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TV Aerial


Dave .Morialta

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Hi All, so you have probably done this topic to death but, any recommendations for a decent aerial are welcome, currently have a Maxveiw VuCube which is great if you have a un-broken view of the southern sky however if a small tree or wasp is in the southern hemisphere the your fxxxxd. I here  that the Moonrakers are good any thoughts is anyone using one?

Thanks Dave 

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4 minutes ago, Dave .Morialta said:

Hi All, so you have probably done this topic to death but, any recommendations for a decent aerial are welcome, currently have a Maxveiw VuCube which is great if you have a un-broken view of the southern sky however if a small tree or wasp is in the southern hemisphere the your fxxxxd. I here  that the Moonrakers are good any thoughts is anyone using one?

Thanks Dave 

 

The only aerial we have ever got along with on the boat is a bog standard log periodic and an aerial alignment app. On the phone.

 

Our caravan has one too except it comes enclosed a plastic case so that it looks a bit posher.

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2 hours ago, The Happy Nomad said:

 

The only aerial we have ever got along with on the boat is a bog standard log periodic and an aerial alignment app. On the phone.

 

Our caravan has one too except it comes enclosed a plastic case so that it looks a bit posher.

100% this. 15 quid from Screwfix for their 15 inch bog standard log periodic, attached to a bit of old shower riser pole and aligned with the 'UK aeriel alignment' app on the phone.

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We used to have a bog standard log periodic. It was ok. We now have a Moonraker DTV 1000. Much better than the bog standard. It's very rare to not get a signal. It needs 12v or 240v power at the TV end. The power goes up the coax cable to the booster inside the aerial. This means that the signal is boosted at its strongest before it heads off down the cable to the telly.

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Tried multiple aerials over the years and should of just stuck to a bog standard cheepo. If you have line of sight you have line of sight, simples! ... 

 

 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/labgear-log-periodic-aerial/67576?kpid=67576&ds_kid=92700055281954487&ds_rl=1249401&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1bzHraGj8wIVCRl7Ch2wJAS_EAQYASABEgIvDfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Edited by reg
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What everybody else says, a basic log periodic but what makes all the difference is the quality of the co-axial cable.

 

We'd tried quite a few different aerials over the years including some quite expensive ones, but still rarely got a tv signal. We finally bit the bullet and called in a local tv aerial company (based in Burton on Trent) and they changed the cable from standard cable to Quad shield co-axial, plus a basic £15 log periodic aerial. It also hadn't helped that I'd made a bit of a bodge of the various connections, so they rectified that too.

 

Much of our co-axial cable runs under the gunwale next to the electricity cables so with the previous cable I don't know how much this had been causing our signal problems with perhaps some interference, but the extra core and insulation of the new quad shield co-axial must have helped to prevent this, because since making the change 2 years ago we get a TV signal 90%+ of the time, and often when mooring up we don't even have to move the aerial from it's 'in transit' position. We've travelled all over the country and very rarely cannot get a signal nowadays. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Greenie 2
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3 minutes ago, Eldog said:

I've searched Signal Finders but most have mixed reviews - has anyone got a recommendation?

 

Ta

A decent pair of binoculars is what I akways used to scan the area and see which way aerials were pointing. Doesnt work in wooded areas but neither does a telly much.

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41 minutes ago, Eldog said:

I've searched Signal Finders but most have mixed reviews - has anyone got a recommendation?

 

Ta

 

I think the guts will be pretty much the same, whatever brand it is, so I would suggest that this will do the job. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Labgear-27866R-Signal-Strength-Freeview-Grey/dp/B002L1YPVG/ref=asc_df_B002L1YPVG/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=205215094696&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13135204139385134903&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007009&hvtargid=pla-443496882658&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

 

They do seem to need a good 9v battery to give the best response.

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1 minute ago, Tony Brooks said:

Thanks Tony

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1 minute ago, Eldog said:

Thanks Tony

 

I think that whatever pole you use, it needs to be long enough for the aerial to see over the top of the hedges, if not then the signal will be reduced by the hedge.

 

My log periodic did feed through an amplifier left over from the squirel cage one that caused ghosting pre-digital, but it was inside the boat. When I  moved the aerial from the front to the back of the boat for easier putting up, I changed it for a two output amplifier so we could watch the TV in one of two cabins. I don't think the amplifier was vital, but I had it. Remember that amplifiers only amplify their inpt, so a crap signal in just gives you a stronger, but rap signal out.

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I dunno what you're all doing wrong, but I have had zero problems with this:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07QW6R6JX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

When I bought the boat it had something similar which stopped working and I replaced it only to find it was the cable playing up, not the aerial.

 

No need for a log periodic which needs adjusting everytime you moor up, and needs taking down every time you move in case it gets snagged on branches.

 

I can't remember the last time I got less than 100 channels when I retune.  I never adjust it or move it.  No apps needed.  It just works.  Iv'e screwed it to one of my roof boxes so it barely sticks up and doesn't snag on anything.  Hedges?   I've moored with dense trees either side of me and picked up all the channels fine.

 

I often gaze in amazement at other boaters erecting their aerial contraptions when then moor and then spend another hour carefully adjusting it to pick up a signal.

 

Aerial technology has clearly moved on.

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1 hour ago, doratheexplorer said:

I dunno what you're all doing wrong, but I have had zero problems with this:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07QW6R6JX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

When I bought the boat it had something similar which stopped working and I replaced it only to find it was the cable playing up, not the aerial.

 

No need for a log periodic which needs adjusting everytime you moor up, and needs taking down every time you move in case it gets snagged on branches.

 

I can't remember the last time I got less than 100 channels when I retune.  I never adjust it or move it.  No apps needed.  It just works.  Iv'e screwed it to one of my roof boxes so it barely sticks up and doesn't snag on anything.  Hedges?   I've moored with dense trees either side of me and picked up all the channels fine.

 

I often gaze in amazement at other boaters erecting their aerial contraptions when then moor and then spend another hour carefully adjusting it to pick up a signal.

 

Aerial technology has clearly moved on.

 

I have never got on with omni directional aerials of any type ever since we first started caravanning 35 years ago. Always found that they were a compromise too far and in weak signal areas were next to useless. The one on the boat was exactly the same.

 

I have tried them at home and again because we are in a weak signal area have never found them any good, even since DTV started.

 

Our directional aerial takes about two minutes to extend up through the roof and rotate to the direction indicated by the app. and 9 times out of 10 we hit a good signal straight away. We occasionally need to fine tune the direction using the signal strength and quality meters on the TV but that is a cinch.

 

I havent tried that particular one I admit but given my experiences over man many years I'd be reluctant to splash out 35 quid and guess I will just carry on 'doing it wrong'.......

 

........or maybe that should be just doing it differently.......

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by The Happy Nomad
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30 minutes ago, The Happy Nomad said:

 

I have never got on with omni directional aerials of any type ever since we first started caravanning 35 years ago. Always found that they were a compromise too far and in weak signal areas were next to useless. The one on the boat was exactly the same.

 

I have tried them at home and again because we are in a weak signal area have never found them any good, even since DTV started.

 

Our directional aerial takes about two minutes to extend up through the roof and rotate to the direction indicated by the app. and 9 times out of 10 we hit a good signal straight away. We occasionally need to fine tune the direction using the signal strength and quality meters on the TV but that is a cinch.

 

I havent tried that particular one I admit but given my experiences over man many years I'd be reluctant to splash out 35 quid and guess I will just carry on 'doing it wrong'.......

 

........or maybe that should be just doing it differently.......

 

 

 

 

 

I expect omni directional aerials have got a lot better then.  You wouldn't be splashing out £35 if it doesn't work.  Free returns.

Edited by doratheexplorer
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Just now, doratheexplorer said:

I expect omni directional aerials have got a lot better then.

 

Possibly.

 

But even the spec. in the description for that one acknowledges it's performance will be subject to 'environmental and terrestrial' conditions or some such. (True of course for any aerial even directional ones).

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Just now, The Happy Nomad said:

 

Possibly.

 

But even the spec. in the description for that one acknowledges it's performance will be subject to 'environmental and terrestrial' conditions or some such. (True of course for any aerial even directional ones).

I can only give my own experience.  I wouldn't dream of bothering with a log periodic.

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5 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

I can only give my own experience.  I wouldn't dream of bothering with a log periodic.

 

Of course you are, and I am doing exactly the same.

 

Your suggestion however that we are 'doing it wrong' by using a directional aerial was incorrect.

 

All that said if I was the OP I would have a punt on the one you linked to. When  i returned mine (but not the same) to Amazon their returns process was as faultless as normal. If his experience proves to be similar they will have lost nothing.

Edited by The Happy Nomad
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Playstore app I use. 

 

UK Arial Alignment 

 

Only rated 3.9 and not maintained since Jan 2017 but I still find the map function very useful, in fact I only really use the map function.

Most of the complaints are about orientation but it is not difficult to manually orientate the map

 

9 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

I've got a Moonraker. Without an extension pole it's next to useless - i can get a signal one day in five. I might try the one mentioned above  or just stick to streaming.

Must admit I have had little success with the moonraker despite giving it a number of chances. Had 3 in total and 2 of them failed after a few months and the 3rd, which was a spare body, just didn't work. 

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I assume that you will be ditching Freesat and going to terrestrial Freeview as your present system is satellite based and all the recommendations have been for terrestrial TV antennas which won't work on a Sat system 😱

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