TV Aerial

May 15, 2023
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Firstly digital TV transmission is UHF, reception limited to the visual horizon, circa 40 miles; so the 1st claim of 250 miles defies science! Secondly in 99% of cases an aerial will perform better the higher it is, so having it in the van will degrade the signal, finally no amount of amplification can transform a very poor signal into a usable one, no matter how "smart" the chip is.
In a good signal area I'm sure it will work, but no better than a rooftop aerial
 
Oct 8, 2006
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I doubt it will work unless you can see the Tx and it radiates in your direction. The claptrap says it receives 360deg - which also is impossible for a flat panel.

I suspect this is a variant upon a US product sold here maybe nearly a decade ago - the fact that the text says that it receives CBS, ABC, NBC etc means it is a US product. In the States most TV is delivered on cable but in some places - especially where it is flat - the signal is also radiated from a high aerial so that people out in the sticks with no access to cable can still get TV. In those circumstances maybe 100miles might just be possible with a decent aerial but never with a flat panel like this!!
 
May 15, 2023
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Slightly off topic , but I presume most folk either have a list of TV transmitter locations or google them, in order to know what direction to point their aerial when they get on site?

Or is the preference these days to stream either from the site Wi-Fi or their own mobile where available?
 
Nov 16, 2015
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Slightly off topic , but I presume most folk either have a list of TV transmitter locations or google them, in order to know what direction to point their aerial when they get on site?

Or is the preference these days to stream either from the site Wi-Fi or their own mobile where available?
There used to be a map showing transmitters, in my CCC road map Atlas, but my present one doesn't have it. So I just guess.
 
Oct 8, 2006
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Slightly off topic , but I presume most folk either have a list of TV transmitter locations or google them, in order to know what direction to point their aerial when they get on site?

Or is the preference these days to stream either from the site Wi-Fi or their own mobile where available?

Try looking at this page of the Wolfbane UHF predictor. Insert the map ref of where you are or will be going, select 'Distant' and set the antenna height as 5m. It will then give you a list of transmitter sites in signal strength order. Ignore the comment about the type of aerial - the site is notoriously pessimistic - but look at the signal strength. Anything at about 46dBuV/m should work well, some slightly lower levels, say above about 40dBuV/m should also work. If the choice is a relay on a strong signal or a main station in the 40-45 range try the main station first as it can be very boring to be limited to 20 TV programmes (14 if you don't have HD!) whereas even if you do get some occasional pixelation on a main site you will get nearer 100.
If you understand a profile, if you click on the map ref in the table it will present a picture of the signal path, which might be of use in making a transmitter choice.

A little bit of explanation about digital TV transmissions. [Hereafter, 'channel refers to the radio frequency which carried the programme, and station is the programme name, such as ITV2, Drama, 5USA etc.]In the days of analogue each TV station - BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4 - used one transmitter channel each. That 'channel' actually had three transmitters combined together, one for vision, one for mono sound, and one for stereo sound. [Channel 5 which appeared in the 90's had limited coverage in that in most places it could use only channels 35 or 37 (36 was used by air traffic radar.)]
When the transmitted signal was changed to digital (DSO nationally in 2010) it was possible to intermix the data for a number of stations and transmit them on one channel. This technique is known as multiplexing and allows us to watch many more than the original 4 or 5. The multiplexes or muxes as they are more commonly known, are transmitted on six channels: PSB1/2/3 are respectively Public Service Broadcasting 1 (BBC stations,) 2 which are the common ITV stations and 3 which is a combination of parts of PSB1 and 2 but in high definition (HD.) Muxes PSB1/2/3 are radiated by every transmitter site in the country; Com4/5/6 are are the additional muxes carrying commercial stations and are only radiated by main and sub-main transmitters. Main transmitters are such as Crystal Palace in London, Mendip near Bristol, Emley Moor near Huddersfield, Black Hill near Edinburgh, etc - there are about 80 of them: sub-mains are largely those that were relays before DSO but were upgraded to main sites at DSO, such as Whitehawk Hill near Brighton, Chesterfield, Sheffield, and Scarborough etc. With a few exceptions main transmitters use horizontal polarity (i.e. your aerial prongs/body are horizontal) whereas relays (again with some exceptions) use vertical. Relays that were upgraded to main site status at DSO still use vertical polarity.

Finally, going back to the beginning, if you take a look at www.radioguide.co.uk you will find three guides that are published annually, one for TV, one for radio, and one for mobiles. The TV and radio guides list every transmitter in the UK with the channels, programme region, transmitter power and all such data, listed under each main station and their attached relays. Transmitter data will not change much now since the 800MHz band has been cleared for 4G and the 700MHz band for 5G, so you only need to get the latest copy about every 3-4 years. However whilst FM transmissions vary very little, DAB is sprouting up (and disappearing!) all over the shop, so if you like/use DAB you may need to by a copy of the Radio Guide more often.
 
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