VHF Band 3 Aerial

Peddyr

Hi all,

Does anyone know where I can get hold of one of these aerial for RTÉ 1 & 2 from 3 Rock / Kippure. I´m in the Isle of Mann and get very good DTT from those TXs but want to have a go at VHF analogue before they´re switched off.

I´ve tried UK sites such as Maplins but no luck. Anywhere in Dublin prepared to sell these mail order?

Thanks in advance.

Can you receive FM radio from kippure ?
Kippure 91.3 is 2fm
89.1 is radio one

Mt Leinster is unlikely for you on Vhf and 3rock is uhf only.

Armstrongs are the only ones I can think of for aerials in Dublin and possibly peats.
Both have websites.

Macy0161

I think I got my VHF Band III aerial in the UK, from CPC-Farnell.

The Cush

Peats Electronics Dublin - Antiference LP7 VHF Outdoor Aerial
Irish Satellite Solutions - Triax 4 Element VHF Aerial

mrdtv2010

Triax, Fracarro and Antiference all sell VHF aerials eg:

http://www.triax.co.uk/Products/Aerials/VHF Band III Aerials.aspx?productId={FE6501F4-2593-4C63-982C-6437AB522FEC}&Tab=

You just need a UK distributor. However be warned VHF Tv from Ireland is marred in the UK by PMR: on the North Wales coast and North Lancashire its now largely unusable because of interference. In East Down Kippure VHF is not so hot any more.

Antenna

mrdtv2010 wrote: »

on the North Wales coast and North Lancashire its now largely unusable because of interference. In East Down Kippure VHF is not so hot any more.

since when?

I would imagine it is due to less power being radiated (at least in those directions) rather than an increase in Band III PMR interference?

I can't imagine there has been an increase in Band III PMR in the UK in recent years, considering businesses using other technology such as TETRA and the mobile operators.

mrdtv2010

Antenna wrote: »

since when?

I would imagine it is due to less power being radiated (at least in those directions) rather than an increase in Band III PMR?

I can't imagine there has been an increase in Band III PMR in the UK in recent years, considering businesses using other technology such as TETRA and the mobile operators.

Probably. It used to be very good in North Wales, higher parts of Lancashire, and even the hills above Malvern! But reception has steadily deteriorated over the years. Agreed that PMR is strictly for the birds now.

Peddyr

Deleted User wrote: »

Can you receive FM radio from kippure ?
Kippure 91.3 is 2fm
89.1 is radio one

Mt Leinster is unlikely for you on Vhf and 3rock is uhf only.

Armstrongs are the only ones I can think of for aerials in Dublin and possibly peats.
Both have websites.

Hi Black Briar,

Aye, can get FM radio from Kippure not too bad although RDS will switch to CC as it´s stronger.

I´ll check Armstrongs and Peats websites.

Thanks

Peddyr

Thanks to all for the info, I´ll be checking out your links / suggested websites tonight. If I can get hold of a suitable aerial I´ll report back on whether reception of VHF is successful or not in the southwestern tip of Mann.

Peddyr

mrdtv2010 wrote: »

Triax, Fracarro and Antiference all sell VHF aerials eg:

http://www.triax.co.uk/Products/Aerials/VHF Band III Aerials.aspx?productId={FE6501F4-2593-4C63-982C-6437AB522FEC}&Tab=

You just need a UK distributor. However be warned VHF Tv from Ireland is marred in the UK by PMR: on the North Wales coast and North Lancashire its now largely unusable because of interference. In East Down Kippure VHF is not so hot any more.

Fortunately for me then, I don´t live in the UK unlike yourself. VHF shouldn´t be a problem as I can pick up RTÉs 1 & 2 on Chs 5 & 8 on a UHF C/D aerial that I use for DTT, which I´m assuming are the VHF channels from Kippure??

@mrdtv-we

You are picking up kippure VHF on a uhf aerial up there :eek::eek:

Straight sea path to the south west tip of the IOM.
You'll need a little height to get above tree's as they play havoc with vhf reception.

@mrdtv-we used get perfect kippure and mt leinster VHF here on an indoor portable telly with it's own telescopic aerial years ago.
Thats next to impossible now.

They've definitely in the last decade or more reduced the vhf juice.

Peddyr

Deleted User wrote: »

You are picking up kippure VHF on a uhf aerial up there :eek::eek:

Straight sea path to the south west tip of the IOM.
You'll need a little height to get above tree's as they play havoc with vhf reception.

@mrdtv-we used get perfect kippure and mt leinster VHF here on an indoor portable telly with it's own telescopic aerial years ago.
Thats next to impossible now.

They've definitely in the last decade or more reduced the vhf juice.

I think they´re the vhf channels as I´m picking them up on channels 5 & 8, well below the uhf spectrum of 21 - 69...

Clear line of sight here to Kippure / Three Rock / CC / Divis as 400+ ft above sea level so hopefully pull them in on a vhf aerial. The cheapest supplier I´ve found is a UK one at http://www.gagle.co.uk/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=29811

If you choose sterling over euro, it´s almost half the euro price!

Is this aerial any good??

The Cush

Peddyr wrote: »

If you choose sterling over euro, it´s almost half the euro price!

Is this aerial any good??

Appears to be the same Triax aerial in my post above but over €10 cheaper. Should be OK.

Peddyr

The Cush wrote: »

Appears to be the same Triax aerial in my post above but over €10 cheaper. Should be OK.

Good stuff. I´ll give it a shot then lads, then let you know if the vhf can be picked up ok here.

winston_1

This log periodic band 3 aerial should do the job. Just make sure you mount it horizontally. It's sold as a DAB aerial but it covers all of band 3 so should be OK.

www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=29196

Peddyr

winston_1 wrote: »

This log periodic band 3 aerial should do the job. Just make sure you mount it horizontally. It's sold as a DAB aerial but it covers all of band 3 so should be OK.

www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=29196

Hi Winston,

Thanks for that. I tried various other Irish & UK websites but couldn´t get through the final stage of the checkout for some reason!! Maybe something to do with using Ubuntu?? So, haven´t been able to get hold of one as yet. You´re sure that DAB ´twig´ will do the job from Maplins then? Better price that some of the VHF Band 3 twigs I´ve seen on some websites of up to nearly 70 euros!!!

winston_1

Well, it's a full band band 3 aerial so if there is any signal there it should find it, and being a log periodic it will have good rejection of other signals from a different direction. A yagi might have slightly better gain but as you have found they are difficult to source and expensive.

Mike 1972

mrdtv2010 wrote: »

TrYou just need a UK distributor. However be warned VHF Tv from Ireland is marred in the UK by PMR: on the North Wales coast and North Lancashire its now largely unusable because of interference. In East Down Kippure VHF is not so hot any more.

What Ive never understood is why PMR in the UK supposedly needs so much bandwidth ?

I mean for decades the development of FM radio was held up by over half the band being used for PMR until it all got moved to the VHF TV frequencies.

But Ireland, Continental Europe, The USA ...In fact just about everywhere else seems to manage to accomodate all its PMR outside the broadcast bands and have TV on both VHF and UHF ?!?!?!?

If the UK was still using VHF for TV Channel 5 could have full coverage and a sixth network could probably have been squeezed in too.

Ive never managed to actually hear Band 3 PMR on my scanner but id imagine it often gets clobbered by TV signals from Ireland and the Continent -especially during the summer.

winston_1

Couldn't agree more. The UK does not seem to be very good at frequency planning. And it is not just the VHF bands, the MW and LW broadcast bands have aircraft beacons in them. (Check 277 kHz where you will here CHT in slow morse, this is the Chiltern beacon). The UHF band also has non broadcast signals in it. CH 36 has aircraft radars, CH 69 is used by the military.

One knock on of this is manufacturers make equipment that only covers the part of the bands currently in use which then becomes obsolete at a later date. Perhaps the best example of this is early FM radios which only tuned up to 97mHz. Then there are the thousands (millions) of TV's that only tune the UHF bands. Panasonic TV's won't even tune to ch69 and there are distribution systems in the UK that use ch69.