Television aerial
We have only just come back to caravaning as the kids have grown up and now we can get the grand kids in on it.I have recently purchased a 1997 Abbey County Dorset caravan and I am having trouble getting a signal for the antenna on the roof. I did wonder if it was because it was an old caravan. The booster inside has the light on so I assume it is working, any suggestions please?
Comments
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This website may help answer your questions
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Most often I find that when my TV plays up its a cable connection issue. If you are in a strong signal area check connections into/ out of booster and cabling between this and TV. Try a direct fly lead you know is good and connect directly from booster to TV. Worth checking the input cable is tight and connected prior to this.
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The flying saucer antennas are ommi directional so normally only good in strong signal areas, the newer type fitted to caravans are directional so more gain when pointed in the correct direction and of course can be vertically or horizontally polarised to match the local transmitter.
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Given the age of the caravan, is it a digital signal compatible aerial ?
A quick look on "Tinterweb" for its make and model may provide some answers.
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That's right but there are superior and inferior aerials being sold, some no better than a metal coat hanger.
There are also strong signal areas where that coat hanger performs with the best. However, those inferior aerials can be totally useless in my experience in the poor signal areas.
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There are plenty of people on CT who will show how dangerous a little knowledge can be. Digital signals as transmitted for UK television are weaker than the obsolete analogue signals we used to receive, at the same distance from the transmitter. That means that the old flying saucer shape may not perform well, where later designs of ‘log periodic’ with their directional array of prongs will work when pointing in the direction of the transmitter. Pitch your caravan close to a transmitter and anything, coat hanger, piece of wire etc will work. When you pitch further away, things will get more difficult and you may need all of the help that you can get - which leads to a ‘digital’ aerial, where the elements are optimally spaced for the frequencies used in digital transmissions, and pointed in the direction of the transmitter, will maximise your chances. Forget the technobabble and get a Status, or equivilant directional aerial, ideally with a signal strength indicator fitted. These are commonly referred to as ’digital’ because of their optimal design for digital transmissions. Close to a transmitter, as stated previously, a coat hanger will work.
But before splashing out on a retrofit, you might like to consider the flexibility of using an internet connected tablet for its diversity and range of programs available.
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Before you go off spending money, try retuning your tv when you arrive on a new site. Digital signal channels differ from region to region, so you need to select retuning from your tv's menu.
On Club sites with poor tv signal there's often an option to connect to a tv socket on the Ehu via a long cable, whch you can buy from reception.
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On the contrary, since the end of mainstream analogue transmissions some years ago digital power output was upped significantly.There are wideband aerials, grouped aerials, log periodic aerials, high-gain aerials, grid aerials and even YAGI aerials, but no digital aerials. All aerials are capable of receiving both analogue and digital TV signals.
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So as I suggested, the OP's current aerial may not be compatible with the digital signal now used ?
I remember from the switch over many homes had to replace their existing aerial or install additional gizmo's
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Many people were advised to upgrade aerials because of the weaker digital signal originally, but that was to enhance the signal by use of higher gain aerials. As Vulcan states there is no difference between a digital and analogue aerial, only its sensitivity in picking up that signal.
The saucer type was crap whether it was analogue or digital, unless you were close by to the transmitter, purely because it was/is a omni directional aerial.
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Please read my previous post again, there is no reason why the OP's aerial should not work subject to the usual constraints and assuming it is not faulty, I am still using my seventeen year old Omni.
As for the domestic Digital switch over, many unscrupulous aerial specialists exploited the ignorance of the public as an excuse to replace a perfectly good aerial.
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Remember that an omni-directional antenna is exactly that - omni. So it picks up in all directions more or less equally. Great if the TV transmitter you want is the only signal, but any other intentional signal or interference in the right range of frequencies also is passed down to the booster amplifier and helps to obscure the wanted information.
Somtimes the benefit of a directional antenna is more in what it does not recieve.
There are applications available for smart phones that will show the direction, distance and polarity required for aligning one's antenna correctly. But the reciever still has to be re-tuned to make sense of the output of whatever transmitter one chooses. If one aligns to a different transmitter (even without moving the caravan at all) then one has to retune the reciever.
I've noticed that different transmitters carry a different mix of TV stations, so one can considerably increase the number of possible programmes to argue over.
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You are obviously unaware of the mathematics behind the spacing of elements in log periodic aerials (as supplied by many LV manufacturers and sold under the brand name Status). As I said in my first post, a little knowledge can be dangerous. Most certainly, while there are a variety of aerial designs, starting with a coat hanger, there is no effective solution to enhancing reception for specific frequencies in simple antenna. University level study of such designs clarifies this.
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We seem to have got carried away with technicalities here, I am well aware of the mathematics behind the spacing of elements in aerials, I have manufactured many however, the original post asked if his aerial did not work because it was old and the simple answer is no because as far as he is concerned there is no difference between analogue and digital aerials.
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I have a 1996 Abbey Devon which came when new without an aerial, I had one fitted by a caravan engineer and I have to say that it has given good reception for probaly 95% of the time
What I might suggest is the amplifier might need repalcing with a new one.
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speaking of aerials - has anyone tried one of those "TV Fox" gadgets? I just wondered because if they are as good as advertised, they'd be the perfect answer to the OP's problem (and many other happy campers) but then you know what they say, if it sounds too good to be true it probably isn't (true)!
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