Aerial recommendation - Irish and UK channels - Roscommon

antomack

I am looking for advice on an aerial to allow for reception of the 4 Irish channels and BBC, UTV, CH4.

I then wish to distribute the signal to 8 tv points around the house so what would be required to do this.

Looking over other posts its stated that you can't get Irish and UK channels on one aerial but my parents receive all these channels just outside Roscommon town with just one aerial, see the picture attached. Any ideas on what aerial this is?

I am located in Four Roads, Roscommon about 15 miles north of Ballinasloe, c.10 miles from Roscommon, c.20 miles from Athlone. Looking at irish-tv.com my best bet for Irish channels would be Cairn Hill for reception but this doesn't make any mention of the UK channels. Cairn Hill would be roughly 35 miles away.

My google map position

Would any of the following aerials suit my needs
Triax Supergain 18B
Triax Supergain 18W
Triax Unix 100 B

antomack

Anyone out there who can help/advise

Mayo Exile

Cairn Hill would carry Irish stations only. Perhaps your parents house is located so that the the 2 masts (Cairn Hill? and the one carrying BBC/ITV) are roughly in the same direction, so only one aerial is needed anyway? Is there a local UHF deflector supplying BBC/ITV to the area?

Info on Cairn Hill here:

http://www.geocities.com/corkradio/tvch.html

Rte1 - 40, Rte2 - 43, TV3 - 46, TG4 - 50. All UHF group B, horizontally polarised.

Are these the frequencies on your parent's TV to confirm its Cairn Hill? Also what are the frequencies of BBC/ITV/CH4 on your parent's TV? Might know the source of those then too.

Look at other houses near you. What do their aerial setups look like?

antomack

Thanks for the reply, I hadn't thought of checking the tuning on my parents but did it just now.

The Irish channels correspond to Cairn Hill alright.

The UK channels are as below
BBC1 - C22 - 479MHz
BBC2 - C28 - 527MHz
UTV - C25 - 503MHz
CH4 - C32 - 559MHz

Taking these into account and my parents being here on google maps what's the best aerial to use to boost my chances of picking up all 8 stations. I'm open to any recommmendation regardless of the three I listed earlier.

I checked the aerials on the two houses beside my parents and they look much the same as my parents and point in the same direction.

As well as the aerial is there a requirement for a masthead amp or any other items that need to be taken into account.

Mayo Exile

BBC1 - C22 - 479MHz
BBC2 - C28 - 527MHz
UTV - C25 - 503MHz
CH4 - C32 - 559MHz

These are the frequencies for the Brougher Mountain transmitter on the Tyrone/Fermanagh border. See here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/transmitters/tv/tv_brougher.shtml

They are in Group A, horizontally polarised. As Cairn Hill are group B, also horizontally polarised, a wideband aerial would be needed. As both transmitters are roughly in the same direction (northeast) from you, one aerial may suffice. Are houses near you using one aerial?

And yes, you definitely need a mast head amplifier and power supply. Your parent's aerial seems to have one already. You can buy a distribution amplifier to send signals around the house. They should be available with 8 "outs" to send a signal to your various rooms. Place it as follows: aerial first, then masthead amp, then power supply and finally distribution amp.

givecredit

Hate to burst your bubble. But i would be very surprised if you get acceptable reception in four roads. You will need to be living on top of or close to top of a local hill. Roscommon Town has a slight advantage of Height and closer to N.I. As Mayo said, check your neighbours aerials, not your parents neighbours.

Would you not consider a satellite distribution instead. Get all the main UK channels by digital satellite plus 200 or so more for free with perfect digital reception. Digital Satellite set top boxes (Freesat) can be bought for Eur70 each. (Future Proofing your setup)

antomack

My plan is to have a satellite distribution also but if at all possible I'd like to be able to have the 8 analogue channels so watching different channels in more than one room does not require multiple STBs.

The houses directly neighbouring me have aerials similar to my parents also although a couple of them also seem to have a smaller aerial on the same mast.

I intend buying an aerial in any case to see what sort of reception I can pick up, if I don't have any luck with it then I'll give it to my sister who's building a house near my parents.

As such I'd appreciate a specific recommendation on an aerial that would maximise my chances of picking up the most analogue channels. From what I can find out on the net I should be looking for a high-gain wideband UHF aerial but what identifies and aerial as high-band.

Also any recommendation on masthead amp and power supply to use as I have no experience of setting up an aerial, I'm just going on what I have gleaned from the internet.

Any good sites with detailed instructions on installing the aerial?

givecredit

antomack wrote: »

My plan is to have a satellite distribution also but if at all possible I'd like to be able to have the 8 analogue channels so watching different channels in more than one room does not require multiple STBs.

In 3 years time the 8 analogue channels will be turned off, therefore you will require separate STBs in 3 years.

Why dont you check with a local Aerial Installer for your chances of receiving UK tv via aerial. Vincent Ward in Ballinasloe would cover your area. Ive had work done by him and can recommend him.