best 'Rabbit Ears' available

toonarmy · 04-10-2006 09:53AM #1

toying with the idea of leaving 'sky' but would miss RTE ,

have my tps , art sport ..and the free bbc's and itv's ....

but what would be the 'top of the range' Rabbit Ears out there that would

do the job for RTE ? [i live in the waterford city]

Antenna · 04-10-2006 12:15PM

Results are usually poor with any 'Rabbits Ears'/set-top aerials.
Are you unable to install proper aerials in attic or on roof?

TheDriver · 04-10-2006 12:29PM

you'd get a vhf or uhf yagi for bones of 20euro, booster maybe 30 more to get nearly grand reception in attic if your on the cheap, any decent rabbit ears are 15-20 and most are bad unless your reception is brilliant

Zapho · 04-10-2006 12:31PM

Yeah rabbit ears are poor basically everywhere cept in dublin, so it doesn't really matter which ones you buy. If you can, get a proper UHF/VHF aerial (couldn't cost more than €15 or so)

watty · 04-10-2006 01:40PM

Even cheap rabbits ears in attic work better than expensive ones on the TV top. Many are rubbish.

Even a cheap aerial in attic is 100x better! Chimney is best. About 2/3rs geographically needs roof aerial for decent all for channels. Not sure if you need VHF + UHF there. TG4 and TV3 are ALWAYS UHF. Some places RTE1 & RTE2 are VHF. If either RTE is VHF, both are.

Mossy Monk · 04-10-2006 01:56PM

tv reception in Waterford City is ****e. it was in the places i lived anyway so i would advise against rabbit ears
IIRC RTÉ One and Two are VHF only (open to correction)

toonarmy · 04-10-2006 02:35PM

cheers all ...

TheDriver · 04-10-2006 03:43PM

i know someone in a very small village in middle of country and they get perfect 4 irish on the most basic rabbit ears, lucky sods!

TheDriver · 04-10-2006 03:48PM

Lads, off the point, i have vhf and uhf aerial diplexed through booster in attic down one wire. the uhf is grand but vhf has little dots only at times across the screen. Any idea what i should do, is it a vhf thing or my own aerial/wiring etc?

watty · 04-10-2006 05:20PM

Interference from a motor. Or the signal too high.

TheDriver · 04-10-2006 07:06PM

Only thing is its there one day and not the next, really comes and goes and nothing weather/pressure related. Could it be wiring from the aerial itself?

Ulsterman 1690 · 04-10-2006 08:00PM

Re Indoor aerials a few months ago Some (UK) consumer organisation tested a load of them ranging from £4 to £40 and found the £4 the best (sorry dont have the details)

I would go along with those who say only use an indoor aerial if theres absolutely no alternative. There are people who can get "perfect" reception on these things but they are in a very small (and lucky) minority

vhf has little dots only at times across the screen. Any idea what i should do, is it a vhf thing or my own aerial/wiring etc?

Check for a poor connection or break in the outer braid. A cable TV engineer told me onetime that a break/bad connection in the outer braid of a cable tends to affect low frequency channels the worst (its the other way around if the break is in the inner core) although he couldnt explain why.

RE: RTE being on VHF in some areas theyre VHF in other areas theyre UHF
TV3 TG4 and the UK channels are ALWAYS on UHF (except of course on most cable systems)

BTW Why is this thread in Satellite ???

mjsmyth · 04-10-2006 08:48PM

Watty,

I took your advice tonight (not given to me, but from this thread) and put an aerial in the attic.
I had a cheap and nasty plastic and wire aerial hanging around. I popped into Tescos, bought a couple of coax plugs and a joiner, went home and made up the lead.

I ran it down beside my cat5e cable and hooked it all up.

RTE1 & 2 went from being unwatchable to damn good and TV3 and TG4 should marked improvement also.

I think I shall pop down to B&Q on saturday and pick up a proper attic aerial.

Thansk for the heads up.

MJ

byte · 04-10-2006 09:22PM

Thread moved to Terrestrial.

TheDriver · 04-10-2006 11:23PM

MJ, I find the "hardware" stores can charge a good bit for aerials. Firstly, take a look at your tv tuner and it will tell you the easiest way if its VHF or UHF your rte is best coming in on. I was using a UHF yagi aerial and found it picked up VHF rte the best. Try where all the installers in your area go, e.g. in Cork its Dwyers to get the cheapest aerials etc, don't go near maplin.

Maybe we should have a sticky of where in each county you go to for cheapest aerials so people aren't being caught by high prices for fancy packing?

mjsmyth · 05-10-2006 09:25AM

Stupid question time.... How can I tell if it is on UHF or VHF? I know feck all about it, I just hit Autotune

I believe that B&Q have attic aerials (I don't want to put one outside) starting at about €25. Is there any particular type I should be looking for?

I am in the Naas area, I seem to remember someone saying that I would be getting my TV from Kippure, if so, do you know where I can find out more information on what is on UHF and VHF from there?

Many thanks,

MJ

TheDriver · 05-10-2006 09:38AM

my telly at home goes through uhf and then vhf on the scanner in autotune but think you can do it via the frequencies but don't know off hand which are which, all are in 40-800 MHz bracket I think.
I found that theres local beaming stations too so you might get better reception from one of them, don't know much about Naas to be honest

watty · 05-10-2006 11:09AM

TG4 and TV3 are NEVER on UHF. If you need VHF, then you need it for RTE1 and RTE2.

I could be wrong, but Kippure is the TX for Naas and RTE1 & RTE2 are VHF.

TheDriver · 05-10-2006 12:23PM

Think you meant TG4 and TV3 are ALWAYS on UHF? Just found in my area that VHF gives best RTE results while most would say its only old aerials!

mjsmyth · 05-10-2006 12:42PM

Ok, so chances are that RTE 1&2 are coming from Kippure on VHF and TV3 and TG4 on UHF.

What type of aerial would you guys recommend then for me to put in the attic.

My current aerial looks like this!

Thanks,

MJ

byte · 05-10-2006 07:59PM

That's a small indoor UHF aerial.

For an attic, I'd say go for proper outdoor aerials, and position them in the attic. If you've a portable TV to cart up to the attic with you, all the better, so then you can move about until you get the best signal. With regards to what type, I'd suggest getting a UHF and VHF aerial seperately and combine with UHF/VHF combiner though I know an aerial to cover both exists.

mjsmyth · 08-10-2006 05:45PM

I bought an attic aerial in B&Q yesterday, mounting kit and all. I put it up in the attic and ran all the cable and so on.

I wanted it done before the match as my Tv3 was not great at all. Well, TV3 and Tg4 are outstanding, they really are. Excellent picture, no problems with teletext. RTE1 is a bit snowy, not enough to stop you watching, but noticable. RTE2 suffers from a slight wobble every now and again.

Do I need to get another aerial for whatever band RTE transmit on, or is it a case of it just needs to be alligned a bit better or is this as good as it gets?

Oh, one final thing. If I install an FM serial for radio, what do I need to combine the signals into one cable, is it a diplexer? If so, can someone make a recomendation?

Thanks.

MJ
MJ

chilledout · 08-10-2006 07:42PM

any comments on satellite dish bought in lidil a few weeks ago, keep losing signal even though all tightened up .starting 2 get a pain in me b***ocks .ready 2 chuck the lot.

mjsmyth · 08-10-2006 08:47PM

Pretty much the wrong thread for this question, but...

Are you sure it is aligned correctly? If not, when it starts to rain, the signal will deteriorate too much to be wtchable. Even correctly aligned dishes in heavy heavy rain can suffer.

Have you checked the connections on the LNB? Have you checked the F Plugs? A dodgy connection there can and will cause breakup. Are your out door connections waterproofed? Are there any kinks in the cable?

As for the lidl dish, I have the 80cm version for the last 2 years and have had no problems at all. It is likely that it is not the equipment, but possibly the installation of the dish that is causing the problem.

The only thing I can suggest is to look at the signal strength, note what it is, and the try to move the dish ever so slightly to get a better signal.

Others here might offer other advice.

mj

best 'Rabbit Ears' available

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