Omnidirectional aerial success Forums

GeorgeTelford

Hi Peedee

I do get what you are saying re Digital, but doesnt that bring its own set of problems? ie from the maps I have seen amny areas of UK still have mediocre/poor coverage.

A 530 aerial and digital box would give the best of both worlds, ie digital if available and if not at least you would get the usual suspects BBC1 & 2 ITV C4

Whereas with a 315 and set top box you could be in an "all or nothing situation"

ie if the area is not covered well by digital and the reception from analogue is poor, you are left with nothing. (or DVD's and/or Videos)

George

jabber

I believe that there are two versions of the Omnidirectional aerial, I think the original had a booster box and no 'masthead booster' and the latest models have a power supply which feeds the amplifier in the aerial.

I queried this with Grade and told them how helpful it was that they both looked identical!

You can still buy the booster as a seperate article.

John Cool

BarryandSue

Very interesting, John, particularly as my "adjustable" box doesn't look anything like the power supply shown on ther web-site. I can't get access to my vehicle for a few weeks yet, but when I do I'll be very closely examining exactly what I have got.

In view of what peedee and George have to say, there's almost a case for having [u:07989b4509]two[/u:07989b4509] aerials!

Barry

BarryandSue

Hi peedee. I'm pretty certain that the box is an original Grade UK item. My AutoSleeper is new this year, but knowing A/S, the box is probably a junk lot bought cheap from Grade!!! As I said to John, I can't get to my m/h for a while, but when I do, I can then closely examine exactly what's going on.

Thanks [u:49f27bfc43]everybody[/u:49f27bfc43] for your input. What a brilliant site this is. Smile

Barry

peedee

Hi George,

Yes the 530 would give you the best of both worlds. What I am pointing out is that the 315 is not a total dead loss and if that is what you have already then for as little as £30 for a Freeview STB you can get a very good picture. (better than ANY analogue signal and that includes cable TV)I am sure there are areas where digital will not work as there are currently with analogue and you could be left without a signal. e.g. areas covered by repeaters. I guess it all depends on how badly you want to watch TV!

As I have said before I view it as a cost effective no hassle solution against a background of moves to switch off the analogue. This is currently planned to start in 2007. (that is only 25 months away) When this happens we can expect increased digital transmitter powers and more transmitters.

A further driver is that the digital terrestrial standard is common accross Europe and some countries are even further ahead with its introduction than the UK. In theory I don't see why you could not also pick these up whilst over there as long as you have a multi standard TV set. On my STB I can set the language of the subtitles so I am wondering if I can watch foreign news and weather broadcast with English subtitles?

peedee

peedee

Has anyone tried a Freeview set top box on the continent yet?

FYI the proposed programme for cutting over to digital television in the UK can be viewed [url=http://www.dtg.org.uk/news/news.php?class=countries&subclass=193&id=633]here[/url]

jabber

I have fitted a STB to the rear of my TV, and the remote control can still pick up the signal in the MH. Picture in my gallery on P12!

Much better pictures with the ' flying saucer'.

John Cool

[img:a714b269f6]http://www.motorhomefacts.com/albums/album49/rear_of_t v.sized.jpg[/img:a714b269f6]

peedee

Neat job but mind you allow any heat generated by the STB to disapate. I would not think it would get warm enough to catch fire but elctronic components can fail at high temperatures.

As a matter of interest what make STB is is please John?

I like the TV stand too did that come with the van or from Sharp?

peedee

jabber

I have checked and am pretty certain that there are no ventilation holes or grids covered, it does not seem to get warm even.

The STB is a Hauppauge DEC 1100T which I got from the BT Shop for about £50.00 but I think it may even be cheaper now.

I took the existing stand off the set, it is held with 4 screws which seem to be in a standard configuration. I bought a couple of shelf brackets from Homebase and just drilled them to fit the TV. I then took the base off of the TV stand in the MH and drilled four holes for fixing there, I used wing nuts for easy removal.

Hope this helps!

John Cool