Aerials - Television Aerials - Regional dealer locator
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A UHF aerial is required to receive analogue and terrestrial Tv channels in the UK. Aerials rely on a fairly good line of sight to the nearest transmitter and signal quality can be affected by factors such as terrain (hills, valleys) and weather (high and low pressure). Oddly enough it can also be a disadvantage to be too near a transmitter as too much signal can give the same symptoms as a weak signal, image pixelation etc.
All UHF aerials old and new are designed to pick up channels broadcasting in the UHF band channel 21-69. In the analogue days banded aerials were used to receive the transmitter required. The tranmitters broadcast in different bands or parts of the UHF frequency range to stop interference from neighbouring transmitters that caused co channel interference in the form of a distorted image. Aerials that are sometimes referred to as digital are actually wideband aerials that give reception of the the whole UHF range. Digital multiplexes are not affected by co-channel interference so most aerials installed nowadays are wideband. A banded aerial may be fine to receive digital channels if the channel frequencys are within its reception range.
Aerials have to be fairly accurately aligned to achieve a good reception and must be orientated in the correct polarity (horizontal or vertical) depending on the transmitter being received. If the signal is strong enough then it may be possible to mount an aerial inside a loft space but you also have to consider that metal objects and water tanks etc will cause issues with reception.
Wideband aerials are fairly similar in terms of size and quality although various manufacturers will sing the praises of their particular model its best to choose an aerial that has been benchmarked
by the CAI (confederation of aerial industries) and is made from decent strength aluminium components.
Log periodic aerials that are generally used in caravans and boats etc can also be installed in homes or flats etc. They offer a good quality solution where there is a reasonable reception but its not practical to mount a wideband aerial.