FAQ: Analogue, DTT, Aerials

upsilon

The Arklow DTT transmitter is supposed to go live on launch day in October, Does anybody know if it is live already? for "test"?
any idea where it will be?
thanks

Astro7

upsilon wrote: »

The Arklow DTT transmitter is supposed to go live on launch day in October, Does anybody know if it is live already? for "test"?
any idea where it will be?
thanks

Arklow is not on air yet........just the concrete base for the mast is in place at the moment. Location is the Knockenrahan Ind. Estate on the south side of the town........check out channels 21 24 27 32 Vert. Polarization at a later date?

Gerry Wicklow

Astro7 wrote: »

Arklow is not on air yet........just the concrete base for the mast is in place at the moment. Location is the Knockenrahan Ind. Estate on the south side of the town........check out channels 21 24 27 32 Vert. Polarization at a later date?

Brilliant!:eek: I regularly get Caradon Hill on 21 and 24 near Arklow.

lol...If they are getting their feed for that from mt leinster,they better have it well shielded from preseli which it would be there via arklow rock.
They will need very good shielding of their own to cope with preseli's variable strength in reception though as preseli gets nuclear in advance of rain fronts which is every other day which arklow rock won't save.
They better use one of the lower power caradon com muxes or it will be summertime mahem.Its potentially more trouble than blaenplwyf.
That location is an eircom mast area and you can see it beside the arklow by pass.
Theres a new entire mast gone up there very recently..whether it has anything to do with this I don't know.

Gerry Wicklow

The adventure continues...

Astro7

Work is ongoing at the new site............ no mast yet.

redalicat

Just wanted to report that I finally took the plunge and bought this. It works well and Sky will be canceled this Monday!:D

redalicat wrote: »

Any thoughts on this yoke to stick on the side of the house (since I'm in a rented place):



http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philex-27780R-Compact-Outdoor-Digital/dp/B001GXQUMM

I think my transmitter would be Kippure.

wondering jack

Hi Redalicat...... What stations do you get on that YOKE as you call it,is it any good? what area do you live did you buy it here and how much?

redalicat

wondering jack wrote: »

Hi Redalicat...... What stations do you get on that YOKE as you call it,is it any good? what area do you live did you buy it here and how much?

I get RTE One, Two, TV3 and TG4, all analogue as I do not have an HD tuner or TV to get the DTT.

Each station comes in good, but I do get the occasional ghosting, etc. Very watchable but not as crystal clear as what I had previously through Sky.

I live in Old Kilcullen, Co. Kildare.

I bought it at B&Q in Newry for £30, but I've seen them at B&Q here for €45.

watty

It's inferior to a €20 aerial.

That's why there is Ghosting.

redalicat

watty wrote: »

It's inferior to a €20 aerial.

That's why there is Ghosting.

Agreed. But as a renter, it's a less obvious (and less permanent) way to do things. Things would be different if I owned the place.

watty

It's probably illegal prevent TV aerial erection unless a communal aerial is provided. Seek advice. A decent indoor UHF on a window sill costing €8 will work better than one of those.

Variations of this on window sill facing mast will work better with less Ghosting
€6 to €18

When I was renting I clamped a pole to corner of balcony railing with Dish on rail and grid aerial on pole.

That actual Aerial
It will work inside a Black bin bag.

Bob_Harris

watty wrote: »

I've seen this image a good few times. Does anyone know what shop you would buy this in?

watty

Maplin and some Euro bargain stores have similar.

Really all that counts (in order) in comparing UHF aerials

1. Length of aerial overall. Longer is better. (unless it's a grid array).
2. Size of rear reflector. Bigger is better
3. How many "directors" there are. they can be flat strips, rods -- pairs of > and < or X shapes.

from http://www.techtir.ie/radio-tv/uhf-aerials

wondering jack

Thanks for the info Redalicat

wondering jack

Hi Watty: That aerial you show with the 4 xs and mesh that works in a black bag if I was to put one like that out on my roof do you think would I be able to receive any UK stations I live in Portmarnock Co Dublin. Thanks

lucernarian

For what it's worth, it can be useful to look at nearby houses see if anyone nearby has many rooftop aerials pointing northerly or southeastwards to sea. That's a good indicator of some sort of UK reception from Wales or NI.

brian ireland

Will this work? Its reduced from 40 to 9 euro in argos
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9239690/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CHome%2Bentertainment%2Band%2Bsat%2Bnav%7C14419512/c_2/2%7Ccat_14419512%7CClearance%2BHome%2Bentertainment%2Band%2Bsat%2Bnav%7C14520847.htm

watty

Discussed earlier,

1) It doesn't work any better than a 6 Euro indoor aerial in Euro bargain store
2) Only any use inside attic. One puff of wind and it falls to bits.
3) The five "directors" are badly designed and thus makes virtually no difference if they all removed.

Sam Russell

brian ireland wrote: »

Will this work? Its reduced from 40 to 9 euro in argos
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9239690/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CHome%2Bentertainment%2Band%2Bsat%2Bnav%7C14419512/c_2/2%7Ccat_14419512%7CClearance%2BHome%2Bentertainment%2Band%2Bsat%2Bnav%7C14520847.htm

I have tested one of them. It is made of tin foil. It will not support birds larger than a sparrow, or wind stronger than a breeze. The reflectors are very light, more like chicken wire, and it is hardly better than a coat-hanger. Junk.

Pure junk.

brian ireland

Sam Russell wrote: »

I have tested one of them. It is made of tin foil. It will not support birds larger than a sparrow, or wind stronger than a breeze. The reflectors are very light, more like chicken wire, and it is hardly better than a coat-hanger. Junk.

Pure junk.

Nice 1 thanks. Glad I did not buy it today.

wondering jack

To Be Confirmed:...Thats a good tip I will check that out tomorrow. Thanks

FREETV

watty wrote: »

Discussed earlier,

1) It doesn't work any better than a 6 Euro indoor aerial in Euro bargain store
2) Only any use inside attic. One puff of wind and it falls to bits.
3) The five "directors" are badly designed and thus makes virtually no difference if they all removed.

True, sure Watty the Triax Unix 100 aerials are made of the same scrap aluminium tin. I have a tinny Konig Ultra Gain 87 ELement aerial in the attic with a 40db masthead amp for Irish DTT with good analog also so I'm sure that the would be perfect if it was mounted outside on the gable end on a tall mast. I am not allowed to put the Triax group A aerial on the wall to see how long it will last in the elements but there are several Triax Unix aerials professionally installed here in Swords and up a couple of years still intact.

watty

The Unix 100 is far better and stronger than that Argos. I have tested them. However a Blake Aerials SR18 is 1/4 price and more robust than Unix100. For most purposes as good. If you need more signal then 2 x SR18 is similar gain, more robust and cheaper than UNIX100.

The Unix 100 is about a 25 element in reality. Not 100. No more gain than a good 21 element.

Any outdoor aerial can be used in attic if outdoors is not available.

Updated: http://www.techtir.ie/radio-tv/uhf-aerials

FREETV

wondering jack wrote: »

Hi Watty: That aerial you show with the 4 xs and mesh that works in a black bag if I was to put one like that out on my roof do you think would I be able to receive any UK stations I live in Portmarnock Co Dublin. Thanks

You will need a large Uhf aerial probably a wideband one with 17db gain and an FTE Maximal M1000 amp along with a very tall mast erected on your roof to experiment. A twin array or quad array may even be needed to optimise a signal. Folks on here will probably advise you to borrow a digital meter, a professional one to test the strenght of incoming signals from the different Welsh transmitters or maybe someone here on boards with a meter and a wideband aerial, masthead amp etc will oblige you and assist you in their free time. Watty is the man to ask about equipment, he will probably advise you to buy a Blake or Kathrein models, Hirschmann are also good and made by Triax.

FREETV

watty wrote: »

The Unix 100 is far better and stronger than that Argos. I have tested them. However a Blake Aerials SR18 is 1/4 price and more robust than Unix100. For most purposes as good. If you need more signal then 2 x SR18 is similar gain, more robust and cheaper than UNIX100.

The Unix 100 is about a 25 element in reality. Not 100. No more gain than a good 21 element.

I got a Group A and Group B Triax Unix 100's which were bought at reduced wholesale prices and yes you are correct the Blake aerials are stronger and have more longevity.

watty

FREETV wrote: »

Watty is the man to ask, he will probably advise you to buy a Blake or Kathrein models, Hirschmann are also good and made by Triax.

I compared Unix 100, equivalent Kathrein and also pair of Blake SR18 on same mast, in reality with real signals from Divis in Dundalk.

The smaller Kathrein are very professional aerials, but more expensive for same spec as Blake. The Big Kathrein similar to Unix100 is only slightly more robust. It's inferior to a pair of Blake SR18 in reality in robustness.

I examined Hirschman photo and spec similar to Kathrein and Unix100. Those aerials are all going to have problem with Ice, Wind, Rooks etc and cost nearly x2 compared to a Quad Array of Blake's SR18, including mounting and 3 weather proof combiners. A Dual array SR18 I found gave similar to better results than UNIX100 or Big Kathrein. The side lobes better, less pick up of RTE Clermont Cairn (for which I used a 13 element). I used group mast amps on the Divis Aerial (instead of wide band) and grouped combiner filter to avoid the Divis aerial creating Ghosts on RTE.

FREETV

watty wrote: »

I compared Unix 100, equivalent Kathrein and also pair of Blake SR18 on same mast, in reality with real signals from Divis in Dundalk.

The smaller Kathrein are very professional aerials, but more expensive for same spec as Blake. The Big Kathrein similar to Unix100 is only slightly more robust. It's inferior to a pair of Blake SR18 in reality in robustness.

I examined Hirschman photo and spec similar to Kathrein and Unix100. Those aerials are all going to have problem with Ice, Wind, Rooks etc and cost nearly x2 compared to a Quad Array of Blake's SR18, including mounting and 3 weather proof combiners. A Dual array SR18 I found gave similar to better results than UNIX100 or Big Kathrein. The side lobes better, less pick up of RTE Clermont Cairn (for which I used a 13 element). I used group mast amps on the Divis Aerial (instead of wide band) and grouped combiner filter to avoid the Divis aerial creating Ghosts on RTE.

I remember reading that before yes, the model of Hirschmann FESA 817-37 I am talking about looks very strong as regards the elements, I have seen a few of them erected contractually here in Swords, not much over seven feet in lenght but have the same gain or better than the Triax UNIX 100's. My Dad has a larger Hirschmann with the tubular rod elements, a Group A aerial for Divis analogue which was erected in 1986 with a lenght longer than the Triax Unix 100 so it must be ten feet in lenght at least. Any idea of what model it could be? I believe that there are a couple of the same old Hirschmann's the as my Dad's in Meath in Swords Village erected above a pub and a nightclub. I also saw a quad array setup above or near the Taxi office pointing towards Wales.

lawhec

Watty, just curious in comparing Blake aerial products if you have experimented with their DMX range compared to their SR aerials?

Also, on the TechTir site, you suggest using a Grid aerial for wideband performance where necessary over a Yagi, I always thought one failing of grid aerials was that the gain slope across the UHF band was not much better than "wideband" yagis and that if you wanted more consistency, a log periodic was better (at the cost of some gain) particulay for the ends of the UHF broadcast band?

watty

The Wideband yagi are not very wideband

The grid has gain of about 8dBi and easy to buy, compact on a wall or balcony for a renter.

Decent Log periodic are very expensive and quite big for 12dBi (next step of gain from a quad grid).

DMX are inferior to SR. Less robust. They are made to compete in the "spikey lots of bits must be better" market. The 13dBi is 1.6m long.
The SR13 is slightly less gain and SR18 slightly more gain, typically than highest gain DMX.

The WB SR are 10.9, 11.7 and 12.6dBi for SR10, SR13 or SR18 model. But that is peak gain. At band edges it's seriously lower, especially poor at lower channels. A WB (wideband yagi) is really a "flatter" group C/D. If you really need > 10dBi wideband gain use a pair of Grid with splitter as combiner and equal length cable.

Or a 2m long Log Peridic.


Black curve
via http://www.aerialsandtv.com/aerials.html