Morris Minor Owners Club

Anyone got a guide to making a good working Freeview TV Aerial ? I'm fed up having to adjust the existing aerial every time I change channel!

Change between freeview channels? Or terrestrial to freeview?

Is it an indoor aerial that you have BMC?

Yes indoor at the moment - and yes, change between Freeview Channels. Mostly we use Sky on the main set - but if I want to watch something other than Hallmark - I have to use the Freeview set upstairs - and it's a real menace fiddling with the aerial.
Was hoping someone would have a full-proof design using two coathangers and an empty tin of beans!

It's not my specialist subject, but would it be an idea to see how your neighbours aerials are orientated?

Have a look here:

http://www.dtg.org.uk/retailer/benchmarking.html

Apparently Maplin sell one of the benchmarked aerials fairly cheaply.

bmcecosse wrote:Anyone got a guide to making a good working Freeview TV Aerial ? I'm fed up having to adjust the existing aerial every time I change channel!

Well for our upstairs telly we just have a loft aerial that has been there for 10 -15 years and its pretty good, but the downstairs one which is off the roof aerial quite often suffers from a blocking effect when the weather is iffy but as that aerial is well over 20 years old I though I just needed someting a bit newer suitable for digital.

I used to run a telly shop and it used to amaze me how much people were prepared to spend on an indoor aerial to get far inferior results to a cheap outdoor one just because they didn't want to run a cable !!

An outside aerial pole and cable will cost less than £25 and will give the results you need for freeview and usually can give quite good results in an attic if you dont want to clamber up a ladder. An inside aerial is a waste of time unless you live next door to the transmitter and never move around in the room its in.

Roy, I bought one a Maolin which plugs into a power socket for too boost the signal and it works well and once set never needs adjusting. I think it was about £20.00 Jeff

I have heard that the amplified boosters can boost the interference as well as reception. Go on bm, push the boat out get a decent roof aerial!

I did buy one of these 'power boost' aerials Jeff - it's useless ! At the moment I have a simple T made from co-ax split and led at 180 degrees draped over the curtain rail. It works well for some Freeview channels - and not at all for others. The transmitter tower is line-of-sight to me at that window - but about 10 miles away. Really don't want to have an external roof aerial - access to the roof is very poor at that corner of the house. Could go with something fixed to the wall I suppose - but anyone got a design that works? I used to make my own 'Yagi' type aerials for Amateur Radio ! In fact - there still be some in the garage loft - that's given me some inspiration!!

Hope you kept the receipt to take it back. Ours works a treat and our house is set down quite low and surrounded by taller houses. Look like you will need some sort of outside aerial?

Roy, have you checked what channels (i.e. frequencies) the various Freeview multiplexes are on from your local transmitter. They're usually all the same power so it may be that you need a wideband aerial.

Given the susceptibility of DVB to interference from mopeds, fridges etc. I doubt you'd get away with a simple home-made dipole. Could be time to get the wallet out! I'm sure my brother got one for about £30 from Maplin that was recommended on the dtg.org.uk website.

The thing is - the simple T dipole works excellently for some channels - and is hopeless for others, which is what puzzles me! Surely they are all very similar frequenccy - and all are coming from the same mast which I can see (in the distance) from the window.
I really think this 'Digital' stuff is highly over-rated !
To add to the thread - has anyone tried the Freesat system ?