Saoerview - Do we need new aerials?

Southern Comfort

I was in Aldi tonight and saw a digital tv aerial kit. I think it was about €25. I have Sky in the living room but have terrestrial tv in the bedroom. The aerial is in the attic. It looks like this. My neighbour's aerial looks like this.

Do we need to replace these aerials when we convert to Saorview?
The Aldi aerial looks like this one. Will it work for Saorview if we need to replace our aerials? Thanks.

ardmacha

Best to say roughly where you are located as transmitters vary. But I'd say your aerial might work.

The Cush

Southern Comfort wrote: »

I was in Aldi tonight and saw a digital tv aerial kit. I think it was about €25. I have Sky in the living room but have terrestrial tv in the bedroom. The aerial is in the attic. It looks like this. My neighbour's aerial looks like this.

Do we need to replace these aerials when we convert to Saorview?
The Aldi aerial looks like this one. Will it work for Saorview if we need to replace our aerials? Thanks.

Your UHF wideband grid aerial should be OK for Saorview if it's receiving the signal from one of the 51 upgraded transmitters, approx 130 analogue sites will not be upgraded.

Your neighbour's aerial appears to be a Band 3 VHF TV aerial (like this or these) and will not be suitable for Saorview.

See this RTÉNL Receiving Saorview brochure - http://www.rtenl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Saorview-DTT-October2010.pdf

yenoah

I pick it up on rabbits ears, kid you not. If you have an old aerial on the chimney, and you were receiving TV3, TG4 well. Then by all accounts you wont need a new aerial.

watty

No such thing as Amplifier or Aerial for Digital TV either.

The Aldi aerial and similar ones with thin aluminium and any plastic other than cap on cable connection and small spacer on each boom element rod are only good for an attic. Not durable enough for wind, ice and snow outdoors.

LordSutch

Southern Comfort wrote: »

I was in Aldi tonight and saw a digital tv aerial kit. I think it was about €25. I have Sky in the living room but have terrestrial tv in the bedroom. The aerial is in the attic. It looks like this. My neighbour's aerial looks like this.

Do we need to replace these aerials when we convert to Saorview?
The Aldi aerial looks like this one. Will it work for Saorview if we need to replace our aerials? Thanks.

Depending on where you live you can actually pick up Saorview on a cheap 'set top aerial' for about €15 (with or without a built-in booster).

PS; that attic aerial looks very good to me.

watty

Likely less than 20% of people for reliable reception. The roll out is designed assuming outdoor aerials.

The attic aerial is big. But the plastic joins on the > and < are too large and flimsy. A better design uses heavier aluminium and also the plastic is only a small insulator on boom, not an structural element. Good Yagi have hardly changed in nearly 40 years. That is just a large Attic quality aerial.

Southern Comfort

Guys, thank you all for taking the time to reply. All much appreciated. I looked at The Cush's links and it looks like my aerial is fine but my neighbour will have to change his.

I'm in Cork, by the way. I'd have put that in if I'd realised the bit about the different transmitters.

Mike 1972

LordSutch wrote: »

Depending on where you live you can actually pick up Saorview on a cheap 'set top aerial' for about €15 (with or without a built-in booster).

Depending on where you live you might also be able to pick up a perfectly good Saorview signal with no freezing/blocking/dropouts on an aerial originally designed for band 3 VHF

In most cases its pretty unlikely though.

Cantona's Collars

Try connecting a Saorview box to the aerials to try them out before splashing out on new ones.If they pick up the Saorview signal ok then you're grand.
Some people pick it up with cheap rabbit ears from the €2 shop.

Ronnie Raygun

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Depending on where you live you might also be able to pick up a perfectly good Saorview signal with no freezing/blocking/dropouts on an aerial originally designed for band 3 VHF

Would probably work better receiving side-on, or just use the dipole (speaking from experience of UHF analogue reception on B III aerial).