Our 2015 Coachman has one of those TV aerials that look like a stick. It has worked fine, but last week when we were away South Wales way it kept picking up the signal from the West Midlands transmitter instead of the Wenvoe transmitter at Vale of Glamorgan. We could only get ITV3 and a few other stations. Friends of our on site with the same van had the same problem. Our other friends who had an older Coachman and one of those aerials on the roof that you can position from inside had no problems and picked up the Wenvoe signal. Is there a way to dictate which transmitter your aerial locks onto ?
TV Aerial and transmitter selection
- Thread starter Pinto
- Start date
Pinto said:
Did you tell the TV to re-tune to the local transmitter?
PS - what TV aerials 'look like a stick'. Please post photo.
It's about 8 inches long and is like the old transistor radio aerials - if you're old enough to remember !!! Thin metal stick. Yes, I did retune it several times and once it did pick up the Wenvoe signal, but the picture kept breaking up. We put it down to being in Wales (where we live) as the mountains often block out the signal at sites we go to. There was no phone signal either for miles !!!
Coachman describe it as
NEW Status 570 TV aerial with integrated AM/FM/DAB reception capability
Coachman describe it as
NEW Status 570 TV aerial with integrated AM/FM/DAB reception capability
If you Google 'NEW Status 570 TV aerial' the pictures show a directional aerial and they look nothing like a stick. Have you lost the top part?? 
WoodlandsCamper said:If you Google 'NEW Status 570 TV aerial' the pictures show a directional aerial and they look nothing like a stick. Have you lost the top part??
That's right, Have you had a look on your roof, using a step ladder, I have a job to see my aerial when it is stowed for travel. Sounds like you are describing the radio aerial.
Well our friends have the same on their 2015 Coachman.
If you look at the Coachman catalogue here
http://www.coachman.co.uk/uploads/files/Coachman_Brochure_2015.pdf
you can see a photo of it on the pictures of the vans. It's supposed to do the radio and the TV
If you look at the Coachman catalogue here
http://www.coachman.co.uk/uploads/files/Coachman_Brochure_2015.pdf
you can see a photo of it on the pictures of the vans. It's supposed to do the radio and the TV
We have the status 550 on our Coachman, and nine times out of ten have to retune the TV to obtain channels, and the signal sensor is not the best. Most times best to open another bottle of wine and get the cards out.
Pinto said:
You cannot pick up TV signals on a monopole aerial (unless you were virtually under the transmitter), whatever the salesman tells you.
A TV aerial needs side elements to 'tune' into the correct UHF frequency of transmission. The monopoles are for VHF only. Even the old omni-directional 'pancake' aerials had side elements, although it wasn't very efficient for weak signals.I like your style, which is what we did without the pack of cards ! We have a Coachman VIP 575/4 2015 and in view of the price I cannot believe you can't pick up a signal. Other sites have been ok, but with the Black mountains looming around us and no mobile signal for about 4 miles I put it down to that. We go to another site in mid Wales that has no signal at all except with satellite. Broadband is about .75 in the sticks - and they can send a man to the Moon ??
If you have a slanted rod antenna factory fitted it is one of the new Avtex aerials (ANPS108?) that have caused so much trouble. Elddis were fitting them but have now reverted to a conventional Status 5xx-type although of different make.
A "Re Tune" doesnt always work..... if you haven't already tried it go to main menu panel and look for and do a "first time installation".
I agree with you there Gagakev, thats what I should have said. That nearly always sorts it out, I did have a road map somewhere that showed where the transmitters were,
But never know if the Aerial should be horizontal or Vertical,
What is the difference, and when should you pull out those extendable bits.
But never know if the Aerial should be horizontal or Vertical,
What is the difference, and when should you pull out those extendable bits.
go to wolfbane.net,look for uk digital tv predictor,type in the post code of where you are going or staying,it will give you the compass bearing so you know where to aim your aerial and if it is horizontal or vertical.
EH52ARH said:
Roughly - if you are receiving a main station then the aerial should be horizontal, if it is a relay then vertical. It is not gospel but 90+% of the time it is right. www.ukfree.tv will will show you every Tx in the country, its rough coverage area, and the channel information. If you know exactly where you are going www.wolfbane.com will tell you which is the best transmitter etc etc.
The extendible bits are really for VHF TV (Band III) as still used in parts of Furope. They also work with your VHF/DAB caravan radio. However if horizontal they are directional and the radio may not come from the same place as the TV: if vertical then they are effectively omni-directional. VHF/FM is mixed polarisation so it doesn't matter which way up the aerial is so long as it is pointing the right way, but DAB is all vertical so it does matter.
I have apps on my phone and iPad for pointing my aerial.
A big arrow appears on the screen, to which I align the aerial, pointing in the direction of the nearest transmitter (or any other transmitter - you can choose alternatives from a list).
It also says whether the aerial should be vertical or horizontal.
A big arrow appears on the screen, to which I align the aerial, pointing in the direction of the nearest transmitter (or any other transmitter - you can choose alternatives from a list).
It also says whether the aerial should be vertical or horizontal.
Thingy said:
We use 'UK Aerial Alignment' and have no problems, but as the phone doesn't have a compass built in we have to manually turn the phone to North and look at the screen to see where the aerial need to point. It does tell you whether horizontal or vertical and also other nearby transmitters.
if what woodentop says is correct (and no doubt it is) i.e. all DAB is vertical, then all our aerials should be vertical in this country since the digital switchover......certainly makes sense as we only seem to get HD channels when set vertical......
00buzz said:
The TV carrier frequencies HAVE NOT CHANGED, hence there is no such thing as a 'digital' TV aerial. Those who weren't conned by the unscrupulous advertisers are still using (both on their homes and caravans) their old aerials. Polarization hasn't changed either on the relevant transmitters, so if it was horizontal before then it stayed that way. If people can think back, certain analogue TV channels were taken off the air for a while such that the channel frequencies could then be used for the digital signals. It just so happens that more digital channels can be squeezed into a single analogue channel. I believe the same goes for DAB radio as well.
Yep.......I am with WC.
I also use the Uk Aerial alingment app on my smart phone if I am using freeview.
I also use the Uk Aerial alingment app on my smart phone if I am using freeview.
If you want to receive the best TV signal just look around and see the direction and polarisation of other aerials on houses,No "apps" required,not even a phone or tablet.
00buzz said:
I think you are confused. DAB is digital radio and is universally vertically polarised in the UK.
Digital TV transmissions are all (with the odd exception) the same polarity as they were before DSO.
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