johns
New member
what type of aerial can i use for my boat tried cheap one £5 but it doesnt work no picture any ideas
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tv aerial
- Thread starter johns
- Start date
[3889]
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You can get a powered aerial from caravan dealers which are pretty good and non directional- Omnimax I think they're called.
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Trevethan
New member
We bought a a saucer shaped omni directional antenna. Put it on mast, plugged in the booster and resulkt was crappy picture. Then bought second booster... picture was very poor. Removed both boosters and picture was really bad.
Then bough freeview box, and it works very very well, without either booster, except when the dehumidifier stops and starts.
If you aqre in a freeview area (we are moored up in London) , I can highly recommend it. pictures are perfect. sound is great and you get more channels and radio stations.
Good luck!
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Then bough freeview box, and it works very very well, without either booster, except when the dehumidifier stops and starts.
If you aqre in a freeview area (we are moored up in London) , I can highly recommend it. pictures are perfect. sound is great and you get more channels and radio stations.
Good luck!
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ThomasHome
New member
I spent a fiver on an aerial at Hombase, good enough for the F1 last week. Before you ditch your cheap aerial, have a look at http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/tv_transmitters/index.shtml
to find your local transmitters, the closest one may not give you the best picture, get a map and point the aerial and tune in to different ones.
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to find your local transmitters, the closest one may not give you the best picture, get a map and point the aerial and tune in to different ones.
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bernard_foster
New member
My experience of omni directional aerials is that they are only good in good reception areas, my boat is in Norfolk (poor area), I sold my expensive aerials and bought a Maxview directional from Argos at £8.75, and get a brilliant picture without any amplifiers.
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redhot
New member
I bought one of these Omnimax omni-directional aerials from my marina.
It comes with a booster that runs on 12 or 24v.
I wired the booster up, ran the coax cable through the boat, fixed the aerial on the roof and wow, crap picture!!! My freeview box gets a picture but every now and then locks up. If I call up the signal quality, it is up and down like a yo-yo. I was better of with my loft aerial I had before. I am moored in Reading so there should be no probs with signal strength.
Looks like I'll be popping into town for a cheap loft aerial AGAIN after throwing my old one away before fittting the Omnimax, unless anyone has any ideas?
Thanks
Mike.
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It comes with a booster that runs on 12 or 24v.
I wired the booster up, ran the coax cable through the boat, fixed the aerial on the roof and wow, crap picture!!! My freeview box gets a picture but every now and then locks up. If I call up the signal quality, it is up and down like a yo-yo. I was better of with my loft aerial I had before. I am moored in Reading so there should be no probs with signal strength.
Looks like I'll be popping into town for a cheap loft aerial AGAIN after throwing my old one away before fittting the Omnimax, unless anyone has any ideas?
Thanks
Mike.
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Bejasus
New member
I am also in Norfolk Bernard. Had a small portable but got next to no picture wth naff telescopic antenna. Went to chandlers and bought one of those squiggly ones, can't remember the name. Is that the Omnimax?. Came with an amplifier. I think was around 60 quid, but now have a great picture. No holes to drill as I fitted the suction cup base and mount in on the hatch glass, and run the cable through the hatch. Small boat. Less than 6ft air draft on the hatch top.
<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/h00>http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/h00</A>
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Oldhand
New member
There are a number of problems to be solved in order to get a decent TV picture on a boat. You don't state what type of boat you have so I can't be specific.
The most common problem is the environment the boat is normally parked in when TV is watched, i.e. in a marina, on a river or up a creek.
In marinas yacht masts both obstruct and reflect TV signals and the main problem is serious ghosting which can cause picture instability. The best solution for this is a masthead mounted omni-directional antenna, assuming your mast is a decent height relative to those around you. Alternatively a directional Yagi antenna at low level may, with luck, be able to be set up to minimise the problem. In strong signal areas, the telescopic whip aerial on the TV may be directional enough to minimise ghosting to an acceptable level.
If you are moored on a river or up a creek, the main problem is lack of antenna height, 'cause you are at sea level. Your line of sight to the transmitter is likely to be obstructed by banks, trees, hills or buildings and things keep changing as you rise and fall with the tide. If the masthead option above can not gain enough height to overcome obstructions then more success can normall be obtained with a directional antenna (yagi). A directional antenna by definition provides more gain than an omni, as long as its pointed the right way. However, the right direction may be to point the antenna at a structure which may have a better line of sight to the transmiiter and use the reflected signal from the structure.
The reason adding amplifiers is often not the solution is the amplifiers amplify everything over the frequency band they are designed to receive. So as well as amplifying the desired signal they can amplify the noise and interference as well.
Hope this helps you to think about your own particular problem.
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The most common problem is the environment the boat is normally parked in when TV is watched, i.e. in a marina, on a river or up a creek.
In marinas yacht masts both obstruct and reflect TV signals and the main problem is serious ghosting which can cause picture instability. The best solution for this is a masthead mounted omni-directional antenna, assuming your mast is a decent height relative to those around you. Alternatively a directional Yagi antenna at low level may, with luck, be able to be set up to minimise the problem. In strong signal areas, the telescopic whip aerial on the TV may be directional enough to minimise ghosting to an acceptable level.
If you are moored on a river or up a creek, the main problem is lack of antenna height, 'cause you are at sea level. Your line of sight to the transmitter is likely to be obstructed by banks, trees, hills or buildings and things keep changing as you rise and fall with the tide. If the masthead option above can not gain enough height to overcome obstructions then more success can normall be obtained with a directional antenna (yagi). A directional antenna by definition provides more gain than an omni, as long as its pointed the right way. However, the right direction may be to point the antenna at a structure which may have a better line of sight to the transmiiter and use the reflected signal from the structure.
The reason adding amplifiers is often not the solution is the amplifiers amplify everything over the frequency band they are designed to receive. So as well as amplifying the desired signal they can amplify the noise and interference as well.
Hope this helps you to think about your own particular problem.
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