New for Old. Digital Aerial.
- Thread starter TerryIvybridge
- Start date
There's no such thing as a digital aerial - despite all the ads trying to sell you one - the TV signals between the transmitter and the aerial use the same format that they always have - it's the TV set or digibox that's now digital, not the aerial.
It is easy to replace the analogue with another suitable aerial. No difference if analogue as will still pick up digital signal. Your biggest issue will be breaking the sealant on the roof so cheese wire would be handy.
I would ask the OP why he wants to change it, assuming it is a directional Status? The only difference between an older one and a modern one is the amp and the frequency bands covered. The older type that has red/orange printing on the antenna case has the amp inside the aerial case and covers FM and UHF TV frequencies only. The more modern type has purple/blue writing on the aerial case, the amp is inside the van, and the amp covers DAB as well as FM and UHF TV.
If there is an aerial fault - and in checking that is the least likely problem - then if it is the older type a new amp (VP3 or VP5) will be required as well as the aerial assembly.
If there is an aerial fault - and in checking that is the least likely problem - then if it is the older type a new amp (VP3 or VP5) will be required as well as the aerial assembly.
The OP's aerial may have gone faulty which is why they need to change it. Also if they have the Twig style aerial may be another reason. OP is asking how and not why and no need to give a reason as that is their decision. 
Hi Prof! The caravan is a '96 Bailey Ranger. The old round dish with the Titty on top, ok, it may be faulty, or just old. Reception has never been brilliant my brother says but he feels it needs replacing. I know my Directional Aerial allows me to point towards the best nearest mast. I'm pretty sure Technology has moved on since -96 so I support him in his thoughts.
Thank you for understanding the post Buckman. Everyone in other groups were asking why and indicating that change wasn't needed.The OP's aerial may have gone faulty which is why they need to change it. Also if they have the Twig style aerial may be another reason. OP is asking how and not why and no need to give a reason as that is their decision.
There is also the possibility that as the caravan is so old, the cabling could be the culprit so may be best to first check the connections. I am not sure if you can use a back to back and connect directly one end to the output on the aerial and the other to the TV using a flylead. This will show if the unit is faulty or not.
Email Vision Plus on customerservice@visionplus.co.uk - the Status round omni-directional aerial uses a different base to the Status Directional Aerial - they may be able to supply a conversion kit - alternatively use a free-standing Maxview directional aerial on a mast.
Thank you Terry for providings some of the background to your question.
Please bear in mind that we don't know you personally or what caravan you have so we couldn't understanding the what the problem really was, and without knowing the make and model of your current aerial how could we advise on how difficult or otherwise replacement could be.
There is of course the possibility the aerial itself is not faulty as Buckman has explained, it could be cabling plugs or separate amplifiers which are often fitted in caravans.
Aerial antennas are basically a passive device and thus are inherently very reliable, but the amplifiers (that may separate or built into the base of antenna) can fail, and if that's the case and its a separate amplifier, it may only need the Amp. to be changed and not the antenna.
There is no fundamental difference between the broadcast carrier frequencies of the old terrestrial UHF tv signals and the present Digital services, so in many cases the aerial doesn't need to be changed, But one of the differences is digital receivers need a higher signal level to satisfactorily resolve the full digital pictures and sound, so to achieve that either a bigger arial or an booster amplifier with greater gain might be necessary.
There is another possible gremlin that can affect some older booster amplifiers. Every booster amp. will have a range of frequencies they will amplify. Older analog amplifiers may also respond to frequencies that have now been reallocated to other services, and when these are present in spectrum, they can interfere with the amplifier or the digital tv signals More modern booster amp's are designed to filter out these potentially disruptive signals.
Terry
This may answer most of your question.
View: https://youtu.be/kYS359yQfvs?si=ztA1SFIRszFoaTYg
I suspect it will also be advantageous to upgrade the amplifier to one of these which also has a signal strength facility.
visionplus.co.uk
They have a number of models depending on how many outputs you require.
This may answer most of your question.
I suspect it will also be advantageous to upgrade the amplifier to one of these which also has a signal strength facility.
Digital TV & Radio Amplifier VP3 – Vision Plus
visionplus.co.uk
Thank you for you're kindly reply. Unfortunately the caravan, and my brother, is 120 miles away. I;m sorry if I was a bit short replying, I was under the initial impression that swapping over was pretty easy, just wanted either yes it is or no, it isn't straight forward. I'll pass on what I've been advised but I'm still surprised that many replies said the old should be as good as the new? More research is needed me thinks.
I agree with all of the latter contributions, but having been a Bailey owner since 2005 which had the flying saucer aerial it is almost certain that this aerial will be the same type given it is a .96 van..
One thing not mentioned is that if it is this type the box inside just supplies power up the cable to the amp inside the aerial. It will have three sockets underneath, one for the aerial connection, one for FM and one for TV. There is also a power switch and a switchable attenuator - this should be in the 'normal' position.
The one place I must disagree (with Prof) is that (1) the digital transmitter radiated power is actually higher than it was with analogue due to the different way it is measured, and (2) digital TV's in my experience are significantly more sensitive than analogue. Analogue needed around 1mV or higher to get a solid picture, but 250uV would give a usable picture albeit a bit noisy/snowy and more sensitive to interference. Checks I have done show that most digital TV's will work quite happily on 250uV and in most cases if the quality is good (digital is more sensitive to signal quality than absolute signal strength) it will even be reliable at getting down towards 100uV. We still had the 2005 van when digital started appearing and if anything I found the flying saucer better on digital than on analogue!
Finally, it would be a good idea for the OP to check the installed aerial cable. The cable from the aerial will probably be white and there is nothing you can do about that, but the cable from the aerial box to the TV outlet may also be white but of the older type which doesn't provide enough screening. If it is that cable depending upon the signal strength you may find that the picture breaks up (pixelates) as you moved around inside the caravan. I would suggest getting some PF100 or WF100 cable (10m will do) from the likes of Toolstation or Screwfix and replacing the old cable. It is not difficult to replace albeit a bit fiddley <but> you need to replace the connection with F-type plugs to maintain the proper screening. Modern outlets used in caravans have a connector that has a normal TV socket (Belling-Lee) on the outside and a screw-on F-type on the back. At the interface box end you can fit an adapter that has a Belling-Lee plug on one end and a F-type socket on the other. There is plenty of help on line, just buy from TS or Sfx as you will pay as much for 10 connectors there as you will pay for one/two in a caravan shop.
By the way I am a retired broadcast TV and radio transmitter engineer..............
One thing not mentioned is that if it is this type the box inside just supplies power up the cable to the amp inside the aerial. It will have three sockets underneath, one for the aerial connection, one for FM and one for TV. There is also a power switch and a switchable attenuator - this should be in the 'normal' position.
The one place I must disagree (with Prof) is that (1) the digital transmitter radiated power is actually higher than it was with analogue due to the different way it is measured, and (2) digital TV's in my experience are significantly more sensitive than analogue. Analogue needed around 1mV or higher to get a solid picture, but 250uV would give a usable picture albeit a bit noisy/snowy and more sensitive to interference. Checks I have done show that most digital TV's will work quite happily on 250uV and in most cases if the quality is good (digital is more sensitive to signal quality than absolute signal strength) it will even be reliable at getting down towards 100uV. We still had the 2005 van when digital started appearing and if anything I found the flying saucer better on digital than on analogue!
Finally, it would be a good idea for the OP to check the installed aerial cable. The cable from the aerial will probably be white and there is nothing you can do about that, but the cable from the aerial box to the TV outlet may also be white but of the older type which doesn't provide enough screening. If it is that cable depending upon the signal strength you may find that the picture breaks up (pixelates) as you moved around inside the caravan. I would suggest getting some PF100 or WF100 cable (10m will do) from the likes of Toolstation or Screwfix and replacing the old cable. It is not difficult to replace albeit a bit fiddley <but> you need to replace the connection with F-type plugs to maintain the proper screening. Modern outlets used in caravans have a connector that has a normal TV socket (Belling-Lee) on the outside and a screw-on F-type on the back. At the interface box end you can fit an adapter that has a Belling-Lee plug on one end and a F-type socket on the other. There is plenty of help on line, just buy from TS or Sfx as you will pay as much for 10 connectors there as you will pay for one/two in a caravan shop.
By the way I am a retired broadcast TV and radio transmitter engineer..............
Well that's a very comprehensive reply Woodentop and I've copied and pasted to my brother. Thank you, very helpful!
Thankyou Woodentop.
I am not normally involved with RF electronics, so thankyou for the information regarding radiated power.
I based my comment on my own experience where whilst at digital change over I could receive a decent analogue reception from Sutton Coldfield (7miles line of sight), yet digital was so sketchy with so many drop outs it was unwatchable, until I fitted 18db masthead signal amplifier.
I suppose it could be multipath issues.
I am not normally involved with RF electronics, so thankyou for the information regarding radiated power.
I based my comment on my own experience where whilst at digital change over I could receive a decent analogue reception from Sutton Coldfield (7miles line of sight), yet digital was so sketchy with so many drop outs it was unwatchable, until I fitted 18db masthead signal amplifier.
I suppose it could be multipath issues.
I am not sure if the Antennae has a mast head amplifier or whether it is a set back amplifier i.e. power source and amplifier combined. The mast head amplifier has the amplifier in the aerial and the power supply unit separate which is the unit you can see in the caravan. Long time since I dealt with aerials and amplifiers.
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