Aerial fitting costs or DIY?

I have a aerial fitted to my house but its not digital.

I want to get a new aerial (digital) installed and it feed the 3 upstairs bedrooms. Reading threads it seems that the signal will drop as it's being split. I was going to fit the aerial myself and get a 3 way signal booster but not sure it's that simple. I live in a 3 bed detached house so access to the roof is easy to all elevations.

Question - Can I doit myself or should I get a professional round to install it. If the latter, any idea what I should be paying please?

Sorry for the long email.

oh I live North Leeds.

Thanks,

Dan

There is no such thing as a "digital aerial", anyone who uses that term either doesn't know what they are talking about, is trying to dumb down and doing it badly or is deliberately trying to confuse people into getting new aerials they don't need.

Why Are you having any problems with getting digital signals on your current aerial? if so a different one (higher gain and/or wideband) may be required but there may be other problems too.

Interestingly too much signal can actually be just as much of a problem as too little. Amplifiers have their place but they aren't always needed and can actually make things worse in some cases. Remember the signal to noise ratio at the output of an amplifier is always worse than at the input.

Pugwash is correct no such thing as a digital aerial. Also your TV set is not the apparatus that receives broadcast TV signals the aerial does but you will still get done for not having a licence because of using the TV rather than having an aerial.

During the introduction of digital the signals were slipped into every available space so unlike the analogue signals were not tightly grouped so using a light banded aerial was not possible. So the wide band aerial got labelled "Digital" as they were often required to receive the whole group of signals.

Since the switch over in many areas although not all the banding of TV signals has returned in the main using the same band as the original analogue signals so often a wide band aerial is not required.

However in some areas there have been other changes at the same time. Originally the frequencies were arranged so that we could get 4 in each area. The channel 5 came along and we squeezed in another one. But digital has 6 to 8 frequencies (Each one with many programs) so there has been some changes to fit them in.

In my area this has included a completely new new transmitter which has both English and Welsh TV on the Wirral and needs one to turn the aerial vertical rather than horizontal. If one wants English and Welsh one still needs a wide band aerial but if only one region is required then a much lighter narrow band aerial can be used.

My local aerial fitter was laughing as he told me about some unusual requests like stacking aerials and saying how it would not work. With wide band TV likely he was correct but stacking aerials is a common method used by radio hams which brings into question the knowledge of the aerial fitter.

So likely DIY is just as good as getting a Pro however you do need to look into what is required in your area.

Also turning the aerial for best picture is no longer any good and you need to have the signal strength meter set up on TV to get best signal. Here we have the catch 22. First TV must be turned to right frequency (Not channel) then the signal meter built into TV will work. But until aerial is fitted and pointed in correct direction you can't tune TV into correct frequency.

So if the TV is already set to correct frequency renewing aerial not a problem but if set to frequency of an old transmitter then you will need the aerial fitters box of tricks to find the correct transmitter and set aerial.

The frequencies are not shown as Mhz but as channels 21 to 68. Do not confuse the channel number given to the frequency with the TV channel you watch they are now no longer the same thing.

On internet you can find what channels your local transmitter is using. Then find what channels your TV is tuned to and if the same then DIY is easy.

Since every TV is different can't tell you how to bring up meter. But that must be first step. Then you can see if there is a signal strength problem. Remember it shows the strength for that Multiplex and likely you have 6 to 8 Multiplex signals. In my area for a time Channel 5 was a problem because it used channel 68 which was also used by Sky as the default output on their boxes and although the box shouldn't transmit on the aerial they did and blocked channel 5 for neighbours.

Good look.

OK, a quick summary...


DIY - do a bit of research to work out what you need, aerial direction, clear line of sight etc etc. Tip: If all your neighbours aerials are on whacking great poles then guess what you'll have to do... lol.

Next, along with your aerial (and I'd go Log Periodic for most installs unless you are in a really difficult area) you can buy a little handheld signal detector for less than £20. You can take this to the roof and use it when pointing the aerial. It's not a pro bit of gear, so don't expect miracles, but it will give you an indication.

Amps and splitters -- Decide if you want to run Sky around the house too, and if so buy a splitter or amp with Sky pass. Also, choose a masthead amp (if needed) with variable gain.

The bit where you are working in the dark is signal level. Too little is easy to spot - "Oops, no TV signal" - but too much is harder to deal with. Sorry, but thems the risks of going DIY. Allow a weekend and lots of up & down ladders to get things sorted.

Pro-Install - This assumes you're employing a CAI member who is tooled up with the right gear to do the job...

1) They'll have the right gear to get you the best signal possible. This includes some very sophisticated and expensive meters.
2) They are insured (in case the fall through or off your roof) and you are covered if they cause any damage
3) It'll take them far less time to do the job and do it right
4) If there's a problem they'll come back and fix it
5) Yes, it will cost more. They have to earn a living

Ring around for some prices. Then weigh up the cost of your time if you were being paid gross by your employer. Then add fuel & vehicle & insurance & tool & phone & premises & admin costs which can eat £60-£70 of profit every working day before even turning the key in the ignition.

Thanks for the reply guys.

The current aerial is on the front of the house. I want it moved to the back. Next door is an identical house and they have their aerial on a pole (at the back of the house!)

I gather the aerial isn't working as I recently bought a TV with 50 free HD channels. I plugged the current aerial into the TV and it states no or low signal strength. I therefore think I need to get another aerial. While i'm getting a chap to fix it he might as wekk put the aerial points in the bedrooms upstairs.

I was going to have sky in my room (just split the incoming signal so no multiroom). I'll call around and see what prices people come back with otherwise i had better get my ladder out.

Many thanks,

Daniel

I gather the aerial isn't working as I recently bought a TV with 50 free HD channels.

Click to expand...

Don't think so. What make and model and what HD channels should it pick up?

I was going to have sky in my room (just split the incoming signal so no multiroom). I'll call around and see what prices people come back with otherwise i had better get my ladder out.

Click to expand...

You can’t split a feed from a satellite dish to serve two Sky boxes but you can use the second RF output from a skybox

Its a sumsung LE40C580!

Update had a quote for £150. Thats moving the aerial to the rear, installing into 3 bedrooms, one point in the lounge and puttings sky in my room.

Any good??

There's a chunk of work there and tools + working at height. Sounds like good value to me.