Best tv aerial

[Welby1965]

Probably been posted and asked about a million times but what is the best aerial for a narrow boat?

[mrsmelly]

15 minutes ago, Welby1965 said:

Probably been posted and asked about a million times but what is the best aerial for a narrow boat?

Log periodic, about a tenner. 

[matty40s]

One that works when you are going round bends so you can cruise in peace whilst the family watch soaps.

Just now, mrsmelly said:

Log periodic, about a tenner. 

Isn't that an occasional toilet?

[Dr Bob]

It all depends on where you will use your boat.

If you are parked in a marina full time and 10 miles from the nearest TV mast then anything will work. The moonraker is then a good option. Small, slick, low profile, up all the time without hitting bridges etc.

If however you are out and about covering the network then you will find yourselves in areas where the 'small' antennas dont work well ie when you are 40 miles+  from the nearest mast and then the log periodic that Mr Smelly suggests is ideal. We've got both....but now given up and use a satellite dish!

[OldGoat]

All of the above. Brevity from Mrs Melly has it all if you're in the westish midlands. Other places - well it all depends.

If you dont know where you are - or more sensilbly where you will be, then there's no simple answer.

Where we are there's a black signal hole, so I carry a flat satellite dish - to cover most eventualities.

 

IMO - as MM writes, a small log periodic  will do the job (I tried a long one in a weak signal area and it made no real difference and was a pain to store.

[Keeping Up]

Yes it all depends where you are. We use an old Omnimax for 90% of the time, except when we are on the southern S&W where mainly nothing works. You will often see poor reports about the Omnimax, especially from people who expect it to work when the cable is broken, but we get good results. For most of the remaining 10% of the time an old indoor set-top aerial on the roof is fine (using the Omnimax's pre-amplifier) and for the remaining few times, perhaps 3% of the total, we resort to the satellite dish.

[The Dreamer]

Lots of good advice here...

 

https://www.aerialsandtv.com/knowledge/aerials/aerials-for-caravans-and-boats

[PD1964]

Have just tried a Shakespeare Anywhere HDTV aerial which was a waste of £85 only got 56 Freeview channels, this replaced an old One For All indoor aerial placed outside getting 148 channels now back on and the Shakesepeare returned. As mentioned check how close you are to your transmitter, that is what matters, I've found the cheap HDTV small flat aerials work fine if you are in range of a transmitter and easier to disguise on the roof then a full size house aerial.

  The quality of the TV and the decoder inside plays a big part in the channels you can get too, also use a good quality shielded coax and keep the length to just what you need. It's not just the aerial that determines the reception quality.

Edited March 6, 2020 by PD1964

[bizzard]

Reception very bad here in Stortford, the only aerials that work well enough are the big Wide band jobs. Log period and all the other fancy stuff, no good. Too many trees for dishes.

[OldGoat]

30 minutes ago, bizzard said:

Reception very bad here in Stortford, the only aerials that work well enough are the big Wide band jobs. Log period and all the other fancy stuff, no good. Too many trees for dishes.

 

Edited March 6, 2020 by OldGoat
Musn't speak ill if the dead...

[Jen-in-Wellies]

1 hour ago, bizzard said:

Reception very bad here in Stortford, the only aerials that work well enough are the big Wide band jobs. Log period and all the other fancy stuff, no good. Too many trees for dishes.

This is because standard Meccano holes aren't the right spacing to make a log periodic aerial that work properly. ?

[bizzard]

42 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

This is because standard Meccano holes aren't the right spacing to make a log periodic aerial that work properly. ?

Trix made better aerials, more holes in the strips.

[GUMPY]

One thing I find useful is an app called Freepoint UK shows me the direction to point the Antenna or Sat dish. Aimed at caravaners using site postcodes  but works just as well on GPS/ phone location. Its expensive at £1 a year.

 

[WotEver]

15 hours ago, Keeping Up said:

You will often see poor reports about the Omnimax, especially from people who expect it to work when the cable is broken, but we get good results.

As did we

[OldGoat]

I bought an omnimax many years ago - and It just didn't work in Henley - Ya - perhaps it didn't like the pink coats of the locals, or more sensibly it doesn't work in fring areas, or those with horizonta polarisation.

[Keeping Up]

1 hour ago, OldGoat said:

I bought an omnimax many years ago - and It just didn't work in Henley - Ya - perhaps it didn't like the pink coats of the locals, or more sensibly it doesn't work in fring areas, or those with horizonta polarisation.

It definitely doesn't care whether the polarisation is vertical or horizontal, but no it doesn't like fringe areas.

[WotEver]

3 hours ago, Keeping Up said:

... no it doesn't like fringe areas.

No omni aerial does. That’s where the log periodic shines. 

[robtheplod]

We ditched our aerial and just stream... much easier and no licence required...

[Machpoint005]

On 06/03/2020 at 18:34, mrsmelly said:

Log periodic, about a tenner. 

 

Wot he said - try Screwfix.

[BWM]

We use a one for all aerial, about £80 for the best one and is a small, flat box so no pole needed. Even works on the move, much to my daughter's delight. 

[Machpoint005]

13 hours ago, BWM said:

We use a one for all aerial, about £80 for the best one and is a small, flat box so no pole needed. Even works on the move, much to my daughter's delight. 

 

Blimey! Our telly didn't cost 80 squid!

[Dr Bob]

14 hours ago, BWM said:

We use a one for all aerial, about £80 for the best one and is a small, flat box so no pole needed. Even works on the move, much to my daughter's delight. 

...but it wont work as well as a log periodic (£10) once 30-40Km from the mast.

[doratheexplorer]

I use this https://www.amazon.co.uk/SLx-Directional-Amplified-Integrated-Installation/dp/B00D76GSBE/ref=asc_df_B00D76GSBE/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=205215094696&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11267839707691446282&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006969&hvtargid=pla-441259973446&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

 

It's called an SLX Digidome and I run it with a signal booster plugged in.  I have never moored anywhere where it didn't pick up.  I never have to adjust it to point towards a transmitter.  I previously had a log periodic and used to have to spend ages with an app trying to point it at a transmitter with variable results.  It's unobtrusive and I don't have to remove it for low bridges.  It cost £30.  You can believe my or not, but my experience is that I pick up more channels with this than I could with my log periodic.  To do any better I'd need a 20ft mast.

[Machpoint005]

1 minute ago, doratheexplorer said:

I previously had a log periodic and used to have to spend ages with an app trying to point it at a transmitter with variable results. 

 

My approach is simply to point it in the same direction as other aerials in the vicinity. 

[churchward]

We use a log periodic about a metre long.  Easy to stow away and has been OK much more often than not. We have cruised southern, midland canals and now NW and Wales extensively.  We have a signal strength meter which sometimes helps but looking at where local houses are pointing their aerials is often just as effective.