Which Digital Aerial, How To Choose etc?

[Skiddins]

I live just outside Slough (well, somone has to ;-) and I've been told by a couple of fairly local CAI approved installers that the digital signals where I live should be pretty good.

I'm proably going to replace the aerial on the chimney stack, but how can I choose which one to replace it with, I'd like to avoid paying £70 or more just for labour to have one fitted.

ordering from CPC www.cpc.co.uk , part number - AP00833 for example.

I was thinking of getting a wideband unit to make sure I get the most versatility.
Does the state of the mast make a difference?

Would a high gain be a better bet than a medium gain, will it make much difference as I seem to recall that too much gain on analogue can be just as bad as too little.

Also, will all digital aerials be compatible with analogue signals as we still have analogue on the main TV.

Thanks
Skiddins

 

[Ged]

Why not try and loan a box from a friend, you may find that you don't need to upgrade.
We had Ondigital which kept getting car interference but these new boxes are much better on the same aerial.
Ged

 

[Frankie_D]

I defiately agree with ged get a box first to find out even if you need an upgrade, and yes analogue will still come down any aerial.

 

[mo]

hi,
just had a two friends,one in langley the other in iver.
we installed a high gain antiferrance xg8 wired with raydex ct100 and ct125.
i believe this the way for you to go!

 

[Dave H]

Does anyone know if you can use sky digital coax as aerial wire because it seems a shame too waste it.

cheers Dave.

 

[LV426]

Yes sky coax is just fine (better in fact than regular aerial coax).

In terms of choosing an aerial, be sure to check out what type/group you need here:

http://www.dtg.org.uk/cgi-bin/www.d...details/_tx_index.htm+Transmitter Information

 

[Ged]

If Skiddins is so set on Freeview why suggest an aerial upgrade before the STB? Isn't this like putting the cart before the horse?
Loan or buy the box, it sounds like you intend to anyway, then take it from there.

 

[Skiddins]

Guys, I already have a Pace Twin, the signal is OK, typically 50-55% but I do get dropout which can be very annoying.
I am using a portable aerial at the moment.
Our analogue system downstairs coincidently is getting worse, and the aerial and cable etc on the chimney stack dates from before we had the house, 1980, and it certainly wasn't new then.

So basically, the aerial WILL be upgraded whatever happens.

The reason I ask about the gain etc, is will a high gain aerial also increase the chances of picking up interference.

All the aerials around hear seem to point at Crystal Palace, 32km away, which I believe the most powerfull transmitter there is.

I have noticed that the image I get has very slight ghosting, really only noticable when you get closer to the TV, just around people etc. Is this normal or should I get a superb picture. I am using decent cables with everthing, not the rubish you get with the systems.

Skiddins

 

[LV426]

Higher gain aerials tend to be more directional, which means that they are actually LESS likely to suffer external interference.

But is IS true to say that signal 'cleanliness' is as (if not more) important, in the digital domain, than signal strength. A high gain aerial will produce more signal for the downlead to carry. That means that anything extraneous that the downlead picks up is proportionately smaller and hence you keep your cleanliness up better.

 

[Skiddins]

Sorry, for what probably seem like obvious questions....

So would the absolute ideal be an aerial with high gain, high front/back? (I have no idea what that is!), and wide band so I can pick up channels 21-69.

I notice that my Pace Twin has it's RF modulator set to channel 69, do you know what the effect of changing this channel would be?

I have noticed the section 'UHF Channel Allocation for Analogue and Digital' on the DTT site. SHould I change my RF modulator to one of the digital channels given?

Sorry everyone, but the more I look into this the more confused I become.

Skiddins

 

[LV426]

Originally posted by Skiddins
So would the absolute ideal be an aerial with high gain, high front/back? (I have no idea what that is!), and wide band so I can pick up channels 21-69.

If the DTG website says you need a group W aerial then yes. Be guided by the DTG website. A group W aerial is intrinsically less efficient than a group A, B or C/D aerial - but you have to get the right one for your transmitter. In other words, a W will do the job of any of the others, but possibly not quite as well. So if you only need (say) group A - that's what to get.

Originally posted by Skiddins
I notice that my Pace Twin has it's RF modulator set to channel 69, do you know what the effect of changing this channel would be?

It affects the RF output of the box only - in other words, is only of any use at all if you are watching its signal on a TV using the TV's aerial (RF) lead - and you a spare channel on the TV tuned to (say) channel 69. If you are using a video (composite, SVideo or RGB - SCART) connection to the TV's Ext or AV input, forget it....... providing it isn't set to exactly the same channel number as any of the 'real' channels (analog or digital) from your transmitter (see the DTG website again).

Originally posted by Skiddins
I have noticed the section 'UHF Channel Allocation for Analogue and Digital' on the DTT site. SHould I change my RF modulator to one of the digital channels given?

No. See above. The RF modulator is what the box uses for OUTPUTTING for people who don't have SCARTs etc on their TVs.