aerial for terrestrial reception

spongerobinson

hi folks,

anyone got any recommendations for an aerial to pick up rte1,2 and tv3...in meath area so would probably be picking up from three rock.

looking to send the channels to every room in the house via the coaxial network already there so might need one with a booster?

Would i get away with an attic installation do u think? or would i need an outdoor?

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

Ghost Train

i think there's something about aerials in the sticky
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=264065

spongerobinson

was looking through that stuff....its a bit complicated to understand....looking for something a bit simpler!!

TM

Maybe start with this one (c. tenner from Maplin) and see how it goes.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=52522115&postcount=15

However I have no idea how well this will work in Meath. If it doesn't work well then you may need a suitable attic/loft mounted or external aerial. Are there any neighbours successfully receiving Three Rock broadcasts who you could ask about their installations?

spongerobinson

Thanks for the reply TM, however i think i'm looking for something higher quality than this. Preferably needs to be a wideband aerial to pick up all the irish channels, and as I need to run 5 or 6 tvs from it, I imagine i will need an outdoor one? Or an outdoor one installed in the attic?

Thanks again

TM

Any use ... I can't find the thread in question but I was asking the same thing recently and somebody (watty?) suggested a grid ("colour catcher" ) antenna in the attic or (better still) outside. However this was for a setup in the vicinity of Parkgate Street, D7/8. Because of the frequencies on which the channels are broadcast from Three Rock (not all in a single band) you probably need a wideband antenna or else more than one for the different bands used.

dkane

Depending on where you are in Meath you may be better off aiming for Claremont Cairne. From here RTE1 is on channel 52, RTE2 on 56, TV3 on 66 and TG4 on 68 meaning that a group C/D aerial would be best.

Most of Meath has a good strong signal from Claremont Cairne so I would guess you should get away with the aerial in the attic.

Antenna

TM wrote: »

Any use ... I can't find the thread in question but I was asking the same thing recently and somebody (watty?) suggested a grid ("colour catcher" ) antenna in the attic

Many call them 'Colour Kings' (not Colour Catcher) as this was an old brand name of a former manufacturer of this type of grid aerial.

BTW there was also onetime a 'Colour Prince' aerial (half a Colour King)! manufactured for strong signal areas

They are wideband so would work with either of the transmitters you mention.
Try in attic first, if not satisfactory put outside

horizontal polarisation (3 Rock) like this
X
X
X
X

vertical (claremont Carn) is
XXXX

Triax ones would last longest, if going outside.

spongerobinson

if i got a wideband aerial will it work on both transmitters?

I'm in ashbourne so very close to dub, hence why I thought three rock would be my best bet. Will go check out the triax aerials now!

Thanks

dkane

Wide band aerials are poor on high and low channels when compared to group A (low) and group C/D (high) antenna.
A wideband should be grand for Three Rock. You might have some issues with TV3 and TG4 off Claremont Cairne.
Also, as Antenna said, the two transmitters are oppositely polarized, Claremont Cairne is vertical and Three Rock is horizontal, so although the wideband aerial will work for both it can only be the correct polarity for one or the other.
I would suggest using a set-top aerial to tune in both sets of channels and see which is stronger then choosing a grouped antenna to match your choice.

spongerobinson

i've been looking at the maps on irish-tv.com and it looks like i should get a strong signal from both three rock and clermont, although clermont does look as if it might be stronger.

http://www.irish-tv.com/clermontplot.jpg
http://www.irish-tv.com/threerockplot.gif

Have an old rabbits ears somewhere but haven't managed to find it yet...will try with that i suppose and see which seems to be stronger!

Judging by the maps though, I'd say Clermont is a good bet!

Anyone any experience with these aerials in the ashbourne area?

Oh and one more thing i meant to ask....does anyone know of any good aerial suppliers in the meath/dub area?

Thanks

TM

Antenna wrote: »

Many call them 'Colour Kings' (not Colour Catcher) .

Thanks - now where is the washing machine forum?

TM

spongerobinson wrote: »

Have an old rabbits ears somewhere but haven't managed to find it yet...will try with that i suppose and see which seems to be stronger!

Are some, most or all "rabbit ears" not for VHF rather than UHF?

spongerobinson

maybe your right....not too sure myself!