Loft Aerials - Any good?

[Paul35]

I have a sky satellite dish (working) but currently have no aerial.

I want to have installed a aerial and was thinking of installing a Loft aerial..... but are they any good?

I have always thought If an aerial is enclosed in a loft and doesn't have fresh open air that you wouldn't get much of a picture - is this true?

A Loft aerial would be perfect for me as maintaining it would be a lot easier than going out in rain/wind and up a ladder trying to maintain it!

Can a Loft aerial maintain a good picture?

Thank you.

 

[gregers]

mine worked wonderfully,
that was until it all changed to digital.

 

[JohnD]

yes, but it depends where you are, how far the best transmitter is, and what aerial you buy.

With digital it has to be accurately aimed or it will not work.

Sam Gamgee gave me some hints on //www.diynot.com/forums/audio-visual/replacing-three-aerials-with-one.376598/page-3#2923759

 

[Lucid]

It depends on several factors; the main ones being...

* signal strength in your area

* local conditions around your building (trees, other buildings etc)

* suitability of the aerial for the frequency range of the transmissions

* where in the loft the aerial is installed

* how well the aerial is installed

The above isn't exhaustive, but it probably covers enough of the main points. There's no definitive answer because there are too many unknowns. Just installing the aerial in a bad spot in the loft can knock off a significant chunk of performance. I'll gibe you an example. The father-in-law lives in a strong signal area. He has a loft aerial but it's useless because the house is blocked by trees in the direction of the transmitter. That, plus the losses from being in the loft is enough to wipe out the signal. I live further away from the same transmitter in an area where high gain aerials are recommended. Yet I have brilliant line of sight to the transmitter, so the same aerial in my loft would work great.
If an aerial system is designed and installed properly outdoors then it won't need much maintenance at all.

A proper outdoor installation will work much better than a loft install.

 

[ericmark]

I would agree. I have a loop aerial on the windowsill not best but only use for Yesterday. Best for me would be a small aerial on corner of garage with sky dish pointing opposite direction. I know good contact with Moel-y-parc as Miss Piggy (GB7MP) works well with my hand held and it's on the same mast. Clearly a loft aerial would work OK for me but why bother easier to work on an aerial just 10 foot off the ground.

Mother is very different lower than me same distance but unlike me can't see mast lights out of bedroom window. In spite of being a radio ham I have employed an aerial fitter with his meters to maintain her aerial.

 

[Sam Gangee]

It depends on several factors; the main ones being...

6. Whether the roof has aluminised insulation (or any other material that will block the signal).

Also see http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/logperiodic.htm#loft