[glagys]

need to buy an inside aerial for my student daughter anyone point me in the right direction
a good cheap one will do she will be using it in York if it makes a differance
thanks

[joshua_welby]

Originally Posted by glagys

need to buy an inside aerial for my student daughter anyone point me in the right direction
a good cheap one will do she will be using it in York if it makes a differance
thanks

Buy the Telecam Indoor Aerial
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...t%3EAERIAL.htm

I have one and it is brilliant, do not use the amplifier if it comes with one or plug it into the wall/Electric Socket

[albertd]

Despite any recommendations which might be given, you have to realise that indoor aerials have a very limited capability and will only work where there is a very good signal available.

An aerial up on a roof is there for a reason and the reason is that in very many cases nothing else is good enough.

[BMR]

According to Wolfbane, York isn't a very strong signal area, so money spent on an indoor aerial is likely to be money wasted.

Talk to your daughters Landlord about getting permission to have a proper TV point installed. If he 'ums and errs' say you have spoken to a friend in the TV trade who says an indoor aerial isn't good enough in York. If he still says no, consider going elsewhere.

In the analogue days, people could put up with slightly fuzzy reception from an indoor aerial but those days are over. Digital is all or nothing, and I fear an indoor aerial would give you nothing.

[tr_ramsgate]

Indoor aerials are no good is a familiar refrain.

However I can confirm from my personal experience picking up weak digital signals (pre DSO when they were really weak) perfectly satisfactorily from distant transmitters with the recommended Telecam model plus an amplifier.

It is also a common refrain that an amplifier won't increase signal to noise ratio as it amplifies both noise and signal and may introduce its own noise.

However the practical experience with digital TV is that the signal quality as seen by the TV (or digibox) may increase from below stable picture to above stable picture threshold with amplification.

This is what counts - not the absolute level of noise along the aerial cable joining the amp to the TV.

[dragon-it]

And it is Argos so try it and see.... they will no doubt have it back if no good.

Was quite surprised what we can pickup here... since DSO at least a small stick aerial that came with a USB card picks up the lot in a downstairs room vaguely in the direction of the Brierley Hill tx. Might be worth checking the reception checkers though to see what they see, also if you are on the "wrong" side of the building to the transmitter, or on ground floor vs 2nd signal can be completely different.

Steve

[glagys]

thanks for all your help just a couple of Q's for you techo's i see you can get up to diff dB,
eg up to 41dBi
what is the significent of the higher of lower the dB number

also is it really that simple just plug in and tune in

[chrisjr]

dB is simply a ratio of two quantities of something. In this context either the power or the voltage in a signal. The bigger the number the higher the ratio between the two numbers. But without a context a dB number is meaningless.

If talking about the gain in an amplifier then the dB figure refers to how much amplification the device has. But don't be fooled by raw numbers. If the signal you want to receive is completely buried in the noise then it doesn't matter how many dB's of gain the amplifier has it is not going to lift that signal out of the noise.

If the signal is above the noise then amplification may make it more usable. But electronic gain is no substitute for raw signal. You will get better results form a decent aerial mounted where it stands a chance of getting a good signal and no amplification than one of those rubbish loop aerials hidden down the back of the sofa with a 40+ dB gain amplifier.

[spiney2]

getting a usable tv signal is subject to the laws of physics. in average area this needs the usual yagi type aerial with lots of metal rods on. there is no "magic" that will get round this.

with a strong signal may get away with indoor aerial but not otherwise.

[spiney2]

an amplifier raises the signal level but will make carrier to noise worse. unfortunaately thats the most important figure ...........

[David (2)]

its all about how strong the signal is. Its not the same all over teh UK. Hills and tall buildings also act to block signals which drastically reduces their strength, or makes them fail altogether. Also, not all channels are the same strength either (even in the same location). The commercial channels tend to be weaker than BBC.

We have a telecam aerial (no built in booster) and down stairs it doesnt pick up any channels at all. Upstairs if only works by having the aerial held in a specific spot. If the aerial moves even by an inch the picture breaks up. Its not the fault of the aerial, its the (lack) of signal where we live. Outdoor aerial is the only useable option for us.

[Winston_1]

Originally Posted by glagys

a good cheap one will do
thanks

You cannot get a good cheap anything. You can get good, you can get cheap, but not both together.

As has already been said, the Telecam is one of the better ones and is as good as they get. (Don't get the amplified version however). If you want cheap try a 99p shop but don't complain if it doesn't work.

[spiney2]

..... if on campus the there may be matv amplifiers in student residences. and freeview on iptv. i think this is in some universites.

what i remember about york campus is the entire area covered in slimey duck poo ....

[spiney2]

sorry i assumed york university? probably wrongly. however according to wikipedia the student Freewire service is not offered at york university.

tv can be watched via broadband internhet if available. but does sorta use up the data allowance.

[SimonBlackham]

A Yagi type aerial will receive off-axis (side lobes) and this reduces its Signal to Noise ratio (also called Carrier to Noise ratio).
A loop aerial picks up equally from the back and front - thus again reducing the S/N ratio.
A log-periodic aerial picks up over a wide angle (approx. 90deg - 45deg either side) at the front and virtually nothing outside this angle (16-20dB down) - this means that although its 'natural' amplification is low its S/N ratio is high and it will take moderate amplification.

I have direct experience of this with two indoor aerials at a student house - a plastic coated Loop aerial with variable amplification (a red light came on when the signal was viable) and a plastic coated log-periodic with some fixed amplification. I set up the system as best as I could with the loop aerial - the signal of which broke up with people moving around and using mobile 'phones behind it - the log-periodic as a direct replacement gave a much better quality signal with pretty well constant zero BER (exception - constant 30% full scale on Pick TV - Arquiva-A MUX - no visible effect on picture).

[Analogue110]

Yes if you must use an indoor aerial, then a log-periodic would take some beating.

http://www.sonicdirect.co.uk/Aerials...googlemerchant

[spiney2]

a log periodic of course wd be better. as its a real aerial. not indoor type.

[Mark C]

Originally Posted by spiney2

a log periodic of course wd be better. as its a real aerial. not indoor type.

Unless it's an indoor log periodic

http://philex.com/catalogue/product/?id=694&cat=1129

[Masteriser]

Originally Posted by joshua_welby

Buy the Telecam Indoor Aerial
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...t%3EAERIAL.htm

I have one and it is brilliant

Maybe yours is brilliant Joshua, but you linked to the One For Aerial which is not as good as the Telecam. Argos no longer sell the Telecam indoor areial. However Amazon do stock it.

As has already been said, indoor aerials are all pretty poor at collecting enough signal. However, some are less bad than others and the Telecam is pretty much the least worst. Avoid the amplified version though.

[spiney2]

Originally Posted by Mark C

Unless it's an indoor log periodic

http://philex.com/catalogue/product/?id=694&cat=1129

as long as all the bits are the right size. weve mananged to minaturise transistors but not yer actual radio waves ......

[littlebooties]

Interested in this thread as I'm having to buy an indoor aerial for a first floor room.

Would there be any extra bonus to using an outdoor aerial indoors, instead of an indoor aerial? (thinking I could stick it on top of the wardrobe or something)

[Analogue110]

Originally Posted by littlebooties

Interested in this thread as I'm having to buy an indoor aerial for a first floor room.

Would there be any extra bonus to using an outdoor aerial indoors, instead of an indoor aerial? (thinking I could stick it on top of the wardrobe or something)

Have a read here.

http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/best_aerial.htm

[littlebooties]

Originally Posted by Analogue110

Have a read here.

http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/best_aerial.htm

Fab link. Thank you Analogue.

[Winston_1]

Originally Posted by littlebooties

Interested in this thread as I'm having to buy an indoor aerial for a first floor room.

Would there be any extra bonus to using an outdoor aerial indoors, instead of an indoor aerial? (thinking I could stick it on top of the wardrobe or something)

Yes, but if you already have an aerial feed in a downstairs room a much better option would be to split it and run another feed upstairs.