Dingdongler

I'm having my loft converted at the moment and thought now might be a good time to have a free view aerial installed on the roof as the builders would probably fit it for me.

At the moment I just have Sky HD in one room and Sky SD in a couple of other rooms.

So I can't figure out whether I should install an aerial so I could have free view in some of the upstairs rooms at a later date or just run additional cables to the Sky dish and have free sat.

Ant

Don't get the builder to do it. I've yet to see one done by them properly.

You've been warned

But freeview would be best as all TVs have it built in now as freesat isn't

Dingdongler

Really? Isn't it just a matter of bolting it on somewhere?

Coffin Dodger

I may go the Sky route at some point but at the moment I happy with what Freeview provides especially since the analogue switch off in our area now means we get BBC1HD, BBCHD, ITV1HD and CH4HD. Looks pretty good on the plasma. Admittedly there is a lot more HD stuff on Sky but I'm sure i can do without most of it and couldn't justify the cost of the sports channels anyway.

We have an aerial fixed to the chimney, a cable comes off that into the loft to a 4-way distribution amplifier. From there it goes to the front room, living room, and two of our bedrooms.

Ant

i find with buliders they put the crappiest cable and mast and aerial they can find (probably all from screwfix) , then probably tie wrap the cable to the mast .

don't leave a drip loop on the cable going into the house then water travels down the cable and wrecks the whole thing.

Or they put insufficient bolts into the wall to secure the bracket and it comes down in the first strong wind.

The best i've seen is the aerial upside down

There's plenty more i could go on with but in my experience what might seem to you they're doing you a favour it won't be in the long run

dpb

Id go freeview like a shot , cant get it here so its got to be sky or freesat - and the former i wouldnt even entertain

Dingdongler

I'll be supplying all the stuff Ant so they'll fit what I give them. Funny enough I was going to buy the aerial from Screwfix



Could you please tell me

1) What aerial and cable to get?

2) The best signal distributor/amp to get

3) What you mean by drip loop?

ps is this what you do for a living?

Thanks

Ant

you can get cheaper but imo opinion you get what you pay for

Dingdongler

Thanks Ant.

That stuff you've linked to seems quite cheap. Is it definitely the best?

Thanks again

Ant

for a domestic install yes


are you mounting it to the wall?

if so you'll need
http://www.dastv.co.uk/shop/6039_125..._Mast_2232.php
http://www.dastv.co.uk/shop/12_x_12q...anised_434.php
http://www.dastv.co.uk/shop/175quot_..._Small_227.php x2
http://www.dastv.co.uk/shop/M8_x_60m...r_Bolt_972.php x 4

Dingdongler

Thanks Ant.

How do I go about deciding the best place to mount it with regards to signal strength?

Thanks

Ant

Ideally with a meter but if you've got a clear line of sight in the direction of the transmitter you'll be ok

TelBoy

Ant, meant to ask you. Professional calibration. Worthwhile or techno-geek rip-off?

Dingdongler

I know the question is to Ant but imho worth it if you have suitable level of kit. I've recently bought a 65 inch plasma and will have it calibrated once it's got 200 or so hours on it.

Dingdongler

Thanks Ant. Do you literally mean a clear line of sight ie that I should be able to see the transmitter?

Thanks

Ant

No as in not looking into a bank of trees or a massive lead block
Not sure what you mean the aerial system or your tv?

Dingdongler

Thanks Ant.

Sorry, I thought Telboy was talking about prof calibrations of TVs.

TelBoy

I was

Dingdongler

Hi Ant

Can I check with you that from the aerial to the distribution amp I just need one length of coax and then just one length of coax to each TV?

This is for free view as mentioned.

Thanks for your help

Ant

yup thats correct

the hamster

iTrader: (7)

Sounds like youre an installer like me Ant?

I love it when people who havent got a clue try and do an aerial install themselves. Usually ends up in a phone call from their missus on Monday morning along the lines of "my husband has spent all weekend and a small fortune trying to get it to work but it doesnt".

Then I come along and tell them they could have had it done professionally by me for half the cost, with a guarantee and in a 1/4 of the time.

Good luck with it chap, I get the feeling Ant will be answering a LOT of questions on this.

the hamster

iTrader: (7)

PS, just looked at DAS's prices, ouch!

Oh, and recommending a Unix52 and 6 way setback amp is a bit OTT, especially on those fixings. The OP hasnt put their location or postcode etc so may only need a QR10. Unix 52 and amp is likely to require attenuation unless they live in a really poor reception area.

Ant

IIRC Ding lives down south which isn't switched over yet.

i was just recommending what will work straight from the off, as a commercial engineer i only use 52's really, i hate qr10's even for domestic installs .

much prefer a SG14.

the hamster

iTrader: (7)

Since DSO i'm having a nightmare round here. All of my customers are within 20 miles of Waltham and since Belmont and Waltham went over i've had nothing but calls requiring attenuation to filter out people getting Yorkshire mux's instead of Central.

I tuned a tv recently for a customer where the aerial and amp was installed pre-DSO and it stored 294 channels, then didnt group them in order of strength, nightmare! Took the amp out and distributed it to 4 tvs inductively to lower the signal.

Ant

i was getting belmont in Coventry few weeks ago , im not too far from you i'm in mansfield

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I'd air on the side of freesat HD. But if it was me I'd wire for both.

Mainly because for some reason I'm not getting the proper audio signals from the same freeview HD channels, i.e ITV HD being PCM (same with cable), where ITV HD on freesat is Dolby 2.0 (or 5.0 if its a movie)

I currently have both ....as well as Cable.

Ant

That'll be down to what they're sending it out at surely

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Yes it is. I don't know why they are only sending out PCM audio, when BBC one HD is always Dolby 2.0 or 5.0.

Ant

Freeview hd is 1080p

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Dammit you just made me go and check

For me both freesat and freeview are 1080i on ITV HD