives, preferably abit cheaper but a similar type of thing.

I have spent hours looking for around the net at this stuff to abseloutly no avail, and I would be extremly gratful if anyone could offer any sort of advice.

Cheers

Hi I'm new to this forum, but you could try getting an indoor digital aerial from Argos, They do a nice looking upright one, which I found was good in getting a digital signal for my Dab radio even though it was listed as a digital tv one.

 

[ROYOLD]

You state you are only five miles from the transmitter and on the 4th floor. This sounds like a modern building and it is possible that some kind of metal foil may be in the wall insulation. This will stop the RF signals passing through and will certainly affect your reception on an indoor aerial.

If your window(s) are in line with the transmitter then you should get reasonable results with an indoor aerial.

 

[Figment]

If you are in a flat what have you been using for a analogue aerial until now ? is there no communial one ? if there is and it is reasonably modern and so close to the transmitter surely you could get freeview via that. I know someone in this sort of situaton who gets great freeview signals this way.
Re the aerial from Turbosat they are a very reputable company so the goods they sell should be of reliable quality.

 

[jon stallard]

I've lived in two flats over the past couple of years and as they usually contain ferkin great big metal girders it's almost impossible to get reception on an indoor aerial, regardless of the quality of the aerial.

That said, if you live on the side of the flat that's facing the transmitter, or I should say a window roughly facing the right way, it is possible cos I've done it in one of the flats. The other one faced the wrong way and only had windows on one side so there was no chance.

Then again, because of the sheer amount of steelwork, you usually get a communal aerial so it's just a case of pluggin in your freeview receiver and off you go, so long as there's a handy socket.

Plus you'll usually find that fixing your own aerial up will contravine some rules in the small print so you'll get a polite notice to remove it.

Flat life eh

 

[GBDG1]

Cheers for all your help.

There is no communal aerial where I am, at present I have an indoor aerial but the reception is pretty poor so I don't watch tv really. The windows are kinda pointing in the right direction, but to get the right direction you have to lean out the window and point it.

I have also been looking at caravan aerials, any opinions?