There must be a few of you familiar with said caravan park in SA, I know we have been coming down here from Adelaide for quite a few years and the tv reception has always been very hit and miss (more often miss)
After stuffing around for A LONG TIME with 2 antennas and various boosters etc etc., I gave up!
Next day I was looking for something else in my bits and pieces draw, and found this little antenna that came with a computer tv tuner card some years back. The whole thing is about 8" fully extended, so I thought I would stick it on the outside window with the suction cap that came with it.
I then retuned the Telly, and it then picked up 31 DTV and 5 radio stations!! And with NO booster!
Looks to me like you are now setup to receive a vertically polarized signal that you would not get very well with a horizontal polarity antenna.
TV transmissions from Newland Hill are vertically polarised and that would be why that little antenna is working. It is most likely your caravan antenna is a horizontal one.
frank
-- Edited by KFT on Wednesday 9th of December 2015 04:07:29 PM
woofta and precious said
04:08 PM Dec 9, 2015
Hi KFT,
I had tried that with a "Wanderer" antenna, and also a Dick Smiths one that you can mount vertical or horizontal, but the best I could get in any position was 5 channels. I tried them up high on every corner, down lower on the drawbar, but to no avail...
Regards,
Brian
Bill B said
04:31 PM Dec 9, 2015
Was the coax from the various aerials you have tried previously been plugged directly into the TV or have you been using the aerial plugs fitted to the van ?
woofta and precious said
05:00 PM Dec 9, 2015
Hi Bill B,
Yeah, I learnt that lesson a while ago!
It goes in through the pop top and straight into the telly
Thanks,
Brian
Tomcat said
02:02 PM Dec 11, 2015
KFT wrote:
G'day W&P
Looks to me like you are now setup to receive a vertically polarized signal that you would not get very well with a horizontal polarity antenna.
TV transmissions from Newland Hill are vertically polarised and that would be why that little antenna is working. It is most likely your caravan antenna is a horizontal one.
frank
-- Edited by KFT on Wednesday 9th of December 2015 04:07:29 PM
This to me makes a lot of sense I would be curious to know why some places are vertical and others Horizontal. I believe the big cities are Horizontal. Just on the subject a bit of a time saver is this signal detector I move the ariel around till I get the strongest signal then tune in the channels.
quote"I move the ariel around till I get the strongest signal then tune in the channels."
Which is exactly what a professional installer does with a signal strength meter to find the best location for a TV antenna or they should be doing if they know their job.
Frank
woofta and precious said
11:26 AM Dec 12, 2015
Hey Tomcat,
I think I will have to get one of those!
Thanks,
Brian
PeterD said
12:37 AM Dec 13, 2015
Tomcat wrote:This to me makes a lot of sense I would be curious to know why some places are vertical and others Horizontal.
The average TV antenna has 6 - 8 dB of cross polar discrimination (or in simple terms when you turn a TV antenna 90 degrees from its optimum orientation the signal will drop 6 - 9 dB.) When TV channels are assigned a survey is made to check that the received signals in the proposed service area (the proposed watching/listening area) are much greater than the signals received from the surrounding transmitters on the same channel. Any cross polar discrimination that the antenna can add to the wanted signal and subtract from the unwanted signal assists in obtaining a greater wanted to unwanted signal ratio. Or to put it another way, if you can make use of any cross polar discrimination you can operate transmitters on the same channel closer together. Very occasionally it could make the difference between an area getting a TV service or not.
Tomcat said
02:06 PM Dec 13, 2015
PeterD wrote:
Tomcat wrote:This to me makes a lot of sense I would be curious to know why some places are vertical and others Horizontal.
The average TV antenna has 6 - 8 dB of cross polar discrimination (or in simple terms when you turn a TV antenna 90 degrees from its optimum orientation the signal will drop 6 - 9 dB.) When TV channels are assigned a survey is made to check that the received signals in the proposed service area (the proposed watching/listening area) are much greater than the signals received from the surrounding transmitters on the same channel. Any cross polar discrimination that the antenna can add to the wanted signal and subtract from the unwanted signal assists in obtaining a greater wanted to unwanted signal ratio. Or to put it another way, if you can make use of any cross polar discrimination you can operate transmitters on the same channel closer together. Very occasionally it could make the difference between an area getting a TV service or not.
Thanks for that Peter. You obviously know what you are talking about and that all makes sense now......Tom
Hi all,
There must be a few of you familiar with said caravan park in SA, I know we have been coming down here from Adelaide for quite a few years and the tv reception has always been very hit and miss (more often miss)
After stuffing around for A LONG TIME with 2 antennas and various boosters etc etc., I gave up!
Next day I was looking for something else in my bits and pieces draw, and found this little antenna that came with a computer tv tuner card some years back. The whole thing is about 8" fully extended, so I thought I would stick it on the outside window with the suction cap that came with it.
I then retuned the Telly, and it then picked up 31 DTV and 5 radio stations!! And with NO booster!
Still scratching head...
G'day W&P
Looks to me like you are now setup to receive a vertically polarized signal that you would not get very well with a horizontal polarity antenna.
TV transmissions from Newland Hill are vertically polarised and that would be why that little antenna is working. It is most likely your caravan antenna is a horizontal one.
frank
-- Edited by KFT on Wednesday 9th of December 2015 04:07:29 PM
I had tried that with a "Wanderer" antenna, and also a Dick Smiths one that you can mount vertical or horizontal, but the best I could get in any position was 5 channels. I tried them up high on every corner, down lower on the drawbar, but to no avail...
Regards,
Brian
Yeah, I learnt that lesson a while ago!
It goes in through the pop top and straight into the telly
Thanks,
Brian
This to me makes a lot of sense I would be curious to know why some places are vertical and others Horizontal. I believe the big cities are Horizontal. Just on the subject a bit of a time saver is this signal detector I move the ariel around till I get the strongest signal then tune in the channels.
quote"I move the ariel around till I get the strongest signal then tune in the channels."
Which is exactly what a professional installer does with a signal strength meter to find the best location for a TV antenna or they should be doing if they know their job.
Frank
I think I will have to get one of those!
Thanks,
Brian
The average TV antenna has 6 - 8 dB of cross polar discrimination (or in simple terms when you turn a TV antenna 90 degrees from its optimum orientation the signal will drop 6 - 9 dB.) When TV channels are assigned a survey is made to check that the received signals in the proposed service area (the proposed watching/listening area) are much greater than the signals received from the surrounding transmitters on the same channel. Any cross polar discrimination that the antenna can add to the wanted signal and subtract from the unwanted signal assists in obtaining a greater wanted to unwanted signal ratio. Or to put it another way, if you can make use of any cross polar discrimination you can operate transmitters on the same channel closer together. Very occasionally it could make the difference between an area getting a TV service or not.
Thanks for that Peter. You obviously know what you are talking about and that all makes sense now......Tom