TV aerial blown down - how much to fix?

InkblotInkblot Posts: 26,889
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Until this morning I had a TV aerial and three element FM aerial attached - not very securely - to the chimney stack. Now they are dangling downwards on to the roof. So I need to get them re-attached.

However... whoever lived here before me (1990s) ran the aerial wires into the loft and then down the inside of the house into the cupboard under the stairs, where they installed a mains-powered amplifier. Then there were sockets all over the place, most of which I never use and have no idea how to connect.

So, in order to get the TV and FM signals working again, would it be cheaper to go for a complete new installation, with new aerials and cabling and fresh holes drilled in the living-room wall, rather than trying to resurrect the existing set-up? If so, roughly how much would it cost? Would it make any sense at all to have the old aerials reattached to the chimney and carry on using the 20-year-old cabling?

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  • acoolwelshblokeacoolwelshbloke Posts: 3,185
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    If it was me i would replace the cable coming in from the antenna too, the rest of the cable i would leave as is.
  • Doghouse RileyDoghouse Riley Posts: 32,491
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    Inkblot wrote: »
    Until this morning I had a TV aerial and three element FM aerial attached - not very severely - to the chimney stack. Now they are dangling downwards on to the roof. So I need to get them re-attached.

    However... whoever lived here before me (1990s) ran the aerial wires into the loft and then down the inside of the house into the cupboard under the stairs, where they installed a mains-powered amplifier. Then there were sockets all over the place, most of which I never use and have no idea how to connect.

    So, in order to get the TV and FM signals working again, would it be cheaper to go for a complete new installation, with new aerials and cabling and fresh holes drilled in the living-room wall, rather than trying to resurrect the existing set-up? If so, roughly how much would it cost? Would it make any sense at all to have the old aerials reattached to the chimney and carry on using the 20-year-old cabling?

    I'm running a new HD TV in the front room with forty year-old coax, the very old thin gauge type. I get a great picture.

    The cabling should be fine but whether an aerial installer would want to guarantee their work using the old cable is another matter.
    I use an old 405 line dipole aerial which is in the loft, for that particular TV, it was original for my hifi tuner amp. But now doubles up for the TV. The cable exits the loft under the eaves and runs down the wall and into the front room.
    You could try something similar yourself.

    I don't think you'll get an aerial installer "out of bed" for less than £75.
    What's the excess on your buildings insurance?
    Thought about making a claim?
  • InkblotInkblot Posts: 26,889
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    What's bothering me is that the cabling is all boxed in inside the house and then reappears in the cupboard under the stairs. I can't imagine an installer would want to get involved with replacing that cable - how would they even get at it? So I think it's either new cable on the outside of the house or reuse the old cable.
  • Polo MintsPolo Mints Posts: 47
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    I'm running a new HD TV in the front room with forty year-old coax, the very old thin gauge type. I get a great picture.

    The cabling should be fine but whether an aerial installer would want to guarantee their work using the old cable is another matter.
    I use an old 405 line dipole aerial which is in the loft, for that particular TV, it was original for my hifi tuner amp. But now doubles up for the TV. The cable exits the loft under the eaves and runs down the wall and into the front room.
    You could try something similar yourself.

    I don't think you'll get an aerial installer "out of bed" for less than £75.
    What's the excess on your buildings insurance?
    Thought about making a claim?
    Speaking of your ancient coaxial cable, I would have thought that picture breakup would have been very likely due to impulse interference from other things around the house and the coaxial cable having very little shielding. :confused: Have you wrapped the coaxial cable with tin foil or something? :D
  • Doghouse RileyDoghouse Riley Posts: 32,491
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    Polo Mints wrote: »
    Speaking of your ancient coaxial cable, I would have thought that picture breakup would have been very likely due to impulse interference from other things around the house and the coaxial cable having very little shielding. :confused: Have you wrapped the coaxial cable with tin foil or something? :D

    No, it's just as it was in the seventies when I installed it.

    Mind you in the south Manchester area, reception has always been good. I've a roof-type aerial in the roof space of our summerhouse at the bottom of the garden. It can't be more than eight feet off the ground and I get a good picture on a little TV down there on all Freeview channels.
  • InkblotInkblot Posts: 26,889
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    Winston_1 wrote: »
    Aerials come under contents insurance not buildings insurance. I discovered this in 1987.

    Interesting. I'll speak to my insurer.
  • iangradiangrad Posts: 813
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    A competent aerial rigger will be able to attach new aerials ( securely fixed into position ) to the existing cables for a very small sum : Its even a DIY job if you have access to ladders & cat ladders ?
  • InkblotInkblot Posts: 26,889
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    iangrad wrote: »
    A competent aerial rigger will be able to attach new aerials ( securely fixed into position ) to the existing cables for a very small sum : Its even a DIY job if you have access to ladders & cat ladders ?

    I don't have access to a head for heights, unfortunately.
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