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Aerials are manufactured to differing standards this shows up in the price the mechanical construction and it’s
electromagnetic performance.
The aerial has to receive a number of different signals from the required transmitter in an even manner, it has to reject unwanted signals from the side and back as they would cause interference
and could ‘swamp’ the wanted signals.
All of this becomes even more important when you want digital reception. A digital aerial is manufactured slightly differently and makes use of a balun.
In all cases good quality aerials and cable are the best bet!
Will an analogue aerial work a digital set top box (’Freeview’)? Yes and No - It will if the received signals are clean and above a certain threshold and the analogue signal and digital signals are balanced. In practice this means if you normally have trouble free reception (a good channel 5 is an excellent indicator) you can just plug in and view. In a lot of cases this is what happens.
Well I’ve got a good Channel 5, I bought a Freeview box and can only watch some of the
channels, so why is that? This is where the signal balancing comes in, the analogue signals have to be in a certain range and the digital signals also have to be in a certain range, this is when using the correct aerial really matters, cable and connections are also very important. Double screened quality cable should be used in one run, no joints and good connections. This should go straight to the set top box and any splitters or extensions fitted after.
I can’t get channel 5, does this mean no Freeview?
Not necessarily, you may
be receiving from a relay with no digital. It may be possible to fit a new digital aerial and pick up from the nearest digital transmitter or your local relay carries digital but not Channel 5.
To avoid all the hassle - K-Sat will supply and fit a digital aerial, measure the signals, balance the signals and make sure everything is right.
We can also provide a site survey if you
think you might have problems and want to know before you buy. A full signal analysis can be made and recorded and we will be able to give a definitive answer - either - yes it will or no it won’t work.
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