What aerial setup are you using?

Just wondering which aerials members are using in their motorhomes / campers?

We have an IMAGE 420 by Status which has proved very good for us, quite compact so easy to stow away.

When on site we have an extendable 4 section pole which we fix to our rear roof ladder, but this is a hassle putting up and down (although it takes just a few mins in reality) as we actually spend little time on sites when touring as we like to explore, we would like to have a permanant fixed solution like one of the Status 540 aerials, rather than the flying saucer Status 315 (Omni-Directional Antenna) which despite being very popular we have heard are rather hit and miss?

Would be interested in knowing what other members use, or have fitted and the performance on both analouge & digital TV reception? :(Y) or (y):

We've got NECVOX ANT 536 digital aerial. It's only very small but I've had great reception through a freeview box even using it inside my Trident placed in the front overhead locker- Only used it in my driveway (never on site) and despite the digital signal being terrible round here it was OK with the TV I pinched from the kitchen

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Car-96db-Digital-DVB-T-TV-Freeview-TV-Antenna-Aerial-/120639588100?pt=UK_Audio_TV_Electronics_In_Car_Entertainment_GPS_In_Car_Audio_Players_PP&hash=item1c16a



Stevo

Hi Stevo

I have seen those antennas before and heard good reports about them, probably would have got one except I wondered how effective it would be with the GRP roof on the Trident, good to hear you have had success with it anyway, do you get both Freeview & Analouge?

Where I live we can't get digital in the camper, but the house has a big aerial on the roof and we get good reception despite being in a non freeview area. We have found a few of the sites we have stayed on have digital and others havn't, will be pleased when the switch over has taken place and hopefully put an end to this situation :)

I use the old status "flying saucer" with mixed results.If in an area with good digital signal the picture is perfect on freeview, analogue dodgy but seeing as analogue is being phased out it does not matter.If in a poor reception area I use a suitcase satellite system purchased from Maplins.

Hi There Groper

Yes, some speak ok of the flying saucers and others speak very dimly of them! plenty of them around though so wouldnt have thought they are really as bad as some say? so for digital you reckon they are better? hopefully when we all get switched over and signal strength is increased it will put an end to all this hit and miss reception :whistle: :)

I must admit it seems very hit and miss for good reception with Status aerial.
Sites encountered with good reception - Hurn Lane,Minehead,Kingsbury Water Park,Mendip Heights,New Forest to name but a few.
Sites with poor reception -Pembrey Country Park,Leeds,Scarborough,Whitby.At Pembrey have to be careful where to pitch to even get decent reception using satellite system.

Groper

Edit: In my experience they are better with the digital signal but once again depends sometimes on the pitch you are on :whistle:

The problem with the widely used Status 315 is it is omnidirectional which has to be a compromise, and often good quality coax wasnt used which didnt help. On our last van I replaced the coax and you would have thought I had fitted a new aerial. They were fitted as standard as they were cheap compared with other aerials.

When we ordered the current van I specified a Status 350 directional and that has been a big improvement. It has mainly been used on digital with the odd trip into analogue areas and I dont really have any complaints. I do not have a rotator fitted and have to use the "armstrong method" but it doesnt normally doesnt take that long to set up.

I had an omnidirectional aerial on my last motorhome and I thought it was rubbish. I insisted that a Status directional aerial was fitted to my current van and it is a lot better. However I carry a free standing satellite kit for the really challenging locations.

My van is fitted with a Status 315 with it's signal booster plus a freeview digital TV and I am quite satisfied with it. I also own a traditional digital aerial on a pole which fastens to clips on the van side and extends well above the roof. This came with the van but to be honest I find it such a lot of hassle to set up I don't even carry it. I like the plug and go simplicity of the status 315, true it has it's critics but you see so many of them in use we can't all be wrong.
In areas where the analogue signal has been turned off such as Devon and soon everywhere else the digital signal strength is increased and the 315 is more than adequate.

Groper. The Yorkshire coast North from Scarborough is very hilly and in the shadow of the North Yorks Moors. Reception for TV, Radio and Mobile Phone can be difficult.
I am thinking of buying a Maplin's satelite kit. Are they any good?

Think there is, or was a repeater for the Whitby area which means with a directional aerial beaming in that direction. I have found an (free android) application for my phone called UK Aerial to be very usefull when camping in iffy areas. The radio stations had repeaters out there also.

I too have the saucer type of aerial. Before the digital switchover it was rubbish to the extent of not even bothering to take the TV yet we had one on various caravans with no problems whatsoever. Since the switchover it has come into its own and is usually brilliant with our freeview TV, the only site I can recall having no signal was at Damage Barton, North Devon last summer and I think that area had yet to switch to digital. As has been said, when the analogue transmitters are turned off, the digital signal increases. I've never gone down the satellite route as a) we don't have it at home and b) I can't be bothered, I've seen too many campers spending hours trying to set them up.

Likewise, we had a flirtation with a portable kit which went back and we got our cash back. I then tried a spare Sky box & dish but couldnt see me messing around with it when we got on site so stuck to the tv&roof aerial (Status 350)

Its good to hear the saucer type aerials work better with digital, agree with you Ken about temp aerials being a pain to errect (even though it only takes a few mins) a fixed solution would be so much easier!

Does anyone have any photos showing the saucer type aerial coming into their vans? presume as its omnidirectional all you have is the coax rather than a pole to have to alter direction, with space being at a premium in our Trident obviously this would be a better option and with digital being the standard pretty much everywhere later this year would probably be an ok solution for us if they work better with digital as indicated

CC

We too use a Status 315 with signal booster, And with our digital freeview tv get really good reception, except Keswick CC site 2 weeks ago, NOTHING!!
but really happy with it

Groper. The Yorkshire coast North from Scarborough is very hilly and in the shadow of the North Yorks Moors. Reception for TV, Radio and Mobile Phone can be difficult.
I am thinking of buying a Maplin's satelite kit. Are they any good?[/quote]

Hi

Yes the Maplin satellite kit is good.It can take a little while to get used to setting it up - it is handy if there is someone already using a satellite dish so you can get an approximate direction for pointing the dish!After that it is a matter of using the receiver to find the satellite by moving the dish very slowly until you get a strong signal.I have found that the vertical axis of the dish is very important.
Occasionally Lidl and Aldi have a similar system on offer(usually cheaper than Maplins).In Cheddar last week the T.V. reception using the Status aerial was very poor but had great picture with satellite dish.

Groper

CC, I'll try to get a photo later. Not much to see though. The Status is a permenant fixture on the roof and the coax goes behind the inside wall. The booster is inside a cupboard and requires co-ax in from the roof and out to the socket plus 12v supply. All that is visible in the van is a combined aerial/12v power outlet.

kenjones wrote:CC, I'll try to get a photo later. Not much to see though. The Status is a permenant fixture on the roof and the coax goes behind the inside wall. The booster is inside a cupboard and requires co-ax in from the roof and out to the socket plus 12v supply. All that is visible in the van is a combined aerial/12v power outlet.

Thanks Ken

A photo would be most helpful, does the coax go behind the headlining as well as down the wall side panels? (I Like the idea of the coax being hidden)

Did you fit the status aerial yourself or was it factory fitted by Autosleepers?

CC

When I bought the van it had a damaged status base which had been weatherproofed with silicon and the "flying saucer" was missing. I decided to fit the full new kit complete with base,coax and booster.
The coax goes neatly in through a hole in the roof across under the liner then down the wall space and can't be seen once fitted. The aerial base is secured outside with screws and silicon adhesive. Our van like most has to sleep out in all weathers and has been totally waterproof. If you ever decide to remove the unit you can buy a plate to stick on the roof and seal it without drilling more holes.
The route for the coax inside the van is up to you. I had to remove a cupboard and ease the wall lining out but it all went back OK.






This shows the booster unit. Note coax coming in through the wall and out to the socket.






As I said not much to look at but I hope it helps.

Hi Ken

Thanks for adding the photos

If we hang on to our Trident then I may have to bite the bullet and have a go at something like this!

I did ask the guy who did our habitation check recently but he wasn't really interested in fitting any kind of aerial on our trident, so figure I will have to have a go unless I find somewhere on our travels where I can leave it with them for say half a day as we go sight seeing, then come back & it's all done (providing it's done to a good standard) if anyone knows of somebody competant to do the job without ripping us off??

How do you find getting under barriers at McDonalds drive thrus and car park barriers? We always cringe when we go under the Mc D ones but I guess there is more space than you realise? Don't want to fit one then find when the missis wants some chicky nuggetts I end up losing the antenae

CC

To be safe I allow 10ft headroom. We haven't tried a drive-through and have to watch out for height bars and low trees. It hasn't really been a problem as the high top won't go it to restricted areas even without an aerial.
I understand your concerns about fitting but once in it makes life easy.
When I asked a motorhome dealer about fitting a couple of years ago he said OK but labour is £60 per hour (that was before the VAT increase).
Ken

I had my flying saucer aerial fitted by the people we bought the van from [Heart of England Motorhomes]. They did a good job, it only took about an hour so I went for a walk whilst they did it. My only instruction to them was to wait until I was out of sight before they started drilling a hole in my van roof!!!

squip

squip wrote:I had my flying saucer aerial fitted by the people we bought the van from [Heart of England Motorhomes]. They did a good job, it only took about an hour

Hey Squip - What did they charge for this work?

Waves117

squip wrote:I had my flying saucer aerial fitted by the people we bought the van from [Heart of England Motorhomes]. They did a good job, it only took about an hour so I went for a walk whilst they did it. My only instruction to them was to wait until I was out of sight before they started drilling a hole in my van roof!!!

squip

Blimey an hour was quick Squip Guessing they didn't conceal the coax etc? Know just what you mean about being out of sight before they started drilling into your roof! I would be just the same, took ours for an MOT yesterday & I nearly jumped out of the chair when they did the emisisions test dont think I will be going back there in a hurry!

I have a statos 530 directional aerial which works in most places, but I have found that there are places where I cant get a picture at all, for those that aren't aware of it this aerial can be altered from horizintal to vertical by turning a handle inside the van, and to get the best signal you must use this facility. For example at home I am within a mile in a straight line from the most powerfull transmitter on the island 2 kilowatt at Port st Mary, which is one of the majority of booster stations which transmit a vertically polorised signal. If I point it at the transmitter in its transport position I.E. horizontal I get only 3 lights out of 8 on my signal meter if I turn it to vertical I get all 8 lights lit on the meter, so it shows that correct polorization is very important. there are over 1000 transmitters in the UK and the majority of these are boosters transmitting vertically in general, with only main transmitters and a very few boosters transmitting horizontally. The 2 main transmitters in the north west of England are Winter hill near Bolton Lancs and Caldbeck in north Cumbria which both transmit at a 100 kilowatts but the boosters everywhere seem to vary from .002kw up to around 2kw depending on the area they have to cover. I have recently purchased a Visionv10 040 pro logic aerial which has a gain of 12db against the 7db of the stratos in the hope of getting a signal in places where I havent been able to in the past.

We have the old Status 315 flying saucer aerial on our Symphony. We also had this type of aerial on all the caravans we had over a 25 year period and never failed to get TV on any site we went. Problems arose with the coming of digital. As areas began to prepare for digital we found some areas OK and others could not get a signal at all. It would seem that most areas are now switched to digital and where we the switch has been made, we get a brilliant signal and loads of channels on our freeview TV. This week though we have encountered problems. First at Wolverley (Kidderminster) C&CC site. The book does say 'TV poor, satellite recommended' and we got nothing. Then we went on to Salisbury C&CC site and brilliant TV reception. Then we went to Chichester C&CC site and could only get BBC channels but I also noticed people trying for hours to get their satellite systems to work and giving up. So if you can hang on until the entire country has switched over these old Status flying saucer aerials will come into the own for reception. I don't have satellite at home and don't want it in the MH (for one thing we have no room to store it) so it's either freeview or play cards.