TV aerial for a CC boat

[jonk]

Hi all,

I am going to add a TV to my boat (57' narrowboat constantly cruising) and am confused about what aerial is best in my circumstances.

I have been variously advised that a dish is best and that a terrestial/omnidirectional is best! What I am looking for is one that will get me Freeview stations at most places, both in town and moored in the country. I thought that a satellite dish would be best in the countryside but I could well be wrong!

Anyone got any firsthand knowledge that they are willing to share?

 

Thanks,

John

[bottle]

John

 

Freeview is terrestrial, so the best aerial will be a 'Log Periodic 40'

 

Freesat is satellite, so a dish is required.

 

 

Both will work if they can see the transmitter/satellite, buildings,trees etc. will affect the signal reception of both.

 

ps. we have a dish and if we cannot get a signal we find something else to do.

[jonk]

John

 

Freeview is terrestrial, so the best aerial will be a 'Log Periodic 40'

 

Freesat is satellite, so a dish is required.

 

 

Both will work if they can see the transmitter/satellite, buildings,trees etc. will affect the signal reception of both.

 

ps. we have a dish and if we cannot get a signal we find something else to do.

 

Ok - thanks for that! Which is best do you think - Freeview or Freesat, or are they the same stations delivered differently?

 

Thanks,

 

John

[john6767]

Unless you want Sky pay channels, then you may as well use Freeview (terrestial) when you can, the TV has that built in. All you need is an aerial, ofwhich there are lots of choice, and I think it will depend on where you are and the TV signal strength. We just us a omni directional "egg whisk" and that is fine most of the time for us in the Midlands particularly since analogue was switched off. I also have a directional aerial for when the "egg whisk" will not pull in a signal.

 

As a back up I have a free to air satellite system, last year I used it only once I think, and the was in Llangollen basin when I could get some channels on Freeview but not BBC1 which I wanted for the Olympics!

[by'eck]

Hi all,

I am going to add a TV to my boat (57' narrowboat constantly cruising) and am confused about what aerial is best in my circumstances.

I have been variously advised that a dish is best and that a terrestial/omnidirectional is best! What I am looking for is one that will get me Freeview stations at most places, both in town and moored in the country. I thought that a satellite dish would be best in the countryside but I could well be wrong!

Anyone got any firsthand knowledge that they are willing to share?

 

Thanks,

John

 

This freeview (terrestrial) log periodic aerial has never failed for me. It just lies on the roof pointing at nearest transmitter. Just check with local houses for direction and polarity.

 

[Grace and Favour]

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What Bottle said, (and, of course, if your TV hasn't Freeview/Freesat included in its gubbins - then you will need to by the relevant box)

 

 

(We use Freesat - and find it excellent)

[bottle]

Ok - thanks for that! Which is best do you think - Freeview or Freesat, or are they the same stations delivered differently?

 

Thanks,

 

John

 

All main channels are the same. BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and their derivatives Some of the less known channels vary..

 

EDIT: spelling

Edited March 23, 2013 by bottle

[Guest]

What they said.

 

We can get a picture with a log Periodic simply laid on the boat roof and it gets us a picture 95% of the time.

 

Freesat as backup in the form of a cheap Bush Freesat receiver from Argos and a sky dish off eBay.

[jonk]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like a terrestrial would be best for me then.

 

John

[Guest]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like a terrestrial would be best for me then.

 

John

 

Make sure you get a decent aerial though _ got mine from here -

 

http://www.aerialsandtv.com/onlineaerials.html#Log40

 

First one arrived damaged in transit and he helpfully replaced it without waiting for me to return the damaged one.

[jonathanA]

Personally i wouldn't bother with all that malarkey of aerials that need pointing in the right direction, get one of the magnetic stubby things like this

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Magnetic-Base-DVB-T-HDTV-Digital-Freeview-15dBi-Antenna-TV-Coaxial-/380535079504?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5899a88250

 

there are various types - some need to be powered either from the tv (not all TVs can do that) or via a little power adapter, ours is mains powered but as the TV is its no big deal. some are 12v which might be better for you.

 

I find the performance comparable to a big clear off aerial that we used to have to put together, set up and point in the right direction.

 

using one of these things it just works.

[GSer]

There are some tv's available now that have both a freeview and a freesat decoder built in.

[Guest]

Personally i wouldn't bother with all that malarkey of aerials that need pointing in the right direction, get one of the magnetic stubby things like this

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Magnetic-Base-DVB-T-HDTV-Digital-Freeview-15dBi-Antenna-TV-Coaxial-/380535079504?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5899a88250

 

there are various types - some need to be powered either from the tv (not all TVs can do that) or via a little power adapter, ours is mains powered but as the TV is its no big deal. some are 12v which might be better for you.

 

I find the performance comparable to a big clear off aerial that we used to have to put together, set up and point in the right direction.

 

using one of these things it just works.

 

Mmmmm I might risk a tenner on one of those....

[keble]

This freeview (terrestrial) log periodic aerial has never failed for me. It just lies on the roof pointing at nearest transmitter. Just check with local houses for direction and polarity.

 

If you can't see any aerials to help you with direction then try this web page that I put together for many waterways.

Shows you where to point it

Edited March 23, 2013 by keble

[jodansgang]

We have a very similar aerial to one of those jonathanA and have used it with great success all over England.Works perfectly on the boat too!

[Dave_P]

I have an iphone app called aerial finder uk. it tells me which direction to point my aerial. seems to do a good job.

[WotEver]

I have an iphone app called aerial finder uk. it tells me which direction to point my aerial. seems to do a good job.

I have one called Antenna Aligner - also good (and free).

 

Tony

[OldGoat]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like a terrestrial would be best for me then.

 

John

 

 

The problem with your type of question is that the answers and angled by the responders location.

If you are going to cruise widely, you can ALWAYS get a satellite connection AS LONG AS your dish has a clear view of 28.2 degrees East (no trees or high hedges blocking the view). The set is always tuned all you have to do is to find where 28.2 degrees is

For Freeview it depends where you moor. In good areas a stup / omni will do in lesser areas a log periodic is best in poor areas - watch a video

In addition you have to know where the transmitter is; especially if there are no houses with aerials already mounted

Then you have to retune the receiver..

 

The man who says Freesat is all about Sky. Not So. Freesat has most of the Freeview channels and some more. Nothing to do with Sky.

 

 

For me it's satellite first Freeview second.

[RickH]

i went to Maplins and got the biggest long arial I could and have over 280 channels , of which I watch 4 . I also have an omni directional and have found that sometimes it works better than my great big arial on a pole . But the one item you must get is a signal booster , get a 24v NOT the ones that work off batteries , it makes a huge difference .

 

The only problem with the big arial is pulling it down and leaving atop the boat , it's a bit cumbersome , and if you're not careful will snag branches etc en route .

[WotEver]

i went to Maplins and got the biggest long arial I could...

 

Should have gone here instead

 

You'd have got the same reception with a more suitable aerial.

 

Tony

[john6767]

i went to Maplins and got the biggest long arial I could and have over 280 channels , of which I watch 4 . I also have an omni directional and have found that sometimes it works better than my great big arial on a pole . But the one item you must get is a signal booster , get a 24v NOT the ones that work off batteries , it makes a huge difference .

 

The only problem with the big arial is pulling it down and leaving atop the boat , it's a bit cumbersome , and if you're not careful will snag branches etc en route .

 

There are not 280 channels on terrestial TV. If you are getting that many you must picking up signals from multiple transmitters and there will be repeated channels. With the onni directional aerial I find that happens as well you get signals from multiple transmitters.

[Psycloud]

There are some tv's available now that have both a freeview and a freesat decoder built in.

 

We recently bought a Samsung like this (and have it connected to the dish), and it also records TV onto a USB stick, streams HD content from iPlayer etc via the 3 dongle, plays video and music from any of the laptops (or our little server) - and doesn't require any set top boxes to do all this. I think we ditched 3 boxes when we got this TV, very pleased.