Inconspicuous TV aerial. Anyone got one of these?

[junior]

Has anyone got or tried one of these television aerials on their boat?

 

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=390807330235&alt=web

 

 

I'm looking for a TV aeriel that is very discreet, yet as useful as possible of a mobile omni-directional aerial. I'm looking for something that I can keep inside the boat during the day but then stick outside at night without much hassle.

 

This one I've found on ebay seems to fit the bill but it would be nice to hear from someone that they are not a load of rubbish before I fork out for one. I could keep it magnetted inside the pigeon box during the day and then just put it out by hand at night.

[WotEver]

... it would be nice to hear from someone that they are not a load of rubbish...

 

They're a load of rubbish.

 

Sorry.

 

In a good signal area they'll pull in a signal. In a marginal area they won't.

 

Tony

[Nickhlx]

Generally, the smaller an aerial is the less signal it can pick up. I would be surprised if this aerial were able to pick up enough signal unless you were quite close to the transmitter and if you are more than a few miles from it, it would definitely need to be on the roof and in the clear, and with no obstructions between you and the transmitter - hills, or even banks / cuttings would effectively kill the signal as well...

 

Nick

[Guest]

 

They're a load of rubbish.

 

Sorry.

 

In a good signal area they'll pull in a signal. In a marginal area they won't.

 

Tony

 

Agree. We used to moor and boat in a relatively strong signal area and tried one of those it was rubbish. I sent mine back to Amazon and got a full refund.

[Sea Dog]

They're all correct up to a point. However, I have a similar aerial, in fact a much less expensive (under a fiver) tiny 6" wire antenna job from Amazon iirc. Does it get me great tv all the time? No. Does it get me all the channels on my home mooring? Yes, absolutely. How does it do out and about? We have good tv about 30% of the time, a few channels 30% of the time and nothing worth having for the other 40%. If you simply can't miss an episode of The Only Way Is Essex look elsewhere or have a log periodic you can deploy. If, like me, it's nice to have a bit of telly now and then or a catch up with visual news sometimes it's bang on. Unobtrusive? it definitely is. Was it worth a fiver? You bet!

 

ETA - It has a magnetic base and sits nicely on the roof under my cratch cover.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Sea Dog

[bottle]

As with all aerials it works if it can 'see' the transmitter.

 

I have a similar one, mainly for digital radio (DAB) and it works for that.

 

It works better in the country than urban areas for TV.

 

I always fall back to satellite.

[John Williamson 1955]

I've got an almost identical one from Maplin, and it needs a booster even in West London. I did, however, pay about half the price quoted here.

 

Maplin have an internal/ external one with a built in booster on offer at the moment for a fiver:-

 

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/indoor-or-outdoor-tv-aerial-with-signal-booster-a25cx

 

Might be worth a punt at that price.

[Markinaboat]

Have one of these and it's brilliant. Perfect 100% quality and signal strength next to a steel road bridge.

 

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/one-for-all-outdoorindoor-tv-and-radio-aerial-n91nx

 

More tech info here:

http://www.oneforall.co.uk/digital-aerials/sv9455-full-hd-outdoor-tv-aerial.html

[Wanted]

We have one of these, quite small and really good signal,

 

Called an omnimax or summut!

 

[Boredrider]

I'm looking for a TV aeriel that is very discreet, yet as useful as possible of a mobile omni-directional aerial. I'm looking for something that I can keep inside the boat during the day but then stick outside at night without much hassle.

 

The Maplin equivalent is cheaper, and will perform quite well, but only with an amplifier at the TV end IME. The omnimax is less discreet, and perfoms better in areas with a weaker signal, but again with an amplifier. I think you have to balance discreet directly against performance!

[Dinz]

Can only speak as I find.

Got this.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007JPOX8O?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00

 

Put on roof. Tuned set.

Got 44 freeview channels & 23 radio.

Am in the fields near Pewsey wharf k&a

Not the best reception area even with a good aerial.

Well pleased.

Cheap too.

[Sea Dog]

The thing about an Omni-directional aerial is that it picks up signals from all directions. Some of these you want, some you don't, some are just noise. If it doesn't work too well, you may try an amplifier. Which of those signals does it amplify? All of them, including the noise. An Omni is a sub-optimal solution, but is ok sometimes. An amplified Omni is the same - but "louder". If you want to use an amplifier to boost the signal, you need to make sure it's only boosting the signal you want.

 

Omnis are ok sometimes. If that's enough, you're ok with a very discrete little Omni - sometimes. If that's not enough, you need a directional, and therefore more selective, antenna . A log periodic would then be the aerial of choice for digital TV.

 

 

Edited to remove phone auto-correct typos.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Sea Dog

[blackrose]

I wouldn't say they're rubbish, I've had good results from mine and it only cost about 10 quid. But in weak signal areas even high gain antennas may not work and then the only thing to use is a satellite dish.

Edited March 10, 2015 by blackrose

[Sea Dog]

I wouldn't say they're rubbish, I've had good results from mine and it only cost about 10 quid. But in weak signal areas even high gain antennas may not work and then the only thing to use is a satellite dish.

Neither would I. Mine was less than a fiver and does what I need as I said earlier. Certainly inconspicuous, which was the original brief, as long as you're happy with the limitations.

[Guest]

Neither would I. Mine was less than a fiver and does what I need as I said earlier. Certainly inconspicuous, which was the original brief, as long as you're happy with the limitations.

I wouldn't say they're rubbish, I've had good results from mine and it only cost about 10 quid. But in weak signal areas even high gain antennas may not work and then the only thing to use is a satellite dish.

But mine was used in an area where the TV signal is so strong I often didn't have to bother aligning the aerial - often I just left it laid on the roof. Because of this I was pretty sure one of these would work but it just didn't in a good few locations or if it sometimes did it was often only after it had to be moved to another position on the roof.

 

Of course mine could have been faulty but it remains true that at the end of the day anything that cannot be properly aligned towards the transmitter and have it's polarisation changed if required is ALWAYS going to be a compromise. That is why houses have 'proper' TV aerials (in the main) and not something you just plonk on the roof and hope for the best.

 

Of course all that said if you can find one cheap enough they may still be worth a punt for when it might work, I just got fed up of trying mine first and then resorting to the log periodic anyway. So in my experience I think the term 'rubbish' is pretty well justified.

Edited March 11, 2015 by MJG

[Zayna]

We've got this and it's brill:

 

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/dtv1000-outdoor-digital-aerial-a12kf?gclid=CKKn36KYoMQCFQHMtAodJBAA5A

 

The only thing is that the suction cup on the bottom of the stand has lost a bit of strength but at weekend we just laid the aerial box on the roof and it still worked.

 

eta: even cheaper on ebay:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DigiPro-DTV-1000-12v-24v-Amplified-Truck-Caravan-Motorhome-Digital-TV-Aerial-/221615919854?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item33995692ee

Edited March 11, 2015 by Zayna

[Bimbly1]

Can only speak as I find.

Got this.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007JPOX8O?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00

 

Put on roof. Tuned set.

Got 44 freeview channels & 23 radio.

Am in the fields near Pewsey wharf k&a

Not the best reception area even with a good aerial.

Well pleased.

Cheap too.

Agreed. Pleased with mine overall. Some blind spots, often in unexpected locations but sure beats trying to line a dish up through trees, hedges, building etc.

[by'eck]

Has anyone got or tried one of these television aerials on their boat?

 

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=390807330235&alt=web

 

 

I'm looking for a TV aeriel that is very discreet, yet as useful as possible of a mobile omni-directional aerial. I'm looking for something that I can keep inside the boat during the day but then stick outside at night without much hassle.

 

This one I've found on ebay seems to fit the bill but it would be nice to hear from someone that they are not a load of rubbish before I fork out for one. I could keep it magnetted inside the pigeon box during the day and then just put it out by hand at night.

 

If its inconspicuous it won't work - get a full size log periodic.

[Nickhlx]

Signals from main transmitters are transmitted with horizontal polarisation and repeaters ( usually) with vertical polarisation. An omni is usually vertical and if you are trying to receive from a main transmitter (horizontal), you are immediately at a 20 dB disadvantage. Every 3 dB is a halving / doubling of the signal strength - 20 dB is approximately the whole gain or more of a log periodic beam antenna. Amplified aerials, whilst they have their place, amplify both the wanted signal and the noise, so will not replace a good ( big !) aerial that will capture much more signal than a small aerial or whip. Height gain is also very significant, so always have the aerial well above the metal roof ( at least a metre) and a further metre or two will approximately double the signal that can be captured. Any nearby ( less than a few hundred yards) vertical conductors in the path of the signal will upset what arrives at the antenna ( e.g gasometers / pylons / most modern buildings with steel reinforced concrete within, and the nearer they are the more effect they will have on the signal... It is also worth moving the aerial on a steel roof around to find the best strength if things are marginal, as the initial choice of location may be in a "trough" of signal. TV signals are centred on around 600 Mhz at which frequency the wavelength is approx 50 cms, and the signal strength will vary from peak to trough over about 25 cms

 

Of course all this matters little if you are in sight of the aerial and no more than a few miles away, but hopefully the above may help people find a better signal in less strong locations...

 

Nick