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Hi all
We're still wet behind the ears with motorhoming. Our 2010 A/S Warwick Duo came with a combi TV, freeview, omindirectional aerial & booster.
When the aerial picks up we get good pictures but, very often, in the Dales, Lakes etc, it doesn't.
Just reading through the Roadpro catalogue which came with April MMM I spotted this log-periodic type aerial. Which they recommend.
https://www.roadpro.co.uk/retail/product_detail.aspx?prod=Log+Per iodic+TV+Aerial+&+Cable&id=1084
It can be fitted to a telescopic mast. The aerial, mast and a signal finder totals around £100.
So, two questions;
First, has anyone used an aerial like this succesfully?
Second, could I attach the mast to bike carrier and leave the aerial fixed to the top, stowed parallel to the back doors of our van (it's a high top van conversion). Would I be able to raise a telscopic mast by standing on the floor ie, without steps or a ladder?
We can't really have a mast lowering inside the van as there's no suitable location for it to drop into and I don't really want the expense of a satellite system. Also, we don't have lots of space in the van to store superfluous kit.
Any help gratefully received.
Cheers
Geoff
The aerial you have mentioned is fine and will give you more gain, and its of course directional so you will have to point it in the direction to the tv transmitter, the omni aerial dose have the benefit of not having to worry about direction but you loos a lot of gain and hence the distance it would receive, as long as the aerial is clear of the vans roof you will notice an improvement..
It is certainly true that directional aerials are better than omnidirectional ones but in hilly areas you will still struggle. The problem is that the aerial will be lower than the transmission engineers allowed for even if you have it on a mast.
If you really want TV I would suggest a small sat system. Again not a 100% answer but probably better. Available from Maplin or sometimes for a very low price from Aldi etc.
They require a knack to line up. Roof mounted are better but of course many times the price.
A supply of DVD's should work wherever you are!
An Omnidirectional aerial will perform well following switchover. However in the Dales switchover doesn't happen until later this year. At that time the transmitter strength will increase about ten fold. Failing that the Status 530 is rated as the best caravan/motorhome on the market. A log-periodic aerial is likely to fail post switchover as many regions will demand a wideband aerial, which a log-periodic will not allow.
Best advice is to go for a Status 530 or the external image setup and make sure that the aerial is aimed accurately in the direction of the transmiitter.
Gerry
An Omnidirectional aerial will perform well following switchover. However in the Dales switchover doesn't happen until later this year. At that time the transmitter strength will increase about ten fold. Failing that the Status 530 is rated as the best caravan/motorhome on the market. A log-periodic aerial is likely to fail post switchover as many regions will demand a wideband aerial, which a log-periodic will not allow.
Best advice is to go for a Status 530 or the external image setup and make sure that the aerial is aimed accurately in the direction of the transmiitter.
Gerry
I think that you will find that log periodic aerials are broad band. It is Yagi that are narrow band. For obvious reasons caravan/motorhome aerials have always been made broad band. The status 530 looks almost like a log periodic. But I cannot find a reference to its exact design. Anyway I have used one and found it quite good.
There is some suggestion that after digital switch over the higher signal strength will mean that omnidirectional aerials will work better. I wonder?
There is some suggestion that after digital switch over the higher signal strength will mean that omnidirectional aerials will work better. I wonder?
They will and do work better receiving digital than analogue. However in marginal areas, which I suspect there will be less of in the fully digital environment, a directional aerial will still perform better if pointed in the right direction.
The reason I think there will be less marginal areas is because you can get a better picture with less signal strength in the digital environment than the analogue. Of course there will still be black spots with the best of terrestrial aerials that is one of the reasons Freesat was launched!
peedee
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