Homemade indoor aeriel for Saorview

Firewalkwithme

So off I went today to look for a cheapo rabbit ears indoor aerial to pick up Saorview. I had looked up the some of the more pricey ones online, amplified, snazzy looking and all that costing up to 50 euro or more. Feck that I said, I'll go pick up one I saw in Dealz/Eurogiant/Mr. Price.

Well I checked all those shops (too much time on my hands) and they hadn't got them in so I went home and got a bit of coax cable and stuck a M/F adapter on one end and shoved a wire coathanger in.

Not expecting much joy, I turned on the tv, perfect HD reception, didn't even have to have the coathanger up high or anything, It's just 2 feet off the floor as a matter of fact.

Just felt like sharing that

The Cush

You're in a strong signal area but could be susceptible to local interference. The coat hangar aerial info has been posted here previously.

byte

At least you had the foresight to not stick the coathanger directly into the TV socket, which I used to see done in the past, when inevitably, the socket gets damaged.

Ronnie Raygun

Cartoon_Head wrote: »

I went home and got a bit of coax cable and stuck a M/F adapter on one end and shoved a wire coathanger in.

If you remove the hanger & just use the cable, does it work just as well?

Firewalkwithme

Ronnie Raygun wrote: »

If you remove the hanger & just use the cable, does it work just as well?

Only works with the hanger attached.

winston_1

Rabbits ears are not suitable anyway. They are VHF aerials for FM radio and DAB.

Firewalkwithme

winston_1 wrote: »

Rabbits ears are not suitable anyway. They are VHF aerials for FM radio and DAB.

I picked up Saorview on a rabbit ears aeriel before, hence why I looked for one. The coathanger principle is the same and it works too.

winston_1

Cartoon_Head wrote: »

I picked up Saorview on a rabbit ears aeriel before, hence why I looked for one. The coathanger principle is the same and it works too.

They only work in very strong signal areas and are liable to stop working with a change of environment.

If you must use an indoor aerial get a proper one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TELECAM-TCE2000-performance-indoor-aerial-Black/dp/B000G73ZIQ

Oscarziggy

Cartoon Head.
You must be in a strong signal area.
If you can find a storm damaged aerial for your area --- we have loads for my area over this side of the water after the recent storms --- remove the dipole and wire it to the coax.
This works well for me for Freeview just behind the curtain in a window --- single glazed with no metal in the glass to attenuate the signal.
Window is line of sight of the transmitter.
Regards

stereomatic

I remember back in 1990 when the family moved house trying to get the super bowl in using the coat hanger aerial as advised by my younger brothers friends the result was mostly fuzz with some slightly visible images and scratchy sound

Ronnie Raygun

Cartoon_Head wrote: »

The coathanger principle is the same and it works too.

Coathanger principle = just works by pure luck.

What way did you connect your hanger to the coaxial cable?

Firewalkwithme

Ronnie Raygun wrote: »

Coathanger principle = just works by pure luck.

What way did you connect your hanger to the coaxial cable?

I put a M to F adapter on the end of the cable and just stuck it straight in.

As others have said, I am in a strong signal area but so what, if it works for me it will work for others who are also in a strong signal area too.

Just sayin' is all

Ronnie Raygun

Maybe a thread like this calls for pictures. Or maybe not.

Anyhow, my "refinement" would be not to bother with the hanger, just strip a suitable length of insulation from the cable (best length arrived at by painstaking experimentation ) & make the inner & braid into a dipole.

Firewalkwithme

Late Late Eurosong 2014 special in HD for proof.