Setting up a TV aerial?

LaVail

Recently acquired a "Maxview" aerial and want to install it in my mothers attic. At the moment she only has RTE1 and RTE2 and I'm hoping that this aerial will pick up TV3 and TG4?

I was on the Maxview website but can't find the exact same aerial on there? It looks like the MXR0034 seen here http://www.maxview.co.uk/products/OUTDOOR_DIGITAL_TV_AERIALS.html

It has 16 bars/elements plus the bar that's looped and joined together if that make's any sense?

The house I'll be putting it in is located in north Kerry near Ballybunion. I also have another aerial with 14 elements and have some sort of black box with "Televes" written on it. There are connection's for sat/out bi/biii/dab fm/uhf .. Do I need this box and if so what do I do with it?

Also have no clue if the aerial is UHF/VHF?

Any advice welcome

Thanks.

The Cush

If it looks like the one in the picture it's a standard contract UHF aerial. Is there a plastic coloured bung at the end of the aerial boom? This will indicate the group of the aerial.

What aerial is she using at the moment? Is it some thing like this LP7 VHF aerial for Mullaghanish i.e. for RTÉ1 & 2 reception?

The Televes box is probably a masthead combiner for VHF/UHF aerial and satellite feeds, is there a part or model no. on the box? If so it could be used to combine the analogue VHF/UHF aerials for the 4 analogue channels from Mullaghanish if coverage from there is available in your area - external aerials probably required though. I'm not sure which analogue transmitter covers Ballybunion the best but any of the smaller UHF relays e.g. Listowel, don't carry analogue TV3.

With the analogue signal switching off late next year (ASO) the best option now would be to install a UHF aerial and cheap Saorview DTT set-top box e.g. this Bush from Argos or this from Powercity. This will give the 4 basic channels plus a few more.

The local Saorview DTT transmitter for Ballybunion appears to be Cnoc An Oir/Knockanore (doesn't carry analogue TV I believe). UHF Ch 47, Group B aerial (yellow bung) required or Group W (wideband) black bung would also do.

http://www.saorview.ie/make-the-switch/coverage-checker/


http://www.rtenl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/RTÉNL-SAORVIEW-FAQs-May-2011-Rev-3-0.pdf

LaVail

Hello The Cush, Thanks for your reply.

By pure chance I actually met a guy today who fits aerials in the area. He said it would be a poor decision to go ahead and install both aerial's I have (one red bung) plus the standard VHF because the red bung wont be strong enough for the Saorview switch over.

He also said my best bet would be to by a "green bung aerial" costing under €30 as it already receives TV3 and TG4 in the area in question plus a Saorview set top box from argos costing €49.99, at least that way we wont have go near the attic again.

I asked him about the yellow or black band aerial's and in his opinion there was no need as the green bung could do the job (he has a new black bung aerial for €60 so if the plan fails we can always install that one)

Judging by what you and him have said I think I will be going down the Saorview road and just get it out of the way as the analogue signal will be switching off.

Thanks for your advice Cush, you've saved me a day in the attic wasting my time

Peter Rhea

If the Maxview aerial is a wideband (very likely), why don't you try for Saorview from the local transmitter with it? Channel 47 is near the best operating range for most of these aerials.

Even if it has to go outside, it will make more sense than messing around with bigger aerials in the attic.

LaVail

Peter Rhea wrote: »

If the Maxview aerial is a wideband (very likely), why don't you try for Saorview from the local transmitter with it? Channel 47 is near the best operating range for most of these aerials.

Even if it has to go outside, it will make more sense than messing around with bigger aerials in the attic.

The maxview aerial I have is a red bung...



I see that it only goes up to CH37 so it's probably no good to me?

Also if you say saorview is best suited to CH47 then maybe I should be getting a yellow band instead of a green band as the guy suggested to me today?

Putting an aerial in the attic doesn't concern me at all as there's plenty of space up there and it wont be in the way. The mother doesn't want an aerial outside anyway because it was that way years ago and she hated the look of it, have to do what the boss say's

The Cush

LaVail wrote: »

The maxview aerial I have is a red bung...

I see that it only goes up to CH37 so it's probably no good to me?

Also if you say saorview is best suited to CH47 then maybe I should be getting a yellow band instead of a green band as the guy suggested to me today?

Putting an aerial in the attic doesn't concern me at all as there's plenty of space up there and it wont be in the way. The mother doesn't want an aerial outside anyway because it was that way years ago and she hated the look of it, have to do what the boss say's

The red bung aerial is for Mullaghanish - Group A.

Group B - yellow tip aerial would be most suited for Cnoc an Oir (UHF Chs 35-53). A 2nd multiplex/frequency will be available from all transmitters shortly, not sure if it'll be above or below the current UHF Ch 47 multiplex at Cnoc an Oir. If it's below 47 you're moving below the most suitable range for a Group C/D (UHF Chs 48-68) green tip aerial. A Group B will cover above and below Ch 47.

The guy that "fits aerials in the area" is he an installer or a handy man with a few spare aerials in the shed he wants to get rid of? Listowel and Knockmoyle analogue both use Group C/D. Cnoc an Oir is a new TV transmitter site operating in a new frequency range in the area and he does't have the correct aerial to hand probably. Get one here for about €15 plus delivery.

Peter Rhea

LaVail wrote: »

The maxview aerial I have is a red bung...

Thought the red bung aerial was in addition to the Maxview, my mistake. All the Maxview aerials I've seen recently have been wideband models for sale in DIY places.

LaVail

The Cush wrote: »

The red bung aerial is for Mullaghanish - Group A.

Group B - yellow tip aerial would be most suited for Cnoc an Oir (UHF Chs 35-53). A 2nd multiplex/frequency will be available from all transmitters shortly, not sure if it'll be above or below the current UHF Ch 47 multiplex at Cnoc an Oir. If it's below 47 you're moving below the most suitable range for a Group C/D (UHF Chs 48-68) green tip aerial. A Group B will cover above and below Ch 47.

The guy that "fits aerials in the area" is he an installer or a handy man with a few spare aerials in the shed he wants to get rid of? Listowel and Knockmoyle analogue both use Group C/D. Cnoc an Oir is a new TV transmitter site operating in a new frequency range in the area and he does't have the correct aerial to hand probably. Get one here for about €15 plus delivery.

Thanks for clearing that up about which colour aerial I should go for. The guy that fits the aerials was working with sky for years and currently fits aerials to people's house's in the area. He suggested though to get a green tip aerial as he say's people in my mother's area get the best results off the transmitter in Clare? The house he'll be fitting it in is about 2miles from Cnoc an Oir but it is down in a valley, everything from mobile phones to mobile midband work poorly in this area so it's hard to know which transmitter would be best? Maybe that's why he suggested Clare?

I'll have to chat with him some more about it to find out. I still don't understand though why he suggested a green tip instead of a yellow, the fact that the transmitter id further away, would that make a difference?

Thanks for the link to purchase an aerial too, that's a bargain price.

Peter Rhea wrote: »

Thought the red bung aerial was in addition to the Maxview, my mistake. All the Maxview aerials I've seen recently have been wideband models for sale in DIY places.

No worries

The Cush

LaVail wrote: »

Thanks for clearing that up about which colour aerial I should go for. The guy that fits the aerials was working with sky for years and currently fits aerials to people's house's in the area. He suggested though to get a green tip aerial as he say's people in my mother's area get the best results off the transmitter in Clare? The house he'll be fitting it in is about 2miles from Cnoc an Oir but it is down in a valley, everything from mobile phones to mobile midband work poorly in this area so it's hard to know which transmitter would be best? Maybe that's why he suggested Clare?

I'll have to chat with him some more about it to find out. I still don't understand though why he suggested a green tip instead of a yellow, the fact that the transmitter id further away, would that make a difference?

Maghera Ch 48, bottom of Group C/D (Mux 2 - Ch 55) green tip. Main high power transmitter serving north Munster / south Connacht. Based on posts here I believe it's receivable south of your area also but maybe not in the attic.

Sometimes if you're too close to a transmitter the signal passses right over you but I still give Cnoc an Oir a go in any case even with a €2 set-top aerial for testing purposes. Is there any obstructions such as a hill or wind farm between the house and transmitter?

LaVail

The Cush wrote: »

Maghera Ch 48, bottom of Group C/D (Mux 2 - Ch 55) green tip. Main high power transmitter serving north Munster / south Connacht. Based on posts here I believe it's receivable south of your area also but maybe not in the attic.

Sometimes if you're too close to a transmitter the signal passses right over you but I still give Cnoc an Oir a go in any case even with a €2 set-top aerial for testing purposes. Is there any obstructions such as a hill or wind farm between the house and transmitter?

Yes. Although the transmitter on Cnoc an Oir is right on top of the hill, there is also a hill between our house and the transmitter and we have no direct LOS to the transmitter. Would you still suggest the yellow band aerial in this case? Also the aerial must be in the attic and not external.

Thanks

The Cush

LaVail wrote: »

Although the transmitter on Cnoc an Oir is right on top of the hill, there is also a hill between our house and the transmitter and we have no direct LOS to the transmitter. Would you still suggest the yellow band aerial in this case? Also the aerial must be in the attic and not external.

Although direct LOS isn't required the hill could block reception of the transmitter.

I couldn't advise further without knowledge of the area or testing with an aerial on site.

Has anyone in the area an aerial pointing at Cnoc an Oir?

LaVail

The Cush wrote: »

Although direct LOS isn't required the hill could block reception of the transmitter.

I couldn't advise further without knowledge of the area or testing with an aerial on site.

Has anyone in the area an aerial pointing at Cnoc an Oir?

I'll have to look into that because I'd only be guessing if I gave you an answer. I'm going to head into town tomorrow or Friday to buy a Saorview box from Argos and I'm going to chat some more with the the guy I was talking to today and see what he say's. Maybe we wont know unless both aerials are tested?

Anyway I'll report back after the weekend and let you know how it goes.

Cheers again for taking the time to respond and for sharing your knowledge. I appreciate it.

LaVail

Went into town today and bought the bush saorview box from argos, could be better build quality but what did I expect for €49.99 .. Hopefully it'll do the job for the time being. Also bought a wideband aerial because I couldn't really get a straight answer on whether to buy a green or yellow bung from the local TV guy. At least this aerial has the whole band covered.

Will be installing during the week so will let ye know how it goes

LaVail

Went out the mothers and decided to give it a go myself fitting the aerial and STB.. Hung the new wideband aerial near the existing one that's already in the attic, plugged in the cable thats running down to the TV and went down to check if RTE1 RTE2 TV3 etc were working......they were but the quality was extremely poor...Then decided to plug in the saorview box and try again...

When I turned on the box it gave the option to auto scan for the channels, it found all of them on CH47 and the quality is unreal even on a TV that's 7 years old, very deep colours and very clear, can't compare analog to it at all because they are world's apart. Excellent sound also so I'm delighted with my day's work, so is the mother

One fault I did find however is there is a little "buzzing" noise coming from the STB and if you have the volume on the programme you're watching turned down then it gets annoying..It also gets louder when you have no channel on but the "programme guide" open?

Probably nothing I can do about it though unless I purchase a different STB?

Anyway thanks to Cush and Peter Rhea

Job done

The Cush

Thanks for the update.

Ch 47 Cnoc an Oir, you can let the installer guy know a Group B yellow tip will work in the area.

Regarding the buzzing from the receiver, you should post over in this thread if anyone has a similar problem if not get it replaced in warranty.

Just saw your earlier post in that thread.