what aerial

[phillpayne]

hi all,
well i have been searching the web all afternoon looking for info for dig tv arials, i have one up there that is getting a reasonable signal for dig tv, however i have to renew the wifes setup, and i want to have it upto date so am going all dig.

so i am expecting to update my arial, and downlead, and i have been looking into what one to get, i am a belt and bracers man, so at the moment i have two transmitters that are only about 30 deg apart, and i aimed to old one down the middle, which gave me two regions of ITV, god only knows what one i have up there at the moment, but it now comes down to getting a good one, one transmitter is group A Hor 12miles and the other is group W Hor 26miles(ermmmmm )

now as i said belt and bracers, my normal answer would be get the biggest and badist wideband one and chuck that up, but whats the penalties, i am going to need it to be good, as i will be hanging a pvr as well as the dig tv off of it,

if i go for overkill, big butch wideband, am i liable to overdo it, on one site it suggested a amplified extra hi gain,(well i will have to see what that is anyway) to get the W hor one, see it does not stop at overkill

can i over do it, is the signal that specific????, i still want to stand in the middle and get both transmitters so whats the best

thanks for your thoughts
phill

 

[rolfw]

Hi Phil,

Most High gain aerials have a 12 to 15 degree angle of reception, so you will be right on the edge if you aim between the two transmitters, I'm presuming that one of them is Crystal Palace, the group A transmitter?

By trying to pull in two transmitters, you run the risk of falling between two stools and not getting the best of either.

I tend to use XG10 or Unix 52 aerials, both of which give excellent results, but sometimes use the Televes DAT 45 or 75 for extra gain.

 

[phillpayne]

hi rolf,
yes m8, and bluebell hill,and now after checking again, i need croydon, for 5, so i have BB at 235 deg, CP at 269 deg, and C at 267deg, so what i have probably done already is to point toward CP as prime target, and offset toward Bluebell, as that one is nearer, cos i get every channel available for this area, just need to make sure its as good as i can for dig, thanks for the info regarding the aerials, ( i thought i had spelt it wrong) i am guessing that the best bet for my replacement lead would be sat cable??
regards
voith

 

[rolfw]

Yes, sat cable is now pretty much standard for good aerial installations.

 

[phillpayne]

hi rolfw,
thanks m8, i have been doing some investigations, following your suggestions, and am narrowing down my choices, i will not need something as tight as a dat, but looking for as wide a beamwidth as i can, however, the brakes have gone on, as H<I<D has put her foot down,

but what info i can not find, is what is classed as a low/medium/high reception area, there must be a ballpark guide somewhere, ie, 12 miles or less high, etc.

also another thing that i have not seen, (oh by the way i read the bible from satcure) is what are the nono distances from other aerials.

best regards
phil

 

[rolfw]

Been looking at the digital multiplexes for Bluebell Hill and it transmits everything, why do you need a second transmitter? All it does is complicate matters and on some digital set top boxes, causes problems, as they don't know which region to use as default channels, or will select the lower frequencies, even if they are not the best reception (Crystal Palace).

 

[phillpayne]

hi rolfw,
belt and bracers again i am afraid, H I Ds watches southern (old) and i watch london, well i should say we both do, bbc and itv show different regional programs, i know it only a small thing, but the setup i have at the moment with my old ondig box, i have both regions and at times give us an even greater choice, (sad isn't it) i know it sounds like i am dripping on, but i try to get it the best i can, even with my tatty wideband i have up there at the moment, i have just gone through all the mux's on both transmitters, and i am getting no less than 50% up to 70% signal.

anyway, i think i might upgrade the aerial anyway, and have to wait until H, I ,Ds allows me to spend some more money

best regards
phil